His short stories have appeared in Esquire, Harpers, The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, and other journals, as well as The Best American Short Stories, The O'Henry Prize Series, The Pushcart Prize Anthology, The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction and other anthologies; they have been performed on National Public Radio’s “This American Life” and “Selected Shorts.” Ron Carlson Writes a Story, his book on writing is taught widely. He is the author of two books of poems, Room Service and The Blue