The Declining Short Story

There are few masters of the short story left writing today.

Last night, I read a short story by one, Neil Gaiman, though he's not a mystery writer. It is called The Price and it appears in his short story collection "Smoke and Mirrors." Great stuff.

A lot of writers will write the occasional short story for an anthology or collection, but they don't do so with enough regularity for me to call them masters.

Ed McBain wrote one of my all-time favorite mystery short stories, and there are others. Perhaps the best short story writer in crime/mystery fiction is Walter Mosely. His short stories featuring ex-con Socrates Fortlow are amazing in their ability to project you into the world of a dirt-poor black man who spent decades in jail and is now trying to make his way in the world. Check out "Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned," for some great Socrates Fortlow stories. You won't be disappointed.

Fortunately, short fiction isn't entirely dead. There are plenty of places to read short mystery fiction, if you desire. Mysterical-E is a wonderful free e-zine. You can read their stuff at www.mystericale.com. I also like Crime Spree magazine, though it is a little tough to find on the news stands. Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen's mystery magazines, available at most news stands, offer up the goods monthly. Back to online, Shred of Evidence is an excellent free e-zine and can be found at www.shredofevidence.com. And there are many others out there.

In print, I make it a habit to read "The Best American Mystery Short Stories," an annual anthology edited by Otto Penzler and a different guest editor. They do a great job of selecting 15-20 short stories, though more and more they are leaning toward "crime" stories as opposed to the traditional "who done it" mystery.

Take some time to read short stories. And if you read one you enjoy, try to drop the author and the editor a quick note -- let them know the shorter form is still appreciated.