Ruth Prawer Jhabvala: “The Judge’s Will”

Click here to read the story in its entirety on The New Yorker webpage. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala “The Judge’s Will” was originally published in the March 25, 2013 issue of The New Yorker. Betsy In “The Judge’s Will,” Ruth Prawer Jhabvala unfolds a neat, entertaining story that fools the reader. Many thanks to Jhabvala for giving us yet another deft, … Read more

Karen Russell: “The Seagull Army Descends on Strong Beach, 1979”

“The Seagull Army Descends on Strong Beach, 1979” is the third story in Karen Russell’s second short story collection, Vampires in the Lemon Grove. For an overview with links to review of the others stories in this collection, please click here. This story was originally published in Tin House (as “The Seagull Army Descends on Strong Beach”; I have … Read more

The Story Prize Winner

Today the winner of The Story Prize, a prize established in 2004 to honor short story collections, was announced. Battleborn, by Claire Vaye Watkins The other two finalists were: Stay Awake, by Dan Chaon This Is How You Lose Her, by Junot Díaz

The Folio Prize Announced

I was not a fan of the 2011 Booker Prize and its judges’ quest for “readability,” which they defined as something that “zipped along.” It seemed everyday there was a new article criticizing the prize and the judges, and it all completely overshadowed the books. One of the responses was the inception of a new … Read more

Callan Wink: “One More Last Stand”

Callan Wink’s “One More Last Stand” was first published in Granta 122: Betrayal. Callan Wink first came to my attention when he published his first story in, of all the lucky places, The New Yorker. “Dog Run Moon” proved to be an exciting glimpse at what Wink had to offer. Then around a year later, another … Read more

The Women’s Prize for Fiction Longlist

The twenty titles on the longlist of the Women’s Prize for Fiction (formerly the Orange Prize) were announced: A Trick I Learned from a Dead Man, by Kitty Aldridge Life After Life, by Kate Atkinson The Marlowe Papers, by Ros Barber The People of Forever Are Not Afraid, by Shani Boianjiu Gone Girl, by Gillian … Read more

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: “Checking Out”

Click here to read the abstract of the story on The New Yorker webpage (this week’s story is available only for subscribers).  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “Checking Out” was originally published in the March 18, 2013 issue of The New Yorker. Trevor I’ve never really enjoyed Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s stories. I’ve never read her novels and in fact have wondered whether … Read more