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The Uncollected Stories of Mavis Gallant
A collection of over thirty short stories by one of the greatest fiction writers in American history, now available in a single volume for the first time ever.
The immensity of Gallant's achievement still seems insufficiently recognized. Alice Munro's Nobel notwithstanding, Gallant may in fact have been the best pure story writer since the early-1950s prime of Cheever, Welty, and Flannery O'Connor, and even in such august company, Gallant's stories are sui generis. They do something different than perfecting the tradition or stretching the boundaries of what the form can do. For all their expansiveness, Gallant's stories constitute a striking and almost avant-garde in reading her, one feels like they discover something about what a short story really is and isn't—about what is necessary, and what is sufficient.
The Uncollected Stories of Mavis Gallant includes over thirty stories never before collected in one volume, including "The Accident" and "His Mother" and "An Autobiography" and "Dedé." With the publication of this book, finally all of this modern master's fiction will be in print.
The immensity of Gallant's achievement still seems insufficiently recognized. Alice Munro's Nobel notwithstanding, Gallant may in fact have been the best pure story writer since the early-1950s prime of Cheever, Welty, and Flannery O'Connor, and even in such august company, Gallant's stories are sui generis. They do something different than perfecting the tradition or stretching the boundaries of what the form can do. For all their expansiveness, Gallant's stories constitute a striking and almost avant-garde in reading her, one feels like they discover something about what a short story really is and isn't—about what is necessary, and what is sufficient.
The Uncollected Stories of Mavis Gallant includes over thirty stories never before collected in one volume, including "The Accident" and "His Mother" and "An Autobiography" and "Dedé." With the publication of this book, finally all of this modern master's fiction will be in print.
730 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 21, 2025
About the author
Mavis Gallant
90 books266 followersCanadian journalist and fiction writer. In her twenties, Gallant worked as a reporter for the Montreal Standard. She left journalism in 1950 to pursue fiction writing. To that end, always needing autonomy and privacy, she moved to France.
In 1981, Gallant was honoured by her native country and made an Officer of the Order of Canada for her contribution to literature. That same year she also received the Governor General's Award for literature for her collection of stories, Home Truths. In 1983-84, she returned to Canada as the University of Toronto's writer-in-residence. In 1991 Queen’s University awarded her an honorary LL.D. In 1993 she was promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada.
In 1989, Gallant was made a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 2000, she won the Matt Cohen Prize, and in 2002 the Rea Award for the Short Story. The O. Henry Prize Stories of 2003 was dedicated to her. In 2004, Gallant was awarded a Lannan Literary Fellowship.
With Alice Munro, Gallant was one of a few Canadian authors whose works regularly appeared in The New Yorker. Many of Gallant’s stories had debuted in the magazine before subsequently being published in a collection.
Although she maintained her Canadian citizenship, Gallant continued to live in Paris, France since the 1950s.
On November 8, 2006, Mavis Gallant received the Prix Athanase-David from the government of her native province of Quebec. She was the first author writing in English to receive this award in its 38 years of existence.
In 1981, Gallant was honoured by her native country and made an Officer of the Order of Canada for her contribution to literature. That same year she also received the Governor General's Award for literature for her collection of stories, Home Truths. In 1983-84, she returned to Canada as the University of Toronto's writer-in-residence. In 1991 Queen’s University awarded her an honorary LL.D. In 1993 she was promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada.
In 1989, Gallant was made a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 2000, she won the Matt Cohen Prize, and in 2002 the Rea Award for the Short Story. The O. Henry Prize Stories of 2003 was dedicated to her. In 2004, Gallant was awarded a Lannan Literary Fellowship.
With Alice Munro, Gallant was one of a few Canadian authors whose works regularly appeared in The New Yorker. Many of Gallant’s stories had debuted in the magazine before subsequently being published in a collection.
Although she maintained her Canadian citizenship, Gallant continued to live in Paris, France since the 1950s.
On November 8, 2006, Mavis Gallant received the Prix Athanase-David from the government of her native province of Quebec. She was the first author writing in English to receive this award in its 38 years of existence.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 17, 2025
A brilliant collection but this is a book I would like to own rather than borrow from the library. You might have it on a table so you could pick it up and read a story and then pause to think before you take on another one.
January 8, 2026
4.5 - Tiffany described to me as “your favorite author’s favorite author”. And I worship my favorite author so went in with high expectations. And they were met!! Bopped around the stories in no particular order. There is something so poetic about her descriptions and developments of character. In a few words, she paints a thousand pictures
Maybe shouldn’t have started with the uncollected stories, but if these are the uncollected…well I can’t imagine what her better known / more widely published work is like
Maybe shouldn’t have started with the uncollected stories, but if these are the uncollected…well I can’t imagine what her better known / more widely published work is like
December 24, 2025
Totally enjoyed this collection of short stories. I could read one story each night before bed and it was great! If you're not familiar with the writer, she's a long time contributor to the New Yorker and has a great number of collections - this is my third. Writing is terrific and the stories are varied. Highly recommended.
March 16, 2026
I did not enjoy the experience. I have read a story or two every week for the past three months, and I kept hoping that one would shine and make a lasting impression. Here's a story, here is a collection of flawed characters, maybe the flaws play out, maybe the flaws are not so bad, maybe they don't really matter in the end, maybe they are trumped by another's flaws. Repeat.
October 22, 2025
Lots and lots of delightful stories. You fall right into each new story at the first sentence - effortlessly. The characters are well developed and people you are immediately interested in and care about. What a fabulous writer.
July 28, 2025
Great writing, dense short stories. I had just read a battery of Dorothy Parker, and this felt like a lighter punch as a result, but I look forward to revisiting her writing.
September 8, 2026
Mavis Gallant is a genius and I’m lucky to have stumbled to her by random chance. This book found me after a very serious turning point in life as well. This book heldddddd me. And taught me so much about writing, and empathy.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews