Every year, the venerable Best American Short Stories series picks their top 20 pieces of short fiction that appeared in publications ranging from the smallest MFA-program lit mags to the white whale that is The New Yorker. In this session, writer Steve Trumpeter will discuss a few examples from recent editions and identify what makes those stories “the best” (for better or worse). In so doing, we’ll discover some strategies for making our own work unique and resonant and talk about what can help our stories stand out in the slush pile.
Steve Trumpeter is a writer, artist, and musician from Chicago. His recent fiction has appeared in The Southern Review, Salamander, American Fiction, Chicago Quarterly Review and others. He was a finalist for the Chicago Tribune’s Nelson Algren Award and took 2nd place in Zoetrope: All-Story’s 2019 fiction contest. He teaches creative writing classes at StoryStudio Chicago. Discover his stories, paintings, music, and more here.
