The best short stories of 1917, and the yearbook of the American short story.

Long before literary prizes multiplied, one critic's yearly list could make a young writer's name. This volume gathers his choices for 1917, an early entry in a series that helped define the American short story.

What it's about

Edited by Edward J. O'Brien, this collection presents the stories he judged the best published in American magazines during the year, along with his yearbook, the indexes, ratings, and records that made his annuals a reference as much as an anthology. The stories come from the thriving periodical press in which most fiction of the day first reached readers, and they span the tones and subjects of a country on the eve of entering the World War. O'Brien's rankings were widely consulted.

Themes

Shaped by a single critic's convictions, the volume embodies O'Brien's belief in fiction that carried genuine substance and truth, and its stories reflect the temper of America in 1917. The yearbook offers a meticulous account of the short story's health and direction in that year.

Why it still matters

The annual series became a durable institution, elevating the short story and spotlighting emerging talent for decades. As one of its earlier volumes, this book records both the fiction and the critical standards of its moment, and it remains a useful map of American literary life. Reputations can be traced through its pages.

Who it's for

For readers who love the short form, for students of American literature, and for anyone curious to sample a year of stories chosen by the era's most authoritative judge.