In my first entry for the column “Long Story Short” (I’m alternating months with my wife, Tara Laskowski), I reflect on the continuing and even growing importance of anthologies to the mystery community. Here are the opening paragraphs:
Two weekends ago in Bethesda, Maryland, at the Malice Domestic convention — one of the most important events of the year for mystery writers and readers — I found myself struck more than ever by the important role that anthologies play in the crime-writing community: their prevalence and popularity both for readers and writers.
Part of this may be personal: On the eve of Malice, I finished making selections for an anthology I’m guest editing — Murder Under the Oaks, which will be published this fall in conjunction with Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention — and while at Malice, I found myself purchasing one anthology after another in the book dealers’ room.
But I kept hearing the same thoughts from others, too, about both our genre’s abiding interest in the short story and the growing importance of the anthology alongside those interests.
Read the full column here.