Focused and concise, a short story can leave a lasting impression. No one knows this better than writers. In this collection of essays celebrating the short-fiction form,edited by Jackson Bryer, University of Maryland professor emeritus of English, forty-eight of today’s leading literary figures introduce a favorite story, explain what drew them to it, and examine how their feelings toward it have deepened with time. Joining Bryer to discuss these selections will be an array of contributors—Maud Casey, Susan Coll, Jack Greer, Olga Grushin, Alice McDermott, Leslie Pietrzyk, Rion Amilcar Scott, and Mary Kay Zuravleff—responding to works by Edward P. Jones, Katherine Anne Porter, Vladimir Nabokov, Raymond Carver, and more.