Meet the writer who'll join our classic short stories club in April

Susan Lowell, winner of the Milkweed fiction award, will jump in when we talk about Chekhov's 'The Bishop'

Susan Lowell and her books / susanlowell.com

For several years, I’ve co-led a monthly classic-short-stories group for journalists and authors that’s so much fun, I’ve hoped to bring something similar to Substack. At last, it’s happening. And it’s not just for journalists and authors but for everybody. At least the first few meetings will be free to all.

Here’s how it will work. Every month I’ll post a link to a classic short story available for free online: no stories paywalled by The New Yorker or another magazine or for which you have to buy a book. You just click on the link and read the story.

I’ll also post background on the story and, when possible, bring in a great co-host and post his or her views, too. We’ll talk about the story in the comments section (not on Chat), and you can add your thoughts when it’s convenient. I’ll respond to most comments and the monthly co-host will add any responses he or she has. The comments will remain up on Substack so that you’re free to jump in at any time.

Our April story: Chekhov’s ‘The Bishop’

Our April story will be Anton Chekhov’s great “The Bishop,” which centers on a dying Russian cleric whose loneliness becomes heartrendingly acute when his mother visits during Holy Week. The wonderful multitalented writer

Susan Lowell

will join us.

Born in Chihuahua, Susan is a fourth-generation Arizonan who attended Princeton, Harvard, and Stanford. Her 19 books for adults and children have won many honors: Arizona Author of the Year, the Milkweed Editions National Fiction Award for Ganado Red: A Novella and Stories, the George Garrett Fiction Prize for Two Desperados, and more. She also writes delightful children’s picture books that give a Southwestern accent to classic tales like Cinderella and The Three Little Pigs. Featured on Reading Rainbow, her Three Little Javelinas has sold more than a million copies.

In 1999 she and Ross Humphreys founded the Tucson-based Rio Nuevo Publishers, an award winning publisher of handsome and intelligent books that focus on arts and crafts, children’s literature, cooking, history, travel, Native America, and more.

I’ll post Susan’s and my comments on “The Bishop” this week, along with the links that will let you jump into the discussion at any time. Please join us! And stay tuned for announcements of other stories.

If you’d like to read great classic stories right now, you’ll find links to the full text of eight in my “Eight Free Classic Short Stories” here on Substack.