When I started at WMG in April, we had a number of short-story collections up in ebook form but only a handful in print.

Well, we’ve been very busy here at WMG working to add more titles to that list. And by early December, we’ll have added another handful to the list—a collection of collections, if you will.

Collections are an interesting breed. On the surface, it seems so simple to put a group of stories together. But it’s often more complicated than that. The stories must somehow relate to each other, while also appealing to the reader in a similar way.

Sometimes, a collection is related by genre, such as mystery, although given the broad range of subgenre out there, that’s not enough of a hook in itself. But short story readers by definition appreciate diversity, so if you can accomplish that, too, you’re golden.

Take a collection, for example, about criminals. Mystery, probably. But throw in Santa as a suspect. And the holiday season as a setting. Then balance some dark stories with a little light and love at the end. And now, you have Santa and Other Christmas Criminals, a holiday collection of three mysteries, an urban fantasy and a romance. Intriguing? You bet.

If you’ve never tried reading short fiction, these collections are a wonderful way to start.

We have three collections for the holidays: a ten-story collection called Silent Night: A Christmas Collection, and two five-story collections called Five for the Winter Holidays and the aforementioned Santa and Other Christmas Criminals.

Add to that count Five Mystery Stories and Five Fantastic Tales, and there’s no excuse for boredom this holiday season.

So, consider the gift of great stories this Christmas or make it a New Year’s resolution. We’ll have a lot more up in 2013.

Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer.