The Best American Short Stories 1981
The Best American Short Stories 1981, a volume in The Best American Short Stories series, was edited by Shannon Ravenel and by guest editor Hortense Calisher. The volume was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Background
The series is considered one of the "best-known annual anthologies of short fiction" and has anthologized more than 2,000 short stories, including works by some of the most famous writers in contemporary American literature, curated by well-known guest editors since 1915. Specifically, Amy Hempel considered it and the O. Henry Award's prize anthology to compile "the best short fiction published in American and Canadian magazines during the preceding year."In particular, the Willa Cather Review wrote that The Best American Short Stories series "became a repository of values" for creative writing programs and literary magazines, specifically with considerable "influence" in college libraries, short fiction courses, and fiction workshops.