‘The Anthem Guide to Short Fiction’ contains 20 classic short stories by well-known and respected authors, some of which are rarely anthologized in the contemporary publishing market. Accordingly, this new selection provides a fresh perspective on each author and his or her place in the overarching literary canon, and will offer students both inspiration and guidance when thinking and writing about literature.

The guide offers works by a variety of acclaimed authors, including Leo Tolstoy, Mark Twain, Kate Chopin, Rudyard Kipling, James Joyce and Edith Wharton. Features of the guide include individual biographical notes for each writer, a short introduction to his or her short story, and a critical “Thinking About the Story” section for each text – including incisive discussion questions formulated to help students respond to each story insightfully. Similarly, the guide’s creative activities have been devised to engage critical and imaginative thinking in the reader, as well as to offer an understanding of authorship and the creative process. A concise glossary of literary terms, designed for optimal and regular use, is also included.

Christopher Linforth was a finalist in the ‘Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook’ Novel Writing Competition in 2007. He has had work published in ‘Denver Quarterly’, ‘Permafrost’, ‘Camas’, and many other literary journals. He was recently awarded a Fellowship to the Colgate Writers’ Conference (2010) and a scholarship to the New York State Writers’ Conference (2010). For several years he taught writing and literature at Kansas State University and Northern Michigan University. He is currently a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) fellow at Virginia Tech.

Acknowledgments; Preface; Introduction; Nathaniel Hawthorne: “Young Goodman Brown”; Edgar Allan Poe: “The Man of the Crowd”; Leo Tolstoy: “How Much Land Does a Man Need?”; Mark Twain: “The Californian’s Tale”; Ambrose Bierce: “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”; Sarah Orne Jewett: “A White Heron”; Kate Chopin: “The Story of an Hour”; Arthur Conan Doyle: “A Scandal in Bohemia”; Anton Chekhov: “The Lady with the Dog”; Charlotte Perkins Gilman: “The Yellow Wallpaper”; Edith Wharton: “The Choice”; O. Henry: “The Ransom of Red Chief”; Rudyard Kipling: “Mowgli’s Brothers”; H.G. Wells: “The Moth” 1866; Stephen Crane: “The Open Boat”; Willa Cather: “A Wagner Matinee”; James Joyce: “Araby”; H.P. Lovecraft: “The Outsider”; F. Scott Fitzgerald: “Winter Dreams”; Robert. E. Howard: “Circus Fists”; Copyrights; Glossary of Literary Terms