The 2022 Short Story Advent Calendar

The Short Story Advent Calendar

by Michael Hingston (Editor), Steven Millhauser (Contributor), Lucy Ellmann (Contributor)

This is the special edition slipcase of the calendar. For the standard edition slipcase please go here.

Like we always do at this time: the Short Story Advent Calendar is back for 2022.

We had such a great time last year working with our first-ever guest editor, the one and only Alberto Manguel. This year, however, we’re bringing things back to basics. No overarching theme or format, just 25 top-class short stories, selected in-house, by some of the best writers in North America and beyond.

Contributors to the 2022 Short Story Advent Calendar include:
Venita Blackburn (How to Wrestle a Girl)
Lucy Ellmann (Ducks, Newburyport)
Steven Millhauser (Martin Dressler)
Ander Monson (Predator: A Memoir, A Movie, An Obsession)
John Elizabeth Stintzi (My Volcano)

and 20 more!

(This is a collection of literary, non-religious short stories for adults. For more information, visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.)

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

420 pages, Chapbooks in slipcase

Published October 1, 2022

About the author

Michael Hingston is the author of Try Not to Be Strange, Let's Go Exploring, and The Dilettantes, and co-publisher of Hingston & Olsen Publishing. His journalism has appeared in Wired, National Geographic, the Washington Post, and The Guardian. Hingston lives with his family in Edmonton, Alberta.

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a superb short-story advent calendar! This year’s seemed even more so than usual (though I've loved them all), a perfect blend of old and new writers, and of styles, from realism to fabulism to a collage.

The ordering was perfect as well. Day 10’s “Masculine” by Mathilde Merouani (about casual human cruelty) leading to the next day’s “Odam on Till” by Ruby Cowling (how to be kind to ‘outsiders’) is only one example. Days 24 and 25 offered appropriately titled stories for their respective days, tales penned by Arthur Conan Doyle (not a Holmes story) and Kurt Vonnegut (a funny gangster story), all new to me.

My December was so busy, these stories sometimes seemed like the only things I had time to read. Happily, I could read in the morning (at least through the 23rd) and each story stayed in my head all day, which is the ultimate compliment I can give any story.

[Rebecca]

Day 1 - Caroline Kim, "Bread of Lifers"
I liked this story - a Korean American teenager babysitting a girl whose family is involved in a high demand religion. The juxtaposition of the protagonist being forced to grow up too soon and the other girl being sheltered too long was really compelling. There's something interesting in the mom having abandoned her upbringing only to secretly return to it. Lots to chew on about how we're raised and what remains.
4/5

Day 2 - Randy Boyagoda, "Little Sanctuary"
This is a chapter out of an as yet unpublished book, which is annoying, because I signed up for a short story collection, and because I can't continue reading it. The story itself was interesting, but felt more like a set up than a stand alone story. I'm also not the biggest fan of apocalyptic fiction, and I'm not sure I want to hear more about a world facing a disease ever again. Definitely intriguing though.
3/5

Day 3 - Robert McGill, "Something Something Alice Munro"
It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize the trick to this story, and only after being tipped off by the reading notes. But I really liked the craft that was put into this and though this was a short story, there was a real arc in it. Also I knew Alice Munro was born in Wingham (it's on their sign) but had no idea she lived in Clinton. What a choice! Also very fun to discover a writer from my home County.
4/5

Day 4 - Steven Millhauser, "Guided Tour"
I loved this a lot. The voice is pitch perfect for a tour guide and it gets pushed out into the absurd just enough before pulling back. You could see where it was going the whole time, but that doesn't lessen the climax of this. The Pied Piper meets the Cask of Amontillado meets every guided tour you've ever been on.
5/5

Day 5 - Sofia Mostaghimi, "The Hole"
It takes a lot of craft to write an unlikeable character, and especially to write it with charity towards that person, but it still isn't fun to read.
2/5

Day 6 - Clare Beams, "Milk"
A story about a wet nurse to royalty who (maybe?) bestows magical gifts on those she nurses. This reads like a fairy tale, with a fairy godmother that feels unable to contain or direct her powers, worried about what she's setting loose onto the world. I have to imagine that's what it feels like to raise people who will one day be powerful without the ability to prevent them from becoming bad people.
4/5

Day 7 - Drew Buxton, "Lexapro"
I did not enjoy this and I hope this is not how we treat people with OCD (though based on the author's interview, it seems like it is).
1/5

[Ronnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*, averaged between all stories.

I read this short story collection in conjunction with the 2021 Advent Calendar, which I didn’t actually finish last year. But overall, starting each morning with a short story was the excellent way to spend the month, and I might keep it up in 2023!

I found this collection started off on the weak side, especially with the two separate additions of first chapters in novels, which, by definition are NOT short stories and were endlessly frustrating, but the collection only grew stronger as time passed!

“Bread of Lifers” by Caroline Kim The MC starts a little annoying and edgy, but what angry 15 year old isn’t? Overall, this was an excellent story, about second looks and double guessing who you trust. 3*

“Little Sanctuary” by Randy Boyagoda it’s hard to know what’s going on or where it’s going. Why is there the first chapter of a novel included in a short story collection? 1*

“Something Something Alice Munroe” by Robert McGill Just when I started to wonder if finishing every sentence with Alice Munroe was too much despite the weird poetic nature of it, the format changed and this became a really touching, thoughtful story. I love the skill and attentiveness that McGuill demonstrated in knowing exactly when was too much. Honestly, this is a masterclass in how to use the short story form. 5*

“Guided Tour” by Steven Millhauser This story was creative and once I realized where it was taking me< I was hooked. But it went on a page and a half too long. Trust your readers more, please! 4*

“The Hole” by Sofia Mastaghimi it doesn’t take you long to realize just how insufferable the main character in this is. This story was great, about forgiveness, redemption, and hypocrisy. I liked it a lot.

“Milk” by Clare Beams Some of us give so much of ourselves to others, until there’s nothing else, and others take and take and take. This book was a great look at that, and at how classism really personifies that. 4*

“Lexapro by Drew Duxton Moving forward with mental illness is hard, but progress can be made. This story captures that; unfortunately, it did not capture me. 3*

“Parnassus on Wheels” by Chroistopher Morely I liked the writing and the story, right up until I discovered that this, too, was the unresolved opening chapters to a novel. What the fuck. 1.5*

“Night Flight” by Diane Schoemperlen This tory started slow, and then morphed into something poignant and lovely, filled with metaphors and similes. 4*

“Masculine” by Mathilde Merouani A heartbreaking story about a girl’s relationship with her mother, herself, misogyny, and fitting in in a new place. I thought it was heartfelt and bitter. 3.5*

“Odam on Till” by Ruby Cowling Is this a metaphor for autism? Very likely, it seems like, to me. It was moving. I very nearly cried. 4*

“Le Cochon by Jasmine Dreame Wagner I read this twice, and while I understood it better the second time, I still failed to really see the point. This was remedied somewhat upon reading the author interview on the website, but I still wasn’t much of a fan. The prose was very nice though. 2*

“Not a Doughnut” by Venita Blackburn Honestly, I don’t know at all how I feel about this story, so I’m giving it exactly a middle-of-the-read rating. 2.5*

“I’ve Thought About Taking Up Another Life” by Ander Monson This story had ridiculously long sentences, but it seemed to work somehow, those sentences that would stretch and spiral for a page or two. It read rambling, but it worked. I enjoyed the mystery and the uncertainty of the ending. 3;5*

“Punchline by Rebecca Watson I really enjoyed this. It spoke to 20-year-old me, the me that was always falling hard for guys who enver cared or wanted to fall for me. The ending was less a punchline and more a gut punch. 4*

“Good Neighbours” by Erika Swyler Good, strong themes and a clever way of actualizing them. I loved the image of deer reclaiming their space, and the feeling of being pushed out 4*

“Clara” by Lori Hanhed this was an excellent romp into the past of classical music, and how the fate of a young woman depended entirely on the men in her life, despite being more talented and capable than all of them. It felt incomplete though. My understanding is that the author is working on a novel of the same subject, so maybe I’ll check that out instead. 3*

“The Skin of a Teenage Boy is Not Alive” by Senaa Ahmad Creative and well-realized, and an excellent story to show the pain of growing up and apart from your friends, of not quite fitting in in your teenage years. 4*

“Reindeer” by Cyan Jones This was kind of a fun Christmas wilderness horror story, where a man struggles against nature as much as against himself. Jones is excellent at building tension and atmosphere. 4*

“Moving Parts” by John Elizabet Stintz A metaphorical tale about finding and rebuilding yourself, and finding the people who can help you make yourself whole, told in only the way a non-binary author could. I could tell almost right away that the author must’ve fallen somewhere under the umbrella. 3.5*

“Markheim” by Robert Louis Stevenson Stevenson is excellent at setting a creepy atmosphere, and the setting of an old shopfront is excellent to building exactly that. This aws great from start to finish. 5*

“Family Weekend” by Jessica Francis Kane A middle-aged woman caught in the middle; both a daughter and a mother in a weekend. This was heartbreaking an poignant, and well-written. THe second person form is well-utilized. 4*

“Olive Oyl” by Lucy Ellmann I hate it when stories and novels just include endless lists about nothing, and this is how this story starts off. I had a brief moment of excitement when I realized it was about Popeye and Olive Oyl, but that excitement couldn’t survive the disappointment aI felt by the lack of cohesion or narrative flow. I’m actually pretty sure this was mostly just Popeye episode symopses. 2*

“An Exciting Christmas Eve; Or, My Lecture on Dynamite” by Arthur Conan Dyle this started slow and ended on a bang, pun intended. Doyle is truly excellent at writing clever and exciting short stories. 5*

“A Present of Big Saint Nick” by Kurt Vonnegut This was my first Vonnegut story! What a great mafia story to start my Christmas morning with. This was funny and exciting, and really captures the guilelessness of children. 4.5*

[cardulelia carduelis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another year, another SSAC.
I'm so glad Hingston decided to edit the collection himself this year. He has a real eye for modern short stories and picked some absolute corkers. My favorites of the collection were:
(1) Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley,
(2) Reindeer by Cyan Jones, and
(3) A Present for Big Saint Nick by Kurt Vonnegut
All were sharp, immersive, and filled with beautiful descriptive language as well as wit. This year's calendar overall falls sharply in the very good category; I'm hard pressed to find a stinker but so too do I fail to find stories that really moved me or captured my attention like the 2018 or 2020 calendar.

I am being very picky here (because there is very little to criticise) but I would love some more genre-style escapades in next year's calendar: more of Meng Jin's ghost stories and Algeron Blackwood's creepiness. But that's my own personal preference.

Overall an excellent return to form! Highly recommend picking up next year!

Individual spoilery reviews:
============================

1. Bread of Lifers by Caroline Kim was uncomfortable and hilarious all at once. A teenage Korean girl living in the US babysits for her evangelical Christian neighbors' plain and pleasant 11 year old - and is not shy about sharing some tough life lessons. This was whimsical, blunt, and gripping - a great start! First line: “If I ever have a kid one day - and who knows, because I hated being a kid myself, it’s all terror and being at the mercy of others - but if I ever do, I won’t deny it anything” (2020) 4/5

2. Little Sanctuary by Randy Boyagoda is very mysterious. The story takes place in what feels like South Asia where a family has gathered for a meal. But as the story progresses we see more and more that things are not quite right. I was not surprised to read that this is part of a larger story and I think it shows a lot of promise and good pacing. A mysterious speculative offering and a strong start! First line: “How do you find sweet syrup at the end of the world?” (2021) 4/5

3. Something something Alice Munroe by Robert McGill is about the stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves and others, seen through the lens of someone, and someone adjacent to someone, who studies Alice Munroe. I’ve not personally read any Alice Munroe but it didn’t matter for the story. Alice is but the catalyst for two fuck-buddies to examine their relationship and for a man and his father to finally speak. A sweet and odd story. First line: “Nessa was sitting in Haji’s car, letting the AC run with the engine off, thinking that if the battery died, it served him right for taking so long in the pharmacy." (2021) 3.5/5

4. After the sweet reality of yesterday’s story it seems appropriate that today we are on Steven Millhauser’s Guided Tour. Narrated by a tour guide this is a short and fun little fiction with a Grimm twist. The writing is excellent with enough scenery to invoke atmosphere without detracting from the plot. Very nice. First line: “Fifteen, sixteen, one more and we’re good to go." (2018) 4.5/5

5. I am super behind but here is Day 5’s The Hole by Sofia Mostaghimi. Why is Sisi’s incompetent loser of a sister digging this hole anyway, to make up for her pathetic addiction? Her cringe-worthy new hobby? She’s never had it hard, not like Sisi. This was a stunning short story, not a word wasted. First line: “Before my sister started digging the hole in my backyard, the hole she dug was her life.” 2022 4.5/5

6. Creepy caring comes in the form of Clare Beams’s Milk which follows a medieval wet nurse to the upper crust. The story is a heavy metaphor about being a mother, especially a mother to others. I found this effective and disturbing. First line: ��The Dowager, when she was the queen, never spoke to me.” (2020) 3.5/5

7. I don’t know a whole lot about OCD treatment or Lexapro for that matter but the exposure-style therapy in Drew Buxton’s story seemed like it was taken to absurd levels: the whole group watching someone’s tinder profile? Dog exposure? Maybe for those in treatment this walks the fine line between absorb and relatable but I couldn’t quite follow it. First line: “We did the photo shoot outside the Austin OCD center.” (2022) 3.5/5

8. On Day 8 we have cosy, unexpected gem in the form of Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley. A devoted sister who has held up her end of the bargain in keeping a farmstead with her brother for the past 14 years is propositioned by a traveling book cart, no less, to go have her own academic adventure and get away from the drudgery of domesticity. Loved this, a perfect classic addition. First line: “I wonder if there isn’t a lot of bunkum in higher education?” (1917) 5/5

9. Night Flight by Diane Schoemperlen is an experimental stream of consciousness/travelogue/scrapbook on the subject of maps, New York, and sleep. I’ve had mixed experiences with this kind of fusion fiction in the past and found it works best when it’s a topic I have some interest in. With this, initially it seemed that we would be looking at night and terrors/insomnia - right up my alley - but it quickly moved away from that. So a good piece but not quite for me. First line(s): “We should know better by now. Better than to fall for those pumped-up promises the night extends.” (1999) 3/5

10. Mathilde Merouani’s Masculine so perfectly captures the cruelty and judgement of children and the social pressures of being in a new place as a child. I kept hoping for our young protagonist to grow a spine and stand up to them but she seemed incredibly lacking in self for a 9 year old and was very concerned with not being too like her mother. The title of this piece is interesting, the notion that to be a whore is somehow related to that masculine presence - a comment on the patriarchy? First line: “The boys and the girls told me my mother was a whore.” (2022) 3/5

11. In Odam on Till we see a person trying to figure out the delicate balance between social norms and how to complete their job. This is food writing and its finest, I was longing for afternoon tea after the story. It’s sweet and full of humanity. First line: “Though it’s been three months since he arrived, the portrait of Mallinson still makes him jump.” (2022) 4.5/5

12. Day 12 is Le Cochon by Jasmine Dreame Wagner. I read this one twice because I didn’t get it - a wealthy actress/heiress kills herself over her lover, who is gay and in a public bath thinking about creating a perfume based on a man he met in the pyramids, but survives and has her sister open a wig branch of an art museum for her in the future? Well I read the author interview and it turns out this is a drag queen - not sure where I was meant to pick that up from the story. The author interview was far better crafted than the story and for that I can’t rate it highly. First line: “Honey Vienna held a can of Coke in one hand and a hawk feather in the other as she leaned into the open frame of her family’s ballroom window.” (2022) 2/5

13. It takes a village, or in this case.. a church? On Day 13 we meet Dan, silver fox, is saddled with his nearing 30 son who has semi-verbal autism and some phrases like the eponymous Not a Donut that accompany sensory sensitivities which can cause him to fly into a rage. In an effort to claw his life back after his wife goes out of the picture Dan decides to rely on the Christian values of nearby black church women. This is an oddly gripping story about responsibility and stewardship (with some gender and race expectations in the mix). Poor Silus - I hope someone cares for him eventually to get his health issues under control. First line: “Dan Conway took his son to church, not because he believed in God but because it was a place of mostly women unequivocally committed to being nice.” (2022) 3.5/5.

14. Day 14 is from DIAGRAM’s Ander Monson and is the introspective I’ve thought about taking another life. In it our narrator becomes absorbed with empathizing about the family left behind in a missing person’s story. There are long run-on sentences that are also run-on thoughts moving between the present and the victim’s childhood. I liked this but it’s not a standout in the collection. First line: “Every so often you read stories in the paper about a couple, usually middle-ages, let’s call them Diana and Henry.” (2017) 3/5

15. I loved Punchline by Rebecca Watson. It’s a fast moving deeply personal exploration of someone new and the perfect length. Two people meet at a party and exchange a lot - but not their real names. Instead both go by Brian to each other and Brian also becomes the descriptor of what they mean to each other. But what happens when you need more than Brian? First line: “We met how people like to say they met.” (2021) 4.5/5

16. Is Good Neighbors by Erika Swyler a metaphor for gentrification? Or reclamation? Or rewilding? On December 16th I can’t be sure but I wish it had gone further than it did. A middle-aged couple watches while neighbor after neighbor moves to Florida leaving their absurd McMansions in tow. And new tenants move in.. but they’re all fuzzy, with velvety noses, and 5-point crowns. A nice weird story that didn’t go quite far enough. First line: “‘Someone’s moving into the Hutchinson’s place,’ Phil said, staring out the kitchen window. (2022) 3.5/5

17. Dearest Clara was just downright depressing. Not much more to be said about it. First line: “I hear noises upstairs.” (2022) 2/5

18. Back to school with Day 18 and Senaa Ahmad’s The Skin of a Teenage Boy is not Alive except that it is. This feels heavily like an old-timey American high school movie, with the popular kids and the weirdos. In my head it was The Craft meets Romey & Michelle. Not sure what the point was: something about fitting in no matter the cost? A fine story, but lacking some punch. First line: “Parveen isn’t there when Benny falls off the roof.” (2019) 3/5

19. Day 19! One of my favorites of the collection and an author I’ve picked up before: Cyan Jones and Reindeer. Like the rest of Jone’s work this breathy naturalism underscored by a strong human narrative - in this case an outcast on the hunt for a bear as a favor to the local village. But is it a bear? Really great story, one of the best this year. First line: “Ston pulled up the last line and it too had fish.” (2022) 5/5

20. On Day 20 we see the real costs of making a change in John Elizabeth Stinzi’s Moving Parts. A farm boy moves away, to university and then the city, to try and be something other than what seems inevitable - the successor to his family’s farm. But such a decision has costs as one by one his body parts leave and return to the farmstead. I liked this but it confused me. Why did his body stay on the farm even as he found new solidity in his relationship? Why did he not decide just to go home in the end? Is it mind over matter? First line: “My left pinky was first.” (2021) 4/5

21. On this day we have the first non-contemporary short story of the collection! Robert Louis Stevenson’s Markheim. This is a weird tale of a last ditch effort at morality - SSAC, are you trying to tell me it’s never too late to do the right thing? This is atmospheric and well written. First line: “‘Yes,’ said the dealer; ‘our windfalls are of various kinds.’” (1887) 3/5

22. Jessica Francis Kane’s Family Weekend is beautifully written. A middle-aged woman visits her daughter at college and her father at her childhood home. Back and forth between the two over the university’s parent weekend. It feels like a real visit would: focus on the small details - what is familiar and what feels different. I liked this, the descriptions were especially evocative. First line:”All over town the euonymus is red as you’ve ever seen it, bright bushes of flame dotting the landscape.” (2022) 4/5

23. Well. I did not expect that on Day 23. This is a write-up of the past and future of Olive Oyl from the Popeye cartoon by Lucy Ellmann. It started off strong with an old woman living in a gazebo back-to-nature but the sheer oddness of the character didn’t work for me. It’s entertaining and well written but not up my alley. First line: “It was Christmas and the bells were clanging all around her summer house.” (2019) 3/5

24. A bit of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for Christmas Eve! This was My Lecture on Dyamite about a poor sod who, despite his best efforts, has led quite the exciting existence! Herr Doktor is kidnapped from his home on a howling Christmas Eve to a secret society to expound upon the creation of explosives but never leave a weapons chemist with a table full of chemicals unless you know what you’re doing… First line: “It has often seemed to me to be a vert strange and curious thing that range and trouble should follow those who are most anxious to lead a quiet and uneventful life.” (1883) 3.5/5

25. And a modern classic to end the calendar with! On Christmas Day we have Kurt Vonnegut’s A Present for Big Saint Nick which I just flew through - Vonnegut is such a compelling writer and this is no exception. In it we go Christmas shopping for a mobster who every year is Santa to his employee’s children - and makes sure he know which parents are naughty and which ones are nice. A great story to end on! First line: “Big Nick was said to be the most recent heir to the power of Al Capone.” (1954) 5/5

[Barbara McVeigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favourites:

First:
“Reindeer” by Cyan Jones (Day 19)

Second:
“Night Flight” by Diane Schoemperlen (Day 9)

Tied for Third:
“Odam on Till” by Ruby Cowling (Day 11)
“Something Something Alice Munro” by Robert McGill (Day 3)

Very much so:
“I’ve Thought About Taking Up Another Life” by Ander Monson (14)
“Punchline” by Rebecca Watson (15)
“Little Sanctuary” by Randy Boyagoda (2)
“Bread of Lifers” by Caroline Kim (1)

[Desmond Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

You just never know what’s going to happen next. (Goodbye Terry Hall). Which is also true for the literary delights contained in this year’s Short Story Advent Calendar collection.

Now in its eighth year, this annual tradition is unleashed as a beautiful self contained art box from independent publishers Hingston and Olsen based in Edmonton, CanadaLand. They continue to bring together a wide range of very eclectic contemporary and classic voices. From Rebecca Watson (One of the The Observer’s UK Top 10 debut novelists 2021), Lori Hahnel to Arthur Conan Doyle and Kurt Vonnegut no less! This isn’t your Hallmark Christmas but more a very vibrant mirror on society today.

So every morning, at 6:30am (making the last week at work in a High School a very long day indeed) cracking open the first page is truly a delicious mystery. Expect themes on relationships (sister rivalry in ‘The Hole’ - Sofia Mostaghimi or a murder mystery (‘I’ve Thought About Taking Up Another Life’ - Andrew Monson). The next day could be a thought provoking scene of a social issue in flux. The immigrant experience through the eyes of an outer world being resonated in Ruby Cowling ‘Odam in Till’.

This year was particularly significant as the publishers managed to find stories that highlight the contemporary social milieu. Obsession with celebrity and its consequences is elegantly explored in Robert McGill ‘Alice Munroe’. The societal pandemic of self centerdness is the central thread of a story involving a mother returning to her home with Jessica Francis Kane’s ‘Family Weekend’.

But what is a good story anyway?

A clear narrative where less is definitely more which can focus a writers voice to linger well after the last page. This collection did this to such a consistent basis that it caused some great exchanges within fellow Twitter advent reader community (#ssac2022). With ‘Le Cochon’ by Jasmine Dreame Wagner, a sister reflecting on her younger sibling’s career still left the question Was she her Sister or a Drag queen? hanging in the air.

Yet, it was one story that had the social media abuzz. Cyan Jones ‘Reindeer’ is a wonderfully adept murder mystery toying with the most potent Christmas image of all: Santa himself and a Hunter’s mission to track a wayward bear. Much exchanges ensued dissecting the very meaning of what happened and why sent our little story club a Twitter. A magical sense of confusion which all mystery fans love.

Everyday was heightened expectation; be it the wonders of Breast milk on royal linage (‘Milk’ - Clare Beams), a dark take on Mental Health (‘Lexapro’ - Drew Buxton) or a jaunt back to the 20’s when a mobile library drops in (‘Parnassus on Wheels - Christopher Morley), it all proved to be another worthy and unique literary experience. Once again, if you didn’t get on this writers fest this year, where have you been?

Bravo Micheal and Natalie! 10/10

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Presumably on some list of gift ideas for readers, I discovered that short story advent calendars existed. One other time I bought not the newest collection, but an earlier compilation being clearanced out and happily spent December enjoying them. It was time for me to do so again, and this time I was able to stay on track (likely due to the fact that I gave up my weekday practice of reading a segment of WAR AND PEACE, paused until the new year).

What a treat to set aside some time each day to read a short story of varying length. Almost none of them are holiday themed, but most all are thought provoking and enjoyable (only a couple fell flat for me), and they range from contemporary to classic.

This has been an overwhelmingly enjoyable exercise, so no doubt I will try to pick up other collections for upcoming years.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Advent calendar for readers with a short story (10-24 pages) for each day in December or anytime, as most of the stories are not Advent/Christmas or even winter-based. The variety of authors and genres work well, and it is a lovely practice as winter begins to set in in the northern hemisphere. I have gotten these before for one of my daughters and as she was particularly busy this year, I had them sent to me for December and will share them with her after the holidays.

[Kamila · Rating 1 out of 5]

My last SSAC. I love the idea but not enough of the stories. I liked 3-4 out of 25 this year (an improvement over 2021, of which I liked almost none). I loved 2019, my first SSAC experience; 2020 sold out by the time I remembered to order it. I’m working my way through “The Art of the Story” which has dozens of stories, some I love, some I hate, most fall somewhere in the middle. A collection of short stories by different writers in a variety of genres and styles basically plays the odds; I got lucky in 2019 but it was unfortunately downhill from there for me. I’m glad to see in other reviews how much others enjoy it—it really is a fantastic idea.

[Michelle Chan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure what to expect, my first year doing this. I’d always thought it would be a fun experience. Some I think were more macabre than anticipated. I’m not sure majority of the stories resonated with me, but definitely enjoyed some. Not sure I will do it again, given it didn’t resonate with me as much as I thought it would.

[Brandon Forsyth · Rating 3 out of 5]

As per usual, the SSAC is a fantastic idea, but this was a weird one for me. Between being in a different city than my own for a chunk of December and then hosting my extended family for the holidays, I could not find the time to read a short story every day, and I really missed it. That context delivered, I think this year’s selections were a cut below the usual SSAC standard. On the plus side, I enjoyed Robert McGill’s SOMETHING SOMETHING ALICE MUNRO (clever and compassionate), the excerpt of Christopher Morley’s PARNASSUS ON WHEELS (so refreshing), Rebecca Wilson’s PUNCHLINE (sly), John Elizabeth Stintzi’s MOVING PARTS (weird but moving), and Arthur Conan Doyle’s MY EXCITING CHRISTMAS EVE (a story I had never heard of before), but the only stories that I really loved was Erika Swyler’s GOOD NEIGHBOURS (love the way the metaphor changes and evolves, I literally have not stopped thinking about this) and Senaa Ahmad’s THE SKIN OF A TEENAGE BOY IS NOT ALIVE (experimental and eerie). There were also a handful of stories that I just didn’t connect with at all, and which I will do them the favour of not mentioning them by name. As always, collections are a bit of a mixed bag, but this feels like one of those party mixes that’s too much pretzel and not enough chips (and I was eating it after the party was over, if I can belabour the simile).

[Nancy Laflamme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Put simply, this year‘s calendar is one of my favourites if not my favourite. Great selection. My only complaint is that I don’t like when the ssac includes the first chapter of a book as part of the short stories selection. Looking forward to next year’s ssac!

[Josh reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolutely wonderful collection put together by Hingston and Olsen for this year’s Short Story Advent Calendar. I loved the variety of stories and can’t wait for the 2023 edition!

[kdburton]

One of my favourite new by-myself traditions. This collection ends with Vonnegut and that is a great Christmas gift.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful Christmas present! Looking forward to 2023

[Sean Kottke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fine year of short stories. Eleven months until the next one!

[N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 + A very good selection, this year.

[Susan Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first year I’ve ordered this advent calendar of short stories and it’s definitely worth it! Highly recommend this collection. Count me in for next year’s version!!

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was just great! Discovered new authors and read some short stories by well-known authors!

[Mallory · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, but I preferred last year's selection. Still, I enjoy the format and plan to do it again next year.

[Dessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok it might be January but I am deeply proud just to have finished a SSAC for the first time in [mumbles number] years. Minus a star only for ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON. Otherwise: perfect.