I lived in the Lower East Side—as does the character in my story, “Winter, 1965”—in a six-floor walk-up—one room, a kitchen with its own bathtub, a toilet and stand-up shower. I was happy because I worked only five days a week and was now free to write and to dream.
But many of my dreams were haunted by the stories, the hard lives and worries—which often became mine—of the sixty or more people on my welfare caseload. Every day there was some new emergency: evictions, utilities shutdowns, suicides. Sometimes in my sleep I would confuse and blend the stories of my clients with my own history of childhood impoverishment in the Bronx. In that Welfare Department period, which lasted a charged year, I never wrote about those people or my life with them: I wanted to escape from them; I wrote anything that was far away from what I was then living.
Fifty-three years later I woke up one morning, having had a dream about a former client, a blind Jamaican woman in her nineties who wanted me to read poetry to her—Longfellow, her favorite. And I began writing this story.
—
Frederic Tuten, Bronx born, has written about art, literature, and film in several periodicals, including Artforum, The New York Times, and Vogue; was an actor in the Alain Resnais movie L’An 01; taught with Paul Bowles in Morocco; and cowrote the cult-classic film Possession. He earned a PhD in literature, three Pushcart Prizes, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and an Arts and Letters Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Tuten is the author of five novels: The Adventures of Mao on the Long March; Tintin in the New World; Tallien: A Brief Romance; Van Gogh’s Bad Café; The Green Hour; and a book of interrelated short stories, Self Portraits: Fictions. He lives in New York City.
Zebbie Watson, “A Single Deliberate Thing”
This story and I had chemistry from the start. I like to approach a story not with a plot in mind, but by throwing together a few elements to see what happens as a result. A drought, a sick horse, a boy. Like the character, I did not quite know the end until it happened. The epistolary-like address presented itself within the first paragraph, long before I realized it was a story about telling and not telling. It is by far the most intuitive story I have written. There are lines that I did not write, I just knew.
Notes (and his haircut) is based on a pony named Snowflake, who lived and died at a farm where I worked. I grew up with horses and sometimes I find it easier to populate my writing with believable equine characters than human ones. I have heard many comments about the connection between the name “Notes” and the theme of letters, but I must admit that I did not notice that myself until the story was already finished. I just thought it was a memorable name. His friend really was a horse named Otter; that one was too perfect to change.
—
Zebbie Watson is from Elverson, Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College. Her stories have appeared in Breakwater Review and elsewhere, and she received a 2016 Pushcart Prize. She lives in Athens, Georgia.
Publications Submitted
Stories published in American and Canadian magazines are eligible for consideration for inclusion in The O. Henry Prize Stories. Stories must be written originally in the English language. No translations are considered. Sections of novels are not considered. Editors are asked not to nominate individual stories. Stories may not be submitted by agents or writers.
Editors are invited to submit online fiction for consideration, but such submissions must be sent to the address on the next page in the form of a legible hard copy. The publication’s contact information and the date of the story’s publication must accompany the submissions.
Because of production deadlines for the 2017 collection, it is essential that stories reach the series editor by July 1, 2016. If a finished magazine is unavailable before the deadline, magazine editors are welcome to submit scheduled stories in proof or manuscript. Publications received after July 1, 2016, will automatically be considered for The O. Henry Prize Stories 2018.
Please see our website, www.ohenryprizestories.com, for more information about submission to The O. Henry Prize Stories.
The address for submission is:
Laura Furman, Series Editor, The O. Henry Prize Stories
The University of Texas at Austin
English Department, B5000
1 University Station
Austin, TX 78712
The information listed below was up-to-date when The O. Henry Prize Stories 2016 went to press. Inclusion in this listing does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by The O. Henry Prize Stories or Anchor Books.
A Public Space
Brigid Hughes, editor
[email protected]
apublicspace.org
quarterly
Able Muse Review
Alexander Pepple, editor
[email protected]
ablemuse.com
semiannual
Agni
Sven Birkerts, editor
[email protected]
bu.edu/agni
semiannual (print) / biweekly (web)
Alaska Quarterly Review
Ronald Spatz, editor
[email protected]
uaa.alaska.edu/aqr
quarterly
Alligator Juniper
Skye Anicca, editor
[email protected]
prescott.edu/alligatorjuniper
annual
American Short Fiction
Rebecca Markovits and Adeena Reitberger, editors
[email protected]
americanshortfiction.org
triannual
Antioch Review
Robert S. Fogarty, editor
Christina Gabbard, managing editor
[email protected]
review.antiochcollege.org/spring-2015
quarterly
Apalachee Review
Michael Trammell, editor
[email protected]
apalacheereview.org
semiannual
Apt
Carissa Halston and Randolph Pfaff, editors
[email protected]
[email protected]
apt.aforementionedproductions.com
annual (print) / weekly (web)
Arcadia
Chase Dearinger, editor
[email protected]
arcadiamagazine.org
quarterly
Arkansas Review
Marcus Tribbett, editor
[email protected]
altweb.astate.edu/arkreview
triannual
Baltimore Review
Barbara Diehl, editor
[email protected]
baltimorereview.org/index.php
annual (print) / quarterly (web)
Bellevue Literary Review
Stacy Bodziak, editor
[email protected]
blr.med.nyu.edu
semiannual
Black Warrior Review
Zachary Doss, editor
[email protected]
bwr.ua.edu
semiannual
Bomb
Betsy Sussler, editor
[email protected]
bombmagazine.org
quarterly
Booth
Robert Stapleton
[email protected]
booth.butler.edu
semiannual (print) / weekly (web)
Border Crossing
Julie Brooks Barbour, Mary McMyne, and Jillena Rose, editors
[email protected]
lssu.edu/bc/index.php
annual
Bosque
Lynn C. Miller, editor
[email protected]
bosquepress.com
annual
Boulevard
Richard Burgin, editor
[email protected]
boulevardmagazine.org
triannual
Brain, Child
Marcelle Soviero, editor
[email protected]
brainchildmag.com
quarterly
Bridge Eight
Coe Douglas, editor
[email protected]
bridgeeight.com
semiannual
Carve
Matthew Limpede, editor
[email protected]
carvezine.com
quarterly
Chautauqua
Jill Gerard and Philip Gerard, editors
[email protected]
ciweb.org/literary-arts/literary-journal
annual
Chicago Quarterly Review
Syed Haider, editor
[email protected]
chicagoquarterlyreview.com
quarterly
China Grove
Luke Lampton and R. Scott Anderson, editors
[email protected]
chinagrovepress.com/china-grove-a-literary-journal
semiannual
Cimarron Review
Toni Graham, editor
[email protected]
cimarronreview.com
quarterly
Colorado Review
Stephanie G’Schwind
[email protected]
coloradoreview.colostate.edu/colorado-review
triannual
Confrontation
Jonna Semeiks, editor
[email protected]
confrontationmagazine.org
semiannual
Conjunctions
Bradford Morrow, editor
[email protected]
conjunctions.com
semiannual
Copper Nickel
Wayne Miller, editor
[email protected]
copper-nickel.org
semiannual
Crab Orchard Review
Jon Tribble, editor
[email protected]
craborchardreview.siu.edu
semiannual
CutBank
Billy Wallace, editor
[email protected]
cutbankonline.org
semiannual
Dappled Things
Meredith McCann, editor
[email protected]
dappledthings.org
quarterly
December
Gianna Jacobson, editor
[email protected]
decembermag.org
semiannual
Denver Quarterly
Laird Hunt, editor
[email protected]
du.edu/denverquarterly
quarterly
Descant
descant.ca
CLOSED
Ecotone
David Gessner, editor
[email protected]
ecotonemagazine.org
semiannual
Eleven Eleven
Hugh Behm-Steinberg, editor
[email protected]
elevenelevenjournal.com
semiannual
enRoute
Jean-François Légaré, editor
[email protected]
enroute.aircanada.com
monthly
Epoch
Michael Koch, editor
[email protected]
english.arts.cornell.edu/publications/epoch
triannual
Event
Shashi Bhat, editor
[email protected]
eventmagazine.ca
triannual
Exile
Barry Callaghan, editor
[email protected]
theexilewriters.com
quarterly
Faerie Magazine
Carolyn Turgeon, editor
[email protected]
faeriemag.com
quarterly
Fairy Tale Review
Kate Bernheimer, editor
[email protected]
fairytalereview.com
annual
Fantasy & Science Fiction
Charles Coleman Finlay, editor
[email protected]
sfsite.com/fsf/index.html
published six times a year
Farallon Review
farallonreview.com
Suspended Publication
Fence
Rebecca Wolff and Paul Legault, editors
[email protected]
fenceportal.org
semiannual
Fiction
Mark Jay Mirsky
[email protected]
fictioninc.com
semiannual
Fiction River
Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith, editors
[email protected]
fictionriver.com
published six times a year
Fifth Wednesday Journal
Vern Miller, editor
[email protected]
fifthwednesdayjournal.com
semiannual
Five Points
David Bottoms, editor
fivepoints.gsu.edu
triannual
Fourteen Hills
Heather June Gibbons, editor
14hills.net
semiannual
Gargoyle
Richard Peabody, editor
[email protected]
gargoylemagazine.com
annual
Glimmer Train
Linda Swanson-Davies and Susan Burmeister-Brown, editors
[email protected]
glimmertrain.com
triannual
Gold Man Review
Heather Cuthbertson, editor
[email protected]
goldmanreview.org
annual
Grain Magazine
[email protected]
grainmagazine.ca
quarterly
Granta
Sigrid Rausing, editor
[email protected]
granta.com
quarterly
Green Mountains Review
Elizabeth Powell, editor
[email protected]
greenmountainsreview.com
semiannual
Grey Sparrow Journal
Diane Smith, editor
[email protected]
greysparrowpress.sharepoint.com
quarterly
Grist
Helen Stead, editor
[email protected]
gristjournal.com
annual
Gulf Coast
Nick Flynn, editor
[email protected]
gulfcoastmag.org
semiannual
Harvard Review
Christina Thompson, editor
[email protected]
harvardreview.fas.harvard.edu
semiannual
Hayden’s Ferry Review
Chelsea Hickok, editor
[email protected]
haydensferryreview.com
semiannual
Huizache
Dagoberto Gilb, editor
[email protected]
huizachemag.org
annual
Hunger Mountain
Miciah Bay Gault, editor
[email protected]
hungermtn.org
annual
Indiana Review
Peter Kispert, editor
[email protected]
indianareview.org
semiannual
Iron Horse Literary Review
Leslie Jill Patterson, editor
[email protected]
ironhorsereview.com
published six times a year
Isthmus
Ann Przyzycki, Randy DeVita, and Taira Anderson, editors
[email protected]
isthm
usreview.com
semiannual
Jabberwock Review
Becky Hagenston, editor
[email protected]
jabberwock.org.msstate.edu
semiannual
Kenyon Review
David H. Lynn, editor
[email protected]
kenyonreview.org
published six times a year
Labletter
Sarah Marrs, editor
[email protected]
labletter.com
annual
Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet
Gavin J. Grant and Kelly Link, editors
150 Pleasant St., #306
Easthampton, MA 01027
(no e-mail submissions)
smallbeerpress.com/lcrw
semiannual
Lake Effect
George Looney, editor
[email protected]
behrend.psu.edu/lakeeffect
annual
Literary Imagination
Archie Burnett, editor
litimag.oxfordjournals.org
triannual
Little Brother Magazine
Emily M. Keeler, editor
[email protected]
littlebrothermagazine.com
semiannual
Little Patuxent Review
Steven Leyva, editor
[email protected]
littlepatuxentreview.org
biannual
Make
Kamilah Foreman, editor
[email protected]
makemag.com
semiannual
Malahat Review
John Barton, editor
[email protected]
malahatreview.ca
quarterly
MĀNOA
Frank Stewart, editor
[email protected]
hawaii.edu/mjournal
semiannual
Massachusetts Review
Jim Hicks, editor
[email protected]
massreview.org
quarterly
Meridian
Emily Temple, editor
readmeridian.org
semiannual
Michigan Quarterly Review
Jonathan Freedman, editor
[email protected]
michiganquarterlyreview.com
quarterly
Mid-American Review
Abigail Cloud, editor
[email protected]
casit.bgsu.edu/midamericanreview
semiannual
Midwestern Gothic
Jeff Pfaller and Robert James Russell, editors
[email protected]
midwestgothic.com
quarterly
Mississippi Review
Andrew Malan Milward, editor
[email protected]
usm.edu/mississippi-review/index.html
semiannual
Montana Quarterly
Scott McMillion, editor
[email protected]
themontanaquarterly.com
The O. Henry Prize Stories 2016 Page 36