Authors share stories behind single-word book titles

Back in our school days, we realized that writing long is actually much easier than writing short.

So we can only imagine how much truer that statement is when it comes to titles — which are tough enough to write as is.

Merriam-Webster spoke with eleven authors who have not only nailed their titles, but who have done so with a single word.

Learn the stories behind Middlesex (Jeffrey Eugenides), Prep (Curtis Sittenfeld), Misery (Stephen King) and eight more one-word titles on the dictionary’s blog.