Prize Stories 1992: The O. Henry Awards

by William Abrahams

“Widely regarded as the nation’s most prestigious awards for short fiction”— The Atlantic Monthly
 
The O. Henry Prize Stories 1992 gathers 20 of the best short stories of the year, selected from thousands published in literary magazines.

Stories
Cynthia Ozick “Puttermesser Paired” (first prize)
Lucy Honig “English as a Second Language”
Tom McNeal “What Happened to Tully”
Amy Herrick “Pinocchio’s Nose”
Murray Pomerance “Decor”
Joyce Carol Oates “Why Don’t You Come Live With Me It’s Time”
Mary Michael Wagner “Acts of Kindness”
Yolanda Barnes “Red Lipstick”
David Long “Blue Spruce”
Harriett Doerr “Way Stations”
Perri Klass “Dedication”
Daniel Meltzer “People”
Ken Chowder “With Seth in Tana Toraja”
Alice Adams “The Last Lovely City”
Frances Sherwood “Demiurges”
Antonya Nelson “The Control Group”
Millicent Dillon “Lost in L.A.”
Kent Nelson “The Mine from Nicaragua”
Ann Packer “Babies”
Kate Braverman “Tall Tales from the Mekong Delta”
 
“What readers can put their trust in is the ability of William Abrahams . . . to amass a selection of the finest short stories published in America.”— New York Times Book Review

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

396 pages, Paperback

First published March 3, 1992

Reviews

[Bert J]

Good stories here included:
- Puttermesser Paired -- long and well-crafted story from Cynthia Ozick. She is a star.
- Decor -- great piece that strikes a wonderfully crisp and distinctive tone from two decorators talking about wealthy home and homeowner for whom they have been commissioned.
- Tall Tales from the Mekong Delta -- interesting feel with sections of blurred emotional musings from the main character, a woman in recovery from addition and divorce with a bizarre boyfriend.

[Tamra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorites:
Acts of Kindness - Mary Michael Wagner
What Happened to Tully - Tom McNeal
English As a Second Language - Lucy Hong
Dedication - Perri Klass
People - Daniel Meltzer
The Mine From Nicaragua - Kent Nelson
Babies - Ann Packer

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually get more of a hit or miss feel from collections like this, but I would have something good to say about every story in this book. I just dug all of them. What can I say? I guess 1992 was a good year.