Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times. In his new collection, “Two Nurses, Smoking,” David Means derives power from revealing the workings of his craft. By Jess Walter ...

David Means has won this year’s PEN/Bernard and Ann Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story, which has recognized writers who have “demonstrated exceptional achievement in the short story form ...

David Means, the young winner of the Los Angeles Times Fiction Award discusses his interest in redemption, an impulse that transforms his tightly calibrated realistic fiction into a moral ...

Your story in this week’s issue, “Chance the Cat,” is, as the title suggests, about a cat called Chance. When did this cat first come into your mind as a possible fictional character? I based the cat ...

David Means is the author of *A Quick Kiss of Redemption*, *Assorted Fire Events*, and *The Secret Goldfish*. His work has appeared in *The New Yorker*, *Harper’s Magazine*, *Zoetrope*, *Best American ...