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 Alarcón

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.