Welcome to the website for "Classic and Contemporary Short Story Magazine", the forthcoming publication designed to enhance your appreciation of the short story form.
No doubt you may well agree with us that the short story is much more than the poor relation of the novel.
| "The short story is the art of the glimpse. It's strength lies in what is left out." |
|---|
| Wm Trevor |
The short story is, in fact, from a far older tradition, tracing its origins back to the tales and folk tales told, and retold, around ancient campfires.
"The Arabian Nights", "The Decameron" and "The Canterbury Tales" are often cited as early examples of short story collections but the short story truly came into its own in the nineteenth century with the increase of literacy and the availability of affordable magazines and periodicals combining to provide a huge appetite for fiction that could be read at one sitting.
| "A good story is one which contains a certain single unique effect to be wrought out" |
|---|
| Edgar Alan Poe |
It has been claimed that the first "modern" short story was Sir Walter Scott's "The Two Drovers". It is certainly true that Scott's work was a great influence on short story writers around the world but in Britain there was a lull in short story production until much later in the nineteenth century.
However, the form flourished in other countries. During the British "drought" Turgenev and Pushkin in Russia, Poe and Hawthorne in America and Flaubert and Maupassant in France were all setting standards that others would strive to emulate.
| "The short story depicts some trivial incident in such a way as to reveal the deep and hidden essence of the thing to be described" |
|---|
| James Joyce |
Apart from Wilkie Collins, inventor and master of the mystery story and, of course, Charles Dickens, the British scene did not catch fire until late in the nineteenth century when writers like Kipling, Katherine Mansfield, Robert Louis Stevenson and that master of understated horror – Saki – gave us some great examples of the short story form.
In the twentieth century the short story experienced mixed fortunes. In the thirties F. Scott Fitzgerald was paid $4,000 for a story in "The Saturday Evening Post" – a sum worth about twenty times that amount now. In Britain, in the late forties, it was still just about possible to make a living writing for publications which published good quality material but, within a few years, the number of such magazines had diminished and many good writers turned to T.V. and Radio scriptwriting to make a living.
However, the table shows signs of turning. With the last few years of the twentieth century more and more people have rediscovered the short story and revel in its economy, power and purity. We at "Classic and Contemporary Short Story" count ourselves among them
We Intend...
... to celebrate the short story form by publishing the best work of the great authors mentioned above, alongside work from to-day's authors, known – and not yet known.
We will also find space for informative and entertaining articles on authors and their works and the varying traditions and genres, from those who know their subject best. There will be critical reviews of contemporary short fiction, a guide to possible markets for writers and a letters page for exchange of news and ideas between readers.
The first edition of "Classic and Contemporary Short Story" is planned for Autumn 2008 so, whether you are a teacher, University Staff, Student or you are, like us, just someone who loves the short story... ... ... PLEASE WATCH THIS SPACE
We Need...
Writers, Academics and anyone who really knows their subject to suggest appropriate articles and/or write to commission.
Payment will be relatively modest to begin with, and by arrangement, but we aim to become one of the best paying magazines in our field as we believe in rewarding quality.
If you are interested in contributing short stories between 1,000 – 8,000 words long we would very much like to hear from you, whether or not you have been published before.
If any of the above apply to you or you would like information on subscription rates and relevant discounts (for schools, colleges etc.) please contact us at:
writersarcade@googlemail.com
Teachers, Lecturers and Students are cordially invited to email us for details of our support for very young writers and critics and details of our ongoing writing competitions