Growing up, reading was a solitary activity. Even when I was lucky enough to live near someone else who had a similar connection to books and stories, we never did that together: we played. We might swap books, under the best of circumstances, but we never had our own
Last year I read 11 of the longlisted titles for The Carol Shields Prize for Fiction and with the recent announcement of the 2024 longlist I was prompted to reflect on 2023’s selections. Three of the short story collections I’ve already written about—Talia Laksmni Kolluri’s What We Fed to
Showcasing these during the #ReadIndies event, hosted by Kaggsy and Lizzy, is ideal: the compilations themselves embody the value of indie presses, but they also draw from the best work published by other small, independent publishers—journals and magazines. In the back of each of these volumes is a list
Atwood, Chiew, Clair, Herrera, Omar and Reva Short Stories in October, November and December 2023 Whether recommended by a prizelist or a friend or an author, these stories capture a variety of reading moods. This quarter, I returned to two favourite writers and also explored four
Barrett, Campbell, Engel, Kolluri and Watts Short Stories in July, August and September Whether drawn from a prizelist or discovered via happenstance, these stories capture a variety of reading moods. This quarter, I returned to one favourite writer and also explored four new-to-me story writers.
