Search results
Find short stories in various genres, formats and collections on Goodreads. Browse new releases, most read, anticipated and best rated books, or explore curated lists of short stories by themes and authors.
- Short Stories from Reedsy Prompts
- Who Writes Reedsy’S Short Stories?
- Discover Short Stories of All Genres and Subjects
- GeneratedCaptionsTabForHeroSec
Short stories may be small, but they are mighty! With the weight of a novel stripped away, great short stories strike directly at the heart of their topics. Often maligned as the novel’s poor cousin, the short story medium has produced some of the most beloved works of fiction. From the eerily-accurate predictions of Ray Bradbury to the spine-chill...
Here at Reedsy, we're looking to foster the next generation of beloved authors. To that end, we've been running a weekly writing contest for over six years — and these short stories are the thousands of entries we've received over that time. Our writers come to the contest from all experience levels to hone their skills through consistent practice ...
Centered around themed writing prompts, these short stories range across all forms, genres, and topics of interest. Simply filter by the genre that appeals you most, and discover thousands of stories from promising new writers around the world. Maybe you want to read something new, but don’t want to choose a genre? We’ve gathered our favorite entri...
Browse and read thousands of short stories by writers from different genres and categories. Enter Reedsy Prompts weekly writing contest and win $250 and publication in a magazine.
- Reedsy
- “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl. While not exactly a philosophical or political tale like our first two examples, this twisty short story from Dahl does delve into some shady moral territory.
- “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. A perennial feature in many a high school syllabus, Shirley Jackson’s best-known short story clinically details an unusual ritual that takes place in a small town.
- “How to Become a Writer” by Lorrie Moore. Told in the second person point of view, this story from Moore’s debut anthology Self-Help takes an honest look at the inner life of a struggling artist.
- “Cat Person” by Kristen Roupenian. In the Social Media Age, no short story has gone viral the way this New Yorker contribution from Roupenian has. Arriving at the height of #MeToo, it begins with 20-year-old Margot embarking on the early stages of flirtation with an older man, Robert.
- Book Marks
- Bliss Montage by Ling Ma. (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) 21 Rave • 5 Positive • 2 Mixed. Read an interview with Ling Ma here. “The eight wily tales mark the return of an author whose inventive debut, Severance, urgently announced her as a writer worth watching … an assured follow-up, a striking collection that peddles in the uncanny and the surreal, but it often lacks Severance’s zest.
- Liberation Day by George Saunders. (Random House) 16 Rave • 6 Positive • 5 Mixed (86) Read George Saunders on reading chaotically and the power of generous teachers, here.
- Homesickness by Colin Barrett. (Grove Press) 16 Rave • 1 Positive • 1 Mixed. Read an essay by Colin Barrett here. “Its comedy stands in balance to the collection’s more tragic tenor … expands [Barrett’s] range, and though the first took place in the fictional Irish town of Glanbeigh, the books share a fabric shot through with dark humor, pitch-perfect dialogue and a signature freshness that makes life palpable on the page.
- Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu. (Tin House) 13 Rave • 4 Positive. Read a story from Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century here. “..
- Dubliners by James Joyce.
- Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger.
- The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor.
- Tales of Old: Greek Mythology: Volume 1 by Johnathon Nicolaou (Goodreads Author)
Dec 9, 2021 · A list of the most critically-acclaimed short story collections of the past year, based on reviews from over 150 publications. Find out which authors made the cut and what critics had to say about their stories.
May 20, 2021 · 42 Superb New Short Story Collections to Read in 2021. Posted by Sharon on May 20, 2021. 89 likes 0 comments. Trying to bust a reading slump? No time to sink into a long novel? Prefer plots that can be contained in a handful of pages? Then a short story collection is always the right pick for you.
