By Sukant Deepak New Delhi, April 1 : Every few pages, the voice changes. The language marks the territory of the individual. Spaces get occupied with distinct themes. But some are left empty, after all one must know the importance of empty spaces. Every author, both established and new has her ritual. Her own fine margains, own redeeming qualities. Reading the 18 short stories in 'The Punch Magazine Anthology of New Writing: Select Short Stories by Women Writers' (Niyogi Books) edited by Shireen Quadri, the multiple styles at play tirelessly embrace in every sense. Filtered through the prism of a specific gender -- women, there is humour, mystery, drama and suspense, Quadri tells IANS that the fact that the anthology turned out to be exclusively by women writers was incidental as the jury found that all the excellent stories that had been selected and shortlisted were by women. "These stories do not specifically talk about women issues and gender dynamics. They are just good stories told well by writers who are fond of the form and are trying to excel at it." In 2019, 'The Punch Magazine' invited short story submissions from writers across the globe. In about three months, they got submissions coming in from not just from across India but also from the UK, the US, Canada, Mexico, Russia and Spain. The selection of stories was done by an internal jury that was kept confidential, just like how some anthologies at the international level are brought out. "The stories were read without revealing the name of the writers in order to keep it totally objective and transparent. And the stories that made it to the final list were stories that were unanimously selected by the team." Once they whittled down the list to 18 stories internally, Quadri discussed bringing out a print version with Trisha Niyogi, COO at Niyogi Books. "We signed the contract and began working on the anthology," she recalls. The editor believes that since all stories by women, they are embued with a distinct female gaze, laced with several layers and dimensions. "A woman's way of looking at the world and its associations can be, though it's not always necessary, different from men. Women writers are inclined to react to or reflect upon social realities differently, with empathy and understanding," she says. Preferring not to give any theme to the authors as they didn't the stories restricted to any genre, Quadri recalls being astounded by the range and the volume of the stories as well as the fact that the submissions came from across the world with good representation from most continents. In fact 50 percent of the submissions came from established writers. "The idea was to feature best writings in the form of short fiction by writers irrespective of their identities or geographical locations. Also, we wanted to publish stories by new as well as established voices, keeping the focus on the quality of writing." While they were looking for stories that would seize and surprise them by their ingenuity and depth and boasted of a strong narrative voice, they also factored in the ingenious use of language. We had our eyes out for stories that reflected the human condition in general and had a deep resonance with the times we are living in. Admitting that short story is a tricky genre -- there's a lot that's condensed in it and yet it can also have the arc of a novel, she says, "It's a form that tests a writer's ability to tell the story in a concise manner with no superfluous elements. It's also a form that's extremely challenging because one wrong note can throw the story off its course. As a reader, what we look at in a short story is that it has to engage us, surprise us, shock us or just make us laugh. I feel a short story anthology is a good way to bring diverse cultures and stories by different authors under one umbrella. It makes for an interesting read. So, I truly believe in the power of storytelling and short stories." Ask if there were any apprehensions before starting 'The Punch Magazine', which warrants a serious and committed readership, and Quadri says that the aim, from the very beginning, was to feature writings that made it possible for readers to engage with arts and literature in a substantive manner. "For instance, our interviews tend to focus a great deal on the craft side of things so that a reader gets a sense of the mindscape of a writer or artist: why and how he/she does what he/she does. When we started, we were aware that in the era of 2-minute reads, it will be a challenge to get dedicated readership for pieces that ranged between 2,000 to 5,000 words. But our readers have surprised us; our longform pieces have got good traction, proving that if the content is good and engaging, readers will always be willing to invest their time in reading them." Planning to come up with more such anthologies in the future, Quadri is also planning some creative collaborations with individuals and organisations. (Sukant Deepak can be contacted at sukant.d@ians.in) /IANS