The New Yorker: "Alone" by Yiyun Li

The New Yorker: "She's the One" by Tessa Hadley

The New Yorker: The Daughters of the Moon by Italo Calvino

NYT 100 Notable Books of 2009
Here's the list of the New York Times 100 Notable Books of the Year.Surprises?I'm happy to see Brad Leithauser's new book, The Art Student's War, but I didn't know it was out yet. The review will appear on Nov. 27.There are a bunch of short story collections, including those by Wells Tower, Jean Thompson, Daniyal Mueenuddin, Aleksandr Hemon, John Updike, Kazuo Ishiguro, Antonya Nelson, Paul Yoon, Alice Munro, and Mary Gaitskill. That's a lot of stories!! (And, by the way, it's so great to see Paul Yoon on this list; congratulations,

Top Books of 2009
Lots of lists floating around about the best books of the year. I haven't really focused on them much, but here's a manageable list of just ten: Janet Maslin's Top Ten Books of 2009. Congratulations to Dan Chaon for making this list with his Await Your Reply. As that's the only one here I own, it's likely to be the only one I'll read any time soon . . .

Reading at Blue Ridge Community College -- December 1
On Tuesday, December 1, at 12:30 pm, as part of the Blue Ridge Community College Brown Bag Speaker Series, I'll be giving a reading from In an Uncharted Country and will also discuss linked short story collections generally. I hope a lot of peopl

The New Yorker Story of the Year -- 2009: Nominations are Open
For the past couple of years I have been commenting on each piece of fiction appearing in The New Yorker, and I've also been naming at Story of the Year with the help of my readers. The winner of the New Yorker Story of the Year for 2008 was the terrific "Dinner Party" by Joshua Ferris. And now it is time to turn our attention to this year's stories. Please leave a comment here, or send me an email, nominating a story for the Top Ten. Voting will take place in the last half of December.Will the winner be Yiyun Lee? Jonathan Lethem? Will Antonya Nelson become the award's first two-ti

New Issue: Ginosoko #9
Ginosko #9 is available for download (in a pdf file). I don't recognize the names of any of the contributors, but I like the cover and I also like being able to download the magazine. Check it out!