The Penguin Podcast is back! Listen Now
The Penguin Book of the Contemporary British Short Story

The Penguin Book of the Contemporary British Short Story

Summary

'Sometimes - not often - a book comes along that feels like Christmas. Philip Hensher's timely, but timeless, selection of the best short stories from the past 20 years is that kind of book. His introduction is as enriching as anything that has been published this year' Sunday Times

A spectacular treasury of the best British short stories published in the last twenty years


We are living in a particularly rich period for British short stories. Despite the relative lack of places in which they can be published, the challenge the medium represents has attracted a host of remarkable, subversive, entertaining and innovative writers. Philip Hensher, following the success of his definitive Penguin Book of British Short Stories, has scoured a vast trove of material and chosen thirty great stories for this new volume of works written between 1997 and the present day.

Reviews

  • A bold anthology ... alive with provocations and insights
    Praise for THE PENGUIN BOOK OF THE BRITISH SHORT STORY, John Carey, Sunday Times

About the author

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more