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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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141:. (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.
185:, presumably would have approved the choice. Foley edited the publication, at first alone and then with the assistance of her son, David Burnett, until 1977. These years witnessed both the ascendancy and eclipse of the type of short story favored by O'Brien: writers as diverse as
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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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973:"'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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in 1976. Foley also attended to the rise of so-called minority literature, dedicating the 1975 volume to
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O'Brien died of a heart attack in London in 1941. He was replaced as editor of the series by
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964:"Short and Sweet" by Mark Harris, Entertainment Weekly, 11/05/99, issue 511, page 73.
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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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1194:, 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
269:. The expanded CD audio edition includes a new story from
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1915-1941: Origin and early history under Edward O'Brien
1001:"The Best American Short Stories, 2020" by Emily Park,
986:"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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949:"The Best American Short Stories of the Century,"
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221:After Foley's death, the publisher—by that time,
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300:The Best American Short Stories of the Century,
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145:pedantic tone. After his death, for instance,
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281:100 Years of The Best American Short Stories
252:100 Years of The Best American Short Stories
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955:, 3/8/1999, volume 246, issue 10, page 47.
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1005:, 10/15/2020, Vol. 117, Issue 4, page 23.
977:spring 2023, volume 64, issue 1, page 18.
992:, 9/15/2021, Vol. 118, Issue 2, page 17.
1198:of all stories and authors. Additional
1174:The Best American Short Stories of 1921
1159:The Best American Short Stories of 1920
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1129:The Best American Short Stories of 1917
1113:The Best American Short Stories of 1915
175:magazine. O'Brien, who had once called
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161:1941-1978: Editorship of Martha Foley
1016:THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES 2018
918:The Best American Short Stories 2024
911:The Best American Short Stories 2023
904:The Best American Short Stories 2022
897:The Best American Short Stories 2021
890:The Best American Short Stories 2020
883:The Best American Short Stories 2019
876:The Best American Short Stories 2018
869:The Best American Short Stories 2017
862:The Best American Short Stories 2016
855:The Best American Short Stories 2015
848:The Best American Short Stories 2014
841:The Best American Short Stories 2013
834:The Best American Short Stories 2012
827:The Best American Short Stories 2011
820:The Best American Short Stories 2010
813:The Best American Short Stories 2009
806:The Best American Short Stories 2008
799:The Best American Short Stories 2007
792:The Best American Short Stories 2006
785:The Best American Short Stories 2005
778:The Best American Short Stories 2004
771:The Best American Short Stories 2003
764:The Best American Short Stories 2002
757:The Best American Short Stories 2001
750:The Best American Short Stories 2000
743:The Best American Short Stories 1999
736:The Best American Short Stories 1998
729:The Best American Short Stories 1997
722:The Best American Short Stories 1996
715:The Best American Short Stories 1995
708:The Best American Short Stories 1994
701:The Best American Short Stories 1993
694:The Best American Short Stories 1992
687:The Best American Short Stories 1991
680:The Best American Short Stories 1990
673:The Best American Short Stories 1989
666:The Best American Short Stories 1988
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272:The Best American Short Stories 1999
275:to round out the century. In 2015,
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1039:, 04/16/99, issue 481, page 12.
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1553:Best American series
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1036:Entertainment Weekly
975:Willa Cather Review,
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1543:Fiction anthologies
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211:Leslie Marmon Silko
75:. Since 1915, the
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1059:The New York Times
485:Barbara Kingsolver
448:John Edgar Wideman
312:The New York Times
287:Critical reception
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117:Sherwood Anderson
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206:
199:Tillie Olsen
187:John Cheever
180:
176:
170:
167:Martha Foley
164:
152:
146:
143:
136:
113:
98:
88:
76:
66:
61:is a yearly
57:
56:
55:
48:
31:1978 edition
1200:information
1196:spreadsheet
1099:(1915–1921)
631:Min Jin Lee
619:Jesmyn Ward
576:T. C. Boyle
442:Jane Smiley
418:Alice Adams
387:Ann Beattie
375:Gail Godwin
369:John Updike
259:John Updike
138:In Our Time
121:Edna Ferber
1527:Categories
938:References
594:Roxane Gay
582:Junot DĂaz
491:Sue Miller
363:Anne Tyler
234:in 1982).
217:Since 1978
207:The School
129:Irwin Shaw
539:2010–2019
472:2000–2009
405:1990–1999
326:1978–1989
309:wrote in
257:In 2000,
63:anthology
1074:Official
1003:Booklist
989:Booklist
926:See also
37:Language
1090:Sources
466:Amy Tan
40:English
1314:Travel
1309:Sports
1255:Essays
1250:Comics
635:2024:
629:2023:
623:2022:
617:2021:
611:2020:
598:2019:
592:2018:
586:2017:
580:2016:
574:2015:
568:2014:
562:2013:
556:2012:
550:2011:
544:2010:
531:2009:
525:2008:
519:2007:
513:2006:
507:2005:
501:2004:
495:2003:
489:2002:
483:2001:
477:2000:
464:1999:
458:1998:
452:1997:
446:1996:
440:1995:
434:1994:
428:1993:
422:1992:
416:1991:
410:1990:
397:1989:
391:1988:
385:1987:
379:1986:
373:1985:
367:1984:
361:1983:
355:1982:
349:1981:
343:1980:
337:1979:
331:1978:
197:, and
45:Series
1186:Other
1052:" by
177:Story
172:Story
1512:2024
1507:2023
1502:2022
1497:2021
1492:2020
1487:2019
1482:2018
1477:2017
1472:2016
1467:2015
1462:2014
1457:2013
1452:2012
1447:2011
1442:2010
1437:2009
1432:2008
1427:2007
1422:2006
1417:2005
1412:2004
1407:2003
1402:2002
1397:2001
1392:2000
1387:1999
1382:1998
1377:1997
1372:1996
1367:1995
1362:1994
1357:1993
1352:1992
1347:1991
1342:1988
1337:1987
1332:1986
1292:2008
1287:2007
1275:2009
1270:2003
1265:1997
127:and
119:and
77:BASS
1177:at
1162:at
1147:at
1132:at
1116:at
1101:at
1018:,"
123:to
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283:.
250:;
243:.
193:,
189:,
111:.
87:,
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1222:t
1215:v
1048:"
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