Best Gay Stories 2008 [Paperback]

Steve Berman (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2008

Editor Steve Berman (Charmed Lives, So Fey, Wilde Stories) has selected twenty stories--some moving essays, some splendid works of fiction--from the prior year that best feature the lives, loves and losses of gay men. With tales by fresh voices and established writers, Best Gay Stories offers readers indiscretions, poignant trysts, and reminiscences that are as evocative as they are imaginative.

The contributors to this year's volume are: M. S. Allen, Holly Black, Richard Bowes, Tom Cardamone, Jameson Currier, Peter Dube, Erastes, Greg Herren, James Klise, David Levithan, Raymond Luczak, Joseph Manera, Jeff Mann, Billy Merrell, Ethan Mordden, Paul Reidinger, Charles Rice-Gonzalez, Paul Russell, Aaron Shurin, and Robert Warwick.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Best Gay Stories 2008 is just that: the best gay stories of the previous year. The twenty stories and essays here run the gay literary gamut, and include short works by Jameson Currier, Greg Herren, David Levithan, Jeff Mann, Ethan Mordden and Aaron Shurin, just to name a few. --Jesse Monteagudo, AfterElton.com

Some of the 20 contributors boast an accomplished body of work, among them novelists Ethan Mordden and Paul Russell, editor and mystery novelist Greg Herren, young adult novelist and editor David Levithan, poet and essayist Aaron Shurin, critic and short story writer Jameson Currier, speculative fiction author Richard Bowes, and essayist and short story writer Jeff Mann; their work doesn't disappoint. It's the work of relatively new voices, however, that's most welcome anthologies like this are valuable for introducing newer writers to queer readers who relish good writing. Two of the best are playwright Charles Rice-Gonzalez's ''Bronx Boyz in Poe Cottage,'' a poignant short story about the educational gulf that separates two Latino boyhood friends, and poet Billy Merrell's ''My Boyfriend Refuses to Speak in Iambic Pentameter,'' a short play about two young men fumbling for love. --Richard Labonte, Book Marks

These stories, like the experiences they describe, linger in the mind long after they have been read. The authors include some of the most respected names in the field, magicians of the printed word. This is an outstanding anthology. --Rainbow Reviews

About the Author

Steve Berman has earned finalist nods from the Golden Crown Literary Award (for So Fey), Lambda Literary Award (for Charmed Lives) and is an accomplished fiction writer in his own right (with his debut novel Vintage a finalist for the Andre Norton Award). He lives in southern New Jersey with a cat who cannot read.

Product Details

• Paperback: 292 pages
• Publisher: Lethe Press (August 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159021191X
• ISBN-13: 978-1590211915
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,795,663 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)