This cumulative volume of "Short Story Index" covers short stories written in or translated into English that have appeared in collections and selected periodicals published from 1999-2004. (a 6-year period due to a change in accounting). The periodicals are those indexed in two other Wilson publications: "Readers" Guide to Periodical Literature" and "Humanities Index". "Short Story Index" is issued annually with a cumulation every five years. The continued appeal of the short story is reflected in the number contained in this cumulation, which indexes 21,591 stories. Of those, 19,900 stories appeared in 1,309 collections and 1,691 in 86 periodicals. As in previous volumes, the arrangement is by author, title, and subject in one alphabet. Stories in periodicals are indexed only by author and title. The author entry, which mentions the collection or periodical where the story can be found, is the fullest entry. A list of Collections indexed, a Directory of Publishers and Distributors, and a Directory of Periodicals complete the volume.