Zoetrope: All-Story

I love to read but don't always have time to do leisurely reading. Zoetrope describes itself as "a quarterly literary publication founded by Francis Ford Coppola in 1997 to explore the intersection of story and art, fiction and film." If you're a fan of modern-day story-telling, this may be the website for you to peruse. I love to stop during busy moments to enjoy a short story or two, and Zoetrope always delivers something interesting. However, the downside of this site is that not all of the stories can be viewed in full on-line. More often than not, you'll find this note at the end of the online version: "To read the rest of this story, and others from the Spring 2009 issue, please purchase a copy from our online store." Unfortunately, issues are hella expensive.

Literary magazine that explores stories and art, fiction and film - Behind every good movie is a good story. A quarterly magazine devoted to publishing the best new short fiction and one-act plays, Zoetrope: All-Story, which was started by Francis Ford Coppola, is a fun and refreshing read.

The recipient of almost every major story award, the magazine seeks to supplement the sensibilities of motion picture studios by emphasizing the importance of devoting resources to cultivating quality literary work. The result is a very neat smorgasbord of short stories that illustrate the intersection between art, film, and fiction, and teach us about life and everyday people, places, and things.

Each edition contains new stories centered around a particular theme, each story carefully selected from a pool of submittals from notable and promising authors. Rounding out each edition is a classic reprint (a published short story that inspired a great film) to illustrate the relationship between the two art forms. This month, the Love Issue (Spring 2003) has been re-released. It contains the classic reprint of a novella, Intersection, by Liu Yi-Chang, which inspired the internationally acclaimed film In The Mood for Love (2000) by director Wong Kar Wai.

Also peppered throughout each edition are illustrations, designs, and photographs by a chosen contemporary artist.

Whether or not you choose to subscribe to the magazine or to purchase piecemeal editions, you can read some of the published stories online by clicking on their Back Issues link.