A Personal Anthology: 12 stories for the classroom

‘A Personal Anthology’ from Jonathan Gibbs is a treasure-trove for readers and teachers. The idea is simple: someone assembles 12 short stories and recommends them in a post (now via Substack). Gibbs adds these to the Personal Anthology website, which now boasts 3,000 stories recommended by over 200 people. Featured authors are listed on the right-hand side of the site: it’s a fabulous resource.

It was my turn to write this week, and I took the teaching angle: my selection is of stories which work in the classroom of an English teacher, and particularly stories which work when read out. I enjoy performing/acting, and here is a kind of mini-history of what I have used over the decades. Every English teacher has favourites to return to, and a shelf in the classroom which keeps those books close for quick access.

Extended comments on some of the stories are at the bottom of my books page.

A Personal Anthology, by Julian Girdham by Jonathan Gibbs

Read on Substack