The Best American Short Stories 1944

{{Infobox book|

| name = The Best American Short Stories 1944

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| image =

| editor = Martha Foley

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| language = English

| series = The Best American Short Stories

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| publisher = Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

| media_type = Print

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| isbn = 9789997371270

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| preceded_by = The Best American Short Stories 1943

| followed_by = The Best American Short Stories 1945

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The Best American Short Stories 1944 is a volume in The Best American Short Stories series edited by Martha Foley. The volume was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.{{Cite book |title=The Best American Short Stories 1944 |date= |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |isbn=9789997371270 |editor-last=Foley |editor-first=Martha}}

Background

The series is considered one of the "best-known annual anthologies of short fiction""Short and Sweet" by Mark Harris, Entertainment Weekly, 11/05/99, issue 511, page 73. and has anthologized more than 2,000 short stories, including works by some of the most famous writers in contemporary American literature."The Best American Short Stories of the Century," Publishers Weekly, 3/8/1999, volume 246, issue 10, page 47.{{Cite web |last=Hempel |first=Amy |date=1986-02-09 |title=The Best American Short Stories 1985 : edited by Gail Godwin with Shannon Ravenel (Houghton Mifflin; $14.95, hardcover; $8.95, paperback; 300 pp.) |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-02-09-bk-5777-story.html |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=1999-05-10 |title=Best Stories of the Century? Not Quite, but Close Enough |url=https://observer.com/1999/05/best-stories-of-the-century-not-quite-but-close-enough/ |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=Observer |language=en-US}}

In particular, the Willa Cather Review wrote that The Best American Short Stories series "became a repository of values" for creative writing programs, college libraries, and literary magazines."'Long-Cellared Wine': 'Double Birthday,' Edward J. H. O'Brien, and the Best American Short Stories Series" by Timothy W. Bintrim and Scott Riner, Willa Cather Review, spring 2023, volume 64, issue 1, page 18. The Los Angeles Times, reflecting on the hundred-year anniversary of the series, noted that it eventually became an "institution" itself, often being taught in classrooms.{{Cite web |date=2015-10-09 |title=Review: '100 Years of Best American Short Stories' is vital yet flawed for loading the canon |url=https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-best-short-stories-20151011-story.html |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}