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The forty-six stories in this book share a common distinction: all of them have been first-prize winners of the annual O. Henry Memorial Awards.
Established in 1919 as a tribute to the memory of William Sydney Porter — America's beloved O. Henry — the awards have developed into the most important annual short-story series in America. The editors and judges, all of them distinguished men and women of letters, have chosen from the work of American writers appearing in Ameri- can publications. In their search for stories of exceptional merit they read all the magazines that publish fiction. Inclusion in one of the annual collec- tions means not only that a story has been chosen from hundreds of entries but also that it has passed through many readings. And to be chosen Number One is an honor indeed.
Among the writers who have won the first prize in past years are four Pulitzer Prize winners: Stephen Vincent Benét, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Roark Bradford, and James Gould Cozzens. Another, William Faulkner, has re- ceived the Nobel prize. Other notables represented in the collection are Flan- nery O'Connor, Irvin S. Cobb, Walter Duranty, Wilbur Daniel Steele, Wallace Stegner, Kay Boyle, Eudora Welty, Tru• man Capote, Irwin Shaw, and Katherine Anne Porter.
Besides serving as a springboard for new and talented writers, the series has been a mirror of our times. The annual editions have reflected the days of two world wars, women's suffrage, the vio- lence of the Roaring Twenties, Prohi- bition, the Depression, and even the vogue of Freudian psychology. Here, in a single volume, is a picture of Ameri- can life over a period of forty-six years. Even the change in the tone of the short story itself as a literary form—its shift from what people do to what they think —is apparent when one reads the stories in their chronological order.
And so FIRST-PRIZE STORIES offers not only reading enjoyment of an almost unequaled quality but an intriguing look at ourselves through the eyes of the most gifted writers of nearly five dec- ades. The late John Marquand called these stories ' 'documents of our time... reflecting the doubts, the suspense and the heartbreak of each year."
--jacket
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Previews available in: English
Subjects
American Short stories, American fiction, Kurzgeschichte, Accessible book, Protected DAISY, In library, Short stories, AmericanPlaces
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First-prize stories 1919-1966: from the O. Henry memorial awards
1966, Doubleday & Co
hardcover
in English
- 1st ed.
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First-prize stories 1919-1966: from the O. Henry memorial awards
1966, Doubleday & Co
hardcover
in English
- 1st ed.
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Libraries near you:
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Published in
Garden City, N.Y.
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Feedback?January 18, 2022 | Edited by AgentSapphire | add details from linked copy |
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May 17, 2019 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
January 10, 2019 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
October 8, 2017 | Edited by MARC Bot | merge duplicate works of 'First-prize stories, 1919-1966' |