Since its establishment in 1919, the O. Henry Prize stories collection has offered an exciting selection of the best stories published in hundreds of literary magazines every year. Such classic works of American literature as Ernest Hemingway's <i>The Killers </i>(1927); William Faulkner's <i>Barn Burning </i>(1939); Carson McCuller's <i>A Tree. A Rock. A Cloud </i>(1943); Shirley Jackson's <i>The Lottery</i> (1949); J.D. Salinger's <i>For Esme with Love and Squalor </i>(1963); John Cheever's <i>The Country Husband</i> (1956) ; and Flannery O'Conner's <i>Everything that Rises Must Converge</i> (1963) all were O. Henry Prize stories. <br><br>An accomplished new series editor--novelist and short story writer Laura Furman--has read more than a thousand stories to identify the 20 winners, each one a pleasure to read today, each one a potential classic. <b>The O. Henry Prize Stories 2003</b> also contains brief essays from each of the three distinguished judges on their favorite story, and comments from the prize-winning writers on what inspired their stories. There is nothing like the ever rich, surprising, and original O. Henry collection for enjoying the contemporary short story.<br><br><i>The Thing in the Forest</i> A. S. Byatt <br><i>The Shell Collector</i> Anthony Doerr <br><i>Burn Your Maps</i> Robyn Jay Leff <br><i>Lush </i> Bradford Morrow <br><i>God's Goodness</i> Marjorie Kemper <br><i>Bleed Blue in Indonesia</i> Adam Desnoyers <br><i>The Story</i> Edith Pearlman <br><i>Swept Away</i> T. Coraghessan Boyle <br><i>Meanwhile</i> Ann Harleman <br><i>Three Days. A Month. More.</i> Douglas Light <br><i>The High Road</i> Joan Silber <br><i>Election Eve</i> Evan S. Connell <br><i>Irish Girl</i> Tim Johnston <br><i>What Went Wrong</i> Tim O'Brien <br><i>The American Embassy</i> Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie <br><i>Kissing</i> William Kittredge <br><i>Sacred Statues</i> William Trevor <br><i>Two Words</i> Molly Giles <br><i>Fathers</i> Alice Munro <br><i>Train Dreams</i> Denis Johnson