A collection of the twenty best contemporary short stories selected by series editor Laura Furman from hundreds of literary magazines, The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories 2010 brings to life a dazzling array of subjects- a street orphan in Malaysia, a cowboy and his teenage bride, a Russian nanny in Manhattan, a nineteenth-century Nigerian widow, and political prisoners on a Greek island. Also included are essays from the eminent jurors on their favorite stories, observations from the winners on what inspired them, and an extensive resource list of magazines.

Them Old Cowboy Songs
Annie Proulx

Clothed, Female Figure
Kirstin Allio

The Headstrong Historian
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Stand By Me
Wendell Berry

Sheep May Safely Graze
Jess Row

Birch Memorial
Preeta Samarasan

Visitation
Brad Watson

The Woman of the House
William Trevor

The Bridge
Daniel Alarc n

A Spoiled Man
Daniyal Mueenuddin

Oh, Death
James Lasdun

Fresco, Byzantine
Natalie Bakopoulos

The End of My Life in New York
Peter Cameron

Obit
Ted Sanders

The Lover
Damon Galgut

An East Egg Update
George Bradley

Into the Gorge
Ron Rash

Microstories
John Edgar Wideman

Some Women
Alice Munro

Making Good
Lore Segal

For author interviews, photos, and more,go to www.ohenryprizestories.com

A portion of the proceeds from this book will go to support the PEN Readers & Writers Literary Outreach Program.