According to the New York Times Book Review, the Iowa Short Fiction Award is among the most prestigious literary prizes America offers, and the Chicago Tribune has called the honor "a respected prize that annually introduces readers to a writer whose work is little known outside the circle of literary magazine and university publications." In 1991, to both celebrate the stories discovered by the Iowa Short Fiction Award and its companion, the John Simmons Short Fiction Award, and to further acquaint readers with the prize-winning authors, Frank Conroy compiled The Iowa Award: The Best Stories from Twenty Years. He follows that now with The Iowa Award: The Best Stories, 1991-2000, a collection of twenty-one winning selections. Whether hurtling toward Earth in a disabled airplane, sharing silence with a prostitute, fantasizing about the Manson family, or hiding disgust for a dying friend, the characters in this new collection engage and captivate readers. The authors--from 1991 winners Elizabeth Harris and Sondra Spatt Olsen to newcomers John McNally and Elizabeth Oness--explore the nuances of love, lust, youth, old age, illness, nostalgia, obsession, idiosyncrasy, and surprise. Their work--judged by such accomplished writers as Ethan Canin, Francine Prose, Ann Beattie, and Stuart Dybek--and the selections Conroy has chosen to share exemplify remarkable writing. Moreover, each writer achieves the expectations of the Iowa Short Fiction Award, established in 1969 to provide a forum for the publication of a uniquely American literary form. IOWA SHORT FICTION AWARD WINNERS, 1991-2000 David Borofka Mark Brazaitis Kathryn Chetkovich Tereze Glück Ann Harleman Elizabeth Harris Jim Henry Lisa Lenzo John McNally Renée Manfredi Susan Onthank Mates Rod Val Moore Thisbe Nissen Sondra Spatt Olsen Elizabeth Oness Nancy Reisman Elizabeth Searle Enid Shomer Lex Williford Charles Wyatt Don Zancanella Frank Conroy is the director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa. He is the author of Midair and Stop-Time, and his short stories and articles have appeared in numerous anthologies and publications.