When I was 12 years old, just starting junior high school, the school library had a book sale. That's where I bought "R is for Rocket," and a few other books by Ray Bradbury. From that moment on, I was totally hooked on the short story genre. Now, as a 52-year-old, I have just purchased "Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales (with an introduction by the author)."

What a joy to read and re-read his work!

When I was 21, feeling the pressures and dismay of real life, I re-read "The Kilimanjaro Device," and I believe it saved me from suicide. At this point in my life, feeling some of the same dismay and pain, I read it AGAIN. And it saved me, AGAIN.

Oh, thank you, Mr. Bradbury, for writing that short story!

Over the years, I have catacombed tons of so-called "short stories" in boxes that I never believed were valuable enough to edit and re-edit for possible publication. I will start to edit them and send them off thanks to the New Book.

In the United States these days, the only genre is the quick read: the spy story, the romance novel, the bio of "celebrity," the dreck that most writers create for a generation of TV viewers who have never read the classics.

Dickens? Too hard to read.
Stevenson? Intelligible.
Poe? All today's readers know is that he died, a drunk, in Baltimore. (NOT. It was probably an epileptic seizure.) Most can "quoth" the Raven, but don't understand or read the shivery stuff underneath, and never read "The Balloon Hoax," or "The Gold Bug," or the first American (ever) Sherlockian story, "Murder in the Rue Morgue." Poe was a poet, and a short-story writer, and a journalist. Sound familiar?

King? Sold out.
Cussler? Can't write.
Brown? Sold out.
Shelton? Worse than sold out and, besides, could NEVER write.
Collins? No comment. Unworthy.
Dreck, dreck, dreck.

Thank GOD for Ray Bradbury!!!

Please, if you have a soul in your body, go back and re-read ALL of Ray's stuff. And, if like me, you are an unpublished writer, go back and learn from the master.

If you love the short story, it behooves you to try and get some of those published. Otherwise, like smoke and smog, the short-story genre will die like Poe's work...and we owe him and Mr. Bradbury.

It's not about making money on our work; it's about keeping the genre alive. If this goes, we are ALL more destitute for it.

WRITE! I promise I will!

Go, and sin no more. Write for the love of it, not the money.

Loved your post. I hope you are doing well. Frantic day and evening, but wanted to let you know I really enjoyed your comments.

I've thought some of the same things. Why has the short story gone to the back burner to be overrun by the "Great American Novel", or that "quick read" genre you mention? I, too, enjoyed your post. Thank God for Bradbury, indeed.

After having read The Bradbury Chronicles I now wish to go back and re-read all of Ray's stroies. I have read Death Is A Lonely Business twice. But now wish to start from the earliest collections and read them.

Today I received back the 50th Anniversary edition of F451 which I sent to Ray for his autograph. This, of course, is another which I will re-read.

Thankfully Ray has, I think, three more collections of Short Stories coming out this year. And he is working on finishing a novel that he started 50 years ago (yes, I will take a Bradbury novel any day) and other items as well.

I thought it was interesting to read your posting as well, but I'm uncertain as to whether some of your comments were tongue-in-cheek. For me, Poe kept me from suicide the way Ray Bradbury did you, for how bad was my life, really, by comparrison to The Raven?

Stephen King? Sold out? (I've always been curious as to what that means when I hear someone say that an artist has "sold out"; Metallica, one of the great heavy metal bands of all time, was similarly accused). I never thought that Steven King was much of a writer -- indeed, much of his writing would fail my high-school English teacher's standards of writing -- but what he is, is a storyteller who weaves his stories into a spider web that catches one unaware until one is entagled fully in the story's web, unable to wiggle out until the story's end -- maybe. As a storyteller myself, I grew to appreciate the man.

And my husband was just a bit annoyed at your mention of Clive Cussler, for he enjoys Cussler as a good read with a good story. I cannot comment, myself, since I've never read the author.

Perhaps you just dislike the genres they represent or the lack of proper writing skills, or as I mentioned earlier, perhaps it was tongue-in-cheek. Ray Bradbury is, indeed, the meat of good read and I, too, always come back to a Bradbury story when I'm hungry. But it's always nice to have a good dessert once in awhile, too.

DebinCO, it is funny that you encourage us to read and re-read Bradbury's works! About two months ago, I re-read F451 and loved it so much that I did a little research to see if I could handle a challenge this summer. I decided that I was indeed up to the challenge of reading ALL of Bradbury's works this summer. So far, since late April, I have completed F451, Dandelion Wine, The Illustrated Man, and The Martian Chronicles. I am currently reading Sing the Body Electric and then I will tackle Something Wicked. I have been at it about a month and a half and have two a a half months left. I am confident I can do it. Your encouragement has helped as well though it was not directed at me necessarily, I still feel your hand moving me forward on my quest for greatness.

I would also add that I am now the age at which Bradbury first saved your life from your own hand and I while can say that I have never felt the need to take my life, I can also say that I am certainly feeling the pains and stresses of life and Bradbury is helping me through them as he helped you! Thank you again for your wonderful words!

In response to the thread title, ARE there any current short story writers who happen to be, in fact, NOT Ray Bradbury?

There are still many good short story authors. Now that the magazine era has dried up, many authors write specifically for themed anthologies. Even with the small amount of magazines such as ASIMOV'S and THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION there are still stories being published. OMNI is rumored to be coming back, also.

Many, many stories are published online nowadays. My favorite source is here:

http://www.bewilderingstories.com/

Check it out, and support these starving artists if you can.

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Here's a couple more online sources for short stories, poems and such.

http://www.ultraverse.us/

http://www.alienskinmag.com/

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Here's some really good stuff online, lots of stories and each site probably has links to even more sites-

http://www.strangehorizons.com/fiction.shtml

http://www.infinitematrix.net/

http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/

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I think the short story will never die. There will always be room for a quick read that can touch the soul/heart and take readers to a place beyond their own world.

Not all of us can support the genre by writing, though. Many here are teachers, and I would say to support the genre by including quality short stories in your curriculum. Bring them in to class and do read-alouds (if the story can be covered that way).

Demand that "approved" literature texts have a healthy collection of good and representative short stories. Purchase year-end, and themed collections, so they continue to be published.

There are things that can be done to keep the short story alive.