{{Short description|Book of several short stories}} {{Redirect|Tanpenshu|the manga|Hiroki Endo's Tanpenshu {{!}} ''Hiroki Endo's Tanpenshu''}} {{Literature}}
A '''short story collection''' is a book of short stories and/or novellas by a single author. A short story collection is distinguished from an anthology of fiction, which would contain work by several authors (e.g., ''Les Soirées de Médan'').<ref>{{cite web|title=The 10 Best Short Story Collections|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/oct/17/the-10-best-short-story-collections|date=2014|work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://electricliterature.com/electric-literatures-25-best-story-collections-of-2014/ |title=Electric Literature's 25 Best Story Collections of 2014 |last=Michel |first=Lincoln |date=2014-12-11 |website=Electric Literature}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://new.spectator.co.uk/2015/11/the-best-short-story-collections-from-childish-gabbling-to-jaded-nihilism/ |date=2015 |title=The best short story collections — from childish gabbling to jaded nihilism |last=Graham |first=Ysenda Maxtone |website=The Spectator |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151128085226/http://new.spectator.co.uk/2015/11/the-best-short-story-collections-from-childish-gabbling-to-jaded-nihilism/ |archive-date=November 28, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/16/books/a-good-fit-for-small-screens-short-stories-are-selling.html?_r=0|date=2013|title=The New York Times|website=The New York Times }}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=September 2024}} The stories in a collection may or may not share a tone, theme, setting, or characters with one another.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://themillions.com/2011/01/the-long-and-the-short-of-it-linked-story-collections-bridging-the-divide.html|title=The Long and the Short of It: Linked Story Collections Bridging the Divide|date=2011-01-19|website=The Millions|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-06}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=September 2024}}
== Composition of a collection == Short story collections are made up of smaller texts—the individual short stories—in order to form a superior whole.<ref name=":0">Santi, Mara (2014). "Performative Perspectives on Short Story Collections". ''Interférences littéraires/Literaire interferenties'' (12): 143–154. ISSN 2031-2970.</ref> In spite of this, each short story does not lose any of its meaning or narrative independence by being included in a collection.<ref name=":0" /> This does not mean that short stories do not gain any new meaning from being included in a collection, though. Because each story's context has changed, surrounded by other stories with their own meanings and tones, the meaning and tone of any individual story might also be affected.<ref name=":0" /> In addition to the individual stories, short story collections may also include notes by the author.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Asimov|first=Isaac|title=Nightfall and Other Stories|publisher=Doubleday Science Fiction|year=1969|location=Garden City, New York}}</ref>
The act of writing short stories is different from the act of gathering short stories into a collection.<ref name=":0" /> For instance, the short story author may or may not be the one who compiles the short story collection, even though the author penned the individual stories. This is especially obvious in the case of posthumous publications.
Note that short story collections should be considered different from traditional novels and other narratives because collections do not forward a cohesive storyline in the same way novels do.<ref name=":0" /> Instead, short story collections group individual pieces, each with their own narratives. If a short story collection as a whole has its own narrative, it is considered a short story cycle.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.writingclasses.com/toolbox/ask-writer/what-is-a-collection-of-linked-stories-is-this-a-relatively-new-genre#:~:text=|title=Answers to Writing Questions - Fiction - Gotham Writers Workshop|website=www.writingclasses.com|access-date=2020-03-18}}</ref>
== History of short story collections == [[File:Grimm's Fairy Tales - Cover.jpg|thumb|''Grimm's Fairy Tales'']] Short story collections have their roots in medieval frame tale collections, growing into the postmodern narratives of the 1900s.<ref name=":0" /> Short story collections either can be authored traditionally by one person or evolve from oral, anonymous traditions that are finally penned by someone.<ref name=":0" /> An example of the latter would be ''Grimm's Fairy Tales''.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|title=The Brothers Grimm : 101 fairy tales|date=2012|publisher=Canterbury Classics|others=Grimm, Jacob, 1785-1863., Grimm, Wilhelm, 1786-1859.|isbn=978-1-60710-557-2|location=San Diego, Calif.|oclc=774146293}}</ref> Short story collections can be published when the author is alive or they can be collected and published after the author is dead using the author's existing works.<ref name=":0" />
Early Western short story collections include Marie of France's ''Lais'' and Giovanni Boccaccio's ''Decameron.''<ref name=":0" />
== Uses for short story collections == From the producer side, short story collections are helpful economically to authors looking to publish. Because short stories are often less than fifty pages, putting them together can provide something that is more like the size of a novel.<ref>Fatma, Gulnaz (2012-01-01). ''A Short History of the Short Story: Western and Asian Traditions''. Modern History Press. pp. 15, 33. {{ISBN|978-1-61599-177-8}}.</ref> While short story collections are less popular than novels for consumers, they are purchased consistently.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Power|first=Chris|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/mar/12/short-story-cat-person-tom-hanks-jojo-moyes|title=Complete fiction: why 'the short story renaissance' is a myth|date=2018-03-12|work=The Guardian|access-date=2020-03-18|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Short story collections have experienced a gradual increase in sales over the last decade, although most collections are not reprinted and do not sell more than 3,000 copies.<ref name=":1" />
Aside from their entertainment value, short story collections can also be used for teaching. There are several potential applications for collections in the classroom. The first is the ability for students to quickly experience other cultures and traditions through a literary lens.<ref name=":2">Lesesne, Teri S. (1994). "Forming Connections and Awakening Visions: Using Short Story Collections in the Classroom". ''The ALAN Review''. '''21''' (3). ISSN 1547-741X.</ref> Secondly, providing short story collections centered around a specific time creates an opportunity to encourage interest in historical studies.<ref name=":2" /> Teachers can also use short story collections as introduction or further exploration to a genre.<ref name=":2" /> By providing several works from that genre, students can get a feel of its conventions. Another potential use is to challenge students to evaluate and criticize literature by using short story collections as a jumping off point.<ref name=":2" /> The last idea is to use short story collections as a model for student writing since classical greats can be daunting or impossible for a student to replicate.<ref name=":2" /> However, newer, more bite-sized short story collections might be a good way for students to get the depth of exposure they need while not overwhelming them.<ref name=":2" />
== Notable short story collections == [[File:Night Shift (1978) front cover, first edition.jpg|thumb|upright|A book cover of ''Night Shift'' (1978), the first published short story collection by Stephen King]] Short story collections can be divided into two general groups. The first is themed collections, which might share a character, setting, theme, or tone. This is different from a short story cycle in that the collection does not advance a cohesive narrative. The second is non-themed collections, a grouping in which each story has little literary similarity to the others. Following are notable collections from each group.
=== Themed collections === * ''Grimm's Fairy Tales''<ref name=":4" /> by Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm *''Dubliners''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dubliners|title=Dubliners|website=britannica.com|access-date=2020-07-15}}</ref> by James Joyce *''Her Body and Other Parties''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://prowritingaid.com/art/1070/how-do-i-write-a-short-story-collection.aspx|title=Short Story Collections: How and Why to Write Them|website=prowritingaid.com|access-date=2020-03-18}}</ref> by Carmen Maria Machado *''The Moons of Jupiter''<ref name="independent">{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/anton-chekhov-katherine-mansfield-ali-smith-margaret-atwood-handmaids-tale-roald-dahl-kiss-kiss-a9008631.html| title=The top 20 short story collections| author= Cripps, Charlotte| work=The Independent|date=22 July 2019}}</ref> by Alice Munro *''Nine Stories''<ref name="independent" /> by J.D. Salinger *''What We Talk About When We Talk About Love''<ref name="independent" /> by Raymond Carver *''Brief Interviews with Hideous Men''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fivedials.com/fiction/zadie-smith/|title=On David Foster Wallace |website=fivedials.com|access-date=2021-03-24}}</ref> by David Foster Wallace *''Les Mille et un jours'' by François Pétis de la Croix *''Cambridge Songs'' by Goliards *''Carmina Burana'' *''Lisa & Co'' by Jilly Cooper *''The Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer
=== Non-themed collections === * ''The Garden Party and Other Stories''<ref name=":5">Day, Elizabeth (2014-10-17). "The 10 best short story collections". ''The Guardian''. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-03-09</ref><ref name="independent" /> by Katherine Mansfield * ''Ficciones'' and ''El Aleph'' by Jorge Luis Borges * ''The Collected Stories''<ref name="independent" /> by Ernest Hemingway * ''Nightfall and Other Stories''<ref name=":3" /> by Isaac Asimov
== References == {{reflist}}
Category:Short story collections Category:Literary terminology