Short stories -- 21st century

Overview

"Nine Lives is an essay collection comprised of stories of love, heartbreak, abuse, and addiction. Each piece details a moment in my life that continued to impact me long after the plane took off, the wounds healed, or the bodies were buried. In writing this collection, I strove for uncomfortable vulnerability—to place emotions on the page not often expressed, in hopes of inspiring my audience to do the same." -- Abstract

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"No Future is a collection of linked short stories set in a near future in Bakersfield, California, chronicling the lives of Raphael "Raffi" Veras and Louis Palko. Each story is voice-driven and unified by the idea that spectacular ambitions and technological advancements are always marred by an escape from messier, more fundamental human conflicts." -- Abstract

Overview "On a summer evening, a young girl witnesses a shocking incident and turns it into a tall tale that wins her unexpected attention. In a high school classroom, another girl dwells on her mother's wishes for her future while her fellow pupils follow the whimsical dictates of a drunken teacher. Others relive memories of family gatherings with consequences both farcical and tragic. 'One Last Story' is a quartet of stories examining identity, loneliness, and the complexity of familial love for...

Overview "'Only as Much as We Remember' is a collection of short stories about love and loss. Each one deals with mourning in a different form, whether it be for the passing of a loved one, the loss of a special relationship, or an illusion surrendered. Stories range from the mundane to the magical, from brief snapshots to longer, more complex narratives. Some are set in our current time period, others decades in the past; in one, an elderly woman travels back through time to relive a crucial passage...

Overview "Only What We Always Were, a short story collection by Caroline Talton, inspects the relationship between folklore and its connection to geographical place. Specifically, the author adopts the folk tales and ghost stories told in the state of North Carolina—from the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains to the shores of the Outer Banks. Each of the nine stories in this collection contain elements of the strange, blurring the line between fabulism and realism in order to explore themes of...

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"This collection of stories explores our fraught relationship with the past, and the ways in which we try to reconcile our memories--those elusive, shimmery ghosts--with the often dim, unsatisfactory present. In their examination of the intricate threads which bind us to our bygone days, these stories are at once an elegy for times and selves lost, and a celebration of that which urges us onward." --Abstract.

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"Para Las Latinas is a collection of short stories told in multiple perspectives on the themes of identity, womanhood, misogyny, and culture. My experimentation with point-of-view in this collection ranges from second, roving third, and omniscient to gain a deeper sense of characters, plot, and societal commentary. The collection challenges the reader to enter worlds they are uncomfortable or unfamiliar with through bilingualism, relationship dynamics, and setting." -- Abstract

Overview "Mexicans are not a monolith, our stories have always had similar starting points—almost always with the immigrant ancestor(s). What happens to them next can be anyone's guess, but often times their primary goal is survival, though the meaning of survival depends on the family. Writing this collection, I did not presume that it would speak for every Mexican family out there, and each of those stories I haven't excavated contains a unique heart and waits further exploration. In acknowledging...

Overview "This manuscript follows a 'Bride' and 'Groom' through a series of seven 'coupled contrapuntals' which structurally mimic the Hindu wedding ceremony of "saat phere" or seven circles around the sacred fire. The positionality of the bride and groom provides a lens through which we see the intersection of three separate generations, creating an axle for the collection to pivot on. This allows forvoices from multiple different familial roles as they speak of the generational wonder and trauma...

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"Phoenix Wok and Other Stories is a collection of short stories linked together by a restaurant called Phoenix Wok. Set in Manila, Philippines, this collection explores the lives of characters who have worked or eaten at this Filipino-Chinese restaurant. Each story examines the lives of typical Filipinos when their capacity towards change is tested." --Abstract

Overview "The things that plague us, as people, are in constant flux and motion, whether it be relationships, memories, or lapses of judgement. In this collection are seven stories that intertwine aspects of what it means to be human and vulnerable. Each represents a small moment, a sliver of time that remains lodged, and nagging in the back of your brain. Pulling together the human experience and then allowing it to unfold is what makes these pieces fit together. Whether it's understanding one's...

Overview ""...the world has become ambiguous...[it] is encroaching and trying to consume everything," says Hayao Miyazaki. The world is ambiguous and we are confused. In the absence of good answers, we must learn to ask better questions. "During childhood when children don't have much power but feel angst," says Miyazaki, "fantasy gives some kind of salvation." Just as children find salvation in fantasy, so too can adults—and no dragons required. The eleven stories in this collection examine the...

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Showcases [the author's] efforts to explore diverse perspectives while not losing focus on telling compelling stories. --Abstract.

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"Signaling Earth and Other Stories of Failed Heroines' is a literary short story collection that spans a wide range of genres from fabulist to contemporary realism. While varied in subject matter and content, the collection as a whole explores what it means for young queer women to grow up in a world inhospitable to them. The collection breaks down and explores themes of love, acceptance, and hope through the lens of race, sexuality, and gender." -- Abstract

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"The stories in this collection are set in a small village in the West of Ireland in the early 1990's. A by-pass around the village has rid them of their once busy traffic. The residents feel forgotten by the world. The need to reach out and be heard is explored in every story, from the young woman who starts to have phone conversations with her husband's gay lover, to the dyslexic man who confronts his cruel teacher years later." -- Abstract.

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A story collection regarding two brothers who grew up in an environment of violence.

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Five stories of misfits and wanderers, musicians and shut-ins, all struggling to make their voices heard from the fringes of Tennessee, from the outskirts of its cities to its forgotten small towns. --Abstract.

Overview "In this collection of short stories, a nearly-blind grandfather drives around town guided by his grandchild; a woman struggles to communicate with her demented elderly mother while trying to keep her marriage from falling apart; a teenager who blames himself for his mother's death searches for the perfect funeral flowers; a Puerto Rican woman living in Boston recalls her childhood on the island while awaiting surgery; a man literally meets God; another finds his calling as a sperm donor...

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"A collection of linked short stories that centers on the lives of a cast of characters in small-town Texas."--Abstract.

Overview "From the height of absurdity to the starkest reality, these stories probe the stranger sides of the human experience. The first three stories are a satirical connected triptych, examining white privilege, cultural appropriation, and the search for higher meaning. The last three stories are a miscellany linked spiritually and thematically in which family and friendship are put to the test in the face of obsession, stagnation, change, and loss. We travel through the stories of a Megachurch...