The Pen/O.Henry Prize Stories
The art of the great short story is well presented in “The Pen/O.Henry Prize Stories” – a collection of twenty short stories chosen annually by a Series Editor (Laura Furman has held the position since 2003). The criteria? All stories had to have been written originally in English and published in an American or Canadian periodical. Widely regarded as one of the most prestigious awards for short fiction, the Pen/O.Henry Prize Stories offer readers some of the finest examples of short fiction written in any given year. Read more 
“Aliens In The Prime Of Their Lives”
When I first picked up “Aliens in the Prime of Their Lives,” I thought I was holding a book for young adults when in fact, the 12 short stories are about young people – an under-appreciated mother, a rebellious teen, an angry lover who has been abandoned, a divorced father, a sexually abused teen, a mother who looses a child, and a young boy’s family vacation. There are also the experiences of a father and son at “Bodies: The Exhibition” which showcases preserved human bodies dissected to display bodily functions, a young couple’s adventures in a car, the hunters that become the hunted, and a couple’s last moments on a doomed aircraft. This 263-page book reminded me of the “The Twilight Zone” – the American television series from the early 1960’s that depicted weekly singular episodes of disturbing, paranormal, or futuristic phenomena in seemingly normal day-to-day life. Read more
Paddock Post 