''Sudden Fiction (Continued): 60 New Short Stories'' is a collection of

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

published in 1996. It was compiled and edited by Robert Shapard and James Thomas. It is a follow-up to ''Sudden Fiction International'' (1989) and ''Sudden Fiction - American Short-Short Stories.'' Notable authors in ''Sudden Fiction (Continued)'' include William Maxwell,

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...

Don DeLillo Donald Richard DeLillo (born November 20, 1936) is an American novelist, short story writer, playwright, screenwriter and essayist. His works have covered subjects as diverse as television, nuclear war, sports, the complexities of language, per ...

Mark Richard Mark Richard is an American short story writer, novelist, screenwriter, and poet. He is the author of two award-winning short story collections, ''The Ice at the Bottom of the World'' and ''Charity,'' a bestselling novel, ''Fishboy'', and ''House ...

Molly Giles Molly Giles (born in 1942) is an American short story writer, novelist, and professor at the University of Arkansas. She formerly taught at San Francisco State University. She is the author of ''Creek Walk and Other Stories'' () published in 1997 a ...

Bruce Holland Rogers Bruce Holland Rogers is an American author of short fiction who also writes under the pseudonym Hanovi Braddock. His stories have won a Pushcart Prize, two Nebula Awards, the Bram Stoker Award, two World Fantasy Awards, the Micro Award, and ha ...

, Barry Peters,

Andrew Lam Andrew Lam (born 1964) is a Vietnamese American author and journalist who has written about the Overseas Vietnamese experience. Biography Andrew Lam was born Lâm Quang Dũng in 1964 in South Vietnam. He led a privileged life as the son of Gen ...

, and Judy Troy.

Reception

Critical reception to the short story collection was positive. A reviewer from ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' felt that the authors created fast-paced stories with "full, vivid characters and descriptions" while keeping the stories short. Greg Johnson wrote in ''

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'' that some of the short stories seemed gimmicky, but that ''Sudden Fiction (Continued)'' was a rich, vibrant collection otherwise. Lisa Meyers from the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' thought that the short story collection succeeded because it offered a "variety of voices, themes, and narrative techniques." ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

''s Michele Leber liked the book's format, stating that it is "perfectly suited to the pace of modern life" since the short stories can be read in a few minutes time.

References

1996 anthologies Fiction anthologies W. W. Norton & Company books {{1990s-story-collection-stub