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among certain
American writers. O'Brien capitalized on this moment. He was deeply and vocally skeptical of the value of commercial short fiction, which tended to the formulaic and sentimental; he insisted, in introduction after introduction, on the need for a consciously literary development of the short story. He used his selections to reinforce this call. Over the years of his editorship, he drew attention to two generations of American authors, from
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152:. (He also dedicated the 1923 edition to the young author, while misspelling his name “Hemenway.”) O'Brien was known to work indefatigably: he claimed to read around 8,000 stories a year, and his editions contained lengthy tabulations of stories and magazines, ranked on a scale of three stars (representing O'Brien's notion of their "literary permanence").
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Though the series attained a degree of fame and popularity, it was never universally accepted. Fans of the period's popular fiction often found his selections precious or willfully obscure. On the other hand, many critics who accepted "literary" fiction objected to O'Brien's occasionally strident and
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The time appeared to be a propitious one for such a collection. The most popular magazines of the day featured short fiction prominently and frequently; the best authors were well-known and well-paid. More importantly, there was a nascent movement toward higher standards and greater experimentation
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1991–2006, Heidi Pitlor 2007– ), a different writer of reputation would select the contents and introduce the volume each year. The editor would choose the best twenty stories from 120 stories recommended by the series editor. This format has been followed since, although the guest editor has
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in 1999, "Instead of a strictly contemporary judgment we have a running one: These were the stories that judges in the 1930's, 40's and 50's chose. We get a sense of how we and our writers have changed. And we avoid the deadly ahistorical numbness of ourselves talking to ourselves.
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series "became a repository of values" with relation to university creative writing programs and literary magazines, and has "exerted influence" in college libraries, short fiction courses, and fiction workshops.
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offered sharply observed, generally realistic stories that eschewed trite conventions. At the same time, Foley evinced some degree of awareness of the new currents in fiction.
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edited his selection of the previous year's stories. This first edition was serialized in a magazine; however, it caught the attention of the publishing company
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984:"'Long-Cellared Wine': 'Double Birthday,' Edward J. H. O'Brien, and the Best American Short Stories Series" by Timothy W. Bintrim and Scott Riner,
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It has also been noted that the individual volumes provide a running judgement of tastes regarding short stories across the decades. As critic
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which reprinted stories from volumes published during the 20th century, was called a "spectacular tapestry of fictional achievement."
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one of the most important events in literary history since the publication of
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Many of the individual volumes of the series have been highly praised while
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CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK; Of
Millions Born in Print, 55 Stories of the Century
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served as the guest editor for a centennial anthology from the series,
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is one of the two "best-known annual anthologies of short fiction."
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selected 22 unabridged stories from the first 84 annual volumes of
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occasionally gone beyond what the series editor recommended (e.g.,
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including original publications where the stories first appeared.
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1205:, a year spent reading back issues of BASS 1978–2009. Includes
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In 2002, Houghton-Mifflin made the series part of its broader
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1915-1941: Origin and early history under Edward O'Brien
1012:"The Best American Short Stories, 2020" by Emily Park,
997:"The Best American Short Stories, 2021" by Emily Park,
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compared him to the recently deceased editor of the
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960:"The Best American Short Stories of the Century,"
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156:pedantic tone. After his death, for instance,
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292:100 Years of The Best American Short Stories
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966:, 3/8/1999, volume 246, issue 10, page 47.
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1016:, 10/15/2020, Vol. 117, Issue 4, page 23.
988:spring 2023, volume 64, issue 1, page 18.
1003:, 9/15/2021, Vol. 118, Issue 2, page 17.
1209:of all stories and authors. Additional
1185:The Best American Short Stories of 1921
1170:The Best American Short Stories of 1920
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1124:The Best American Short Stories of 1915
186:magazine. O'Brien, who had once called
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172:1941-1978: Editorship of Martha Foley
1027:THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES 2018
929:The Best American Short Stories 2024
922:The Best American Short Stories 2023
915:The Best American Short Stories 2022
908:The Best American Short Stories 2021
901:The Best American Short Stories 2020
894:The Best American Short Stories 2019
887:The Best American Short Stories 2018
880:The Best American Short Stories 2017
873:The Best American Short Stories 2016
866:The Best American Short Stories 2015
859:The Best American Short Stories 2014
852:The Best American Short Stories 2013
845:The Best American Short Stories 2012
838:The Best American Short Stories 2011
831:The Best American Short Stories 2010
824:The Best American Short Stories 2009
817:The Best American Short Stories 2008
810:The Best American Short Stories 2007
803:The Best American Short Stories 2006
796:The Best American Short Stories 2005
789:The Best American Short Stories 2004
782:The Best American Short Stories 2003
775:The Best American Short Stories 2002
768:The Best American Short Stories 2001
761:The Best American Short Stories 2000
754:The Best American Short Stories 1999
747:The Best American Short Stories 1998
740:The Best American Short Stories 1997
733:The Best American Short Stories 1996
726:The Best American Short Stories 1995
719:The Best American Short Stories 1994
712:The Best American Short Stories 1993
705:The Best American Short Stories 1992
698:The Best American Short Stories 1991
691:The Best American Short Stories 1990
684:The Best American Short Stories 1989
677:The Best American Short Stories 1988
670:The Best American Short Stories 1987
663:The Best American Short Stories 1986
283:The Best American Short Stories 1999
286:to round out the century. In 2015,
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1564:Best American series
1271:Mystery and Suspense
1047:Entertainment Weekly
986:Willa Cather Review,
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1554:Fiction anthologies
1293:Nonrequired Reading
222:Leslie Marmon Silko
86:. Since 1915, the
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496:Barbara Kingsolver
459:John Edgar Wideman
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302:
301:
291:
288:Lorrie Moore
281:
277:
273:
267:
262:
258:
249:
247:
243:John Gardner
231:
217:
210:Tillie Olsen
198:John Cheever
191:
187:
181:
178:Martha Foley
175:
163:
157:
154:
147:
124:
109:
99:
87:
77:
72:is a yearly
68:
67:
66:
59:
42:1978 edition
1211:information
1207:spreadsheet
1110:(1915–1921)
642:Min Jin Lee
630:Jesmyn Ward
587:T. C. Boyle
453:Jane Smiley
429:Alice Adams
398:Ann Beattie
386:Gail Godwin
380:John Updike
270:John Updike
149:In Our Time
132:Edna Ferber
1538:Categories
949:References
605:Roxane Gay
593:Junot DĂaz
502:Sue Miller
374:Anne Tyler
245:in 1982).
228:Since 1978
218:The School
140:Irwin Shaw
550:2010–2019
483:2000–2009
416:1990–1999
337:1978–1989
320:wrote in
268:In 2000,
74:anthology
1085:Official
1014:Booklist
1000:Booklist
937:See also
48:Language
1101:Sources
477:Amy Tan
51:English
1325:Travel
1320:Sports
1266:Essays
1261:Comics
646:2024:
640:2023:
634:2022:
628:2021:
622:2020:
609:2019:
603:2018:
597:2017:
591:2016:
585:2015:
579:2014:
573:2013:
567:2012:
561:2011:
555:2010:
542:2009:
536:2008:
530:2007:
524:2006:
518:2005:
512:2004:
506:2003:
500:2002:
494:2001:
488:2000:
475:1999:
469:1998:
463:1997:
457:1996:
451:1995:
445:1994:
439:1993:
433:1992:
427:1991:
421:1990:
408:1989:
402:1988:
396:1987:
390:1986:
384:1985:
378:1984:
372:1983:
366:1982:
360:1981:
354:1980:
348:1979:
342:1978:
208:, and
56:Series
1197:Other
1063:" by
188:Story
183:Story
1523:2024
1518:2023
1513:2022
1508:2021
1503:2020
1498:2019
1493:2018
1488:2017
1483:2016
1478:2015
1473:2014
1468:2013
1463:2012
1458:2011
1453:2010
1448:2009
1443:2008
1438:2007
1433:2006
1428:2005
1423:2004
1418:2003
1413:2002
1408:2001
1403:2000
1398:1999
1393:1998
1388:1997
1383:1996
1378:1995
1373:1994
1368:1993
1363:1992
1358:1991
1353:1988
1348:1987
1343:1986
1303:2008
1298:2007
1286:2009
1281:2003
1276:1997
138:and
130:and
88:BASS
1188:at
1173:at
1158:at
1143:at
1127:at
1112:at
1029:,"
134:to
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1067:,
294:.
261:;
254:.
204:,
200:,
122:.
98:,
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