The Best American Short Stories 1978
| Editor | Shannon Ravenel and Theodore Solotaroff |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | The Best American Short Stories |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| ISBN | 978-0395271049 |
| Preceded by | The Best American Short Stories 1977 |
| Followed by | The Best American Short Stories 1979 |
The Best American Short Stories 1978, a volume in The Best American Short Stories series, was edited by Shannon Ravenel and by guest editor Theodore Solotaroff. The volume was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.[1][2][3]
Background
The series is considered one of the "best-known annual anthologies of short fiction"[4] and has anthologized more than 2,000 short stories, including works by some of the most famous writers in contemporary American literature, curated by well-known guest editors since 1915.[5] Specifically, Amy Hempel considered it and the O. Henry Award's prize anthology to compile "the best short fiction published in American and Canadian magazines during the preceding year."[6]
In particular, the Willa Cather Review wrote that The Best American Short Stories series "became a repository of values" for creative writing programs and literary magazines, specifically with considerable "influence" in college libraries, short fiction courses, and fiction workshops.[7]
Short stories included
| Author | Story | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Leslie Epstein | "Skaters on Wood" | Esquire |
| Joyce Carol Oates | "The Translation" | TriQuarterly |
| Elizabeth Cullinan | "A Good Loser" | The New Yorker |
| Harold Brodkey | "Verona: A Young Woman Speaks" | Esquire |
| Mark Helprin | "The Schreuderspitze" | The New Yorker |
| Peter Taylor | "In the Miro District" | The New Yorker |
| Robert T. Sorrells | "The Blacktop Champion of Ickey Honey" | American Review |
| Natalie L. M. Petesch | "Main Street Morning" | New Letters |
| Max Schott | "Murphy Jones: Pearblossom, California" | Ascent |
| Ian McEwan | "Psychopolis" | American Review |
| Peter Marsh | "By the Yellow Lake" | The New Yorker |
| Stanley Elkin | "The Conventional Wisdom" | American Review |
| John Gardner | "Redemption" | The Atlantic |
| Lynne Sharon Schwartz | "Rough Strife" | The Ontario Review |
| Tim McCarthy | "The Windmill Man" | The Colorado Quarterly |
| L. Hluchan Sintetos | "Telling the Bees" | Prairie Schooner |
| Joy Williams | "Bromeliads" | The Cornell Review |
| Jane Bowles | "Two Scenes" | Antaeus |
| Gilbert Sorrentino | "Decades" | Esquire |
| James Kaplan | "In Miami, Last Winter" | Esquire |
| Jonathan Baumbach | "The Return of Service" | American Review |
| Mary Ann Malinchak Rishel | "Staus" | The Hudson Review |
References
- ^ Solotaroff, Ted; Ravenel, Shannon, eds. (1978). The best American short stories 1978. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. ISBN 978-0-395-27104-9.
- ^ Grimes, William (2008-08-12). "Theodore Solotaroff, Founder of The New American Review, Is Dead at 80". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
- ^ Solotaroff, Ted (2009-01-22). "Adventures in Editing: Ted Solotaroff's 'Commentary' Days". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
- ^ "Short and Sweet" by Mark Harris, Entertainment Weekly, 11/05/99, issue 511, page 73.
- ^ "The Best American Short Stories of the Century," Publishers Weekly, 3/8/1999, volume 246, issue 10, page 47.
- ^ Hempel, Amy (1986-02-09). "The Best American Short Stories 1985 : edited by Gail Godwin with Shannon Ravenel (Houghton Mifflin; $14.95, hardcover; $8.95, paperback; 300 pp.)". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
- ^ "'Long-Cellared Wine': 'Double Birthday,' Edward J. H. O'Brien, and the Best American Short Stories Series" by Timothy W. Bintrim and Scott Riner, Willa Cather Review, spring 2023, volume 64, issue 1, page 18.