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12 Short Stories and Their Making

Name: 12 Short Stories and Their Making
Author: Paul Mandelbaum
ISBN: 9780892553129

by Paul Mandelbaum

Publisher: Persea Books
Pages: 324
Paperback
ISBN: 9780892553129

Available to Buy

Overview of 12 Short Stories and Their Making

How did they do it? Twelve spellbinding stories, followed by interviews with the authors about inspiration and craft.

Here is a fascinating and enlightening book for fiction readers and writers alike. Written by some of our most powerful contemporary authors, the twelve stories gathered here were selected as striking examples of one of the six elements of the craft: character, plot, theme, structure, voice, and setting. They draw the reader into worlds that seem miraculously whole. How was this accomplished? In interviews that center on the aspect of craft each story exemplifies, the authors describe the challenges they faced and reveal the often disorderly process behind the seamless finished work.

The volume includes stories by and interviews with Sandra Cisneros, Kim Edwards, George Garrett, Ellen Gilchrist, Gail Godwin, Allan Gurganus, Charles Johnson, Walter Kirn, Jhumpa Lahiri, Ursula K. Le Guin, Elizabeth Tallent, and Tobias Wolff.

Synopsis of 12 Short Stories and Their Making

How did they do it? Twelve spellbinding stories, followed by interviews with the authors about inspiration and craft.

Library Journal

This anthology is sure to delight readers of the short story form. Each of the 12 stories featured includes a companion interview with the author-among them such renowned names as Ellen Gilchrist, Tobias Wolff, Sandra Cisneros, Allan Gurganus, and Jhumpa Lahiri-that offers a richer understanding of the author and the inspiration behind and development of each story. Selected by editor Mandelbaum (Garrett in Wedlock), the stories are not just examples of good-quality writing but also outstanding use of such fiction-writing elements as character, setting, plot, point of view/voice, structure, and theme. Ursula Le Guin's "Sur," for example, demonstrates how using Antarctica as a setting lends the story its sense of custom, language, and mood and thus brings the work to life. This unique collection will appeal to aspiring short story writers and is a great read for those who enjoy this literary form. Recommended for public and academic libraries.-Susan McClellan, Avalon P.L., Pittsburgh Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

About the Author, Paul Mandelbaum

Paul Mandelbaum is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, a former managing editor of Story magazine, and the author of Garrett in Wedlock: A Novel-in-Stories.
He teaches writing and literature at Emerson College's Los Angeles Center and in the UCLA Extension Writers' Program, and lives in Culver City, California.