Still looking for the perfect gift for your various in-laws, your significant other, your best friend, your niece—anyone, really? Well, we asked the editors of some of our favorite literary magazines to share some of their favorite books to give as gifts. We ended up with an eclectic and awesome list. We are tempted to go out and get these all for ourselves, but that wouldn’t quite be in the spirit of the season. Enjoy this list and thanks to all the awesome editors who contributed.

Emma Komlos-Hrobsky, Tin House: My Life in France by Julia Child & The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Laura Spence-Ash, CRAFT: Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón

Tara Laskowski, SmokeLong Quarterly: The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker

This is an odd one, but the first thing that came to mind is The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker. I first read this book in college and it has stuck with me for many years. His advice about trusting your instincts and learning how to take care of yourself is spot-on. This book discusses how to fend off creepy advances, break off ties with exes, deal with stalkers, and how to act in scary or vulnerable situations. I’ve given this book to many friends over the years. Sadly, it’s especially timely now—but then again, it’s always been especially timely.

Ashley Farmer, Juked: Fever Dogs by Kim O’Neil

Right now, Fever Dogs, the debut collection by Kim O’Neil, is at the top of my list. This stunning, evocative book about three generations of women will appeal to a wide audience (and writer-friends will admire the wholly unique voice and the dazzling sentence-level dynamics).

Lena Valencia, One Story: The Driver’s Seat by Muriel Spark

The Driver’s Seat opens with Lise, the slightly unhinged protagonist, berating a salesgirl in a dress shop for attempting to sell her a dress with stainless fabric (“Do you think I spill things on my clothes?”). From there, we follow Lise on her doomed vacation, which we learn, early on in the book, will be where she spends the last days of her life. This slim little thriller isn’t for everyone, but those with a flair for the morbid will appreciate Muriel Spark’s black humor, sharp dialogue, and the clever way she uses Lise’s character to explore ideas of victimhood and agency.

Sadye Teiser, The Masters Review: My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me: Forty New Fairy Tales edited by Kate Bernheimer

I love to give this thick, magical anthology as a gift. Kate Bernheimer has collected and edited forty contemporary takes on the classic fairy tale form. There is just about no grownup who doesn’t appreciate a good fairy tale, be it whimsical, gruesome, or both. This anthology features stories by authors such as Aimee Bender, Kevin Brockmeier, and Kelly Link. Plus, it makes an excellent coffee table book.

One Story is a non-profit literary publisher that has been around for over a decade. Their accolades include numerous Pushcart Prizes, Best American Mystery, Best American Short Stories, among many others. Every three weeks One Story’s 15,000 + subscribers receive a short story from a new author. One Story only publishes an author once, ensuring readers experience new voices through their subscription. They are true literary heavy hitters and always deliver.

This week we read One Story’s “The Prospects” by Michelle Seaton. “The Prospects” is told from an omniscient perspective, addressing characters by group as opposed to name or any other singular moniker. The story examines football recruiting, particularly by following ‘The Prospects’ and ‘The Recruiters’ through their shared experience in football, while The Prospects are being evaluated, chosen, and plucked from their high school celebrity status into more challenging roles as college athletes. There is a real youthful quality to this story, and a strong sense of hope and ego among The Prospects when we first meet them, and yet a darkness permeates. Seaton, who is a seasoned sports journalist, applies a lens to the micro-environment of college recruiting in a way that is sad, sympathetic, and also raises questions. For anyone who attended high school where football reigned supreme, the way Seaton’s Prospects are hailed as super stars is eerily familiar. However, a transformation occurs when we meet The Recruiters, who treat and manipulate these athletes through the promise of a bright and shiny future. The boys are seen as a commodity and The Recruiters — sad in their own right — maintain a power over them. They are the gate keepers of their future, and yet they’ve been battered and broken by the same athletic careers they are pushing.

Within the story of The Prospects and The Recruiters is a clear stance on the controversies behind football. How recruiting is conducted as well as how injuries are ignored. What I liked most about this story is how a very real topic is conveyed through such a lovely literary telling. With current controversy in baseball, the Penn State scandal last year, and the increased attention on the health of our football players, this story has a relevancy that made “The Prospects” especially fun to read.

Readers: One Story’s past and current issues can be found here, along with their subscription details.

Writers: Submissions for One Story are open from September through June. Get those stories polished!

By Kim Winternheimer