Peter Matthew Hillsman Taylor (1917-1994) was the author of fifty-nine published stories, several plays, and three novels, including A Summons to Memphis (1986) and the Pulitzer Prize-winning In the Tennessee Country (1994). In 1978 he was awarded the Gold Medal in Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and in 1993 the PEN/Malamud Award for his lifetime contribution to the art of the short story. Ann Beattie, editor, is the author of nine novels andeleven short story collections. She is a recipient ofthe PEN/Malamud Award and the Rea Award,both given in acknowledgment of her lifetimecontribution to the art of the story. She is theformer Edgar Allan Poe Professor of Literature andCreative Writing at the University of Virginia, whereone of her colleagues was Peter Taylor.