Introducing…

Short Story Book Club’s

Monthly Book Box

from The Book Club for People Who Love Short Stories

Dear Friend,

If you’re a frequent reader like I am, then you know there’s nothing in the world quite as satisfying as a good short story. Novels are great, but short stories are just the right size when you’re short on time or you just want a quick read before moving on to something else. You can read short stories while waiting in line, traveling to work, or just winding down before bed.

There are so many great things to love about short stories. That’s why I started Short Story Book Club.

Short Story Book Club is a book club for people who love short stories. It works just like a regular book club, but you get only the best short stories every month. The short story of the month arrives at your door and entitles you to multiple benefits.

Do you remember those American Express commercials from the 80’s? At the end, the commercial always said, “Membership has its privileges.” When you signed up with American Express, you got just a tiny plastic card in the mail, but that little card was like an exclusive key to a magical world. With American Express, you could reschedule a flight with a phone call and get home in time to see your kid perform in a school play, you could dine at exclusive restaurants without worrying about the bill, or you could use it to get fast cash when all the banks were closed.

Well, Short Story Book Club is no American Express, but it does come with benefits, some of which can deliver experiences perhaps just as magical as any credit card.

1. Get Social

One of the best benefits you get is sharing your thoughts with other readers. It’s like getting a friend in on a private secret that only the two of you share. You tell your friend what you really think. And there’s no judgment.  

If it works best for you, you can chat with other book club members online. Share your thoughts on social media, leave comments on YouTube, or listen and respond to the Short Story Book Discussions podcast. Or, if getting up close and talking with people in person is more your style, you can join us for one of our many offline events.

2. Meet the Authors

Sometimes, don’t you just wish you could ask your favorite author about a story or a book? It happens all the time. So that’s why each month a benefit of Short Story Book Club is getting to go live in a chat with an author.

Many times, we feature the author of the short story of the month. But we also invite biographers, scholars, local authors, and short story experts to chat.

Members receive first notice and first invitation to these limited-seating author chats. It’s like taking that friend you just shared all your juiciest thoughts with and going to an exclusive party where only you and your friends get to attend.

You simply RSVP online to join. The day and time change every month, so you can fit the chats into your own schedule.

3. Access Book Club Events

Author chats not enough? Then you can join our in-person book club events. There, you can meet others in the book club in person during invitation-only meetups and dinners held around the country. Or vacation with us on a literary tour in a city nearby. Many events are free or available at deeply discounted rates for book club members.

On one of our more recent trips, we walked through the Fells Point neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. We learned about the literary history of the town, extending as far back to Frederick Douglass and included Edgar Allan Poe. (We hold a special place in our hearts for Poe as he is the father of the American short story.) Our excursion ended at an authentic Mexican restaurant in the heart of a vibrant and culturally diverse part of the city.

Our dinners are a much simpler affair: a small table with the author and a handful of members. It’s a chance to get up close in ways that go beyond our online author chat.

As you can see, Short Story Book Club is unlike any other book club you may have known of in the past. Our members receive awesome benefits in addition to access to a regular monthly selection of short stories.

4. Get Only the Best Short Stories

Short Story Book Club delivers only the best short stories to your door each month. Each novella and short story collection is carefully selected by our team of professionals with over twenty years of experience.

We know what today’s readers enjoy in a short story, so you’re almost guaranteed to enjoy our selections. We go through a rigorous process to evaluate numerous books each month and whittle them down to only a handful. Only a dozen make the cut each year.

But you’re probably wondering what it is exactly that we look for in a good short story.

To be selected for the book club, each short story or collection must pass our multi-point quality test. Among more obvious criteria, like length and genre, each short story must have:

• Great storytelling. You wouldn’t join a book club just to read boring books. So, we ensure that every title we select is a real page-turner. If doesn’t have a story that stirs the soul, it’s not making it into the book club. Life is too short to read boring books.
• Literary excellence. Good writing is essential. Each story chosen for the club has literary genius behind it. These stories come from the imagination of writers with a skillful pen.
• Modern appeal or theme. Classics are great, but the book club also introduces you to new, highly acclaimed short-story authors of the current time. You get to read the best short stories from today’s living artists of the written word.

5. Support an American Tradition

What’s also great about Short Story Book Club is how it supports an American tradition. This isn’t a benefit in the most traditional sense, but it sure is nice to know.

The short story was born in America, and Edgar Allan Poe is credited for creating this literary tradition. In fact, he’s now known as the father of the American Short Story.

But you know what else is interesting?

Short stories are wildly popular all over the world and we have our own master of the macabre to thank for that. (Edgar Allan Poe was a prolific short-story writer of horror and science fiction.)

When you join Short Story Book Club, you can feel good knowing that you are helping to sustain a piece of Americana. You’ll be supporting American authors who tell the great stories of our time, whose imaginative take on the world will sweep you away and carry you into the enthralling world of words.

Join Today for Just $24.99 a Month

Your membership in Short Story Book Club entitles you to all the benefits listed here for just $24.99 a month. At this price, you receive a subscription of the best short stories delivered to your door each month and membership in one of the best book clubs around. A membership that entitles you access to real people, real authors, and real offline experiences.

You get all the best short stories delivered to your door, so all you have to do is look in the mail each month. It doesn’t get any easier. The next thing you know, you’ll be on a magnificent literary journey to the next great short story.

If you’re an avid reader, we’re confident you’ll enjoy Short Story Book Club. You’ll love the connections you make with other readers and the experiences you get with other people who enjoy getting social with other book lovers.

I can’t wait to welcome you.

Sincerely,

Donna Ledbetter
Founder
Short Story Book Club

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