This anthology gathers short fiction recognized by the N.V.M. Gonzalez Prize between 2000 and 2005, an award named for the National Artist for Literature (1915–1999) whose own stories helped shape the Philippine short story tradition in English. The volume is edited by Gemino H. Abad, poet, critic, and University Professor emeritus at the University of the Philippines, alongside Gregorio C. Brillantes, a fictionist and longtime editor known for The Distance to Andromeda. Together the selections survey Filipino short fiction at the turn of the millennium.