"Barn Burning" was originally published in the June, 1939 issue of Harper’s Magazine. It is a prequel to the "Snopes" trilogy, made up of the novels The Hamlet (1940), The Town (1957), and The Mansion (1959). In 1980, "Barn Burning" was made into a short film, directed by Peter Werner and starring Tommy Lee Jones as Ab Snopes, and Shawn Whittington as Sartoris Snopes.
"Two Soldiers" was first published on March 28, 1942 in Saturday Evening Post. Faulkner wrote it in the months following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. A 2003 short-film adaptation written and directed by Aaron Schneider won an Academy Award for Best Short Film (Live Action).
"A Rose for Emily" was first published on April 30, 1930, in Forum; it was Faulkner's first story to be published in a National magazine. It was made into a film in 1983, directed and produced by Lyndon Chubbuck.
"Dry September" was originally published in January, 1931, in Scribner's Magazine. One of the main characters, the barber Hawkshaw, appears again in Faulkner's May, 1931 short story "Hair."
"That Evening Sun" was first published in March, 1931 in American Mercury as "That Evening Sun Go Down." This story features the Compson family of The Sound and the Fury and Absalom! Absalom!.
"Red Leaves" was first published in the Saturday Evening Post on October 25, 1930. The story is said to be heavily influenced by Ernest Hemingway's 1932 non-fiction book about bull-fighting, Death in the Afternoon.
"Lo!" was first published in Story in 1934. It was included in The Best Short Stories of 1935 and Yearbook of the American Short Story. It was inspired by actual visits of Chocktaw chiefs Pushmataha and Greenwood Leflore to presidents James Monroe and Andrew Jackson, respectively. The title may be derived from the phrase, "Lo the poor Indian!" from Alexander Pope's Essay on Man.
"Turnabout" was published in Saturday Evening Post on March 5, 1932 as "Turn About." The story was the inspiration for Howard Hawks' 1933 film Today We Live.
"Honor" was first published in 1930 in American Mercury. Buck Monaghan, the narrator, also appeared in the short story "Ad Astra."
"There Was a Queen" was published in January, 1933 in Scribner's Magazine. It features the Sartoris family of the novels Sartoris and The Unvanquished.
"Mountain Victory" was first published in 1932 in Saturday Evening Post as "A Mountain Victory." It was retitled for its publication in Doctor Martino and Other Stories.
"Beyond" was first published in September, 1933 in Harper's. It was rejected twice in 1930, when Faulkner originally circulated it.
"Race at Morning" was first published in March, 1955 in Saturday Evening Post. It was then included in Big Woods, a collection of Faulkner's hunting stories published the following October.
