Did Stephen King pick out the Best American Short Stories?
Every year, there is a collection of Best American collections released. Ranging from short stories to comics and even spiritual writing, these annual anthologies are always something to look forward to, if not only for the high quality of work, but also for the guest editors. In the short story collection, the guest editors have included such big names as Joyce Carol Oates, Margaret Atwood, E.L. Doctorow, Barbara Kingsolver, Lorrie Moore, Michael Chabon and, most recently, Alice Sebold. For the 2007 installment, Stephen King took the reigns on this story collection, with some very interesting results. The collection opens with King lamenting the state of current fiction, a familiar rant for King readers. While what he says is true and insightful, it seems a bit contrary to bemoan the rise of writers like James Patterson when selecting the twenty best short stories written in a single year. His introduction is interesting, however, and worth reading for King’s witticisms. After King’s
