The 2019 Short Story Advent Calendar

The Short Story Advent Calendar

by Michael Hingston (Editor)

The Short Story Advent Calendar is back! And to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Short Story Advent Calendar, we’ve decided to make the festivities even more festive, with five different coloured editions to help you ring in the holiday season.

No matter which colour you choose, the insides are the same: it’s another collection of expertly curated, individually bound short stories from some of the best writers in North America and beyond.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

375 pages, Chapbooks in slipcase

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

Michael Hingston is the author of Try Not to Be Strange, Let's Go Exploring, and The Dilettantes, and co-publisher of Hingston & Olsen Publishing. His journalism has appeared in Wired, National Geographic, the Washington Post, and The Guardian. Hingston lives with his family in Edmonton, Alberta.

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll say of this what I’ve said in my reviews of the previous three years’ calendars (besides the calendar itself, my sentiment has become a tradition): This was so much fun! I'll miss having a new short story to open every morning.

No one single story stands out in my mind because every single story was excellent. I suppose I was drawn mostly to the ones that were novelistic and with the theme of family secrets—especially Lauren Groff’s “Amaranth” (Day 18). I read it in the morning and missed it all day. Her story reminded me I hadn’t read Florida yet, and I started the book that night.

The overall quality of this “calendar” assures that I’ll be back for more.

[Sonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid collection of short stories again this year! My faves:

Dec 6: Casey Plett "Hazel and Christopher"
Dec 10: Elizabeth Crane "Training Module"
Dec 16: Randy Boyagoda "Show Me Your Dantes"
Dec 18: Lauren Groff "Amaranth"*
Dec 19: Sarah Rose Etter "Letter from San Francisco"

* Amaranth was my absolute fave.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good, some great, a lot of fun!

[Brandon Forsyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second year doing the Short Story Advent Calendar, and I just love the idea. It’s something I hope I’ll do every year. This year’s collection has, on my review, seven truly exceptional pieces of writing: BEGINNINGS by Shelly Oria (which starts the collection and plays with form in a really compelling way), SAVE-A-LOT by Anthony Doerr (I cried, guess I’ll finally have to read ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE), THE SNOW MAN by A.B. Cooper (a fun story from 1902 that was great to read aloud, had my girlfriend and I cracking up), TRAINING MODULE by Elizabeth Crane (the best piece of #MeToo writing I’ve ever read), AMARANTH by Lauren Groff (reminded me of Patricia Highsmith in the best possible way), THE UNBEATABLE DECK OF RONAN SHIN by Kiyash Monsef (another fun format one that was super nerdy and heartwarming), and GOVERNMENT SLOTS by Omar El Akkad (very human slice of sci-fi, guess I’ll finally have to get to AMERICAN WAR). That’s a pretty good average for great stories, and while there were a few clunkers here that I truly hated, on the whole this was an excellent collection. Check these guys out - they do a Halloween collection as well, and I think they’re the coolest small press around!

[Houlcroft · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of stories in a unique and refreshing format. It exposed me to a range of authors I was unfamiliar with, offering me windows into their style and approach to writing. ‘The Wild Man of Mississippi’ by Jack Pendarvis, ‘The Science Fair Protest’ by F. A. Flores, and ‘The Unbeatable Deck of Ronan Shin’ by Kiyash Monsef were the standouts, but all had their merits. Makes me excited for December next year.

[Katelynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not all 5 star stories but always a fun surprise. I have shared it with some people in my life and it’s been fun to read and critique together.

[Desmond Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

The afterlife, 7th Day Adventists, the American dream, #MeToo, Louis Riel, teen revenge....

At this time of year, the anticipation for Canadian literary fans is particularly significant. For it heralds the release of this year’s latest Short Story Advent Calendar Collection. Published by Hingston and Olsen, this now annual tradition brings together 25 short stories in individual sealed booklets. All housed within a beautifully crafted box. This year a special edition of 100 was produced with original outer artwork by Edmonton artist Jill Stanton.

Every morning one breaks the seal (no peeking!) and reads that days offering. To enhance the collective experience with other fellow readers, you can head to Twitter @hingstonandolsen to compare notes.

This not your grandma’s twee collection neither. An eclectic mix covers a wide range of subjects from historical to very current social issues exploring sexuality to bullying. This year was hyped with the announcement that bestselling author Anthony Doerr was contributing. ‘Save - a - Lot’ follows the struggles of single parent Bunny. As exquisite a tale in miniature as his bestseller ‘All the Light We Cannot See’. The surprise was this the Day 3 story. Where to go from here?

There was a feeling, at times, that some stories were more miss than hit. Yet, the belief that some voices resonate stronger than others is entirely apt. The standard of writing is consistently high and for every one that didn’t (and judging by comments online, many did), they were more than enough to satisfy here.

Social commentary was particularly strong and a major theme this year. A tale of transsexual identity with a unexpected twist is sharply penned by Casey Plett ‘Hazel & Christopher’. The identity of being male in the current post #MeToo was also explored. Elizabeth Crane’s ‘Train Modules’ uses a fresh take on the moribund corporate questionnaire to skewer gender stereotypes.

When a women discovers a public image of her own mothers past, Natural Light by Kathleen Alcott, shows how our past lives belie the social roles we take on later in life.

The American dream in the sixties (Melissa Pritchard ‘The Carnation Milk Palace’) and the immigrant experience was explored in two different stories. ‘Letter from San Francisco’ by Sarah Rose Etter and Olga Grushin’s ‘An Errand in the Country’ set in Post capitalist Russia. Both showing what we gain for a better life comes at an emotional cost.

For every misstep in humour, (I could do without Jack Pendarvis ‘The Wildman of Mississippi for its echoes of Will Ferrell) or streams of consciousness lost in translation: ‘The Infinite’ by Cesar Aria on past child games erred into navel gazing. There would be a BAM! An upper cut between the eyes was dazzling with a taut child revenge story by Lauren Geoff. ‘Amaranth’ is subjected to a shocking scene: ‘On the tip of her tongue: I saw’. Slowly she plans her vengeance ala Reacher style and wanting to know more.

This is why we wait with eager anticipation. Voices unlike ourselves, stories of discovery, sometimes humorous, whimsey or resolute. All providing a rich and very satisfying experience reflecting literature today.

A tradition now very much established, it takes an old master A.A. Milne - he who penned Pooh - to cap it all with a whimsical Christmas Day last story on the necessities of planning for next Christmas Eve. ‘A Hint for next Christmas’: ‘Old friends will accept this, the only intimation’.

We do and will definately continue next year. 9/10

[Shawna · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, in a manufacturing glitch, I received two of 17 and two of 22 and no 21. It was weird since my previous calendars have been so perfect. The lovely bookshop where I purchased it has agreed to exchange it. I wonder if I am the only one? Overall, I found the quality of the stories topped 2017 and 2018 but not 2016. Also, this year I had a tea advent calendar prepared by a local tea expert and enjoyed most of the stories with a lovely cup. Advent game upped!

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my third year with the Short Story Advent Calendar, and I still enjoy getting to open a short story and dive into it with no idea about the genre. Clearly I don't have the habit of doing this every day leading up to Christmas, or I wouldn't finish it just now...

For my memory, here are my notes on all the stories:
1: Interesting storytelling style, choppiness works with the concept of an affair, the non-linear, subjective, different viewpoints
2: Reads like a tall tale, perfect as a short story fitting everything that was needed to tell it. Just on the right side of absurd, balancing between to-good-to-be-true and a pure lie.
3: Sweet and just a little painful. I like the chapters, makes it feel longer
4: Descriptions of YouTube videos. I wish the relationship part would have been more noticeable.
5: An author writing about himself. Very good character study, complex showing of different types of self-awareness.
6: An honest and raw LBTQ story that hurt my heart.
7: Sweet and lovely story taking place in Russia, about getting wrapped up in modern life and despising where you came from
8: A bridge walker in a small town, nothing special
9: Old fashioned tall tale with some charm
10: sexual harassment, good
11:?
12: religion and la Sagrada Familia and hail, interesting mix, made me curious for more
13: Remembering childhood, and understanding of size and vastness
14: Do we ever know our parents?
15: Wild West story, not for me at all
16: Dante’s inferno. A different topic, religion and hell, fascinating portrait. For me, it’s about obsession and trying to find reason and order in the chaos around us.
17: A surreal story about a man living his life while what seems like a very important protest is going on
18: Revenge story, a bit simplistic but satisfying
19: As someone living in SF, it’s very true. Don’t understand if it’s for a lover or a mother, or maybe it’s meant to be for both?
20: Nerdy teenagers, sweet story
21: Growing up in the 60s, aspiration and envy, dreaming of being someone else, and trying to understand adult life
22: Interesting sci-fi idea about death and what would happen if we could bring something with us to the other side.
23: Religiously devout father revolting against his daughter breaking free
24: Sweetly sentimental Christmas memory
25: Funny rant that seems both old-fashioned and like something that could be written today

[Bruce Harpham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read a few past short story collections in this series, I had some idea of one to expect. You get a wide variety of different short stories and the chance to meet new authors. In summary, there were three short stories that I loved from this collection:

A. A. Milne, "A Hint for Next Christmas" - a forgotten classic from 1920 that ended the collection. Simply outstanding. It is a good reminder that the classics of the Christmas genre are much broader than Dickens.

Kiyash Monsef, "The Unbeatable Deck of Ronan Shin" - Do you like fantasy themed games like Magic: The Gathering or Dungeons & Dragons? If so, you will like this story. It was my favorite modern story of the collection.

Elizabeth Crane, "Training Module" - A novel concept that interprets the "Me Too" phenomenon through the lens of training modules.

[Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started out this year's advent calendar by reading them aloud on Instagram Live for SMDB -- and while the world got the better of me at exactly the halfway point (and just before a Cesar Aira story, no less), it was a wonderful way to more deeply engage with the collection. I think some of the stories I skipped or skimmed in the back half of the month would've yielded more interest had I read them aloud and been forced to engage all the way through.

Still, this was a banger of a collection of stories. Not really a *dud* in the bunch, even if some left me shrugging.

[Janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The short story advent calendar, a Christmas gift from my dear Pa, was a victim of the Alaskan mail and didn’t show up until December 27th. So I read a short story each day in January instead. And what a diversity of stories and writers there are in this boxed collection! My favorites were from Anthony Doerr, Enrique Vila-Matas, Lauren Groff, Rachel Kushner, and a new writer to me: Mark Anthony Jarman. Oh, and the Olga Grushin story was so good! There’s something so satisfying about reading a short story each day. This was great.

[Niko · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first time getting this, and I'm definitely making it a yearly tradition. My favorites:

-"Save-A-Lot" by Anthony Doerr
-"An Errand in the Country" by Olga Grushin
-"The Snow Man" by A. B. Cooper
-"The Science Fair Protest" by Fernando A. Flores
-"Amaranth" by Lauren Groff
-"The Unbeatable Deck of Ronan Shin" by Kiyash Monsef
-"Government Slots" by Omar El Akkad

[Susan]

Great to start each day with a story though I will honestly say that I missed some days then had to go back and read extra and didn't finish until the new year. Especially enjoyed Lauren Groff, Omar El Akkad, and Anthony Doer. And so lovely to end the days with AA Milne. What a great present to receive and just the right size!

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished this sooooo late this year but not because of a lack of interest. Just a wonderfully diverse and inclusive set of curated stories. My favorite bunch of the three years I’ve done these, actually.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

These were the most difficult short stories to read and comprehend - I would have preferred happier stories - it was a challenge to read one book a day in a busy world but I can be done - looking forward to reading 2020 Short story Advent Calendar

[Nicole]

Sadly, not for me. Really cool idea!!, just not my genre at all!

[Nancy Laflamme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I found this year’s calendar better than last year. There were some true gems in there. Looking forward to next year’s SSAC.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So fun. Loved a few, liked most, disliked a couple.