More in this series
A Conversation with ‘Best Debut Short Stories 2021’ Author Stanley Patrick Stocker
“Good things happen when you keep at it.”
Best Debut Short Stories 2021: The PEN America Dau Prize are open now
Kestrel Middle House Review
Kestrel.
The death of the narrator’s daughter is central to the story, and yet we are given very little information about her death and the circumstances surrounding it. Was this always how the story was constructed? How did you decide what to reveal and what to withhold?
Where did you find the idea for this story?
Oh that would make an interesting short storyMoby Dick
How long did it take you to write this story?
During the time that the narrator and his wife were struggling to conceive, we learn that the narrator compiled a list of songs, poems, and films that made him feel better. What is it about art that comforts the narrator during this time, and in what way has it been a balm for you?
Gettysburg Address
How has the Robert J. Dau Prize affected you?
What are you working on now?
What’s the best or worst writing advice you’ve ever received and why?
Finally, where do you discover new writing?
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More by this author
A Roundtable With the PEN America Best Debut Short Stories Judges: Sabrina Orah Mark, Emily Nemens, and Deesha Philyaw
Many of the stories felt written on the edge of an edge of an edge of a world.
On “getting creatively lost”: Robert J. Dau Prize Winner Mathapelo Mofokeng
Learn about Mathapelo Mofokeng’s short story “The Strong-Strong Winds,” which was selected for ‘Best Debut Short Stories 2021.’
“The most innocent thing you can do is want to create”: Robert J. Dau Prize Winner Isaac Hughes Green
Learn about Isaac Hughes Green’s short story “The First Time I Said It,” which was selected for ‘Best Debut Short Stories 2021.’