These five panelists—all of whom have published story collections—discuss what they learned from reading about seventy-five story collection submissions to the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, an experience that one judge calls “transcendental.” The panel—which includes editors, reviewers, professors, and scholars—offers insight and advice for those working on or trying to publish story collections; trend observations; and thoughts on how and why reading for the contest altered their own work.