The 2003 O. Henry Prize Stories

Much like Monday’s feature from the Caine Prize, this collection features stories submitted for the O. Henry prize – one of the most prestigious awards for short fiction in the United States. Stories are pulled from literary magazines across the country and in 2003, the shortlist featured a wide variety of authors including Ann Harleman whose story Meanwhile featured in the Southwest Review in 2002:

 

 

The wheelchair feels like a heavy stroller. After tern minutes my shoulders ache. I push D past the nurses’ station, past the zigzagging fish in their fluorescent tanks. It’s tricky, those vulnerable knees protruding so far ahead. He won’t leave the wheelchair, ever. So many losses and the one thing I’m sure of now is that I can’t add another.