The Death of the Short Story?
There are so few outlets for short stories these days. It didn’t used to be the case. There was a Golden Age of the short story from the 1880s to perhaps the 1950s when there were lots of magazines like The Strand and John O’London’s Weekly that published them. The Strand, most famous for the Sherlock Holmes stories, ceased publication in 1950 and John O’London’s Weekly in 1954. The London newspaper, the Evening Standard, also published short stories. Not sure when it stopped, but that was probably the 1950s, too. I don’t know why these magazines stopped selling. It coincides with people beginning to watch more TV and I wonder if there is a connection.
As a keen short story writer, I think wistfully of those glory days. Nowadays in the UK it is principally women’s magazines that still publish short stories on a regular basis – I’ve had a couple myself in The People’s Friend. It’s a bit different in the US: there’s Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, and others. I don’t know where I would be without the wonderful EQMM, which has published a number of my stories.
Having said all this, I have to admit that the last couple of years have been particularly productive for me with four stories published in anthologies, two more in EQMM, and others in the pipeline. Last year I also had a story long-listed for the Margery Allingham Prize. Like many people, I have struggled to write during the pandemic and it has been less daunting to tackle a short story than to work on a novel. I’ve also had fun extending my range and have written a couple of horror stories for the splendid Comma Press, which specialises in short story collections. One of them was published last year in The New Abject and another is coming out later this year.
But perhaps the most fun I’ve had was in writing a short story featuring Cassandra James who was the protagonist in my first three novels, and deciding what had happened to her in the intervening years. The story, ‘Some Other Dracula,’ is out later this month in the new CWA anthology, Music of the Night. More about next time.
6 Comments
Susan D
February 8, 2022Nice to see you back in your blog space, Christine.
Short stories are something I’ve taken off with lately, and have a number published in several mystery anthologies. They are so enjoyable to write, (once I get past the false starts, I mean) like making a tasty breakfast of my favourite things. And of course we hope they are as enjoyable to read.
Congratulations on the Margery Allingham longlist.
Christine Poulson
February 8, 2022Thank you, Susan. I was a bit taken aback when I realised how long it was since I last blogged!
Congratulations on the short story successes. Yes, a lot of fun to write, as you say, once a story has taken off. For me, it is usually a bit bumpy at first.
Planning to be a bit assiduous in my blogging in future.
Margot Kinberg
February 8, 2022So glad to hear your short story is coming out soon! I’m excited for you, and I’m really looking forward to catching up with Cassandra! You do make a well-taken point, though, about short stories. There are some online magazines and other places that publish short stories, but they don’t proliferate the way they used to do. And anthologies can be a bit hit-or-miss. I hope they start to get more interest again.
Christine Poulson
February 9, 2022Thanks, Margot! It was really fun to get acquainted with Cassandra again. I would love it if there were more outlets, as it’s a form I really enjoy.
Helen Crimlisk
February 9, 2022So glad you’ve kept Cassandra going Chrissie, im really looking forward to hearing more about her!
Christine Poulson
February 9, 2022Thanks, Helen! It was a lot of fun writing about her again.