Prize Stories 1993: The O. Henry Awards

by William Abrahams (Editor)

“Widely regarded as the nation’s most prestigious award for short fiction.”— The Atlantic Monthly

Established in 1918 as a memorial to the master of the short story genre, O. Henry,  Prize Stories  has long been recognized as the premier forum for the contemporary story. The volume for 1993 carries forth the time-honored literary tradition in 23 selections as original and varied as the current trends in short fiction. The top prize for 1993 is awarded to Thom Jones’s “The Pugilist at Rest,” which explores the interior depths of depression through the eyes of Vietnam vet and former Marine boxing champion. Other stories in this collection

Andrea Lee “Winter Barley”
William F. Van Wert “Shaking”
Joyce Carol Oates “Goose-Girl”
Charles Eastman “Yellow Flags”
Cornelia Nixon “Risk”
Rilla Askew “The Killing Blanket”
Antonya Nelson “Dirty Words”
John H. Richardson “The Pink House”
Diane Levenberg “A Modern Love Story”
John Van Kirk “Newark Job”
Alice Adams “The Islands”
Stephen Dixon “The Rare Muscovite”
Lorrie Moore “Charades”
Kate Wheeler “Improving My Average”
Peter Weltner “The Greek Head”
C. E. Poverman “The Man Who Died”
Jennifer Egan “Puerto Vallarta”
Charles Johnson “Kwoon”
Linda Svendsen “The Edger Man”
Daniel Stern “The Hunger Artist by Franz A Story”
Josephine Jacobsen “The Pier-Glass”
Steven Schwarz “Madagascar”

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

448 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1993

Reviews

[Daniel Currie]

As with all collections like this there are going to be some that are better than others. I didn't have any particular problem with the writing on any of them but I thought the first few stories were so depressing I was not sure I wanted to finish. But fortunately, the later ones moderated in tone altho I don't think a single one was what you'd call upbeat. I'm not bothered by any particular story not being that way, but maybe you could include just one?

[Ronald Wise]

This collection of 23 stories from 1991/1992 were all a pleasure to read, with nearly half the authors new to my reading experience. I found about a third of these works to be exceptionally powerful: “The Pugilist at Rest” by Thom Jones; “Risk” by Cornelia Nixon; “Newark Job” by John Van Kirk; “The Islands” by Alice Adams; “Charades” by Lorrie Moore; “The Greek Head” by Peter Weltner; and “The Pier-Glass” by Josephine Jacobsen.

[John Nasaye]

A pretty decent collection of stories here. I enjoyed most of them.

[Tyler McHaley]

Though this isn't the most current collection, I knew some of the authors, and nearly every story had some kind of interesting twist or dimension to it. As a writer, it helped me envision ideas and ways of writing that I might not have otherwise realized. I truly enjoyed it.