Shannon Ravenel has worked in publishing for almost 50 years: at Houghton Mifflin’s editorial department from 1961-1971, as Series Editor of The Best American Short Stories from 1977-1990, as a co-founder with Louis Rubin of Algonquin Books in 1982, as Algonquin’s Editorial Director from 1992 to 2001 and as editor of 20 volumes of New Stories from the South. In 2001, she stepped down as Editorial Director in order to create and direct a new imprint for Algonquin—Shannon Ravenel Books.