TDR's Short Story Survey

In the spring, The Danforth Review asked its readers, "What was the best short story collection published in Canada since 1980?" Readers and publishers sent in their answers, and TDR posted the results. TDR Editor Michael Bryson notes that the list suggests "an appetite among TDR readers for a more 'experimental' type of short story than is typically associated with the form in Canada." He writes, "The list is provided as a public service. Search out these books. You might like them!"

The top three picks:

• We So Seldom Look On Love (HarperCollins) by Barbara Gowdy
• Toronto Stories: The People One Knows (Mercury Press) by Daniel Jones
• Moons of Jupiter (Penguin Canada) or Friend of My Youth (Penguin Canada) by Alice Munro

The long list from TDR readers (titles in no particular order):

• Yesterday's People (Biblioasis) by Goran Simic
• Six Ways to Sunday (Nightwood) by Christian McPherson
• Long Story Short (House of Anansi Press) by Elyse Friedman
• As Birds Bring Forth the Sun (McClelland & Stewart) by Alistair MacLeod
• Tales from Firozsha Baag (New Canadian Library) by Rohinton Mistry
• Inspecting the Vaults (Penguin Canada) by Eric McCormack
• The four volumes of Clark Blaise's collected stories (Southern Stories, Montreal Stories, Pittsburgh Stories, World Body, Porcupine's Quill)
• Seven Dreams by David Demchuck
• Standing Stones (Thomas Allen Publishers) by John Metcalf
• Natasha (HarperCollins Canada) by David Bezmozgis
• All the Anxious Girls on Earth (Key Porter Books) by Zsuzsi Gartner
• Whatever Happens (Insomniac Press) by Tim Conley

Be sure to visit The Danforth Review to check out the publishers' picks and to read Bryson's editorial.