Anyone have some modern short stoty collections I should check out. Most of what I've been reading is a bit old and I want to see what people are doing now. I like simple stories about real people. Cheers
Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson is really great. Jodi Angel's collection You Only Get Letters From Jail is another good one. Joan Wickersham is a true master. Her collection The News from Spain is perfection. Honestly, I could easily name a dozen great collections, but the three I mentioned all have stories I have gone back to read for a second or third time and I'm sure I will revisit again.
Nice one, I'll check those out. I usually just pick up random books in my local shop but their short story section is about 3 books.
Check out Alice Munro. She won the Nobel Prize recently and writes nothing but short stories. You might also try T. C. Boyle.
Try Jeffry Archer http://jeffreyarcher.co.uk/books-and-plays/short-stories/ I prefer his short stories to his novels.
I'd check out Poes short story collections. Its not modern but he pretty much invented the short story if I'm not mistaken.
I am a fan of Ron Rash in the "grit lit" genre. His short story collection "Something Rich and Strange" (2004) is great. Also, just read and really enjoyed "Refresh, Refresh: Stories" by the talented Benjamin Percy. Both authors write stirring, but disturbing stories and are both wonderful writers (who also both teach creative writing).
There's enough on the Litro site, I'd say, to keep your whistle wetted. Jude Cook on there is particularly good at capturing the zeitgeist.