“Shopping for Birds,” a story by West Virginia University’s Douglas Campbell, is the featured story this week by Short Story America, an online source for readers and authors of the short story.

“I’m delighted to have my story selected as Story of the Week. Not only is SSA an attractive literary website visually, it presents quality fiction in a unique manner and treats writers generously and with respect,” Campbell said.

According to Tim Johnston, SSA publisher and co-editor, “Shopping for Birds” has been a big hit in the few short days since it’s been posted on Friday (May 14).

“Campbell’s excellent short story achieves what Edgar Allan Poe described as the singular effect which good short stories have upon the reader. The story lingers in the consciousness long after the first reading of this compelling tale of a relationship in trouble,” said Johnston.

“The brief glimpse into a seemingly-routine Saturday morning of a young married couple, seen from the husband’s point of view, is not only entertaining, tinged with tension and skillfully painted, but causes a self-examination which quality literature tends to inspire in the reader,” he added.

Anyone who would like to read “Shopping for Birds” can join SSA – for free – and follow along with other members from 56 countries and all 50 states who are currently enjoying Campbell’s peak behind the mask of domesticity.

“It’s a story that looks at intimate relationships, how valuable they are, how slippery they can be and how much care and attention they require,” Campbell said.

“I’m drawn to writing as a way to explore my own and our collective humanity, and to put my discoveries and my confusion into narrative shapes that can be shared with others. For me, writing is fundamentally an act of love and sharing.”

Campbell’s fiction and poetry has appeared in Flash Me Magazine, Every Day Fiction, Slow Trains Literary Journal and Jabberwocky. He won the 2007 flash fiction contest sponsored by Many Mountains Moving.

Campbell began working for WVU in 1984 as a graduate teaching assistant in the English department and has been a Library Technical Assistant with WVU Libraries for the past 21 years.

To read “Shopping for Birds,” or to find out more about SSA, visit the website http://www.shortstoryamerica.com.

-WVU-

ld/05/17/10

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