New Stories From the South: 2006—The Year's Best
edited by Allan Gurganus; Kathy Pories, series editor (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, $14.95)

"Every year, just as farm couples 'put up' their canning, a fresh crop of short stories—Southerly forged and salt-sweat-cured—appears upon the table of some brave jurist south of Maryland.

That judge for these past two decades has been Shannon Ravenel. A cofounder of Algonquin Books, in 1985 she conceived New Stories from the South. Editing Best American Stories helped get her into Olympic trim for the tough regional squeeze play to come.

Imagine the countless Southern sagas Ravenel has weathered: all those tea parties, all those breakdowns. That's enough Spanish moss to crochet into a life-sized replica of King Kong. Having braved so many pages, this editor surely deserves her own Purple Heart, plus a Sunday school perfect-attendance pin made of beaten gold encrusted with emeralds.

Ravenel still smiles when discussing the Short Story and its Dixon-under-Mason tropical health. She notes the regional tradition of reliving local lives through short stories. Now that tobacco has been debunked, maybe the Short Story is our most addicting export. Last year, she passed along the right of choosing; a series of guest writers will now do that. I said an impulsive Yes to going first. I soon understood the depth of Ms. Ravenel's labor." --excerpted from the editor's introduction