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Best Debut Short Stories 2022
The essential annual guide to the newest voices in short fiction, selected this year by Deesha Philyaw, Emily Nemens, and Sabrina Orah Mark
Who are the most promising short story writers working today? Where do we look to discover the future stars of literary fiction? This book will offer a dozen answers to these questions.
The stories collected here represent the most recent winners of the PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers, which recognizes twelve writers who have made outstanding debuts in literary magazines in the previous year. They are chosen by a panel of distinguished judges, themselves innovators of the short story form: Deesha Philyaw, Emily Nemens, and Sabrina Orah Mark. Each piece comes with an introduction by its original editors, whose commentaries provide valuable insight into what magazines are looking for in their submissions, and showcase the vital work they do to nurture literature’s newest voices.
Who are the most promising short story writers working today? Where do we look to discover the future stars of literary fiction? This book will offer a dozen answers to these questions.
The stories collected here represent the most recent winners of the PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers, which recognizes twelve writers who have made outstanding debuts in literary magazines in the previous year. They are chosen by a panel of distinguished judges, themselves innovators of the short story form: Deesha Philyaw, Emily Nemens, and Sabrina Orah Mark. Each piece comes with an introduction by its original editors, whose commentaries provide valuable insight into what magazines are looking for in their submissions, and showcase the vital work they do to nurture literature’s newest voices.
240 pages, Paperback
First published September 20, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 15, 2023
did not pack as much punch as the 2021 edition for me. standout short stories from this collection (and worth seeking out separate from the book itself):
• “a wedding in multan, 1978” by yasmin adele majeed
• “them bones” by ck kane
• “the chicken” by rz baschir (A FAVORITE!!!!!!!!! 10/10 in love wow will be hunting down everything this writer has ever published)
• “a wedding in multan, 1978” by yasmin adele majeed
• “them bones” by ck kane
• “the chicken” by rz baschir (A FAVORITE!!!!!!!!! 10/10 in love wow will be hunting down everything this writer has ever published)
October 6, 2022
The editors Yuka Igarashi and Sarah Lyn Rogers start their introduction by mentioning the movie Everything Everywhere All At Once to discuss the prevalence of multiverses in popular culture and its understandable allure in the present chaotic times we live in. I read last year's (2021) Dau Prize finalists, was quite impressed and this year's batch also makes me want to check out the planned novels of some of these debut writers. The range of these selected short stories, previously published in various journals and literary magazines, is expectedly quite broad.
The ones that wowed me are:
A Wedding in Multan, 1978 by Yasmeen Adele Majeed
The Cacophobe by Seth Wang
Sacrilege by Edward Salem
The Black Kite and The Wind by Erin Connal
Worthy mention: Work Wives by Preeti Vangani
Before each short story is a note by the editor of the journal the story was originally published in but I would suggest reading the short story first and the commentary after to avoid being unduly influenced by it. Similarly, the overview intro by the two editors of this anthology may blunt some of the impact of certain stories, I personally think it's best to approach them without preconceived notions or information on the subject matter.
Some of the short stories are simply not to my taste eg. climate dystopia (which we are already facing), child narrators or second person narrative.
The ones that wowed me are:
A Wedding in Multan, 1978 by Yasmeen Adele Majeed
The Cacophobe by Seth Wang
Sacrilege by Edward Salem
The Black Kite and The Wind by Erin Connal
Worthy mention: Work Wives by Preeti Vangani
Before each short story is a note by the editor of the journal the story was originally published in but I would suggest reading the short story first and the commentary after to avoid being unduly influenced by it. Similarly, the overview intro by the two editors of this anthology may blunt some of the impact of certain stories, I personally think it's best to approach them without preconceived notions or information on the subject matter.
Some of the short stories are simply not to my taste eg. climate dystopia (which we are already facing), child narrators or second person narrative.
July 17, 2023
this month's short story anthology to discover new authors. the downside to this collection is that these are their debut stories from 2021, so there's a big chance I won't find many - or any- complete published works by them, by I'll remember to take a note of any new fav authors!
Authors I want to check out from this collection: Erin Connal - Yasmin Adele Majeed - Patch Kirrschenbaum - Catherine Bai - Preeti Vangani - Seth Wang - Emma Shannon
1- Sacrilege - Edward Salem: the writing style didn't really grip me, despite some good passages about the parallels between art and identity. It humps between Palestine, Egypt, and France, and we follow an artist who's interested in art pieces using rocks/whatever surrounds him in htese areas, and each are intriduces a different question. Palestine and the intifada, Egypt and its history, France and its colonialism. A lot of big ideas but the story was too short, so the ending felt scattered.
* 2- The Black Kite and the Wind - Erin Connal: I REALLY find it hard to sympathize with rich white kids and especially if it's a story where they killed someone. but this story doesn't glorify that or even shows that these characters managed to move on from what they did. It's set in Australia, and in the background, the bushfires are tormenting the country, and we follow some high-school girls in their delusional attemp to "shake the system" by setting minor fires in their neighborhood. I liked the writing style, and I'm actually waiting for the author's first novel
* 3- A Wedding in Multan, 1978 - Yasmin Adele Majeed: In a way, this gives me "Atonement" vibes? I'm amazed by all the author managed to put in one story: a coming of age story, a mystery story, a political story, and a wedding story, set in Pakistan. really heartbreaking.
* 4- For Future Refernce: Notes on the 7-10 Split - Patch Kirrschenbaum: I like a story told by an older adult person to their teenage self, as they usualy have some sort of dark humor. but this one had too many bowling terminology for my taste. I liked his writing style and the emotional punch, but was disappointed when I read that his debut novel will be about professional poker players. I don't know if his writing style will make me interested in reading about poker while I was skimming the parts about bowling in this short story, still an author to keep an eye on.
5- All we Have left is Ourselves - Oyedotun Damilola Muees: normally I like dystopian stories, but this was too fragmented for my taste, and I was never sure of the timing of certain events, were they before or are they happening now in that character's life? the photographer protagonist angle was interesting, it's a shame that it wasn't explored enough.
* 6- Writing with Blood - Catherine Bai: such a lyrical story about the barrier of langiage. a chinese girl born in america and her struggle to connect with her chinese family, about immigration and relating it to the nature. it's written in the style of vignettes, so it seemed like different snapshots, but I loved a lot of the imagery!
7- Them Bones - CK Kane: some stories make you wonder if there's something wrong with the author, and this was one of them. depending solely on the shock value of its depraved characters, I expected more than just a story filled with taboos.
8- Man, Man, et cetera - Cal Shook: I'm interested to read more by this author, this story had some things I didn't like (cheating), but it had a lot of things I liked, like the writing style and the way this woman's life was told through all the men she knew, untill she is changed (or maybe not) by motherhood.
* 9- Work Wives - Preeti Vangani: I loved this story. a fesh graduate navigating life, relationships, friendships after the loss of her mother and how that coats everything in her life. just loved it.
10- The Chicken - Rz Baschir: a metamorphosis type of story wih some body horror and way too much blood for my liking. I liked the magical realism aspect of the story and would read more by this author, bu I'm not sure if I can read a lot in one sitting if they're all this bloody
* 11- The Cacophobe - Seth Wang: this gives off the feeling of "picture of dorian gray" (which I haven't read but I totally know the vibe, and this is it), and I liked the narrator from the first paragraph. another ne of those stories that makes wonder is there's something wrong with the author, but this one was totally to my taste. a story about a boy allergic to ugliness and his time at a retreat and the ugly secret he holds from those days.
* 12- Beat by Beat - Emma Shannon: JUST LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS ONE. I love the protagnist and his connection to the worm that created our world, the small connections and the bigger meaning behind everything that happens. I can classify this as sof sci-fi and I can't wait for a novel or a collection from thsi author
Authors I want to check out from this collection: Erin Connal - Yasmin Adele Majeed - Patch Kirrschenbaum - Catherine Bai - Preeti Vangani - Seth Wang - Emma Shannon
1- Sacrilege - Edward Salem: the writing style didn't really grip me, despite some good passages about the parallels between art and identity. It humps between Palestine, Egypt, and France, and we follow an artist who's interested in art pieces using rocks/whatever surrounds him in htese areas, and each are intriduces a different question. Palestine and the intifada, Egypt and its history, France and its colonialism. A lot of big ideas but the story was too short, so the ending felt scattered.
* 2- The Black Kite and the Wind - Erin Connal: I REALLY find it hard to sympathize with rich white kids and especially if it's a story where they killed someone. but this story doesn't glorify that or even shows that these characters managed to move on from what they did. It's set in Australia, and in the background, the bushfires are tormenting the country, and we follow some high-school girls in their delusional attemp to "shake the system" by setting minor fires in their neighborhood. I liked the writing style, and I'm actually waiting for the author's first novel
* 3- A Wedding in Multan, 1978 - Yasmin Adele Majeed: In a way, this gives me "Atonement" vibes? I'm amazed by all the author managed to put in one story: a coming of age story, a mystery story, a political story, and a wedding story, set in Pakistan. really heartbreaking.
* 4- For Future Refernce: Notes on the 7-10 Split - Patch Kirrschenbaum: I like a story told by an older adult person to their teenage self, as they usualy have some sort of dark humor. but this one had too many bowling terminology for my taste. I liked his writing style and the emotional punch, but was disappointed when I read that his debut novel will be about professional poker players. I don't know if his writing style will make me interested in reading about poker while I was skimming the parts about bowling in this short story, still an author to keep an eye on.
5- All we Have left is Ourselves - Oyedotun Damilola Muees: normally I like dystopian stories, but this was too fragmented for my taste, and I was never sure of the timing of certain events, were they before or are they happening now in that character's life? the photographer protagonist angle was interesting, it's a shame that it wasn't explored enough.
* 6- Writing with Blood - Catherine Bai: such a lyrical story about the barrier of langiage. a chinese girl born in america and her struggle to connect with her chinese family, about immigration and relating it to the nature. it's written in the style of vignettes, so it seemed like different snapshots, but I loved a lot of the imagery!
7- Them Bones - CK Kane: some stories make you wonder if there's something wrong with the author, and this was one of them. depending solely on the shock value of its depraved characters, I expected more than just a story filled with taboos.
8- Man, Man, et cetera - Cal Shook: I'm interested to read more by this author, this story had some things I didn't like (cheating), but it had a lot of things I liked, like the writing style and the way this woman's life was told through all the men she knew, untill she is changed (or maybe not) by motherhood.
* 9- Work Wives - Preeti Vangani: I loved this story. a fesh graduate navigating life, relationships, friendships after the loss of her mother and how that coats everything in her life. just loved it.
10- The Chicken - Rz Baschir: a metamorphosis type of story wih some body horror and way too much blood for my liking. I liked the magical realism aspect of the story and would read more by this author, bu I'm not sure if I can read a lot in one sitting if they're all this bloody
* 11- The Cacophobe - Seth Wang: this gives off the feeling of "picture of dorian gray" (which I haven't read but I totally know the vibe, and this is it), and I liked the narrator from the first paragraph. another ne of those stories that makes wonder is there's something wrong with the author, but this one was totally to my taste. a story about a boy allergic to ugliness and his time at a retreat and the ugly secret he holds from those days.
* 12- Beat by Beat - Emma Shannon: JUST LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS ONE. I love the protagnist and his connection to the worm that created our world, the small connections and the bigger meaning behind everything that happens. I can classify this as sof sci-fi and I can't wait for a novel or a collection from thsi author
November 27, 2023
another read for class with a lot of good inspiration for my own stories!
September 7, 2022
I finished reading BEST DEBUT SHORT STORIES 2022: The Pen America Dau Prize edited by Yuka Igarashi and Sarah Lyn Rogers this past weekend. The prize was judged by Sabrina Orah Mark, Emily Nemens and Deesha Philyaw. I love short stories so I was really excited to read this book full of debut writers. I loved these stories! I loved how before each story there’s an editor’s note from the editor who first published the story. There’s great range in these stories that travel around the world and such a wide array of distinct characters. The writing in every story is fantastic and I really enjoyed reading this whole book! My fave stories are Writing With Blood by Catherine Bai which is about a Chinese American girl and The Chicken by RZ Baschir which has that weird edge that I love. I can’t wait to read the 2023 edition next year!
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Thank you to Catapult for my gifted review copy!
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Thank you to Catapult for my gifted review copy!
November 11, 2022
This is the best volume in this series so far. The book is loaded with strong, captivating writing. Even the stories I didn't like kept me interested to the end, and that's a difficult task. Highly recommended.
February 26, 2023
I read this collection over several weeks, and the truth is that while I enjoyed it very much, because I also read a few novels concurrently, I can't recall many details about the individual stories. As happens with short stories sometimes, none of them really stayed with me long after reading them. But I did enjoy the writing, the diversity of voices, characters, and settings in this collection. It's really lovely for these to be available to people outside of the world of literary journals and for the judges to include an introduction explaining what stood out about each story for them to earn it distinction as one of the best.
I look forward to finding more of these collections in the future, and to trying to find more stories by the included authors as well.
I look forward to finding more of these collections in the future, and to trying to find more stories by the included authors as well.
April 9, 2023
Several stories a bit too avant garde for me especially the last 3. The concepts were interesting and worth exploring, but I found it hard to connect with the characters to feel swept into the story and buy into it. Needed more feeling not just description of the world the writer created.
The chicken will stick with me. Work wives will stick with me.
From them bones — “I thought about big stuff. I would realize that when you’re a teenager you think you’re the first person to have these thoughts and feelings. And some days your thoughts feel so big nothing else exists and you can’t understand how other people can live their lives while ignoring these big thoughts. You deduce that they just might not have them.”
The chicken will stick with me. Work wives will stick with me.
From them bones — “I thought about big stuff. I would realize that when you’re a teenager you think you’re the first person to have these thoughts and feelings. And some days your thoughts feel so big nothing else exists and you can’t understand how other people can live their lives while ignoring these big thoughts. You deduce that they just might not have them.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 9, 2024
I've started and stopped a lot of short story collections this year, or just picked out a few stories from several anthologies. This was the first anthology that I finished. Every story really did something interesting and fresh. Reading for craft was helpful because it reminded me that I could employ techniques that I'd forgotten about.
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September 22, 2022An engaging introduction to new writers that features diverse voices and interesting locales. I particularly enjoyed the selections from Connal, Kirschenbaum, Shook, and Vangani; however, I eagerly await the next creations from all the collected writers.
September 3, 2023
3.5 stars. Book started strong with compelling stories, then got a little disturbing and out there with a couple that i would not categorize as the best in terms of storyline. Everyone wrote well, so there's that. Last story helped redeem the collection.
November 20, 2023
Fascinating. I don’t always read short stories and this was such a good way to dive in. I adored some of them, others made me think for hours, and some were not my cup of tea. Nevertheless this collection was perfect for long T rides.
May 29, 2024
“For Future Reference: Notes on the 7-10 Split” by Patch Kirschenbaum, “Man, Man, Et Cetera” by Cal Shook, and “The Cacophobe” by Seth Wang: as strong a Top 3 as you’ll read in any of these anthologies.
October 9, 2022
The writing was excellent. This book was not a book I would have picked out for myself. Glad I took the journey out of my box.
January 8, 2023
Some truly exquisite stories. Made me want to write & write & write some more.
August 30, 2023
3.5. Some of them were very good, but others were not.
January 6, 2024
made me feel productive to read a book quickly. each story is a new ride. some make more sense than others
February 14, 2024
My Favorite was Beat By Beat.
October 30, 2025
As with any anthology, some stories were fantastic, a few inexplicable, and others just downright bizarre.
December 27, 2025
faves: work wives & them bones
November 27, 2025
hard to rate a collection collectively so here’s the quickest review of each short story
the black kite in the wind- liked it, always a fan of woke rich teens going a little crazy
a wedding in multan, 1978- also liked
for future reference notes on the 7-10 split- I LOVE THIS STORY. I’ve read it before it’s so good i love a second person POV. Probably my favorite of the collection
all we have left is ourselves- not my favorite tbh, but that’s probably more of a genre thing than the quality of the story
writing with blood- beautiful a piece that had me thinkinggggg
them bones- weirddddd sibling dynamic but i was into it
man, man, et cetera - like if you took the apocalypse out of Inventory by carmen maria machado but good!
work wives- good i liked it
the chicken - dnf it was too gorey for me
the cacophobe- dnf :/
beat by beat- SO GOOD. reminded me a lot of owe on water by rachel B glaser. big worm ❤️ maybe my fav of the series
the black kite in the wind- liked it, always a fan of woke rich teens going a little crazy
a wedding in multan, 1978- also liked
for future reference notes on the 7-10 split- I LOVE THIS STORY. I’ve read it before it’s so good i love a second person POV. Probably my favorite of the collection
all we have left is ourselves- not my favorite tbh, but that’s probably more of a genre thing than the quality of the story
writing with blood- beautiful a piece that had me thinkinggggg
them bones- weirddddd sibling dynamic but i was into it
man, man, et cetera - like if you took the apocalypse out of Inventory by carmen maria machado but good!
work wives- good i liked it
the chicken - dnf it was too gorey for me
the cacophobe- dnf :/
beat by beat- SO GOOD. reminded me a lot of owe on water by rachel B glaser. big worm ❤️ maybe my fav of the series
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews