The PEN/O. Henry prize stories. 2012 / chosen and with an introduction by Laura Furman ; with essays by jurors Mary Gaitskill, Daniyal Mueenuddin, Ron Rash on the stories they admire most.

Introduction / Laura Furman -- Uncle Rock / Dagoberto Gilb -- The Vandercook / Alice Mattison -- Leak / Sam Ruddick -- Nothing living lives alone / Wendell Berry -- The first wife / Christine Sneed -- A birth in the woods / Kevin Wilson -- Naima / Hisham Matar -- Mickey Mouse / Karl Taro Greenfeld -- Things said or done / Ann Packer -- East of the West / Miroslav Penkov -- A brush / John Berger -- Kindness / Yiyun Li -- Phantoms / Steven Millhauser -- Boys Town / Jim Shepard -- The hare's mask / Mark Slouka -- Eyewall / Lauren Groff -- Rothko eggs / Keith Ridgway -- The deep / Anthony Doerr -- The woman who lived in the house / Salvatore Scibona -- Corrie / Alice Munro -- Reading the PEN/O. Henry Prize stories 2012 -- Writing the PEN/O. Henry Prize stories 2012.

This book gathers twenty of the best short stories of the year, selected from thousands published in literary magazines. These remarkable stories explore the boundaries of the imagination in settings as various as an army training camp in China, the salt mines of Detroit, a divided Balkan town, and the eye of a hurricane. Also included are essays from the eminent jurors on their favorite stories, observations from the winners on what inspired them, and an extensive resource list of magazines.