Synopses & Reviews
We all have our favorite pieces by our beloved writers. But what do they think is their own best work? Inspired by an acclaimed collection published in 1942, the editors at the Quality Paperback Book Club invited fiction writers, essayists, poets, playwrights, and cartoonists to choose and comment on their best work. The result is a veritable who's who of contemporary literature and popular culture, including selections by Anne Tyler, Arthur Miller, Gary Trudeau, David Sedaris, Rita Dove, Tom Robbins, Ruth Reichl, T. C. Boyle, Mary Karr, John Updike, and dozens more. Each selection is rewarding in itself; more still for the introductions in which the author explains his or her choice, shedding light on both the work and creative process. Appealing to readers of the annual best short story collections, writers, and fans of the stellar list of contributors, This Is My Best is a landmark literary anthology.
Synopsis
Inspired by the 1942 anthology This Is My Best (collecting the self-selected best work of authors such as William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, William Carlos Williams, Dorothy Parker, and 140 other), this contemporary collection invites a whole new cast of fiction writers, essayists, poets, playwrights, and cartoonists to choose and comment on their best work. Compiled by the editors at Quality Paper Back, the anthology is a who of contemporary literature and popular culture, including Joyce Carol Oates, Anne Tyler, Arthur Miller, John Updike, Gary Trudeau, David Sedaris, Rita Dove, Tom Robbins, Al Franken, Scott Turow, T.C. Boyle, and many more.
About the Author
Kathy Kiernan is co-editor of
First Fiction: An Anthology of the First Published Stories by Famous Writers. A former fiction editor at
Jane magazine and now on the board of the
Evergreen Review, she lives in New York City.
Retha Powers is executive editor of the Quality Paperback Book Club. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Essence, Ms., Vibe, and Glamour. She lives in New York City.