Hundreds of anthologies of womens short stories have appeared in the literary market between the 1970s and now. This publishing and cultural phenomenon is considered for the first time in this book, which argues that during this period anthologies have become a literary technology used not only to make visible female short story writers, but also to think about, and mould ideas of, womanhood. Through creative and contextualised readings of the most important anthologies produced in this period, this study shows that this literary form has contributed to, and in some cases pioneered, key developments in gender theory and feminist thought, including questions of political combination among women which underlie contemporary global movements such as #MeToo. In doing so, the book also develops the first book-length conceptualisation of the features and meaning-making mechanisms of the short story anthology as a literary form.
This book will benefit academics and students working in the fields of short fiction, publishing and womens studies, as well as feminist scholars and a growing number of specialists interested in the anthology as a literary form worldwide.
Over 300 anthologies of womens short stories appeared in the literary market between 1970 and 2000. This publishing phenomenon is considered for the first time in this book.
Introduction
1 Literary anthologies of womens short stories and the modernist paradigm
2 Angela Carter, poststructuralism, and the Virago anthologies
3 Utopias and hybrid identities in anthologies of womens speculative short
fiction
4 Short story anthologies by women and the economies of affect
5 Critical reading in intersectional anthologies of short stories by women
6 Conclusions
Aleix Tura Vecino holds a PhD in English from the University of Stirling and has taught modern and contemporary literature, and literary theory, at the Universities of Stirling and Glasgow. He currently is a Learning Developer at the University of Glasgow.
