The long short story is a compelling literary form. Neither as brief as the classic short story nor as long as the novella, it is a piece of writerly art that can be read in a single sitting, yet allows the writer to properly explore setting, character, atmosphere and plot. In the hands of a master, ‘the long short’ is just the right length to provide an extraordinary reading experience— a story that you can sink into. The authors represented in this volume, the first of its kind in India, are Bolwar Mahamad Kunhi, Chetan Raj Shrestha, Gopikrishnan, Habib Kamran, Ismat Chughtai, Kamalakanta Mohapatra, K. R. Meera, Kolakaluri Enoch, Mahasweta Devi, Shripad Narayan Pendse, Nirmal Verma and Waryam Singh Sandhu. They tell stories of strong women and ruthless men, humour and pathos, town, village and countryside, death and oppression, crime and terror, love and witchcraft. Taken together, the stories in this book allow you to see India in ways that you have never done before.