51 Best Short Stories

[Ernest Babin]

TheGift of the Magi by O. Henry (1905)

This classic romance story is about true, selfless love. It follows a young couple, Della and Jim, who sacrifice their most prized items to buy each other Christmas gifts.

A Temporary Matter by Jhumpa Lahiri (1998)

Part of Lahiri's collection Interpreter of Maladies, this story is about the complex nature of romantic relationships and how they can be strained by loss.

A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury (1952)

This time travel adventure follows a group of hunters returning to the prehistoric past in a quest to kill a dinosaur. Things quickly take a drastic turn.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (1963)

This beloved kids classic follows Max, a young boy who travels to an island inhabited by wild creatures after being sent to his room as punishment for being unruly.

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (1964)

This is a classic, yet touching story about the relationship between a boy and a tree. It explores themes of generosity and unconditional love.

There is a quieter, more succinct wing of literature that thrives on pithy conciseness: the short story. The authors of this art form have perfected the concept of this type of storytelling by distilling exciting human experiences into a compact form that is easy to digest and just as engaging for the busy reader. Here are 25 of the greatest short stories of all time, each with its own approach to brevity.

In Acts of God, Gilchrist gives a vivid, down-to-earth account of resilience and grace through the lives of her characters, who are grappling with forces outside of their control in various scenarios. The collection showcases the unwavering grit of ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances, and each story is centered around human compassion and the quiet heroism found in everyday life.

In Never Whistle at Night, Van Alst Jr. offers a dark anthology that combines horror stories laser-focused on Indigenous traditions and contemporary experiences. This collection of stories showcases indigenous authors who use the horror genre to explore themes of survival, cultural identity, and resilience. Each story is a testament to the rich storytelling traditions of Indigenous communities, offering suspense and profound reflections.

Set in a seemingly peaceful and idyllic town, The Lottery follows a shocking and brutal ritual that takes place every year in the town. Renowned author Shirley Jackson criticizes societal norms and the dark side of human nature, highlighting how ordinary people can commit heinous acts under the guise of custom and tradition. The suspenseful buildup leaves a lasting impact on the reader.

Each of the stories on this list have offered something unique, insightful and poignant. Each writer has evoked emotions through masterful storytelling and a command of brevity, making them masters of their field.

For the Chantals all that part of Paris situated on the other side of the Seine constitutes the new quarter, a section inhabited by a strange, noisy population, which cares little for honour, spends its days in dissipation, its nights in revelry, and throws money out of the windows.

In years gone by I've read short story collections, but promptly forget them as they blend and merge into each other. I'm hoping this new approach will allow me to remember individual stories like Nancy, above, obviously did with The Necklace.

In a nation where we fight for equality, knowing that we are not all equal is a bitter pill to swallow. It is the differences in us that make us great. In typical Vonnegut style, the king of post-modern literature explores these differences in a world where society tries to push for equality. It is a quick read that will make you laugh at the absurd notion of what would happen if we tried for this goal, but look at the world around you and wonder if perhaps we have not already moved ourselves into this dystopian nightmare. You will never forget the tragic fate of Harrison Bergeron or the lesson his story has to tell to us. It is for this reason that it achieves the number one spot.

With all of the dystopian literature that is plaguing the bookshelves of American bookstores, it is hard to remember a time when these profound stories were only limited to a few great examples. This short story was one of the best in the short story drama. It told the story of a horror that is a little too close to the world that we live in.

The master of story telling shows up again on this list with a tale of pure terror. To even imagine yourself in the same position as the protagonist in this story will give you nightmares for the rest of your life. It is a perfect example of how gothic literature can mix with pure terror to give one of the most heart-pounding experiences ever printed on the page.

One of the more political stories by Edgar Allan Poe shows up here. At the heart of this story is a class system that believed that even they could cheat death, but in the end, death will come for all. It is a humbling story that reminds us that in the eyes of some the supernatural beings out there that we are all equal.

If the heat of summer is starting to bug you, pick up a copy of this story and start to read. Soon after the opening paragraph you will feel a chill in the room, and by the time you finish its tragic ending, you will be curled up on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate warming your hands. The chilly mood that Jack London creates in this classic is not the only genius held within its words. There is a battle of man against nature, and the real lesson to be learned is that nature will always win.

A poor couple barely making ends meet finds a very old man with enormous wings sleeping in their chicken coop one morning. Was the man sent to help them out or is he more of burden? Is he really an angel, or is he some other misshapen mythical figure? Does our salvation come from within or do we need divine intervention? It is these questions that Gabriel Garcia Marquez explores in this bizarre and often humorous story.

The classic Christmas story about how love will overcome poverty so a gift from the heart can be given. The ironic twist, written in classic O. Henry style, just adds to the overall theme of the true meaning of giving.

Many people would say that the king of horror would be none other than Stephen King, but Stephen King would say that it is H.P. Lovecraft. If you want to know the true meaning of fear, read the man who wrote about it better than anybody else. His stories delve deep into the mythology of Cthulhu and this one is the best out of all he has written. While this master of terror tells a story that will haunt you for many nights, he explores the ideas of control, and how it plays out in our own lives. It is a little bit of a journey to read this story, but you will never forget it.

I recently started the Collected Stories of Gabriel Garca Mrquez, containing the best short fiction of his long career. When it comes to short story collections, I usually find a few gems while others become forgettable. I was unprepared for my experiences with this book. After just the first two stories, I immediately placed the book down so my mind could process what I had just read. The words were so beautifully written and compelling that all I could do was take a moment to catch my breath.

Born in Colombia, Mrquez worked as a journalist before turning his attention to fiction. Renowned as one of the greatest authors of the 20th century, he became best known for his novels such as One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967) and Love in the Time of Cholera (1985). In 1982, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Mrquez popularized a literary style known as magical realism, the incorporation of magical elements and events into otherwise everyday situations.

I told her the path to take was up to her. I suggested she study the careers of authors she liked for clues on which path to follow, with the understanding that what worked for one writer might not work for another. And most importantly, she should write the types of stories she yearned to write.

Today relatively few people read short stories, at least compared to novel-length fiction. If you're a new writer with a solid first novel, you have a decent chance of landing a publisher. Self publishing has also been very friendly to novels.

To Silverberg and the other SF authors of that time period, short stories earned more money than novels and were also where authors gained the most exposure and prestige. Readers loved short stories, and the market was set up to provide readers with as many short stories as they could take in.

The same pattern applied decades earlier. For example, F. Scott Fitzgerald once told Ernest Hemingway that he wrote short stories for magazines because they paid enough to support his novel writing. Fitzgerald believed this was "whoring" but that he had to do it to earn enough money to write "decent books."

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