Single Scene Short Stories [Paperback]

Margaret Bishop (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 2007

Single Scene Short Stories
Edited by Margaret Bishop
The thirty-three works collected in Single Scene Short Stories each have one remarkable quality-the whole of the story takes place in one scene, one geographical coordinate, one window of time. To think of it dramatically, it is a story presented on a stage with no change of setting or costume, no voice-over summarizing or carrying the viewer from here to there. This collection contains some of the best single scene short stories ever written, the modern classics of this form.
Stories include:
"House Hunting," Michael Chabon
"The Daughter of Albion," Anton Chekhov
"The Ninth in E Minor," Fred Busch
"Crickets," Robert Olen Butler
"Intimacy," Raymond Carver
"The Nice Restaurant," Mary Gaitskill
"Hills Like White Elephants," Ernest Hemingway
"San Francisco," Amy Hempel
"Eveline," James Joyce
"Wine," Doris Lessing
"A Ruse," Guy de Maupassant
"In the Warehouse," Joyce Carol Oates
"Revelation," Flannery O'Connor
"Mrs. Carrington and Mrs. Crane," Dorothy Parker
"Wants," Grace Paley
Sudden Fiction has sold 50,000 copies.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

What is a single scene short story? It is a short work of fiction with a specific remarkable quality-the whole of the story takes place in one scene, one geographical coordinate, one window of time. To think of it dramatically, it is a story presented on a stage with no change of setting or costume, no voice-over summarizing or carrying the viewer from here to there. This collection contains some of the best single scene short stories ever written, the modern classics of the form.
Single Scene Short Stories includes the works of such well-known writers as Michael Chabon, Anton Chekhov, Raymond Carver, Mary Gaitskill, Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Guy de Maupassant, Joyce Carol Oates, Flannery O'Connor, Dorothy Parker, Katherine Anne Porter, John Updike, William Carlos Williams, Tobias Wolff, and many others. These stories will rivet you, move you, and unfold in you an awakening and recognition of what it is to be human. With the barest allowable back story-just a thin line here or there to locate you to the character or situation-these stories give us in a brief glimpse all the best that fiction has to offer.
Margaret Bishop received a BA from Wesleyan University and an MFA from George Mason University. She lives and writes in northern Virginia. Single Scene Short Stories is her first book.
Single Scene Short Stories includes works by the following:
John Barth
Jorge Luis Borges
T. Coraghessan Boyle
Fred Busch
Robert Olen Butler
Ron Carlson
Raymond Carver
Michael Chabon
Anton Chekhov
Colette
Ernest Hemingway
Amy Hempel
James Joyce
Doris Lessing
Jack London
Katherine Mansfield
Guy de Maupassant
Lorrie Moore
Joyce Carol Oates
Dorothy Parker
Grace Paley
Katherine Anne Porter
Mary Robison
James Salter
John Updike
William Carlos Williams
Tobias Wolff

From the Back Cover

Single Scene Short Stories includes works by the following:
John Barth
Jorge Luis Borges
T. Coraghessan Boyle
Fred Busch
Robert Olen Butler
Ron Carlson
Raymond Carver
Michael Chabon
Anton Chekhov
Colette
Ernest Hemingway
Amy Hempel
James Joyce
Doris Lessing
Jack London
Katherine Mansfield
Guy de Maupassant
Lorrie Moore
Joyce Carol Oates
Dorothy Parker
Grace Paley
Katherine Anne Porter
Mary Robison
James Salter
John Updike
William Carlos Williams
Tobias Wolff

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith (March 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423600622
• ISBN-13: 978-1423600626
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #616,583 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Anthology for Writing Teachers, July 19, 2007

By 

Teresa B. Murphy (Fairfax, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Single Scene Short Stories (Paperback)

The short stories Margaret Bishop has assembled in this collection are not only wonderful to read, but are also perfect stories for writing teachers who want to show, not tell, their students how to create effective scenes. Each of the thirty-two stories included in the anthology was chosen for "unity of effect." While all of the stories pack an emotional punch, the techniques the writers use to achieve this end are wide-ranging. Richard Bausch's story, "The Voices from the Other Room," is written solely in dialogue, giving the story a sense of urgency. In his story, "Eveline," James Joyce pulls back from the moment, using memory to uncover his protagonist's plight. Jack London employs numerous details to reveal his character's circumstance in "To Build a Fire," whereas Amy Hempel selects but a few piercing details to expose her character in "San Francisco." In terms of tone, Dorothy Parker charms the reader with "Mrs. Carrington and Mrs. Crane," while Joyce Carol Oates chills with her story, "In the Warehouse." Using various methods for centering on the precise moment in which the protagonist reveals her or his true nature, either wittingly or unwittingly, to the reader, the authors of each story in this collection provide models worthy of emulation.