Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: ‘The Thing Around Your Neck’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd © 2009, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Martin Amis: ‘Let Me Count the Times’ by Martin Amis, originally published by Granta (1981).
Kate Atkinson: ‘Unseen Translation’ by Kate Atkinson. From Not the End of the World by Kate Atkinson. Published by Transworld. Reprinted by permission of The Random House Group Ltd.
Isaac Babel: ‘My First Fee’ by Isaac Babel. Published by Macmillan Books Ltd.
J.G. Ballard: ‘Dream Cargoes’ and ‘The Index’ from The Complete Short Stories of J.G. Ballard (Vol.2) by J.G. Ballard. Published by HarperCollins, Publishers, London.
Nicola Barker: ‘Mixed Breeding’ by Nicola Barker © Nicola Barker, 1996. ‘Mixed Breeding was first published in the Observer and is reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd, 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.
Julian Barnes: ‘Marriage Lines’ from Pulse by Julian Barnes. Published by Jonathan Cape, 2011. Reprinted by permission of The Random House Group Ltd.
Jorge Luis Borges: ‘Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote’ by Jorge Luis Borges, originally published in Spanish in the Argentine journal Sur in May 1939. The Spanish language original was first published in book form in El Jardin de Senderos Que se Bifucan (The Garden of Forking Paths), 1941, and reprinted in Ficciones (Penguin Books, 1994).
Elizabeth Bowen: ‘Sunday Afternoon’ by Elizabeth Bowen. From The Demon Lover and Other Stories by Elizabeth Bowen. Published by Jonathan Cape. Reprinted by permission of Curtis Brown Digital.
James Bradley: ‘Beauty’s Sister’ by James Bradley © James Bradley 2012. ‘Beauty’s Sister’ was first published by Penguin Group (Australia) and is reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd, 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN and Penguin Group (Australia).
Ivan Bunin: ‘A Cold Autumn’ by Ivan Bunin. Reprinted with permission from Agence Hoffman, Paris.
John Burnside: ‘The Cold Outside’ by John Burnside © John Burnside 2013. ‘The Cold Outside’ first appeared in The New Yorker and is reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd, 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.
Peter Carey: ‘Report on the Shadow Industry’ by Peter Carey © Peter Carey, 1994. Reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd, 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.
Angela Carter: ‘Lizzie’s Tiger’ by Angela Carter © the estate of Angela Carter, 1995. Reproduced by permission of the estate c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd, 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.
Raymond Carver: ‘Errand’ by Raymond Carver. From Elephant by Raymond Carver. Published by Vintage. Reprinted by permission of The Random House Group Ltd.
John Cheever: ‘The Swimmer’ by John Cheever. From Collected Stories by John Cheever. Published by Vintage. Reprinted by permission of The Random House Group Ltd.
Richmal Crompton: ‘The Fall of the Idol’ by Richmal Crompton. Published by Macmillan Children’s Books Ltd.
Roald Dahl: ‘Parson’s Pleasure’ by Roald Dahl. From Kiss Kiss by Roald Dahl. Published by Penguin. Used by permission of David Higham Associates.
Siddhartha Deb: ‘Nothing Visible’ by Siddhartha Deb © 2002 Siddhartha Deb. ‘Nothing Visible’ was first published in Heat 4 and is reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd, 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.
Anita Desai: ‘Private Tuition by Mr Bose’ by Anita Desai © Anita Desia, 1978. Reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd, 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.
Isak Dinesen: ‘The Ring’ from Anecdotes of Destiny by Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen) (Penguin Books, 2001). Copyright © Isak Dinesen, 1958. Reproduced by permission of Penguin Books Ltd.
Anthony Doerr: ‘The Deep’ by Anthony Doerr from Memory Wall. Published by Scribner, 2010.
Penelope Fitzgerald: ‘The Red-Haired Girl’ by Penelope Fitzgerald. Reproduced by permission of the Estate of Penelope Fitzgerald c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd. 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.
Mavis Gallant: ‘The Wedding Ring’ by Mavis Gallant. From Going Ashore by Mavis Gallant. Originally appeared in The New Yorker (June 28, 1969). Reprinted by permission for Georges Borchardt Inc., on behalf of the Mavis Gallant Estate.
Georgina Hammick: ‘The Dying Room’ from Spoilt by Georgina Hammick. Published by Penguin Books, 1993.
Knut Hamsun: ‘A Lecture Tour’ by Knut Hamsun from Tales of Love and Loss. Translated by Robert Ferguson. Used by kind permission of Souvenir Press, Ltd.
Joanne Harris: ‘The Toymaker and His Wife’ by Joanne Harris © Joanne Harris, 2014. Reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd, 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.
A.M. Homes: ‘A Real Doll’ from The Safety of Objects by A.M. Homes. First published in Great Britain by Granta Books, 2004. Acknowledgement is made to the following periodical these stories originally appeared in: Christopher Street.
Shirley Jackson: ‘The Lottery’ from The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson (Penguin Classics, 2009). Copyright © Shirley Jackson 1948, 1949. Reproduced by permission of Penguin Books Ltd.
Denis Johnson: ‘Emergency’ by Denis Johnson. First published in The New Yorker, 16 September, 1991, p. 31.
Hanif Kureishi: ‘D’accord, Baby’ by Hanif Kureishi © Hanif Kureishi, 2010. Reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd., 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.
D.H. Lawrence: ‘The Rocking-Horse Winner’ from The Woman Who Rode Away and Other Stories by D. H. Lawrence reprinted by permission of Pollinger Ltd (www.pollingerltd.com) on behalf of The Estate of Frieda Lawrence Ravagli.
Clarice Lispector: ‘The Smallest Woman in the World’ by Clarice Lispector. By permission of Agencia Carmen Balcells, Barcelona.
Shena Mackay: ‘Radio Gannet’ by Shena Mackay © Shena Mackay 2008. ‘Radio Gannet’ was first published in The Atmospheric Railway (Jonathan Cape) and is reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd, 20 Powis Mews, London W111 JN.
Bernard MacLaverty: ‘At the Beach’ by Bernard MacLaverty © Bernard MacLaverty, 1994. Reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd, 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.
Bernard Malamud: ‘The Last Mohican’ by Bernard Malamud. From The Magic Barrel by Bernard Malamud. Reprinted by the permission of Russell & Volkening as agents for the author. Copyright ©1954, 1958 by Bernard Malamud, renewed 1986 by Bernard Malamud.
W. Somerset Maugham: ‘Mr. Know-All’ by W. Somerset Maugham. From Short Stories by W. Somerset Maugham. Reprinted by permission of United Agents on behalf of: The literary fund.
William Maxwell: ‘Love’ from All the Days and Nights by William Maxwell. Reprinted by permission of The Random Houser Group Ltd.
Ian McEwan: ‘Solid Geometry’ by Ian McEwan © Ian McEwan, 1975. Reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd, 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.
John McGahern: ‘The Wine Breath’ by John McGahern. Published by Faber & Faber.
Gita Mehta: ‘The Teacher’s Story’ by Gita Mehta © Gita Mehta, 1993. Reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd, 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.
Lorrie Moore: ‘Two Boys’ by Lorrie Moore. Published by Faber & Faber.
Alice Munro: ‘The Children Stay’ by Alice Munro. Published by Chatto & Windus.
Flannery O’Connor: ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find’ from A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor reprinted by permission of Peters Fraser & Dunlop (www.petersfraserdunlop.com) on behalf of the Estate of Flannery O’Connor.
Frank O’Connor: ‘Guests of the Nation’ by Frank O’Connor. Reprinted by permission of Peters Fraser & Dunlop (www.petersfraserdunlop.com) on behalf of the Estate of Frank O’Connor.
Julia O’Faolain: ‘Under the Rose’ by Julia O’Faolain © Julia O’Faolain 1994. ‘Under The Rose’ was first published in The New Yorker and is reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd, 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.
Sean O’Faolain: ‘How to Write a Short Story’ by Sean O’Faolain © estate of Sean O’Faolain, 1974. Reproduced by permission of the Estate of Sean O’Faolain c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd, 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.
Cynthia Ozick: ‘The Pagan Rabbi’ by Cynthia Ozick © 1966, 2006 Cynthia Ozick. ‘The Pagan Rabbi’ was first published in Hudson Review 19 and is reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd, 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.
Tim Parks: ‘The Tangling Point’ by Tim Parks © Tim Parks 2013. ‘The Tangling Point’ first appeared in The Paris Review and is reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd., 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.
Edith Pearlman: ‘ToyFolk’ by Edith Pearlman. ‘ToyFolk’ copyright Edith Pearlman from Binocular Vision, used with permission of Pushkin Press
V.S. Pritchett: ‘A Family Man’ by V.S. Pritchett. Reprinted by permission of Peters Fraser & Dunlop (www.petersfraserdunlop.com) on behalf of the Estate of V. S. Pritchett.
Thomas Pynchon: ‘Entropy’ from Slow Learner: Early Stories by Thomas Pynchon. First published in the Kenyon Review, Spring, 1960. Reprinted by kind permission of the Melanie Jackson Agency LLC.
Keith Ridgway: ‘Marching Songs’ by Keith Ridgway © Keith Ridgway 2012. ‘Marching Songs’ first appeared in Hawthorn & Child and is reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd, 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.
George Saunders: ‘The Wavemaker Faulters’ by George Saunders. From Civil Warland in Bad Decline by George Saunders. Published by Jonathan Cape. Reprinted by permission of Curtis Brown.
Delmore Schwartz: ‘In Dreams Begin Responsibilities’ by Delmore Schwartz. Copyright © 1937 by New Directions Publishing Corp. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.
Isaac Bashevis Singer: ‘Gimpel the Fool’ by Isaac Bashevis Singer, translated by Saul Bellow, copyright 1953 by Partisan Review. Copyright Renewed © 1981 by Isaac Bashevis Singer, from A Treasury of Yiddish Stories, Revised and Updated Edition, edited by Irving Howe & Eliezer Greenberg. Used by permission Susan Schulman Agency.
Muriel Spark: ‘The Executor’ by Muriel Spark © Muriel Spark, 1983. First published in The New Yorker, 1983. . Printed with permission from David Higham on behalf of the Estate of Muriel Spark.
Elizabeth Taylor: ‘The Blush’ by Elizabeth Taylor. From The Complete Short Stories by Elizabeth Taylor. Published by Little, Brown Books Ltd.
Nguyen Huy Thiep: ‘Cun’ by Nguyen Huy Thiep. Published by Oxford University Press.
Colm Tóibín: ‘Summer of ’38’ by Colm Tóibín © Colm Tóibín, 2013. Reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd, 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.
William Trevor: ‘Broken Homes’ by William Trevor. Copyright © William Trevor, “Broken Homes” from The Collected Stories (Volume I), pp. 522-535, Penguin Group, 2007. Reproduced with the kind permission of Johnson & Alcock Ltd.
Frank Tuohy: ‘Live Bait’ by Frank Tuohy. Reprinted by permission of Peters Fraser & Dunlop (www.petersfraserdunlop.com) on behalf of the Estate of Frank Tuohy.
Robert Walser: ‘A Little Ramble’ by Robert Walser. From The Walk by Robert Walser. Reprinted with the kind permission of Profile Books.
Eudora Welty: ‘Petrified Man’ by Eudora Welty. From A Curtain of Green by Eudora Welty. Reprinted by the permission of Russell & Volkening as agents for the author. Copyright © 1939 by Eudora Welty, renewed in 1967 by Eudora Welty.
Angus Wilson: ‘Raspberry Jam’ by Angus Wilson
Tim Winton: ‘Boner McPharlin’s Moll’ by Tim Winton. From The Turning. Published by Scribener. First published in Australia by Picador, an imprint of Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Limited.
P.G. Wodehouse: ‘Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend’ by P.G. Wodehouse. From Blandings Castle and Elsewhere by P.G. Wodehouse. Published by Vintage. Reprinted by permission of The Random House Group Ltd.
Stefan Zweig: ‘Forgotten Dreams’ by Stefan Zweig. From The Collected Stories of Stefan Zweig by Stefan Zweig used with permission of Pushkin Press. Translation by Anthea Bell.
Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and to obtain their permission for the use of copyright material. The publisher apologizes for any errors or omissions in the above list and would be grateful if notified of any corrections that should be incorporated in future reprints or editions of this book.