Although O. Henry's literary reputation is still in question today, his name has been attached to one of the most prestigious short-story contests in the United States: the O. Henry Awards. Each year, stories from this contest are published in a special volume of prize stories. The eighty-first edition of this series, Prize Stories 2001: The O. Henry Awards, was published in 2001 and contains works from established authors and newcomers alike.

O. Henry's first book, Cabbages and Kings (1904), is referred to by some as a novel, by others as a collection of short stories. O. Henry created the book by combining a number of his previous short stories about Central America— along with some new stories—into one interlinked narrative. The main story concerns a president of a South American country, who flees the country after being deposed in...