Short Story Recommendations for #shortstorysunday! 

Given that May is Short Story Month (www.shortstorymonth.com and @ShortStoryMonth), we asked a couple of our authors for their top short story recommendations.

First up, Nowhere People author Paulo Scott recommended fellow Brazilian Amilcar Bettega Barbosa’s “Os lados do ciruclo” (“The Sides of the Circle”) – and for non-Portuguese speakers, you can read one of short stories here, translated into English by Brian Gould. 

Next, our debut British author Niyati Keni (subscribe here to receive an advance copy of her forthcoming novel Esperanza Street) recommended not one but three individual stories that made a particular impression on her: “The Man Who Shouted Teresa” by Italo Calvino, “Dodie’s Gift” by Vanessa Gebbie from Salt Publishing, and “The Necessary Strength” by David Constantine from Comma Press (who, by the way, are doing absolutely stellar work with short fiction, especially in translation). 

You can read the Calvino story here, translated by Tim Parks. 

French readers can enjoy Scadi Kaiser’s translation of “The Necessary Strength” here, hosted by www.theshortstory.eu @shortstoryEU 

More great online short story resources include the tumblr blog shortstoryroll, @shortstopsUK (shortstops.info) and @fictionwritersreview, who recently posted Charles Blackstone’s great essay, What I Talk About When I Talk About The Short Story. 

Finally, if you’ll permit a brief blowing of our own trumpet, we’re proud to publish great fiction whatever the form, with short story collections forming an important part of both our backlist and upcoming titles

First out was Clemens Meyer’s All The Lights, translated from the German by Katy Derbyshire (read a story from the collection here), followed by Deborah Levy’s Black Vodka (shortlisted for 2012 BBC International Short Story Award). 

Next year we’ll be bringing you SJ Naude’s The Alphabet of Birds, translated from Afrikaans by the author, and Don’t Try This At Home from Angela Readman, whose 2013 Costa Short Story Award-winning entry can be read here. 

Long live the short story!