First published 2005
A young woman confronts her teacher about playing favorites with prettier students. A couple struggles through sleepless nights with their screaming, colicky infant. A neighbor pays too much attention to the girl living next door. These moments anchor the 2005 edition of New Stories from the South, where established writers like Robert Olen Butler and Dennis Lehane appear alongside rising voices like Rebecca Soppe and Bret Anthony Johnston. Editor Shannon Ravenel curates stories that capture ordinary people at breaking points. The collection opens doors to writers readers will follow for years while showcasing newcomers on the verge of recognition. Each story demonstrates how fiction can jolt readers awake through precise observation of human behavior under pressure.
Genres: short-stories, anthologies, family-life, american-fiction, contemporary, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, slice-of-life
Period: 2005
328 pages · Paperback · Algonquin Books