“The right story, at the right time, if you happen to be open to it … can perhaps move you so far outside of yourself that you will not consider going back.”

“Like meeting a stranger, much of the pleasure of a story is its unknown power,” writes Best Canadian Stories 2020 guest editor Paige Cooper. “The right story, at the right time, if you happen to be open to it … can perhaps move you so far outside of yourself that you will not consider going back.” From Festival du Voyageur to the shores of Lake Erie, Tbilisi to Toronto, the Amisk River to a hotel-turned-hospital in the midst of a mysterious pandemic, this wide-ranging anthology brings together the real and the speculative, small towns and big cities, grief and humour, introducing readers to stories that startle us into new understanding—of ourselves and each other, the worlds we inhabit and the ones they help us to imagine.

Featuring work by:

Maxime Raymond Bock • Lynn Coady • Kristyn Dunnion • Omar El Akkad • Camilla Grudova • Conor Kerr • Alex Leslie • Thea Lim • Madeleine Maillet • Cassidy McFadzean • Michael Melgaard • Jeff Noh • Casey Plett • Eden Robinson • Naben Ruthnum • Pablo Strauss • Souvankham Thammavongsa

Paige Cooper's profile page

Paige Cooper is an author and short story writer from Montreal. Her stories have appeared in The Fiddlehead, Gulf Coast Online, Michigan Quarterly Review, CAROUSEL, Minola Review, and The New Quarterly, and have been anthologized in The Journey Prize Stories and Best Canadian Stories. She received the QWF Concordia University First Book Prize in 2018 for her debut short story collection, Zolitude.

Praise for Best Canadian Stories 2020

“The legacy for Canadian literature in the Best Canadian Stories series can’t be overstated. For years the collection has been the place to discover Canadian writers, and the most recent edition is no different ... [Paige Cooper’s] choices are impressive. Even if a particular story isn’t to one’s taste, you can still admire the skill. Realism abuts surrealism, comic insight sits gladly with tragedy. The comfort of one world is shattered by the disquiet of another ... This is a great collection waiting to be experienced.”—Winnipeg Free Press

Praise for Best Canadian Stories

“A splendid collection.”
—Quill & Quire

“Best Canadian Stories ... combines both emerging and established voices for a fascinating glimpse at the most exciting short fiction coming out of this country.”—Open Book

Praise for Paige Cooper

“Cooper has a keen eye for the quirks of human behavior.” —Publishers Weekly

“The consensus newcomer of the year.”—Montreal Gazette

"Cooper appears almost frighteningly assured in her approach and execution. The author wields language like a finely tuned instrument.” —Quill & Quire Book of the Year citation