Best Debut Short Stories 2021: The PEN America Dau Prize by Yuka Igarashi


Best Debut Short Stories 2021: The PEN America Dau Prize
Title : Best Debut Short Stories 2021: The PEN America Dau Prize
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 164622079X
ISBN-10 : 9781646220793
Language : English
Format Type : Paperback
Number of Pages : 224
Publication : First published August 24, 2021

The annual--and essential--collection of the newest voices in short fiction, selected this year by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Kali Fajardo-Anstine, and Beth Piatote.

Who are the most promising short story writers working today? Where do we look to discover the future stars of literary fiction? This book will offer a dozen answers to these questions.

The stories collected here represent the most recent winners of the PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers, which recognizes twelve writers who have made outstanding debuts in literary magazines in the previous year. They are chosen by a panel of distinguished judges, themselves innovators of the short story form: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Kali Fajardo-Anstine, and Beth Piatote. Each piece comes with an introduction by its original editors, whose commentaries provide valuable insight into what magazines are looking for in their submissions, and showcase the vital work they do to nurture literature's newest voices.


Best Debut Short Stories 2021: The PEN America Dau Prize Reviews


  • BookOfCinz

    This is a collection of 12 debut short stories. Some I LOVED and I cannot stop thinking about and others I found were a little meh.

    These are my stand out stories:
    Force, Mass, Acceleration by Heather Aruffo
    Mandy's Mary Sue by Qianze Zhang
    The List by Stanley Patrick Stocker
    Transit by Khaddafina Mbabazi


    For me the strongest story in this collection is Transit by Khaddafina Mbabazi it literally embodies how I feel as a Black woman travelling. It is nuanced and layered and I shook that the author did so much with such little pages.

    Honestly, if you buy this book to read just this story, it is well worth it!

  • el

    i expect short story anthologies to be absolute ass, with maybe one or two standout gems (because they usually are, especially the arbitrary award-winning ones) so this collection was pleasantly surprising. almost every story selected was above average, even if not to my personal tastes, and so many were gorgeous, illuminating, or otherwise arresting.

    favorites favorites favorites:
    • “good girls” by lindsay ferguson — 8/10
    • “transit” by khaddafiba mbabazi — 8.9/10
    • “taxi” by pardeep toor — 9/10
    • “the strong-strong winds” by mathapelo mofokeng 8.6/10 (i was very close to cryinggggg)

  • Alison Smith

    I read this book in a single sitting. Part of it was because the stories are quick and easy to get through. But a bigger reason is that each of these stories is intriguing, and captive, and really well written.

    Each author offers a different style of writing, and each author is fresh and interesting.

  • twentyventi

    I enjoyed this diverse collection of voices and stories (aside from one story that I didn’t read). There is something so limiting but also so liberating about a short story — being offered only a small glimpse into a world, a moment, and leaving much of the imagination (how did we get here? where will this story go beyond this?) to the reader.

    The four stories that stood out most to me were Taxi, Re: Frankie, The Strong-Strong Winds, and The First Time I Said It. I could vividly picture Re: Frankie being adapted into a dark dystopian sci-fi short film or an episode of Black Mirror.

  • Joy

    4.5 ⭐

    Outstanding: Transit by Khaddafina Mbabazi

    Excellent:
    Taxi by Pardeep Toor
    The Strong Strong Winds by Mathapelo Mofokeng
    The Math of Living by Nishanth Injam
    Frankie by Mckenzie McGee

    A very strong collection of short stories, they arrested my attention and held my imagination. It's difficult to believe these are debut authors, I will definitely check out their upcoming full length novels.

    Content warning: Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Cadaver and Suicide

  • Kentrell

    Pretty good collection of short stories that touch a diversity of topics, including gender, sexuality, race, immigration, technology, and nationalism.

  • Imran Ahmed

    After reading several collections of short stories written in the last few centuries this anthology of contemporary - can't get more recent than 2021! - was a breath of fresh air.

    I enjoyed nearly every story though there were at least two standouts, ie Transit by Khaddafina Mbabazi and The First Time I Said It by Isaac Hughes Green. Both stories dealt subtly yet directly with racism and white privilege in a world where it should have disappeared.

    Other than the above two tales, several others made the book a joy to read. The stories dealt with topical issues inna nuanced and sophisticated way. Some had poetic language. Others used grammatical poetic license to help readers towards a preordained destination.

    I highly recommend this anthology to anyone who enjoys reading short stories.

  • Akemi G.

    This is a great anthology to find new voices in literature. My favs are:

    Transit by Khaddafina Mbabazi
    I had not read stories that so eloquently describe racial tension—and this even comes with a sense of suspense and surprise.

    The List by Stanley Patrick Stocker
    I love the voice of this story. Although it’s about loss, it shines with resilience and natural sense of humor.

    Force, Mass, Acceleration by Heather Aruffo
    This is about Serbian war criminal Ratko Mladic’s daughter Ana, who aspired to be a surgeon but committed suicide at age 23. I’m still processing how men pressure the women in their lives, their loves.

    The First Time I Said It by Isaac Hughes Green

    Good Girls by Lindsay Ferguson

  • Jonathan Josephson

    This is a pretty good collection of stories, all were enjoyable. I may be spoiled because I often read the "Best of" books which I realize are selected from a wider pool of writers that could include far more experienced scribes, but there were some real gems in here, particularly impressive as debut fiction. Favorites were “The Math of Living” (originally published in the Virginia Quarterly Review) by Nishanth Injam which stuck with me for days, and the lightening fast read “Good Girls” (posted at Barrelhouse) by Lindsay Ferguson which I loved both for its content and its form.

  • Beth Anne

    I rated this book four instead of five stars because I did not like several of the stories. However, this books also contains some real gems. In particular, I would recommend “The List” by Stanley Patrick Stocker, “The First Time I Said It” by Isaac Hughes Green, and, my absolute favorite from this collection, “Force, Mass, Acceleration” by Heather Aruffo. I cannot say enough amazing things about Aruffo’s story!

  • Elise a.k.a. PAPERNERD

    I like short stories, because they are perfect, when you are in-between books...

    I have to be honest:
    I did not like some of the stories, or they bored me.
    And to be nice about it:
    I can not tell you, which stories "didn't do the magic" for me - you have to find this out for yourself.

    Still:
    I would recommend this book, when you are in-between books right now and can't make your mind up, yet.

  • Rosie B

    The stories were written with varying level of skill, but that makes sense for a book of debut short stories. In fact, I'd say a lot of the pleasure of reading this collection comes from seeing authors at the very beginning of their careers. I especially liked the last story, "The First Time I Said It".

  • Leah

    Overall a very enjoyable read! Three stories particularly stood out to me: Transit by Khaddafina Mbabazi, The Strong-Strong Winds by Mathapelo Mofokeng, and The First Time I Said It by Isaac Hughes Green.

  • Robin Martin

    Excellent debut fiction in this anthology. My favorite story in the collection was probably "The List" by Stanley Patrick Stocker, but the magic-realist "Re:Frankie" by Mackensie McGee was a piece I won't soon forget. Certainly all stories are from refreshingly new voices.

  • Kim

    There were a handful of gems in here for sure. Transit, Mandy's Mary Sue, Taxi, and the First Time I Said It stick out very vividly. Overall a solid collection from a group of authors who I'm excited to follow.

  • E.R. Miller

    Many of the stories written by these young writers is hard for me to relate to, but many of them were excellent. Short stories are an important part of my reading and if you enjoy them this is a good read.

  • Kristina

    Wasn’t sure what exactly to expect with this book but was very pleased with most of the short stories. This collection had a beautiful uneasiness throughout each story. This was a great collection.

    My two favorite stories were ‘re: Frankie’ by Mackenzie McGee and ‘Transit’ by Khaddafina Mbabazi.

  • Miranda R.

    An amazing collection! Some of the stories I was totally riveted by, and some only sort of riveted by...meaning that they're all great, there's just a few that are excellent.

  • Parker

    Bunch of really interesting and engaging stories. Would recommend.

  • Kirtida Gautam

    Superb collection.

  • Jason Zimmerman

    (Should be 4.5 stars) I was extremely excited to read this book and I think everyone should give it a chance. There is nothing better than experiencing numerous styles, voices, plots, and energy all within the confines of one book cover.
    Personally, there were some stories that weren’t my favorite, however, there were several that made me tear up and sit in quiet reflection.
    Salt by Alberto Reyes Morgan was my favorite story in the book because his word choice and subtlety was gorgeous. It also hit close to home (as I am also a queer man who grew up where it was forbidden). The story’s joy mixed with sorrow was beautiful.
    The First Time I Said It and Transit would be my honorable mentions. They provided a voice that I think needs a bigger platform. The stories were moments that many white people would just ‘walk by’ or think is ‘no big deal.’ But that isn’t true. These stories are foundational to our friends of color. They have major impact. More people need to read stories like these. More people need to offer platforms to voices like these authors.

    Beautiful! Give this book a read!