12 Short Stories and Their Making
An Anthology with Interviews
Paul Mandelbaum (Editor)

Here is a fascinating and enlightening book for fiction readers and writers alike. Written by some of our most powerful contemporary authors, the stories gathered here were selected as striking examples of one of the six elements of craft: character, plot, theme, structure, voice, and setting. In interviews that focus on the appropriate craft element, the authors discuss sources of inspiration and the challenges they faced.

Contributions by Sandra Cisneros, Kim Edwards, George Garrett, Ellen Gilchrist, Gail Godwin, Allan Gurganus, Charles Johnson, Walter Kirn, Jhumpa Lahiri, Ursula K. Le Guin, Elizabeth Tallent, and Tobias Wolff.

“This unique collection will appeal to aspiring short story writers and is a great read for those who enjoy this literary form.”
—Library Journal

“Mandelbaum is very good at getting writers to reveal their secrets.…A marvelous curiosity is at work here, one that digs deep.”
—Shannon Ravenel, former Series Editor, Best American Short Stories

Paperback / $18.95 (Can $24.00) / ISBN 978-0-89255-312-9 / 356 pages / Anthology