‘100 Years of the Best American Short Stories’ authors

James Baldwin is shown in July 1953.

(William Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Oct. 9, 2015 9 AM PT

“The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” was written by Junot Diaz in 2007.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Writer Jamaica Kincaid is seen June 14, 2010, in Rome.

(Elisabetta A. Villa / Getty Images)

Known for her short stories, Alice Munro won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature.

(Derek Shapman / EPA)

Joyce Carol Oates is seen at the 2012 Edinburgh International Book Festival.

(Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert / Getty Images)

Writer Mona Simpson is shown in 2001.

(Gasper Triangle / Handout)