Short Stories
Last updated: December 22, 2024
We have a number of interviews dedicated to short stories, but beyond that many of our interviewees have recommended them among their book choices. Two of our short story interviews are dedicated to Russian literature; Rosamund Bartlett recommends the best Russian short stories and Robert Chandler the best tales from Soviet Russia, and you can also find the stories of Vladimir Nabokov here.
Among collections by US writers, we have Up in the Old Hotel by Joseph Mitchell, mainly focused on New York City and All the Days and Nights by William Maxwell, whose stories are more focused on the Midwest. American-Arab author and artist Etel Adnan covers life in the US, Paris and Beirut in her short story collection, Master of the Eclipse. Maxim D Shrayer’s Yom Kippur in Amsterdam can be found here.
We also have collections from Korea by D Lee, Call to Arms by the Chinese writer Lu Xun, from Burma in Inked Over, Ripped Out and a collection of writings by Arab women authors, Opening the Gates. Selected short stories by Rabindranath Tagore can be found here. From Africa we have House of Hunger, a collection by the Zimbabwean author, Dambudzo Marechera, The Will to Die by South African Can Themba, and The Thing Around Your Neck by the Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Among Western European authors, we have The Periodic Table by Primo Levi and Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino, The Complete Short Stories of Oscar Wilde, Burning Your Boats by Angela Carter and The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy by Tim Burton. We have two collections in Spanish, Short Stories in Spanish for Beginners, selected by Olly Richards and Short Stories in Spanish in the Penguin parallel text series, selected by John L King.
The author Sophie King tells you how to do it in her book, How To Write Short Stories for Magazines.
For something a bit longer, we also have a list of short books you can read in a day.
The Best Sci-Fi Short Stories, recommended by R.S.A. Garcia
Short stories are at the heart of a thriving science fiction community, where readers, writers and editors move between roles and raise each other up. R.S.A. Garcia, winner of the 2024 Nebula prize for Best Short Story, talks us through her five highlights: short takes on big themes, with community at their heart.
The Best 20th-Century Short Stories, recommended by Etgar Keret
The short story form allows for instinctiveness in a way that novels don’t, says Israeli writer Etgar Keret, whose stories have won a number of awards and been translated into dozens of languages. He talks us through some of his favourite short story collections of the 20th century (in English).
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1
Taipei People
by Pai Hsien-yung -
2
Bamboo Shoots After the Rain: Contemporary Stories by Women Writers of Taiwan
by Ann Carver (editor) & Sung-sheng Yvonne Chang (editor) -
3
Exiles at Home: Stories
by Ch'en Ying-chen -
4
The Taste of Apples
by Huang Chun-ming -
5
Angelwings: Contemporary Queer Fiction from Taiwan
by Fran Martin (translator)
Short Stories from Taiwan, recommended by Sabina Knight
Short Stories from Taiwan, recommended by Sabina Knight
With careful literary crafting, Taiwan’s writers have told the complex story of their country since World War II. Sabina Knight, a professor at Smith College and author of Chinese Literature: A Very Short Introduction, recommends five of her favourite short story collections.
The Best Russian Short Stories, recommended by Rosamund Bartlett
In Russia, it’s often fallen to writers to challenge conventions and speak the truth, says the translator and biographer Rosamund Bartlett. She makes a personal selection of some of the most exhilarating Russian short fiction.
Jim Shepard recommends his favourite Short Stories
The American writer shares his favourite collections, and tells us why short stories are like guerrilla warfare and perfect for the Twitter generation.
The Best Tales of Soviet Russia, recommended by Robert Chandler
Robert Chandler, one of the best known translators of Russian literature, recommends some of his favourite tales of Soviet Russia. There’s the one about a dog in space and the one about the Soviet café which stocked nothing but champagne and Mars bars…
