Tuesday, April 8, 2008

This is it

I decided to write a blog about short stories because I love to read them and I think that more people should give them a chance. 

Within the writing community, as long as I've been a part of it, and I'm sure long before, there are whispers and sometimes shouts that the short story is dying. 

Recently, I met with a wonderful agent who told me that the only way to sell a short story collection is to package it with a novel. Big publishers aren't publishing short story collections because the market for them is slim. The New Yorker, not so long ago, published three stories per issue. Now it has only one. The Atlantic cut its monthly short stories and replaced them with one "Fiction" issue per year. And everywhere else the readership and, with it, the market is diminishing. 

In an attempt to inspire new readership, I plan to post reviews/analysis of one or two short stories each week. Eventually, I hope to have interviews with writers about their craft and about the business. When possible, I will try to post a short short, in its entirety. 

Please give me your feedback and ask any questions. 

n. 


6 comments:

The Holy Yost said...

I'm down with the cause. I have four short-story collections currently on my bedside table. I'm a fan of short stories & short women.

nr said...

Well, clearly this is a relationship worth having. Now, if I only knew who you were. (I do have some ideas)

The Holy Yost said...

Hey Naz, do you know anything about the author D. Winston Brown? His short story ("Ghost Children")in "The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2007" collection blew me away, but I haven't been able to find anything else written by him. Just checking!

nr said...

I've never heard of him, but I will definitely check him out.

moirag said...

I have been a big fan of short stories for 50 years - most of my life. I love to read them, and now I love to write them. So I'll be coming back to your blog to see what you've unearthed. I found you via the UK Short Story Day (Dec 21 2010) website.

nr said...

Thanks, Moira. Your comment today got me thinking that I probably ought to update this blog. Which will be a great project for the holidays.