On Selected Shorts, actors transport us through the magic of fiction, one short story at a time. Sometimes funny. Always moving. Selected Shorts connects you to the world with a rich diversity of voices from literature, film, theater, and comedy.
Over 35 years ago, Selected Shorts was born on the stage at Symphony Space and quickly became one of the best known shows of its kind spawning a popular public radio show, podcast, audio collections, and national tours. The series was conceived with a simple premise: take great stories by well-known and emerging writers and have them brought to life by terrific actors of stage and screen. Whether featuring stories around a lively theme, the favorite works of a guest author, or a special collaboration, each Selected Shorts event is a unique night of literature in performance.
The radio show is recorded live from performances at the Peter Sharp Theater at Symphony Space in New York, as well as around the US on tours. From the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Selected Shorts is one of the premiere reading series in New York City, attracting some of the biggest names in entertainment.
There is a theme to each Selected Shorts episode and performance. Several stories are presented around each theme. The stories are almost always fiction, sometimes classic, sometimes new, always performed by great actors from stage, screen and television. Evenings are often co-hosted by writers, literary producers, and other interesting characters.
Recent readers include Ellen Burstyn, Kathleen Turner, Edie Falco, Claire Danes, Michael Shannon, Tony Shalhoub, Michael C. Hall, Paul Giamatti, Jane Curtin, Zachary Quinto, Anika Noni Rose, Bebe Neuwirth, Sigourney Weaver, Holly Hunter, Tony Hale, Josh Radnor, Maggie Gyllenhaal, BD Wong, and many more.
Look below for a list of recent Selected Shorts episodes. For more information about the show, click here.
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Host Meg Wolitzer presents two works about losing something, but finding something revealing to take its place. In “Light,” by Lesley Nkeka Arimah, parents differ about how to raise a strong-willed daughter. The reader is Crystal Dickinson. And in Taryn Bowe’s “Camp Emeline,” performed by Edie Falco, a family struggles after a loss, but grief leads to self-discovery for the determined narrator. This lovely work also introduces SELECTED SHORTS’ first-ever on-air book club. Wolitzer joins a lively mother/daughter group to talk about Bowe’s work and how they related to it. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Erin Somers is an author we've featured twice on Too Hot in the past, making her the first three-timer in the history of Too Hot! She's the author of the novels Stay Up with Hugo Best and The Ten Year Affair; the latter originated as a short story of the same title, which we did read on Too Hot. She's quite good at finding new ways to articulate the twists and turns of romantic relationships, as this story confirms. Reading this piece is Miriam Shor, an actor known for shows such as Younger and The Americans. She also featured in the recent hit film American Fiction and the Apple TV series Pluribus. Aparna Nancherla is our host. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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In this program, created in collaboration with Waterwell and the New York Immigration Coalition, guest host Arian Moayed takes listeners through a live performance of thirteen stories and one song that vividly bring to life the vital role immigrants play in New York City's past, present and future. Here are their names: Mary Twomey, Sara M., Zead Ramadan and Andy Eng, Mónica Carrillo, Sabelo Narasimhan, Sadie Frowne, Gulnahar Alam, Fred Amram, Mohmoud Widdi, Tien “Johnny” Nghe, and Kofi, and Hassan Iqbal. Readers include Moayed, and, in order of content, Jayne Houdyshell, Roberta Colindrez, Simu Liu, Pej Vahdat, Camila Cano-Flavia, Sunita Mani, Micaela Diamond, Sepideh Moafi, Kathryn Grody, Laith Nakli, Tramell Tillman, and Justin H. Min. Near the middle of the program, a Korean folksong, “New Arirang,” is performed by Ruthie Ann Miles. Listeners should note that Gulnahar Alam’s moving story, which begins at 36:56, includes a brief description of domestic abuse near the beginning of her narration. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Host Meg Wolitzer presents three works from an evening with New Yorker author and cartoonist Roz Chast, inspired by Chast’s book I Must be Dreaming. “The Wife on Ambien,” by Ed Park, is a sort of late-night fever dream. It’s read by John Fugelsang. In Tessa Hadley’s “Bad Dreams,” images than begin in dreams envelop a family in real life.The reader is Rita Wolf. Tom Barbash’s “Stay Up With Me” charts the rocky path of an old love affair. It’s read by Jason Ralph. And stay tuned for Chast’s own weird dream life, some of which she shares in this episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Host Meg Wolitzer presents two O. Henry Prize-winning stories, from the volume guest edited by Edward P. Jones. The Prize was created in honor of the 19th-century writer best known for slyly humorous stories like “The Ransom of Red Chief” and “Gift of the Magi,” but contemporary selections range wide. In “Rosaura at Dawn,” by Daniel Saldaña París, a woman searches for new life, and a new home.The reader is Sonia Manzano. And “Countdown,” by Anthony Marra, is a darkly comic look at life in modern Russia. The reader is Morgan Spector. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Host Meg Wolitzer presents two unconventional love stories, one classic, one contemporary, that avoid the usual tropes of “meet cute,” “opposites attract,” or “happily ever after” but are still engaging. In “Love in the Slump,” by Evelyn Waugh, clueless upper-crust newlyweds are sent on a comic odyssey. The reader is Jane Kaczmarek. And Esther Yi’s “Moon” explores something we often mistake for love—obsession--as a young woman is drawn farther and farther into K-Pop fandom. The story was selected by guest editor Min Jin Lee for Best American Short Stories 2023. It’s read by Hettienne Park. And we hear Lee’s and Park’s thoughts about the story. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.