Climbing Fifty-Two Stories

This weekend, I spent some time catching up with the Fifty-Two Stories website produced by HarperPerennial.

Complaining about the lack of outlets for short stories has, unfortunately, become a favorite pasttime for literary folks lately. More and more of the major magazines are cutting back on their fiction slots and the tough economic times have challenged the small journals that usually support short stories.

But Fifty-Two Stories aims to counter that lack of coverage. They will present a different short story each week this year. Some of the pieces are classics from well-established writers, others are new stories from up and comers. So far, they’ve featured work from Mary Gaitskill, Louise Erdrich, Willa Cather, Tom Piazza, and others.

It’s a site well-worth checking out if you’re interested in a quick dose of short fiction — for free — each week.