The Best Short Stories 2021: The O. Henry Prize Winners

The prestigious annual story anthology now has a new title, a new package, and a new guest editor format to reinvigorate it as it enters its second century.

The Best Short Stories 2021: The O. Henry Prize Winners—continuing a century-long tradition of cutting-edge literary excellence—contains twenty prizewinning stories chosen from the thousands published in magazines over the previous year. Guest editor Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has brought her own refreshing perspective to the prize, selecting stories by an engaging mix of celebrated names and young emerging voices. The winning stories are accompanied by an introduction by Adichie, observations from the winning writers on what inspired them, and an extensive resource list of magazines that publish short fiction.

Daphne Palasi Andreades • David Means • Sindya Bhanoo • Crystal Wilkinson • Alice Jolly • David Rabe • Karina Sainz Borgo (translator, Elizabeth Bryer) • Jamel Brinkley • Tessa Hadley • Adachioma Ezeano • Anthony Doerr • Tiphanie Yanique • Joan Silber • Jowhor Ile • Emma Cline • Asali Solomon • Ben Hinshaw • Caroline Albertine Minor (translator, Caroline Waight) • Jianan Qian • Sally Rooney