Cover Photo: This header image features a cover of the 2022 'Best Debut Short Stories' anthology, as well as headshots of Sabrina Orah Mark, Emily Nemens, and Deesha Philyaw
Photographs courtesy of Sabrina Orah Mark, Emily Nemens, and Deesha Philyaw

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.

PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers

Catapult: Were there particular things you were looking for as you read the nominated stories?

yes

Catapult: Were there any big surprises?

Catapult: Did you notice any recurring patterns/themes/subjects among the stories you read? If so, do the final selections reflect those larger patterns/themes, or push against them in some way?

Catapult: What was it like to come together as a group to discuss and decide on the twelve winning stories?

and

Catapult: Can you share a bit about your first published pieces, and which ones felt like big breaks?

pms: poem.memory.storyThe New York TimesThe Washington Post

ConduitHappilyThe Paris Review

Esquirecould The Cactus League

Catapult: What words of advice or encouragement would you share with this year’s winners, and to early-career writers more broadly?

Catapult's books can be found here!