essay based on short stories

Short Story Analysis Essay

Short story analysis essay generator.

Almost everyone has read a couple of short stories from the time they were kids up until today. Although, depending on how old you are, you analyze the stories you read differently. As a kid, you often point out who is the good guy and the bad guy. You even express your complaints if you do not like the ending. Now, in high school or maybe in college, you pretty much do the same, but you need to incorporate your critical thinking skills and follow appropriate formatting. That said, to present the results of your literature review, compose a short story analysis essay.

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What Is a Short Story Analysis Essay?

A short story analysis essay is a composition that aims to examine the plot and the aspects of the story. In writing this document, the writer needs to take the necessary elements of a short story into account. In addition, one purpose of writing this type of analysis essay is to identify the theme of the story. As well as try to make connections between the different aspects. 

How to Compose a Critical Short Story Analysis Essay

Having the assignment to write a short story analysis can be overwhelming. Reading the short story is easy enough. Evaluating and writing down your essay is the challenging part. A short story analysis essay follows a different format from other literature essays . That said, to help with that, here are instructive steps and helpful tips.

1. Take Down Notes

Considering that you have read the short story a couple of times, the first step you should take before writing your essay is to summarize and write down your notes. To help you with this, you can utilize flow charts to determine the arcs the twists of the short story. Include the parts and segments that affected you the most, as well as the ones that hold significance for the whole story. 

2. Compose Your Thesis Statement

Before composing your thesis statement for the introductory paragraph of your essay, first, you need to identify the thematic statement of the story. This sentence should present the underlying message of the entire literature. It is where the story revolves around. After that, you can use it as a basis and proceed with composing your thesis statement. It should provide the readers an overview of the content of your analysis paper.

3. Analyze the Concepts

One of the essential segments of your paper is, of course, the analysis part. In the body of your essay, you should present arguments that discuss the concepts that you were able to identify. To support your point, you should provide evidence and quote sentences from the story. If you present strong supporting sentences, it will make your composition more effective. To help with the organization and the structure, you can utilize an analysis paper outline .

4. Craft Your Conclusion

The last part of the process is to craft a conclusion for your essay . Aside from restating the crucial points and the thesis statement, there is another factor that you should consider for the ending paragraph. That said, you should also present your understanding regarding why the author wrote the story that way. In addition, you can also wrap it up by expressing how the story made you feel.

How to run an in-depth analysis of a short story?

In analyzing a short story, you should individually examine the elements of a short story. That said, you need to study the characters, setting, tone, and plot. In addition, you should also consider evaluating the author’s point of view, writing style, and story-telling method. Also, it involves studying how the story affects you personally.

Why is it necessary to compose analysis essays?

Composing analysis essays tests how well a person understands a reading material. It is a good alternative for reading comprehension worksheets . Another advantage of devising this paper is it encourages people to look at a story from different angles and perspectives. In addition to this, it lets the students enhance their article writing potential.

What is critical writing?

Conducting a critical analysis requires an individual to examine the details and facts in the literature closely. It involves breaking down ideas as well as linking them to develop a point or argument. Despite that, the prime purpose of a critical essay is to give a literary criticism of the things the author did well and the things they did poorly.

People enjoy reading short stories. It is for the reason that aside from being brief, they also present meaningful messages and themes. In addition to that, it also brings you to a memorable ride with its entertaining conflicts and plot twists. That said, as a sign of respect to the well-crafted literature, you should present your thoughts about it by generating a well-founded short story analysis essay. 

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• How to write a literary analysis essay | A step-by-step guide

How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay | A Step-by-Step Guide

Published on January 30, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on August 14, 2023.

Literary analysis means closely studying a text, interpreting its meanings, and exploring why the author made certain choices. It can be applied to novels, short stories, plays, poems, or any other form of literary writing.

A literary analysis essay is not a rhetorical analysis , nor is it just a summary of the plot or a book review. Instead, it is a type of argumentative essay where you need to analyze elements such as the language, perspective, and structure of the text, and explain how the author uses literary devices to create effects and convey ideas.

Before beginning a literary analysis essay, it’s essential to carefully read the text and c ome up with a thesis statement to keep your essay focused. As you write, follow the standard structure of an academic essay :

• An introduction that tells the reader what your essay will focus on.
• A main body, divided into paragraphs , that builds an argument using evidence from the text.
• A conclusion that clearly states the main point that you have shown with your analysis.

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Table of contents

Step 1: reading the text and identifying literary devices, step 2: coming up with a thesis, step 3: writing a title and introduction, step 4: writing the body of the essay, step 5: writing a conclusion, other interesting articles.

The first step is to carefully read the text(s) and take initial notes. As you read, pay attention to the things that are most intriguing, surprising, or even confusing in the writing—these are things you can dig into in your analysis.

Your goal in literary analysis is not simply to explain the events described in the text, but to analyze the writing itself and discuss how the text works on a deeper level. Primarily, you’re looking out for literary devices —textual elements that writers use to convey meaning and create effects. If you’re comparing and contrasting multiple texts, you can also look for connections between different texts.

To get started with your analysis, there are several key areas that you can focus on. As you analyze each aspect of the text, try to think about how they all relate to each other. You can use highlights or notes to keep track of important passages and quotes.

Language choices

Consider what style of language the author uses. Are the sentences short and simple or more complex and poetic?

What word choices stand out as interesting or unusual? Are words used figuratively to mean something other than their literal definition? Figurative language includes things like metaphor (e.g. “her eyes were oceans”) and simile (e.g. “her eyes were like oceans”).

Also keep an eye out for imagery in the text—recurring images that create a certain atmosphere or symbolize something important. Remember that language is used in literary texts to say more than it means on the surface.

Narrative voice

Ask yourself:

• Who is telling the story?
• How are they telling it?

Is it a first-person narrator (“I”) who is personally involved in the story, or a third-person narrator who tells us about the characters from a distance?

Consider the narrator’s perspective . Is the narrator omniscient (where they know everything about all the characters and events), or do they only have partial knowledge? Are they an unreliable narrator who we are not supposed to take at face value? Authors often hint that their narrator might be giving us a distorted or dishonest version of events.

The tone of the text is also worth considering. Is the story intended to be comic, tragic, or something else? Are usually serious topics treated as funny, or vice versa ? Is the story realistic or fantastical (or somewhere in between)?

Consider how the text is structured, and how the structure relates to the story being told.

• Novels are often divided into chapters and parts.
• Poems are divided into lines, stanzas, and sometime cantos.
• Plays are divided into scenes and acts.

Think about why the author chose to divide the different parts of the text in the way they did.

There are also less formal structural elements to take into account. Does the story unfold in chronological order, or does it jump back and forth in time? Does it begin in medias res —in the middle of the action? Does the plot advance towards a clearly defined climax?

With poetry, consider how the rhyme and meter shape your understanding of the text and your impression of the tone. Try reading the poem aloud to get a sense of this.

In a play, you might consider how relationships between characters are built up through different scenes, and how the setting relates to the action. Watch out for  dramatic irony , where the audience knows some detail that the characters don’t, creating a double meaning in their words, thoughts, or actions.

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Your thesis in a literary analysis essay is the point you want to make about the text. It’s the core argument that gives your essay direction and prevents it from just being a collection of random observations about a text.

If you’re given a prompt for your essay, your thesis must answer or relate to the prompt. For example:

Essay question example

Is Franz Kafka’s “Before the Law” a religious parable?

Your thesis statement should be an answer to this question—not a simple yes or no, but a statement of why this is or isn’t the case:

Thesis statement example

Franz Kafka’s “Before the Law” is not a religious parable, but a story about bureaucratic alienation.

Sometimes you’ll be given freedom to choose your own topic; in this case, you’ll have to come up with an original thesis. Consider what stood out to you in the text; ask yourself questions about the elements that interested you, and consider how you might answer them.

Your thesis should be something arguable—that is, something that you think is true about the text, but which is not a simple matter of fact. It must be complex enough to develop through evidence and arguments across the course of your essay.

Say you’re analyzing the novel Frankenstein . You could start by asking yourself:

Your initial answer might be a surface-level description:

The character Frankenstein is portrayed negatively in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein .

However, this statement is too simple to be an interesting thesis. After reading the text and analyzing its narrative voice and structure, you can develop the answer into a more nuanced and arguable thesis statement:

Mary Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as.

Remember that you can revise your thesis statement throughout the writing process , so it doesn’t need to be perfectly formulated at this stage. The aim is to keep you focused as you analyze the text.

Finding textual evidence

To support your thesis statement, your essay will build an argument using textual evidence —specific parts of the text that demonstrate your point. This evidence is quoted and analyzed throughout your essay to explain your argument to the reader.

It can be useful to comb through the text in search of relevant quotations before you start writing. You might not end up using everything you find, and you may have to return to the text for more evidence as you write, but collecting textual evidence from the beginning will help you to structure your arguments and assess whether they’re convincing.

To start your literary analysis paper, you’ll need two things: a good title, and an introduction.

Your title should clearly indicate what your analysis will focus on. It usually contains the name of the author and text(s) you’re analyzing. Keep it as concise and engaging as possible.

A common approach to the title is to use a relevant quote from the text, followed by a colon and then the rest of your title.

If you struggle to come up with a good title at first, don’t worry—this will be easier once you’ve begun writing the essay and have a better sense of your arguments.

“Fearful symmetry” : The violence of creation in William Blake’s “The Tyger”

The introduction

The essay introduction provides a quick overview of where your argument is going. It should include your thesis statement and a summary of the essay’s structure.

A typical structure for an introduction is to begin with a general statement about the text and author, using this to lead into your thesis statement. You might refer to a commonly held idea about the text and show how your thesis will contradict it, or zoom in on a particular device you intend to focus on.

Then you can end with a brief indication of what’s coming up in the main body of the essay. This is called signposting. It will be more elaborate in longer essays, but in a short five-paragraph essay structure, it shouldn’t be more than one sentence.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale about the dangers of scientific advancement unrestrained by ethical considerations. In this reading, protagonist Victor Frankenstein is a stable representation of the callous ambition of modern science throughout the novel. This essay, however, argues that far from providing a stable image of the character, Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as. This essay begins by exploring the positive portrayal of Frankenstein in the first volume, then moves on to the creature’s perception of him, and finally discusses the third volume’s narrative shift toward viewing Frankenstein as the creature views him.

Some students prefer to write the introduction later in the process, and it’s not a bad idea. After all, you’ll have a clearer idea of the overall shape of your arguments once you’ve begun writing them!

If you do write the introduction first, you should still return to it later to make sure it lines up with what you ended up writing, and edit as necessary.

The body of your essay is everything between the introduction and conclusion. It contains your arguments and the textual evidence that supports them.

Paragraph structure

A typical structure for a high school literary analysis essay consists of five paragraphs : the three paragraphs of the body, plus the introduction and conclusion.

Each paragraph in the main body should focus on one topic. In the five-paragraph model, try to divide your argument into three main areas of analysis, all linked to your thesis. Don’t try to include everything you can think of to say about the text—only analysis that drives your argument.

In longer essays, the same principle applies on a broader scale. For example, you might have two or three sections in your main body, each with multiple paragraphs. Within these sections, you still want to begin new paragraphs at logical moments—a turn in the argument or the introduction of a new idea.

Robert’s first encounter with Gil-Martin suggests something of his sinister power. Robert feels “a sort of invisible power that drew me towards him.” He identifies the moment of their meeting as “the beginning of a series of adventures which has puzzled myself, and will puzzle the world when I am no more in it” (p. 89). Gil-Martin’s “invisible power” seems to be at work even at this distance from the moment described; before continuing the story, Robert feels compelled to anticipate at length what readers will make of his narrative after his approaching death. With this interjection, Hogg emphasizes the fatal influence Gil-Martin exercises from his first appearance.

Topic sentences

To keep your points focused, it’s important to use a topic sentence at the beginning of each paragraph.

A good topic sentence allows a reader to see at a glance what the paragraph is about. It can introduce a new line of argument and connect or contrast it with the previous paragraph. Transition words like “however” or “moreover” are useful for creating smooth transitions:

… The story’s focus, therefore, is not upon the divine revelation that may be waiting beyond the door, but upon the mundane process of aging undergone by the man as he waits.

Nevertheless, the “radiance” that appears to stream from the door is typically treated as religious symbolism.

This topic sentence signals that the paragraph will address the question of religious symbolism, while the linking word “nevertheless” points out a contrast with the previous paragraph’s conclusion.

Using textual evidence

A key part of literary analysis is backing up your arguments with relevant evidence from the text. This involves introducing quotes from the text and explaining their significance to your point.

It’s important to contextualize quotes and explain why you’re using them; they should be properly introduced and analyzed, not treated as self-explanatory:

It isn’t always necessary to use a quote. Quoting is useful when you’re discussing the author’s language, but sometimes you’ll have to refer to plot points or structural elements that can’t be captured in a short quote.

In these cases, it’s more appropriate to paraphrase or summarize parts of the text—that is, to describe the relevant part in your own words:

The conclusion of your analysis shouldn’t introduce any new quotations or arguments. Instead, it’s about wrapping up the essay. Here, you summarize your key points and try to emphasize their significance to the reader.

A good way to approach this is to briefly summarize your key arguments, and then stress the conclusion they’ve led you to, highlighting the new perspective your thesis provides on the text as a whole:

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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By tracing the depiction of Frankenstein through the novel’s three volumes, I have demonstrated how the narrative structure shifts our perception of the character. While the Frankenstein of the first volume is depicted as having innocent intentions, the second and third volumes—first in the creature’s accusatory voice, and then in his own voice—increasingly undermine him, causing him to appear alternately ridiculous and vindictive. Far from the one-dimensional villain he is often taken to be, the character of Frankenstein is compelling because of the dynamic narrative frame in which he is placed. In this frame, Frankenstein’s narrative self-presentation responds to the images of him we see from others’ perspectives. This conclusion sheds new light on the novel, foregrounding Shelley’s unique layering of narrative perspectives and its importance for the depiction of character.

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EH -- Researching Short Stories: Strategies for Short Story Research

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• Strategies for Short Story Research

Page Overview

This page addresses the research process -- the things that should be done before the actual writing of the paper -- and strategies for engaging in the process.  Although this LibGuide focuses on researching short stories, this particular page is more general in scope and is applicable to most lower-division college research assignments.

Before You Begin

Before beginning any research process, first be absolutely sure you know the requirements of the assignment.  Things such as  

• the date the completed project is due 
• the due dates of any intermediate assignments, like turning in a working bibliography or notes
• the length requirement (minimum word count), if any 
• the minimum number and types (for example, books or articles from scholarly, peer-reviewed journals) of sources required

These formal requirements are as much a part of the assignment as the paper itself.  They form the box into which you must fit your work.  Do not take them lightly.

When possible, it is helpful to subdivide the overall research process into phases, a tactic which

• makes the idea of research less intimidating because you are dealing with sections at a time rather than the whole process
• makes the process easier to manage
• gives a sense of accomplishment as you move from one phase to the next

Characteristics of a Well-written Paper

Although there are many details that must be given attention in writing a research paper, there are three major criteria which must be met.  A well-written paper is

• Unified:  the paper has only one major idea; or, if it seeks to address multiple points, one point is given priority and the others are subordinated to it.
• Coherent: the body of the paper presents its contents in a logical order easy for readers to follow; use of transitional phrases (in addition, because of this, therefore, etc.) between paragraphs and sentences is important.
• Complete:  the paper delivers on everything it promises and does not leave questions in the mind of the reader; everything mentioned in the introduction is discussed somewhere in the paper; the conclusion does not introduce new ideas or anything not already addressed in the paper.

Basic Research Strategy

• How to Research From Pellissippi State Community College Libraries: discusses the principal components of a simple search strategy.
• Basic Research Strategies From Nassau Community College: a start-up guide for college level research that supplements the information in the preceding link. Tabs two, three, and four plus the Web Evaluation tab are the most useful for JSU students. As with any LibGuide originating from another campus, care must be taken to recognize the information which is applicable generally from that which applies solely to the Guide's home campus. .
• Information Literacy Tutorial From Nassau Community College: an elaboration on the material covered in the preceding link (also from NCC) which discusses that material in greater depth. The quizzes and surveys may be ignored.

Things to Keep in Mind

Although a research assignment can be daunting, there are things which can make the process less stressful, more manageable, and yield a better result.  And they are generally applicable across all types and levels of research.

1.  Be aware of the parameters of the assignment: topic selection options, due date, length requirement, source requirements.  These form the box into which you must fit your work.  

2. Treat the assignment as a series of components or stages rather than one undivided whole.

• devise a schedule for each task in the process: topic selection and refinement (background/overview information), source material from books (JaxCat), source material from journals (databases/Discovery), other sources (internet, interviews, non-print materials); the note-taking, drafting, and editing processes.
• stick to your timetable.  Time can be on your side as a researcher, but only if you keep to your schedule and do not delay or put everything off until just before the assignment deadline. 

3.  Leave enough time between your final draft and the submission date of your work that you can do one final proofread after the paper is no longer "fresh" to you.  You may find passages that need additional work because you see that what is on the page and what you meant to write are quite different.  Even better, have a friend or classmate read your final draft before you submit it.  A fresh pair of eyes sometimes has clearer vision. 

4.  If at any point in the process you encounter difficulties, consult a librarian.  Hunters use guides; fishermen use guides.  Explorers use guides.  When you are doing research, you are an explorer in the realm of ideas; your librarian is your guide. 

A Note on Sources

Research requires engagement with various types of sources.

• Primary sources: the thing itself, such as letters, diaries, documents, a painting, a sculpture; in lower-division literary research, usually a play, poem, or short story.
• Secondary sources: information about the primary source, such as books, essays, journal articles, although images and other media also might be included.  Companions, dictionaries, and encyclopedias are secondary sources.
• Tertiary sources: things such as bibliographies, indexes, or electronic databases (minus the full text) which serve as guides to point researchers toward secondary sources.  A full text database would be a combination of a secondary and tertiary source; some books have a bibliography of additional sources in the back.

Accessing sources requires going through various "information portals," each designed to principally support a certain type of content.  Houston Cole Library provides four principal information portals:

• JaxCat online catalog: books, although other items such as journals, newspapers, DVDs, and musical scores also may be searched for.
• Electronic databases: journal articles, newspaper stories, interviews, reviews (and a few books; JaxCat still should be the "go-to" portal for books).  JaxCat indexes records for the complete item: the book, journal, newspaper, CD but has no records for parts of the complete item: the article in the journal, the editorial in the newspaper, the song off the CD.  Databases contain records for these things.
• Discovery Search: mostly journal articles, but also (some) books and (some) random internet pages.  Discovery combines elements of the other three information portals and is especially useful for searches where one is researching a new or obscure topic about which little is likely to be written, or does not know where the desired information may be concentrated.  Discovery is the only portal which permits simul-searching across databases provided by multiple vendors.
• Internet (Bing, Dogpile, DuckDuckGo, Google, etc.): primarily webpages, especially for businesses (.com), government divisions at all levels (.gov), or organizations (.org). as well as pages for primary source-type documents such as lesson plans and public-domain books.  While book content (Google Books) and journal articles (Google Scholar) are accessible, these are not the strengths of the internet and more successful searches for this type of content can be performed through JaxCat and the databases.  

NOTE: There is no predetermined hierarchy among these information portals as regards which one should be used most or gone to first.  These considerations depend on the task at hand and will vary from assignment o assignment.

The link below provides further information on the different source types.

• Research Methods From Truckee Meadows Community College: a guide to basic research. The tab "What Type of Source?" presents an overview of the various types of information sources, identifying the advantages and disadvantages of each.
• << Previous: Find Books
• Last Updated: Aug 9, 2024 11:12 AM
• URL: https://libguides.jsu.edu/litresearchshortstories

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The 10 Best Short Story Collections of the Decade

And then some.

Friends, it’s true: the end of the decade approaches. It’s been a difficult, anxiety-provoking, morally compromised decade, but at least it’s been populated by some damn fine literature. We’ll take our silver linings where we can.

So, as is our hallowed duty as a literary and culture website—though with full awareness of the potentially fruitless and endlessly contestable nature of the task—in the coming weeks, we’ll be taking a look at the best and most important (these being not always the same) books of the decade that was. We will do this, of course, by means of a variety of lists. We began with the best debut novels of the decade , and now we’re back with the best short story collections of the decade—or to be precise, the best collections published in English between 2010 and 2019.

The following books were chosen after much debate (and several rounds of voting) by the Literary Hub staff. Tears were spilled, feelings were hurt, books were re-read. And as you’ll shortly see, we had a hard time choosing just ten—so we’ve also included a list of dissenting opinions, and an even longer list of also-rans. Feel free to add any favorites we’ve missed in the comments below.

The Top Ten

Claire vaye watkins,  battleborn 2012.

Claire Vaye Watkins’ searing, Nevada-set debut collection—which includes a sixty-page novella that takes place during the 1848 Gold Rush and a dazzling, devastating opening tale in which Watkins audaciously blends fiction, local history, and myth with the story of father’s involvement in the Manson Family during the late ’60s—is as starkly beautiful, as lonesome and sinister and death-haunted, as the desert frontier through which its stories roam. There’s an enviable fearlessness to Watkins’ writing, a refusal to look away from the despair that lies within the hearts of her lost and weary characters, to give them tidy trajectories or tidy resolutions. Her landscapes are exquisitely drawn, full of lush sensory detailing and characters stalked by the sorrows and violence of their pasts, the parched desperation of their presents. In one particularly aching story, a man finds a bundle of letters amid the strewn wreckage of a car crash, and proceeds to carry on a therapeutic, and increasingly revealing, one-sided correspondence with their owner, onto whom he superimposes the identity of a desperate neighbor he killed decades previous. In his reverie he remembers how nature marked the season it happened: “Late that Spring, a swarm of grasshoppers moved though Beatty on their way to the alfalfa fields down south. They were thick and fierce, rolling like a thunderstorm in your head.” It’s remarkable to come across a debut collection in which the voice, the vision, is so fully formed, so assured, but that’s what Watkins has achieved with this exceptional work. –Dan Sheehan, Book Marks Editor

Alice Munro, Dear Life 2012

Well, this one’s not really fair. I mean, any Alice Munro collection published in any given period of time has to automatically be on the list of best collections of said period. (I guess what I really mean is that it’s not really fair to other writers that Munro is such a goddamn genius.) Most of the stories in Dear Life were previously published in The New Yorker , Harper’s , and Granta ; they all display Munro’s uncanny ability to take a lifetime—or even generations of a single family—and shrink it into a thirty-page text—not by spinning out event after event, but by delivering a character so textured, and a series of moments so precise, that we can’t help but feel we know all about them. These stories and characters are not flashy, there’s little in the way of high concept; it’s simply that Munro knows people, and represents them so accurately, so wisely, and so humanely, that you can’t help but be moved. This is despite the fact that, as Michiko Kakutani pointed out, with age, Munro has gotten a little bit sharper in her portrayals of the common man. “Though Ms. Munro has not become judgmental exactly, she seems more focused on the selfishness, irrationality and carelessness people are capable of.” The collection also includes a few semi-autobiographical sketches—“autobiographical in feeling, though not, sometimes, entirely so in fact”—we are told. She writes: “I believe they are the first and last—and the closest—things I have to say about my own life.” They too are wonderful.

Munro was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature the year after the publication of Dear Life , in 2013; the Swedish Academy called her a “master of the contemporary short story.” No shit. –Emily Temple, Senior Editor

George Saunders, Tenth of December 2013

It can be hard to tell what historical era you’re actually living through, as its happening. Is this the post-9/11 era or the Trump era? Or maybe we’re really in what will one day (I hope) be labeled the Misinformation Era. Honestly, though, this is probably the “we had a chance to save the planet but did nothing” era, in which case, there probably won’t be historians around in 200 years to call it anything… How ever you choose to see the last decade of life on Planet America, it is likely some version of it appears in George Saunders contemporary classic, Tenth of December .

This collection is as remarkable for its range of emotional registers as it is for its formal variety. From the aching, class-conscious pathos of “Puppy,” in which two families intersect around the possible purchase of a dog, to the grim, neo-futurist allegory of “Escape From Spiderhead,” in which clinical drug trials go way too far, Saunders sets his characters down in a series of bespoke narrative dioramas, a wry and loving god forever suspicious of the disappointments his creations engender, yet unable to resist setting little boobytraps to see how they’ll react. With a tenderness and generosity that catalyzes satirical clarity rather than the cloudiness of sentimentality, Saunders lets his characters puzzle their way through the confines of their own fictional lives, as wounded and joyous and magnificently broken as any among us, the living.

It is a dark timeline, in which reality has outpaced satire, but at least it is a world we have seen before, in the short stories of George Saunders.  – Jonny Diamond, Editor in Chief

Clarice Lispector, tr. Katrina Dodson, ed. Benjamin Moser, The Complete Stories 2015

It’s complicated to include a “complete stories” collection in our list for the best of the decade, not least because Clarice Lispector has been considered Brazil’s greatest writer more or less since 1943 when her revolutionary debut novel, Near to the Wild Heart , was first published (she was 23). But in 2012, publisher New Directions began releasing new translations, from four different translators, of Lispector’s novels, a concerted effort to bring her remarkable work to the attention of an English-speaking readership. In 2015, the novels were followed by these “Complete Stories”—86 in all, originally published between 1952 and 1979. Translated by Katrina Dodson, the collection received dazzling reviews, establishing Lispector firmly in America’s consciousness as one of the preeminent writers of the last century.

A Clarice Lispector story is not easy to describe; they are feminist and absurdist, charting familial drama, love affairs, and existential surrealism, wheeling through the preoccupations and modes of twentieth century literary experimentation with a disorientating facility—and disorientation is the point. “Coherence is mutilation,” a character reflects at one point, “I want disorder”—an urge that Lispector understands and brings to life with more power than almost any writer I can think of, and perhaps with more relevance and urgency in these times than in any other in the four decades since her death.  –Emily Firetog, Deputy Editor

Lucia Berlin, ed. Stephen Emerson, A Manual for Cleaning Women 2015

Is it all that remarkable that a short story collection by a writer who died in 2004 should, in fact, be one of the best collections of the decade that followed? Aside from the earthy brilliance of Berlin’s A Manual for Cleaning Women itself, the fact of its phenomenon—at least among those who consume multiple story collections a year—speaks to a great gap in our literary culture. It won’t ever be possible to fully account for the stories and novels that went unheralded and untaught in a literary culture geared toward canonizing the anxieties and insights of well-to-do white guys, but at least in Berlin’s posthumous collection—and its frank rendering of women’s lives—we have a small correction to the record.

When Berlin writes of last-chance bus depots or cheap borderland hotels or third-rate nursing homes she does so minus the literary tourist’s appropriative bravado, that triumphalist wild boy tick that seems to define so much of the fiction of her male contemporaries. For Berlin, these are not places we pass through, to mine for epiphany or authenticity, but rather the locations in which life happens: as one reviewer put it, the stories in this collection are “all beginnings and middles with no ends,” and one only wishes Berlin had lived long enough to see the beginning of her own renaissance.   – Jonny Diamond, Editor in Chief

Colin Barrett,  Young Skins 2015

I first read Colin Barrett’s stories when I worked at The Stinging Fly magazine and press in Dublin. The editor had been working with Barrett for a couple of months on a few stories, and we were publishing one in an upcoming issue. I distinctly remember finishing the copy edit and turning to the editor and simply saying, “Holy shit.” When we put out Colin’s collection Young Skins in 2013, it wasn’t long before Grove Atlantic picked it up in the US, and it was published here in 2015. In the vein of William Faulkner’s Yoknapatawpha County, its seven stories all take place within the limits of the fictional town of Glanbeigh on the west coast of Ireland. Barrett’s characters live hard lives in the aftermath of Ireland’s Celtic Tiger years, an economic boom time that happened to other people but the effects of whose abrupt end are felt everywhere. There is drink and there are drugs and moments of shocking violence. There is the steady inescapability of failure and loss, and every so often there are moments of soaringly lyrical writing. Barrett’s mastery of the short story form won him the Guardian First Book Award, the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Prize, and a National Book Foundation 5 under 35 honor. It’s a collection that’s striking for its audacity to be a debut—completely assured of voice, of character, and of a setting that is utterly realized. Thus, we’re calling it one of the best short story collections of the decade. –Emily Firetog, Deputy Editor

Ken Liu, The Paper Menagerie 2016

“Whatever has been lost in translation in the long journey of my thoughts through the maze of civilization to your mind, I think you do understand me, and you think you do understand me,” Ken Liu writes in the preface to The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories , a collection in which metaphors are fully unwound into tangible corollaries. The Paper Menagerie gathers some of Liu’s most celebrated stories, summaries of which do little to convey the scope of his imagination. Take, for example, “State Change,” a bleak office rom-com set in a world where people’s souls are physical objects—an ice cube, a cigarette pack, a beech tree branch—that must be protected from mundane things like hot weather and nicotine addiction. “Good Hunting” begins as a folktale about a demon-hunting father-son duo in a small Chinese village and ends with a critique of British colonialism and modernity in Hong Kong, as well as a surprising reversal of misogynistic narrative tropes. The titular story, which won Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy Awards, shows Liu in top form. The protagonist, born of a Chinese immigrant mother and white father, grows up loving the origami animals that his mother brings to life with her breath, only to spurn his Chinese heritage as he grows older. Though not all the stories here are quite as moving as this one, The Paper Menagerie cemented Liu as one of the decade’s most inventive (and popular) short story writers, adept at infusing his shapeshifting work with a touch of Charlie Kaufman-esque hyperreality and Eastern Asian folklore. –Aaron Robertson, Assistant Editor

Lesley Nneka Arimah,  What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky 2017

Lesley Nneka Arimah calls herself a pessimist . Thus unfolds her collection of short stories, What It Means When A Man Falls From The Sky , most of which are set in Nigeria and utilize dystopian themes to reveal the bleak consequences of humankind’s ruthlessness towards the natural world as well as fellow humans. The title story, for example, is about a world ravaged by climate change, where a group of scientists try, by the creation of a “formula,” to undo what has been done and make it so the human body can defy gravity. The flaws in this hubristic, quick-fix mindset are immediately revealed when the eponymous man falls from the sky. Another story in the collection “What Is A Volcano?” reflects a similar human urge to play god, drawing on myth and literally presenting feuding gods who argue over each other’s primacy. Arimah blends magical realism and fable into her narratives to illuminate as she says, the “baser instincts” of humankind, to watch humanity “turn grotesque.”

Arimah tackles the pressures of womanhood, familial relationships, and Nigerian culture, including its religious and social expectations. “Glory” is about a girl of the same name, bearing the pressure of her family to achieve greatly; “Who Will Greet You At Home” is about a woman so desperate for a child and her mother’s blessing that she risks weaving one out of hair: “Everybody knew how risky it was to make a child out of hair, infused with the identity of the person who had shed it. But a child of many hairs? Forbidden.” Despite the variety of its incarnations, this collection portrays a variety of hauntings, often literal in the form of ghosts or dolls coming to life, and others figurative, as in a father’s fear for his daughter out in the world. Underlying all of Arimah’s narratives ultimately though, is emotion: the ways in which we show or suppress love and affection and display vulnerability. Being as we are each an entire mind away from another, grief accompanies not only big events but even everyday instances of a missed chance at getting across to someone we care about what we really mean and want. –Eleni Theodoropoulos, Editorial Fellow

Carmen Maria Machado, Her Body and Other Parties 2017

“[P]erhaps you’re thinking,” the narrator of “Resident,” a short story by Carmen Maria Machado in Her Body and Other Parties , muses, “that I’m a cliché—a weak, trembling thing with a silly root of adolescent trauma, straight out of a gothic novel.” The reference to being in a gothic story is intriguingly apt. On the one hand, “Resident” deliberately conjures up a gothic atmosphere of dread that feels like it could have been taken from many other stories in the genre; on the other, though, it says something about Machado’s haunting collection as a whole. Many of the stories in Her Bodies and Other Parties contain echoes of the images and themes that so often constellate gothic literature and “the gothic” as a mode or atmosphere of writing: ghosts, beheadings, violence, trauma, claustrophobic environments, a pervading sense of unease or uncertainty. But while many classic tales of gothic literature—with a few exceptions—have portrayed women as tropes at best and monsters at worst, Machado’s stories beautifully and poignantly focus on what it means to be a woman, to inhabit a woman’s body, in a gothic landscape that, for all its ghosts and mysterious plagues, feels all too terrifyingly, traumatically like the world we live in. Women are harassed in the stories, as much by people as by the unsettling atmospheres around them. From the title itself, Machado makes it clear that collection will focus on women’s bodies–and her deployment of the dispassionate-sounding “parties” as the title’s second half suggests the cool detachment with which male harassment, for instance, so often involves equating women’s worth to their bodies. Yet “parties” can also suggest festivity, and her women, for all the horror around them, have moments of happiness and release, too. Her Body and Other Parties is a masterful reimagining of what the gothic can do and be, creating a world in which the tremendous weight of being a woman is chillingly palpable throughout nearly all of the stories. It’s a powerful collection that surprised me in the best of ways, and I think it will continue to for a long time to come. –Gabrielle Bellot, Staff Writer

Ottessa Moshfegh, Homesick for Another World 2017

Even before Ottessa Moshfegh had published her first book, people were calling her “the best writer of our generation.” I know this for a fact, because one of those people was me, and I was sure of it based on the short stories she’d been publishing in The Paris Review , including the wonderful (and frequently horrifying, in the best way) “ Bettering Myself ,” the opening story of Homesick for Another World , which won the Plimpton Prize in 2013.

Most of the stories in Homesick for Another World were originally published in The Paris Review —though a couple are from The New Yorker and Vice , one each from Granta and The Baffler , one original. They are all basically realist, if dark, psychological portraits, but there’s something fabulistic about them—Moshfegh pushes humanity to its logical extension, and the results are grotesque and poignant. It’s not quite surrealism—maybe I would call it slime-coated realism. She has a sharp, ironic eye, and a flat affect, which contributes to the sense of irreality, but she’s doing more than just rolling her eyes at her—often horrible—characters; she’s getting into the muck with them, and pulling us along for the ride.

It may not be my actual favorite, but the story I think about most often from this collection is “ The Beach Boy ”—which may be because, as a committed hypochondriac, I am in constant fear of dying the way Marcia does in this story, but also because of the expert unspooling of her husband once she’s gone. –Emily Temple, Senior Editor

Dissenting Opinions

The following books were just barely nudged out of the top ten, but we (or at least one of us) couldn’t let them pass without comment.

Karen Russell, Vampires in the Lemon Grove 2013

The title short story of Karen Russell’s Vampires in the Lemon Grove is my favorite short story of all time, but the collection itself is mesmerizing. A friend, a fellow English teacher at the high school where I used to teach, first shared a copy with me when I had my seniors read Dracula , and I read it at my desk, towards the end of the day. I discovered that it’s a book that doesn’t so much draw you in as creep up on you. You don’t glide through it, you’ll burrow into it; you’ll start reading it, and by the time you’re finished, the lights in the department office will be out, dusk will have fallen outside, and all your colleagues and some passing students will have stood in front of you trying to get your attention and wave goodbye before giving up and walking out. You don’t simply finish this book, you are released from it. Materially speaking, anyway. It’ll still haunt you after you’re done. This might be because its stories are so tender, so perfectly painful—another reason might be because that they can be so genuinely creepy, so softly scary that you’ll find yourself rereading parts over and over, trying to experience the section more deeply to make sure that what you think is happening is really happening. And then, when it is finally done with you, you’ll walk yourself home in the dark, and it’s a good thing you’ll know the route by heart, because you won’t be able to think about where you’re going. –Olivia Rutigliano, CrimeReads Editorial Fellow

Diane Cook, Man V. Nature 2014

When I first read this collection, during graduate school, I remember having to stop in the middle and take a break. The collection was making me feel bad, and almost panicky. It was just too good. It was so good that I felt confident there was no reason for me to ever write another word; Diane Cook had already done everything I was trying to do and more. Eventually, I got over it (the writer’s ego being a slippery but unquenchable fiend) and finished this surreal and glorious book of stories.

I mean, what to say: in “The Way the End of Days Should Be” one of the last survivors of what is apparently a watery apocalypse tries to keep out invaders as the seas rise around their (Doric columned) home: “This man in the nice suit asked for food and water, then tried to strangle me, choked back tears, apologized, asked to be let in, and when I refused, tried to strangle me again. When I managed to close the door on him, he sat on my veranda and cried.” Did I mention Diane Cook is hilarious? Especially at her darkest, she is a comedic genius. The title story is equally funny and equally bleak; it also involves water as an adversary, and also the men who used to be your friends. At least one of them, anyway.

In closing: where is the next book from Diane Cook? I’ve been waiting for years; it’s starting to feel unfair. Who knows what a woman might do without one? –Emily Temple, Senior Editor

Hassan Blasim, tr. Jonathan Wright, The Corpse Exhibition 2014

It’s rare for a conflict to go on for so long that witnesses may begin to record its history before the conflict is over, and yet that is what has happened as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue, and publishing does its duty to bring suffering into print. Hassan Blasim was a vocal critic of Saddam Hussein’s government, in exile in Finland for much of his literary career, so it makes sense that his story collection would explore the Iraqi expat experience as well as crafting stories immersed in the war itself; several stories are stranded between judging and defending those who have gotten out and who then, refuse to return. Whether Blasim is writing about the war itself or its many rippling effects, he brings a sardonic sensibility to his stories, parodying the language of bureaucracy and always pointing to the violence common to both order and chaos. This is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand both the war and the ongoing attempts to process the conflict through literature, and a necessary complement to the wide array of fiction by American veterans released over the past few years. –Molly Odintz, CrimeReads Associate Editor

Dorthe Nors, Karate Chop 2014

Karate Chop was the first of Dorthe Nors’ books to be available to the English-speaking world (translated from the Danish). It was pressed into my hands by the amazing Julie Buntin (author of Marlena ) when she was my internship supervisor, back in 2014. She told me it was a perfect gem of a collection, and that I was going to love it. Boy oh boy was she right! Karate Chop is a compact powerhouse, with fifteen pithy stories (no more than a few pages apiece!) that pull back the curtain on everyday life to reveal something much more odd and sinister. (A few notable examples: after his wife goes to bed, a man obsessively falls down the online rabbit hole of female serial killers; two hunters agree to kill each other’s dogs in an exploration of male friendship; a young woman leaps from thought to thought, trying very hard to avoid thinking about something traumatic that’s happened. I could go on!) Dorthe Nors writes with such a dry, biting specificity. Her matter-of-fact tone makes you trust her. And then she pulls the rug out from under you in the best way! The situations she throws her characters (and her readers) into could only be conjured up by her. (The story about the hunters that hatch a plan to kill their dogs? It’s also a story about a failing marriage. But in a Dorthe Nors story, it has to be tangled up in this amazing way. Just surrender to the logic.) In a lot of ways, this is a collection about the ways we fail to connect to one another, and the mental and emotional acrobatics we partake in to avoid hurt. –Katie Yee, Book Marks Assistant Editor

Phil Klay, Redeployment 2014

Redeployment is a classic exploration of the veteran’s experience, going back and forth between stories immersed in the moment of trauma and those exploring the dislocating experience of return to a peacetime world after the disruptions of war – my favorite story in the collection details a philosophical confrontation between a veteran at college on the GI Bill and a student activist who feels threatened by him (and whom he, in turn, feels threatened by). Their attempt to understand each other is one of the best dialogue sequences I’ve ever come across, and symbolic of the book’s larger message of humanism, although some stories embrace a bleaker message of the dark comedy of errors and bureaucracy that is war. I’m including this on the list as the first of many works to be written by returning veterans – the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts have had the dubious honor of being long enough for an entire generation to have returned home, enrolled in MFA programs, and published novels en masse as the war continues. If fiction is the first step in processing trauma, than perhaps this means we’re getting a head start—or perhaps, there’s just too much suffering in the world to wait for a thing to end before writing books about it. –Molly Odintz, CrimeReads Associate Editor

Amelia Gray,  Gutshot 2015

In my former life as a bookseller, this one made its way around the story with hushed whispers and bated breath, furtively paged through and softly recommended in brief lulls between helping customers, perused at the registers as we yawned and waiting for the store to close, on the quiet second floor in the early hours of a Saturday morning, or in the deathly quiet of the children’s section in mid-week to a soundtrack of Muzac radio and the booms and thuds of near-by construction. You have to read this , we said to each other; s tart with the story in the middle , we commanded to friends and colleagues; don’t talk to me until after you finish reading it , we mock-warned to those who appeared on the fence about finishing.

What makes this one so special, in a sea of collections that each try their hardest to capture some kind of zeitgeist with sentences beautiful enough to guarantee that the era their contents define will be remembered? Amelia Grey is the grand-guignol heiress to Angela Carter, crafting grotesque body horror and immersed in the violence of everyday life, full of more blood, sugar, sex, and magic than a 90s-era record store. Although perhaps, given the matter-of-fact way her characters accept their bloody, inglorious fates, I should describe her as Angela Carter meets Etgar Keret, whose story collection The Bus Driver Who Wanted to be God ushered in a new era of magical realism grounded in the everyday, ordinary, and mundane. If art is meant to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable, then Amelia Grey’s Gutshot is very high art indeed. –Molly Odintz, CrimeReads Associate Editor

Kelly Link,  Get In Trouble 2015

I am here for literally everything Kelly Link writes (have you heard she’s writing a novel ?)—after all, she is an official genius whose work combines fairy tale archetypes, horror tropes, pop culture references, and surrealist play with some of the finest literary writing around. I know, this isn’t as uncommon as it once was, but Link is the OG short story irrealist, and she’s also the best. People who haven’t read Kelly Link can’t really understand that they need Kelly Link in their lives, but they do. This is part of why I always think of her work as being a secret, like something only my friends and I know about and reference and pass around to one another and try to copy, a kind of shibboleth for a certain type of writer.

However, when I think this, I am wrong: not only did Link win a MacArthur, but her most recent collection, Get In Trouble , was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and widely and well reviewed . The secret’s out. And well, fine, because I want (most) people to be happy. Like every Link collection, Get In Trouble is full of classics: all killer, no filler, as the kids—maybe once, one time, used to—say. “The New Boyfriend” is like something out of Grimm’s My So Called Life , “The Summer People” is mysterious, atmospheric masterpiece, and “Valley of the Girls” is a story that I do not fully understand, and never will, but that I read again every year and think about all the time. –Emily Temple, Senior Editor

Kirstin Valdez Quade,  Night at the Fiestas 2015

Kirstin Valdez Quade’s debut collection, Night at the Fiestas , came out almost five years ago now, in early 2015, and it’s not overstating to say that it managed on a first reading to expand my conception of American literary fiction, what it could do, what a story collection could do, and the kinds of stories that could and should be told. Returning to the stories in the time since—especially to the visceral, driving “Five Wounds” and the haunting “Nemecia”—has only confirmed that feeling, that Valdez Quade is one of the most talented storytellers at work today. New Mexico—its landscapes, its cultures, its families—is the setting for her work, and the majority of the stories center around people dealing with the weight of everyday life, spiritual striving, and the deep, complex connections that bind them. In “Five Wounds,” a man reenacts the Passion of the Christ; in “Nemecia,” two girls reckon with a dark family legacy. Throughout the collection, the strange textures of sin, blood, and relations arise again and again. The stories are intense, finely observed works of realism, but they pulsate with a special kind of energy that seems to allow for an enhanced reality, another plane of possibility. A religious feeling, in short. It’s rare to find that kind of power or preoccupation in contemporary fiction. When you do, it’s a reminder of why we tell stories in the first place, of the kind of communal reckoning we’re undertaking when we explain our stories, our families, our pasts. –Dwyer Murphy, CrimeReads Managing Editor

Adam Johnson, Fortune Smiles (2015)

I’m a little perplexed as to why more people haven’t read this book. Or, if they have, why it seems to have all-but disappeared from the Best Books of the Twenty-First Century conversation (despite having won the National Book Award for Fiction less than five short years ago). Perhaps the rapturous reception that greeted The Orphan Master’s Son , the grimly absurdist novel for which Johnson won the Pulitzer Prize three years previous, served to drown out his quieter follow-up. Perhaps it’s the fault of the book’s cheery cast of characters, which includes an uncomfortably sympathetic child-porn addict, an unrepentant former Stasi prison guard, a young mother with cancer, a pair of North Korean defectors, a hologram of a recently-assassinated US president, and a woman with advanced Guillain-Barré syndrome. Or perhaps it’s that every one of these six lengthy tales—dark, disquieting, and all the more unsettling for their subtle infusions of tenderness—leaves an indelible, but rarely pleasant, mark on the reader’s consciousness. As Lauren Groff wrote in her New York Times review: “Each of these stories plants a small bomb in the reader’s head; life after reading Fortune Smiles is a series of small explosions in which the reader—perhaps unwillingly—recognizes Adam Johnson’s gleefully bleak world in her own.” This is not an uplifting collection. It will illicit chuckles only as a means to further devastate. It will not make you feel good about yourself, about technology, about our ability to successfully navigate life’s random cruelties. But it will exhilarate. It will suck the breath from your lungs. –Dan Sheehan, Book Marks Editor

Steven Millhauser, Voices in the Night 2015

I’ve never understood why Stephen Millhauser isn’t more widely read (at least in the United States—apparently he’s big in France, which makes sense, because the French tend to appreciate the finer things). Maybe it’s because his “most famous” book— Martin Dressler , which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1997—is his least interesting. Listen, I love Millhauser, and I can easily imagine someone reading Martin Dressler , thinking “hmm, okay,” and then forgetting all about him forever. But no one should do this. Because Millhauser’s stories , on the other hand, are wonderful, weird things, steady and fantastical at once, as if Raymond Carver had developed a thing for ghosts and girls who die of laughter.

This latest collection contains some of my favorite stories from Millhauser’s long career, including the opener, “Miracle Polish,” which I won’t describe, but will tell you that I return to it regularly, and am moved every time. If you find that more frustrating than intriguing, I’ll tell you that at the beginning of We Others , Millhauser’s 2011 collection of new and selected stories (also considered for this list, naturally), he writes: “What makes a story bad, or good, or better than good, can be explained and understood up to a point, but only up to a point. What’s seductive is mysterious and can never be known. I prefer to leave it at that.”

So I’ll leave it at this: these stories are better than good. –Emily Temple, Senior Editor

Helen Oyeyemi,  What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours 2016

Helen Oyeyemi’s writing is woven with imagination, complexity, and such fierce intelligence that I have always been thoroughly amused and fascinated with anything she writes. In her collection What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours , Oyeyemi showcases this talent by planting keys, hidden rooms, puppets, ghosts, magical libraries, and secret gardens which the reader follows, as if they were breadcrumbs, hoping they will lead to answers. Admirably, equal to Oyeyemi’s appetite for adventure is her commitment to attaining truth. In that way, she reminds me of storytellers like Angela Carter, Ursula Le Guin, and Jorge Luis Borges.

Embracing a voice uniquely her own, however, Oyeyemi toys with the reader with titles like “if a book is locked there’s probably a good reason for that don’t you think.” Then, she infuses that wryness with piercing emotion, as in the story “is your blood as red as this,” in which the narrator, uninhibited, observes a character at a party, “you had a string of fairy lights wrapped around your neck. I sort of understood how that would be comforting.” The narrator continues, “Sometimes I dream I’m falling, and it’s not so much frightening as it is tedious, just falling and falling until I’m sick of it, but then a noose stops me short and I think, well, at least I’m not falling anymore.” A signature of Oyeyemi’s creative talent is that she can begin a story from somewhere, drag the reader by the hand and then suddenly drop them into unknown territory.

What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours deserves a place on this list because each narrative is immersive, a complete universe onto itself. Each story flaunts a whole cast of diverse characters imitating life in the many comings-and-goings of people; it delves into historical moments, like the Spanish saint’s day, The Day of the Book and the Rose, just to tell the obscure story of some character affected by this moment in time. Though curiosity may launch an Oyeyemi story, the ultimate joy of it is that it’s all about connection, forged under unexpected circumstances by moments of pure synchronicity. –Eleni Theodoropoulos, Editorial Fellow

Samantha Hunt,  The Dark Dark 2017

This is Samantha Hunt’s first short-story collection, though her fourth book. She’s an eccentric, imaginative creator and a candid storyteller, often presenting slightly fantastical, vaguely supernatural scenarios frankly and unblinkingly. She can make the most far-flung ideas seem very real. The Dark Dark dials this tendency back down. The most common site of magic in these stories is actually the female body, which, she points out, always transforms itself and has the power to make life and to kill parts of itself and can turn women into endless new versions of themselves. The Dark Dark is about women, mostly, and about fear, loneliness, being a parent, losing a parent, becoming someone else, realizing you’re losing yourself. Despite the lack of literal magic, these stories are still shivery, still eerie, and still, when they need to be, dreamy. –Olivia Rutigliano, CrimeReads Editorial Fellow

Honorable Mentions

A selection of other books that we seriously considered for both lists—just to be extra about it (and because decisions are hard).

Danielle Evans, Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self (2010)  ·  Brad Watson, Aliens in the Prime of Their Lives (2010)  ·  Patricia Engel, Vida (2010)  ·  Don DeLillo, The Angel Esmeralda (2011)  ·  Charles Baxter, Gryphon (2011)  ·  Colm Toíbín, The Empty Family (2011)  ·  Can Xue, tr. Karen Gernant, Vertical Motion  (2011)  ·  Jamie Quatro, I Want to Show You More (2013)  ·  Aimee Bender, The Color Master (2013)  ·   Susan Steinberg, Spectacle (2013)  ·  Rebecca Lee, Bobcat (2013)  ·  Ramona Ausubel, A Guide to Being Born (2013)  ·  Laura van den Berg, The Isle of Youth   (2013)  ·  Rivka Galchen, American Innovations   (2014)  ·  Naja Marie Aidt, tr. Denise Newman, Baboon (2014)  ·  Lydia Davis, Can’t and Won’t (2014)  ·  Stuart Dybek, Paper Lantern (2014)  ·  Donald Antrim, The Emerald Light in the Air (2014)  ·  Joy Williams, The Visiting Privilege  (2015)  ·  Thomas Pierce, Hall of Small Mammals (2015)  ·  Jen George, The Babysitter at Rest (2016)  · Rion Amilcar Scott, The Insurrections (2016) · Alexandra Kleeman, Intimations  (2016)  ·  James McBride, Five-Carat Soul (2017)  · Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Refugees (2017)  ·  Denis Johnson, The Largesse of the Sea Maiden (2018)  ·  Jamel Brinkley, A Lucky Man (2018)  ·  Lauren Groff, Florida  (2018)  ·  Xuan Juliana Wang, Home Remedies (2019)  ·  Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Friday Black   (2018)  ·  Karen Russell, Orange World   (2019), Edwidge Danticat, Everything Inside (2019).

Emily Temple

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10 of the Best Very Short Stories That Can Be Read Online

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

One very short story – often attributed to Ernest Hemingway but actually the work of another writer – is just six words long: ‘For sale: baby shoes, never worn’. And some of the greatest fiction-writers of the last two centuries have written memorable short stories which stretch to little more than a few pages: short enough to be read in a coffee break.

Below, we introduce ten classic short stories – very short stories – from some of the finest authors in the literary canon. All of the stories can be read online: follow the links provided to read them.

1. Anton Chekhov, ‘ The Student ’.

A key device in many Chekhov short stories is the epiphany : a sudden realisation or moment of enlightenment experienced by one of the story’s characters, usually the protagonist. In many ways, the epiphany can be said to perform a similar function to the plot twist or revelation at the end of a more traditional (i.e., plot-driven) short story.

In ‘The Student’, one of Chekhov’s shortest stories, a young seminary is travelling home on Good Friday. He meets two women, a mother and her daughter who have both been widowed, and joins them around their fire, and the conversation turns to the Gospels, since it is Easter.

The student begins telling them about the story of Peter’s denial of Jesus, and this tale reawakens painful memories in the two women. Here, the emphasis is more on character and emotion than plot and incident, as we discuss in our analysis of the story .

2. Kate Chopin, ‘ The Story of an Hour ’.

Some short stories can say all they need to do in just a few pages, and Kate Chopin’s three-page 1894 story ‘The Story of an Hour’ (sometimes known as ‘The Dream of an Hour’) is a classic example. Yet those three pages remain tantalisingly ambiguous, perhaps because so little is said, so much merely hinted at.

Chopin’s short story is a subtle, studied analysis of death, marriage, and personal wishes. Written in April 1894 and originally published in Vogue in December of that year, the story focuses on an hour in the life of a married woman who has just learnt that her husband has apparently died.

We have analysed this story here .

3. Saki, ‘ The Lumber-Room ’.

Saki, born Hector Hugh Munro, is one of the wittiest short-story writers in English, a missing link between Wilde and Wodehouse. Yet he remains undervalued.

‘The Lumber Room’ is a classic short story about a child who is too clever for the adults: a mischievous boy, Nicholas, seeks to outwit his aunt so he can gain access to the lumber-room with its hidden treasures and curiosities. The story is also about the nature of obedience and the limited view of the world adults have, when contrasted with the child’s more expansive and imaginative outlook.

We have analysed this wonderful story here .

4. Virginia Woolf, ‘ A Haunted House ’.

In the pioneering short stories Woolf wrote in the period from around 1917 until 1921, she not only developed her own ‘modernist’ voice but also offered a commentary on other literary forms and styles.

This two-page story is a good example: we find a woman living in a house which is apparently haunted by a ghostly couple. The story that emerges is less frightening than it is touching, and as much romance as horror, as Woolf provides a modernist, stream-of-consciousness take on the conventional ghost story, all in a brief vignette of around 600 words.

We have analysed the story here .

5. Franz Kafka, ‘ Before the Law ’.

This is a very short story or parable by the German-language Bohemian (now Czech) author Franz Kafka (1883-1924). It was published in 1915 and later included in Kafka’s (posthumously published) novel The Trial , where its meaning is discussed by the protagonist Josef K. and a priest he meets in a cathedral. ‘Before the Law’ has inspired numerous critical interpretations and prompted many a debate, in its turn, about what it means.

A man approaches a doorkeeper and asks to be admitted to ‘the law’. The doorkeeper tells him he cannot grant him access, but that it may be possible to admit the man later. We won’t say what happens next, but the parable is typically Kafkaesque – in so far as anything else – in its comic absurdism and depiction of the futility of human endeavour. The story is often interpreted as a tale about religion.

We discuss the story in more depth in our summary and analysis of it.

6. Katherine Mansfield, ‘ Miss Brill ’.

‘Miss Brill’ is a short story by the New-Zealand-born modernist writer Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923), published in the Athenaeum in 1920 and then included in Mansfield’s 1922 collection The Garden Party and Other Stories .

Every Sunday, a lady named Miss Brill goes to the local public gardens to hear the band play and to sit in the gardens and people-watch. On the particular Sunday that is the focus of the story, the unmarried Miss Brill comes to realise that she, and all of the other people gathered in the gardens, appear to be in a sort of play. But when she overhears a young couple making apparently disparaging remarks about her, she appears to undergo an epiphany …

We discuss the story in more detail in our analysis of it.

7. Ernest Hemingway, ‘ Cat in the Rain ’.

This short tale was published in Hemingway’s early 1925 collection In Our Time ; he wrote ‘Cat in the Rain’ for his wife Hadley while they were living in Paris. She wanted to get a cat, but he said they were too poor.

‘Cat in the Rain’ was supposedly inspired by a specific event in 1923 when, while staying at the home of Ezra Pound (a famous cat-lover) in Rapallo, Italy, Hadley befriended a stray kitten. We find a woman in a hotel seeking to rescue a cat she spots in the rain outside, but the story takes in deeper longings, too.

We have offered an analysis of this story in a separate post.

8. Jorge Luis Borges, ‘ The Lottery in Babylon ’.

The Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges is one of the great short-fiction writers of the twentieth century, and many of his classic tales stretch to just a few pages.

‘The Lottery in Babylon’, first published in 1941, is among his most ‘Kafkaesque’ tales. When he wrote the story, Borges was working a rather unfulfilling library job refilling the bookshelves, and ‘The Lottery in Babylon’ reflects the sense of futility in all human endeavour which Borges was feeling at this time. We are told of a lottery in the (fictional) land of Babylon, which becomes compulsory, and which delivers both rewards and punishments to its lucky (or unlucky) participants. Although Borges’ story is satirical and humorous, it also taps into the horrific realities of totalitarian regimes.

Find out more about this story by reading our analysis of it .

9. Lydia Davis, ‘ On the Train ’.

Very few stories in The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis are longer than a few pages, and many are a single page, like prose haiku or short vignettes. Her stories are usually less about narrative and more about observation, seemingly insignificant details, and a refusal to sentimentalise. Indeed, her stories are almost clinical in their precision and emotional tautness.

We’ve opted for ‘On the Train’ as it’s one of the few Davis stories available online via the link above, but we could have chosen any number of short stories from the collected edition mentioned above. Highly recommended.

10. David Foster Wallace, ‘ A Radically Condensed History of Postindustrial Life ’.

This is the shortest story on this list. Published on ‘page zero’ of Wallace’s 2000 collection Brief Interviews with Hideous Men , it is another vignette, about how the way we behave is ultimately motivated by our longing to be liked by others.

The rise of social media has only brought home even more clearly what Wallace brilliantly and wittily reveals here: that much of our behaviour is purely performative, with the individual having lost any sense of authenticity or true identity.

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This website is dedicated to English Literature, Literary Criticism, Literary Theory, English Language and its teaching and learning.

Short Story: A Literary Genre

The short story, a concise narrative form within the literary canon, is characterized by brevity and focus, typically encapsulating a single theme, conflict, or character development in a limited word count.

Short Story: Literal and Conceptual Meanings

Table of Contents

The short story as a genre epitomizes a dynamic interplay between literal and conceptual meanings, presenting a concise yet potent narrative form that beckons readers to explore beyond its surface. On a literal level, short stories encapsulate succinct plots, well-defined characters, and often a singular theme or conflict within a confined word count. This brevity, however, acts as a canvas for the conceptual dimensions to unfold. Short stories frequently operate as allegories or metaphors, encapsulating broader societal, psychological, or existential truths within their narrative confines. This dual nature of literal brevity and conceptual depth allows short stories to resonate with readers on both immediate and profound levels, challenging them to unravel layers of meaning and prompting contemplation long after the final words have been read.

Short Story: Definition as a Literary Genre

The short story, a concise narrative form within the literary canon, is characterized by brevity and focus, typically encapsulating a single theme , conflict , or character development in a limited word count. It serves as a literary microcosm, offering a snapshot of human experience that demands precision in storytelling.

Defined by its compact structure, the short story demands economy of language while often inviting readers to engage with nuanced layers of meaning and interpretation.

Short Story: Types

This table aims to encompass a wide range of short story types, but the categorization can be fluid as some stories may exhibit characteristics of multiple genres.

Short Story in Literature: Key Features

• Brevity: Short stories are concise narratives that focus on a single theme, incident, or character. They aim to deliver a complete narrative experience within a limited word count.
• Central Theme: Short stories often revolve around a central theme or idea, providing a focused exploration of specific emotions, conflicts, or concepts.
• Character Development: Despite their brevity, short stories can feature well-developed characters that undergo significant changes or face challenges, contributing to the narrative’s depth.
• Economy of Language: Short stories demand precision in language use. Every word serves a purpose, contributing to the overall impact of the narrative.
• Limited Setting: Due to their compact nature, short stories often have a limited setting, focusing on specific locations or environments essential to the plot.
• Crisis or Turning Point: Short stories frequently include a critical moment, often referred to as the climax, where the narrative takes a decisive turn, leading to resolution or a change in the characters’ circumstances.
• Narrative Structure : While there is flexibility, short stories typically follow a traditional narrative structure with an introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
• Emphasis on Imagery: Short stories often rely on vivid imagery to convey emotions, settings, and characters in a condensed format, engaging the reader’s senses.
• Open or Closed Endings: Short stories can conclude with either open or closed endings, leaving room for interpretation or providing a definitive resolution to the narrative.
• Exploration of Human Experience: Whether through realistic portrayals or fantastical elements, short stories aim to capture facets of the human experience, offering insights, reflections, or commentary on life.

These features collectively contribute to the unique appeal and impact of short stories within the broader landscape of literature.

Short Story in World Literature: Best Examples

• Features: A complex narrative that blends elements of fantasy, philosophy, and detective fiction, exploring the idea of infinite possibilities.
• Features: A satirical and absurd tale where a man wakes up to find his nose missing, delving into themes of identity and societal absurdity.
• Features: Blurring the lines between journalism and fiction, Marquez narrates the events leading to a man’s predestined death in a small Colombian town.
• Features: A poignant exploration of family dynamics and loss, told through the eyes of a young girl whose father works at a lighthouse.
• Features: A contemporary Japanese story blending romance and coming-of-age elements, capturing the essence of grief, love, and personal growth.

Short Story in British Literature: Best Examples

• Features: A classic ghost story that blends the supernatural with Dickens’s social commentary, exploring themes of isolation and fate.
• Features: A poignant exploration of the destructive nature of materialism and the impact of familial expectations on a young boy.
• Features: The final story in Joyce’s “Dubliners,” offering a rich portrayal of Irish society and delving into themes of love, death, and self-discovery.
• Features: While Jackson is American, “The Lottery” had a significant impact on British literature. It’s a chilling exploration of blind conformity and the darker aspects of tradition.
• Features: A darkly humorous and suspenseful tale that showcases Dahl’s skill in blending the macabre with wit, as a young man discovers the unsettling secrets of his landlady.

Short Story in American Literature: Best Examples

• Features: A Gothic masterpiece that explores the psychological deterioration of an unnamed narrator who becomes obsessed with the “vulture eye” of an old man.
• Features: A chilling portrayal of a small town’s ritualistic stoning, revealing the dangers of blind conformity and the darker aspects of tradition.
• Features: A Southern Gothic tale that combines dark humor with profound moral questions, as a family’s road trip takes an unexpected and tragic turn.
• Features: A story that blends adventure with introspection, exploring themes of regret, death, and the impact of a writer’s choices on his life.
• Features: A humorous exploration of the effects of sudden wealth on a working-class family, reflecting Chekhov’s keen understanding of human nature.

Short Story in Literature Translation: Best Examples

• Features: A poignant reflection on language, culture, and loss set against the backdrop of the Franco-Prussian War, emphasizing the importance of education.
• Features: A thought-provoking exploration of the nature of life, morality, and the pursuit of knowledge, showcasing Chekhov’s mastery of the short story form.
• Features: A mind-bending narrative that blends elements of fantasy, philosophy, and detective fiction, challenging conventional notions of time and reality.
• Features: A classic novella that captures the indomitable spirit of an aging Cuban fisherman, exploring themes of resilience, endurance, and the eternal struggle between man and nature.
• Features: A collection of short stories that delves into Murakami’s surreal and existential themes, often blurring the boundaries between reality and imagination.

Short Story in Literature: Relevant Terms

Short Story in Literature: Suggested Readings

• Chekhov, Anton. The Essential Tales of Chekhov. Edited by Richard Ford, Ecco, 1999.
• O’Connor, Flannery. A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories. Harcourt, 1955.
• Borges, Jorge Luis. Collected Fictions . Translated by Andrew Hurley, Viking Penguin, 1998.
• Joyce, James. Dubliners. Oxford University Press, 1996.
• Murakami, Haruki. Men Without Women . Translated by Philip Gabriel and Ted Goossen, Knopf, 2017.

Anthologies:

• The Oxford Book of American Short Stories. Edited by Joyce Carol Oates, Oxford University Press, 2012.
• The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories . Edited by Tobias Wolff, Vintage, 1994.
• The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Edited by R.V. Cassill and Richard Bausch, W. W. Norton & Company, 1981.
• The Art of the Short Story . Edited by Dana Gioia and R. S. Gwynn, Pearson, 2005.

Theoretical Works:

• Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Philosophy of Composition.” The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe , edited by James A. Harrison, T. Y. Crowell & Co., 1902, pp. 356-370.
• Culler, Jonathan. The Pursuit of Signs: Semiotics, Literature, Deconstruction. Cornell University Press, 1981.

Related posts:

• Prolepsis: A Literary Device
• Theatrical Devices in Plays/Dramas

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18 Essay-Length Short Memoirs to Read Online on Your Lunch Break

We scoured collections, magazines, and online journals to bring you the 18 best short memoir examples you can read over your lunch break.

Emily Polson

Emily Polson is a freelance writer and publishing assistant at Simon & Schuster. Originally from central Iowa, she studied English and creative writing at Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi, before moving to a small Basque village to teach English to trilingual teenagers. Now living in Brooklyn, she can often be found meandering through Prospect Park listening to a good audiobook. Twitter: @emilycpolson | https://emilycpolson.wordpress.com/

View All posts by Emily Polson

I love memoirs and essays, so the genre of essay-length short memoirs is one of my favorites. I love delving into the details of other people’s lives. The length allows me to read broadly on a whim with minimal commitment. In roughly 5–30 minutes, I can consume a complete morsel of literature, which always leaves me happier than the same amount of time spent doom-scrolling through my various social news feeds.

What are short memoirs? 

What exactly are short memoirs? I define them as essay-length works that weave together life experiences around a central theme. You see examples of short memoirs all the time on sites like Buzzfeed and The New York Times . Others are stand-alone pieces published in essay collections.

Memoir essays were my gateway into reading full-length memoirs. It was not until I took a college class on creative nonfiction that I realized memoirs were not just autobiographies of people with exciting lives. Anyone with any amount of life experience can write a memoir—no dramatic childhood or odd-defying life accomplishments required. A short memoir might be an account of a single, life-changing event, or it may be reflection on a period of growth or transition.

Of course, when a young adult tells people she likes writing creative nonfiction—not journalism or technical writing—she hears a lot of, “You’re too young to write a memoir!” and “What could someone your age possibly have to write about?!” As Flannery O’Connor put it, however, “The fact is that anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days. If you can’t make something out of a little experience, you probably won’t be able to make it out of a lot. The writer’s business is to contemplate experience, not to be merged in it.”

Memoir essay examples

As the lit magazine Creative Nonfiction puts it, personal essays are just “True stories, well told.” And everyone has life stories worth telling.

Here are a few of my favorite memoir examples that are essay length.

SHORT MEMOIRS ABOUT GROWING UP

Scaachi koul, “there’s no recipe for growing up”.

In this delightful essay, Koul talks about trying to learn the secrets of her mother’s Kashmiri cooking after growing up a first-generation American. The story is full of vivid descriptions and anecdotal details that capture something so specific it transcends to the realm of universal. It’s smart, it’s funny, and it’ll break your heart a little as Koul describes “trying to find my mom at the bottom of a 20-quart pot.”

ASHLEY C. FORD, “THE YEAR I GREW WILDLY WHILE MEN LOOKED ON”

This memoir essay is for all the girls who went through puberty early in a world that sexualizes children’s bodies. Ford weaves together her experiences of feeling at odds with her body, of being seen as a “distraction” to adult men, of being Black and fatherless and hungry for love. She writes, “It was evident that who I was inside, who I wanted to be, didn’t match the intentions of my body. Outside, there was no little girl to be loved innocently. My body was a barrier.”

Kaveh Akbar, “How I Found Poetry in Childhood Prayer”

Akbar writes intense, searing poetry, but this personal essay contextualizes one of his sweetest poems, “Learning to Pray,” which is cradled in the middle of it. He describes how he fell in love with the movement, the language, and the ceremony of his Muslim family’s nightly prayers. Even though he didn’t (and doesn’t) speak Arabic, Akbar points to the musicality of these phonetically-learned hymns as “the bedrock upon which I’ve built my understanding of poetry as a craft and as a meditative practice.” Reading this essay made me want to reread his debut poetry collection, Calling a Wolf a Wolf , all over again.

JIA TOLENTINO, “LOSING RELIGION AND FINDING ECSTASY IN HOUSTON”

New Yorker staff writer Jia Tolentino grew up attending a Houston megachurch she referred to as “the Repentagon.” In this personal essay, she describes vivid childhood memories of her time there, discussing how some of the very things she learned from the church contributed to her growing ambivalence toward it and its often hypocritical congregants. “Christianity formed my deepest instincts,” she writes, “and I have been walking away from it for half my life.” As the essay title suggests, this walking away coincided with her early experiences taking MDMA, which offered an uncanny similarity to her experience of religious devotion.

funny short memoirs

Patricia lockwood, “insane after coronavirus”.

Author Patricia Lockwood caught COVID-19 in early March 2020. In addition to her physical symptoms, she chronicled the bizarre delusions she experienced while society also collectively operated under the delusion that this whole thing would blow over quickly. Lockwood has a preternatural ability to inject humor into any situation, even the dire ones, by highlighting choice absurdities. This is a rare piece of pandemic writing that will make you laugh instead of cry–unless it makes you cry from laughing.

Harrison Scott Key,  “My Dad Tried to Kill Me with an Alligator”

This personal essay is a tongue-in-cheek story about the author’s run-in with an alligator on the Pearl River in Mississippi. Looking back on the event as an adult, Key considers his father’s tendencies in light of his own, now that he himself is a dad. He explores this relationship further in his book-length memoir, The World’s Largest Man , but this humorous essay stands on its own. (I also had the pleasure of hearing him read this aloud during my school’s homecoming weekend, as Key is an alumnus of my alma mater.)

David Sedaris, “Me Talk Pretty One Day”

Sedaris’s humor is in a league of its own, and he’s at his best in the title essay from Me Talk Pretty One Day . In it, he manages to capture the linguistic hilarities that ensue when you combine a sarcastic, middle-aged French student with a snarky French teacher.

SAMANTHA IRBY, “THE WORST FRIEND DATE I EVER HAD”

Samantha Irby is one of my favorite humorists writing today, and this short memoir essay about the difficulty of making friends as an adult is a great introduction to her. Be prepared for secondhand cringe when you reach the infamous moment she asks a waiter, “Are you familiar with my work?” After reading this essay, you’ll want to be, so check out Wow, No Thank You . next.

Bill Bryson, “Coming Home”

Bryson has the sly, subtle humor that only comes from Americans who have spent considerable time living among dry-humored Brits. In “Coming Home,” he talks about the strange sensation of returning to America after spending his first twenty years of adulthood in England. This personal essay is the first in a book-length work called I’m a Stranger Here Myself , in which Bryson revisits American things that feel like novelties to outsiders and the odd former expat like himself.

Thought-provoking Short memoirs

Tommy orange, “how native american is native american enough”.

Many people claim some percentage of Indigenous ancestry, but how much is enough to “count”? Novelist Tommy Orange–author of There There –deconstructs this concept, discussing his relationship to his Native father, his Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood, and his son, who will not be considered “Native enough” to join him as an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes. “ How come math isn’t taught with stakes?” he asks in this short memoir full of lingering questions that will challenge the way you think about heritage. 

Christine Hyung-Oak Lee, “I Had a Stroke at 33”

Lee’s story is interesting not just because she had a stroke at such a young age, but because of how she recounts an experience that was characterized by forgetting. She says that after her stroke, “For a month, every moment of the day was like the moment upon wakening before you figure out where you are, what time it is.” With this personal essay, she draws readers into that fragmented headspace, then weaves something coherent and beautiful from it.

Kyoko Mori, “A Difficult Balance: Am I a Writer or a Teacher?”

In this refreshing essay, Mori discusses balancing “the double calling” of being a writer and a teacher. She admits that teaching felt antithetical to her sense of self when she started out in a classroom of apathetic college freshmen. When she found her way into teaching an MFA program, however, she discovered that fostering a sanctuary for others’ words and ideas felt closer to a “calling.” While in some ways this makes the balance of shifting personas easier, she says it creates a different kind of dread: “Teaching, if it becomes more than a job, might swallow me whole and leave nothing for my life as a writer.” This memoir essay is honest, well-structured, and layered with plenty of anecdotal details to draw in the reader.

Alex Tizon, “My Family’s Slave”

In this heartbreaking essay, Tizon pays tribute to the memory of Lola, the domestic slave who raised him and his siblings. His family brought her with them when they emigrated to America from the Philippines. He talks about the circumstances that led to Lola’s enslavement, the injustice she endured throughout her life, and his own horror at realizing the truth about her role in his family as he grew up. While the story is sad enough to make you cry, there are small moments of hope and redemption. Alex discusses what he tried to do for Lola as an adult and how, upon her death, he traveled to her family’s village to return her ashes.

Classic short memoirs

James baldwin, “notes of a native son”.

This memoir essay comes from Baldwin’s collection of the same name. In it, he focuses on his relationship with his father, who died when Baldwin was 19. He also wrestles with growing up black in a time of segregation, touching on the historical treatment of black soldiers and the Harlem Riot of 1943. His vivid descriptions and honest narration draw you into his transition between frustration, hatred, confusion, despair, and resilience.

JOAN DIDION,  “GOODBYE TO ALL THAT”

Didion is one of the foremost literary memoirists of the twentieth century, combining journalistic precision with self-aware introspection. In “Goodbye to All That,” Didion recounts moving to New York as a naïve 20-year-old and leaving as a disillusioned 28-year-old. She captures the mystical awe with which outsiders view the Big Apple, reflecting on her youthful perspective that life was still limitless, “that something extraordinary would happen any minute, any day, any month.”  This essay concludes her masterful collection,   Slouching Towards Bethlehem .

Tim O’Brien, “The Things They Carried”

This is the title essay from O’Brien’s collection, The Things They Carried . It’s technically labeled a work of fiction, but because the themes and anecdotes are pulled from O’Brien’s own experience in the Vietnam War, it blurs the lines between fact and fiction enough to be included here. (I’m admittedly predisposed to this classification because a college writing professor of mine included it on our creative nonfiction syllabus.) The essay paints an intimate portrait of a group of soldiers by listing the things they each carry with them, both physical and metaphorical. It contains one of my favorite lines in all of literature: “They all carried ghosts.”

Multi-Media Short Memoirs

Allie brosh, “richard”.

In this blog post/webcomic, Allie Brosh tells the hilarious story about the time as a child that she, 1) realized neighbors exist, and 2) repeatedly snuck into her neighbor’s house, took his things, and ultimately kidnapped his cat. Her signature comic style drives home the humor in a way that will split your sides. The essay is an excerpt from Brosh’s second book, Solutions and Other Problems , but the web version includes bonus photos and backstory. For even more Allie classics, check out “Adventures in Depression” and “Depression Part Two.”

George Watsky, “Ask Me What I’m Doing Tonight”

Watsky is a rapper and spoken word poet who built his following on YouTube. Before he made it big, however, he spent five years performing for groups of college students across the Midwest. “Ask Me What I’m Doing Tonight!” traces that soul-crushing monotony while telling a compelling story about trying to connect with people despite such transience. It’s the most interesting essay about boredom you’ll ever read, or in this case watch—he filmed a short film version of the essay for his YouTube channel. Like his music, Watsky’s personal essays are vulnerable, honest, and crude, and the whole collection, How to Ruin Everything , is worth reading.

If you’re looking for even more short memoirs, keep an eye on these pages from Literary Hub , Buzzfeed , and Creative Nonfiction . You can also delve into these 25 nonfiction essays you can read online and these 100 must-read essay collections . Also be sure to check out the “Our Reading Lives” tag right here on Book Riot, where you’ll find short memoirs like “Searching for Little Free Libraries as a Way to Say Goodbye” and “How I Overcame My Fear of Reading Contemporary Poets.”

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Flash fiction/Short stories ,

Short story structure: the art of writing a great short story.

By Aneeta Sundararaj

A short story is a piece of fiction between 1,000-4,000 words (although it can go as high as 15,000 words). Simply put, it’s a story you can read in one sitting.  

Sounds  easy to write , right? 

Wrong. 

Short stories are notoriously difficult to write, and that’s often because the writer hasn’t understood the basics of good story structure. So, if after finishing writing your short story you’re left thinking,  This is so boring!   Where have I gone wrong?   Is there a short story plot or structure I can follow?  – then you’ve come to the right place. Because chances are you may need to rework your short story structure.  

In this article I will be talking about what make a great short story and looking at the various structures you can use to keep readers gripped. But you can’t start writing short stories until you have an idea. So let us begin there…

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Getting Started: The Big Idea

Where can you get your short story idea from?

Some people have a great idea but struggle to turn it into a story (in which case you can skip to the next part). But for those of you confident about how to write a short story but need some inspiration to get you going, here are a few Jericho Writers articles to kick-start your creativity.

• How To Find Inspiration In this article, award-winning author Patrice Lawrence will guide you through the myriad ways you can find inspiration – from reading poetry and other books, to observing real life around you.
• Ideas For Writing In this article, Jericho Writers founder and author Harry Bingham, explains how to go from a seed on an idea to a novel (or short story)
• How to build a fictional world And finally, in this article, Harry is back explaining world building in fiction and how to create setting that will help your story come alive.

Great. So now you have your amazing idea, it’s time to structure it and turn it into short fiction,

Learn How To Write A Great Short Story

Firstly, let’s look at the various types of structure used when writing short stories structures and how to analyse them. 

It may seem formulaic or predictable in the beginning but trust the process and you’ll soon see results. Then, we’ll have some fun practising how to apply the generic story structure template to your work.  

By the end of this exercise, you’ll have gained the confidence to create short stories that both make you happy and showcase your talent.  

What Is Story Structure? 

The structure for a short story is not dissimilar to that of a full-length novel – your readers still expect the same rise and fall. The most basic story structure is called the ‘narrative structure’ and is defined as ‘the order in which elements of a narrative are presented to the reader or audience.’  

Essentially, there are two parts to it which are:

• The elements of a story

Author of  Plot & Structure ,  James Scott Bell , provides a further explanation:  

‘Simply put, structure is what assembles the parts of a story in a way that makes them accessible to readers. It is the orderly arrangement of a story material for the benefit of the audience. Plot is about  elements , those things that go into the mix of making a good story even better. Structure is about timing – where in the mix those elements go.’ 

Let’s take a closer look at what all this actually means.   

Structural Features Of A Short Story

As stated, there are two parts within any short story structure. The first is the plot which is ‘what happens’ or the chain of events that occur in your short story. The other is ‘story elements’ which is the ‘underlying factors that drive the narrative action: protagonists, conflicts, setting, etc.’ 

Still confused?  

A helpful analogy for how to create a traditional short story structure is when you weave a piece of fabric. Naturally, a finished product has to have a harmonious look and feel when it’s draped across your body. Similarly, when you properly weave together things that happen with things that matter in your short story, you make that vital connection with your readers. The reader should not only understand what is  happening  in your short story, but what it all  means .   

There are five main structural features of a short story:  

• Exposition 
• Rising Action 
• Climax 
• Falling Action 
• Resolution (or Denouement) 

To show you how to analyse a short story with plot structure, I will be referencing the Bengali story of  Devdas  by Sarat Chandra Chatterjee, which was adapted into a very successful Bollywood movie by the same name.

1. Exposition

This is the part of the story where the characters and setting are introduced to the reader. There are generally four types of characters: 

• The Protagonist who is the main character whose journey we follow in the story.  
• The Antagonist whose goals are often the opposite of the protagonist’s.  
• The Dynamic Character who changes as a result of the events in the story.  
• The Static Character who does not change at all.  

In the opening scene of  Devdas , you meet our protagonist by the same name. He returns home to the love of his life, Parvati (Paro). She is the dynamic character who changes upon her marriage to another. The antagonists are Devdas’s father and family, who oppose the union. The static character is Chandramukhi, the woman to whom Devdas eventually turns to.  

2. Rising Action

Here, the protagonist faces challenges and crises. It’s the catalyst which sets the story in motion, forcing the protagonist out of his comfort zone. In the story, Devdas and Paro admit to having fallen for each other, gradually becoming aware of his family’s opposition to this union.  

3. Climax

Often the most exciting part of the story, the protagonist is tested at this stage. In  Devdas , our protagonist makes a catastrophic decision to reject Paro and watches her marry another.  

4. Falling Action

This refers to the events that follow the climax, often where the protagonist believes he’s failed. Devdas begins to drink with a vengeance and goes to live with the seemingly unsuitable courtesan named Chandramukhi.  

5. Resolution Or Denouement

The conflict has been resolved and the character has changed. There can be three different outcomes: the protagonist gets what he wants; the protagonist doesn’t get what he wants; or, the protagonist doesn’t get what he wants, but realises that he has something more important.  

In  Devdas , it’s a mix because the protagonist does get his wish to go to Paro to die. However, he also acknowledges and reciprocates something important – Chandramukhi’s eternal love.  

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Types Of Short Story Structures

Now that you have an overview of a good short story structure, let’s delve a little deeper and look at some actual structures of stories beginning with the ‘Hero’s Journey’.  

The Hero’s Journey

One of the best-known story structures, ‘The Hero’s Journey’ is a pattern that exists in many world mythologies. For the mainstream storyteller of today, Christopher Vogler created a simplified version and framework of it which can be applied to almost any genre of fiction: 

• The Ordinary World , which sets out the protagonist’s everyday life.  
• The Call of Adventure , where the protagonist is incited into taking action.  
• Refusal of the Call , where the protagonist is reluctant to take action.  
• Meeting the Mentor , where the protagonist meets a mentor (parent, teacher, spiritual master, etc.) who encourages him to take action.  
• Crossing the First Threshold , where the protagonist steps out of his comfort zone and takes action.  
• Tests, Allies, Enemies , where the protagonist faces challenges.  
• Approach to the Inmost Cave , where the protagonist gets close to his goal.  
• The Ordeal , where the protagonist meets his greatest challenge. 
• Reward , where the protagonist acquires what he was looking for and victory is in sight.  
• The Road Back , where the protagonist getting what he wanted may have made things worse.  
• Resurrection , where the protagonist faces a challenge that hinges on everything he’s learnt.  
• Return with the Elixir , where the protagonist returns home, triumphant.  

Three Act Structure

One of the most notable forms of the basic short story structure is the ‘Three Act Structure’.

In some instances, the three acts are described as the  Beginning , the Middle and the End. Place them within the context of the previously listed structural features of a short story, and they can be described as Setup, Confrontation and Resolution.  

In Act 1 (Setup), include the element of Exposition where the protagonist’s ‘ordinary world’ is set up. Additionally, you’ll also have an Inciting Incident where an event will set the story in motion, and Plot Point One, where the protagonist crosses the threshold. The story truly moves into gear. 

In Act 2 (Confrontation), increase the stakes for our protagonist by using the element of Rising Action. Next, move to the Midpoint where there’s an event that upends the protagonist’s mission. Act 2 ends with Plot Point Two where he is tested and fails. His ability to succeed is now in doubt.  

Act 3 (Resolution) begins with the Pre-Climax which can best be described as the ‘the night is the darkest before dawn’. Our protagonist must muster all his courage and choose success over failure. Next comes the Climax where the reader must wonder if the protagonist will fail or succeed. Finally, there’s Denouement where, against all odds, the protagonist has succeeded. This part ends with the consequences (both good and bad) of such success.  

Seven-Point Story Structure

Developed by Dan Wells, this structure encourages you to start at the end with the Resolution, and work your way back to the starting point. The elements of the Seven-Point Story Structure will include the following:  

• The Hook , which states the protagonist’s current situation.  
• Plot Point 1 , where the protagonist is called to action.  
• Pinch Point 1 , where the protagonist faces his first blow.  
• Turning Point , where the protagonist becomes active and decides to meet any conflict head-on. 
• Pinch Point 2 , where the protagonist faces his second blow. 
• Plot Point 2 , where the protagonist sees that he has had the solution to the problem all along. 
• Resolution , where the story’s primary problem is resolved.

A Few More Story Structure Examples

Although they’re uncommon, there are four more short story structures you can use. 

Freytag’s Pyramid

The first is  Freytag’s Pyramid , which is described as a ‘five-point dramatic structure that’s based on the classical Greek tragedies,’ and used in more depressing contemporary tales.  

Story Circle

Dan Harmon’s ‘Story Circle’ is heavily inspired by the ‘Hero’s Journey’. It is focused on the protagonist’s character and his wants and needs.  

Save The Cat

A variation of the ‘Three-Act Structure’ is the  ‘Save the Cat Beat Sheet’ , created by a Hollywood screenwriter called Blake Snyder. A very precise structure, everything in the story happens  exactly  where and when it should.  By working with key story ‘beats’, the screenplay or novel is broken down into the following sections within each act:

• Act 1 (setting, inciting incident, and decision)
• Act 2 (start of the journey, the fun and games where all the action and obstacles happen)
• Act 3 (bad guys close in, all is lost, hero works it out, resolution)

Fichtean Curve

The ‘Fichtean Curve’ effectively starts with the Rising Action and does away with Exposition because the characters and setting will reveal themselves from this point on.  

How To Write A Short Story Structure

Let’s look at these ideas and structure suggestions in action. Here is a breakdown of one of my own short stories,  The Flame , long-listed for the  Exeter Literary Festival . 

• Ordinary world:  Nina receives a wedding invitation and encounters a familiar dilemma – “What should I wear?”   
• Something shocking happens to break the status quo and the protagonist receives a call to action:  The dress code is surprising – ‘Ethnic Best’.  
• The protagonist vacillates, but ultimately answers the call to action:  After contemplating other options, Nina decides to wear a sari.   
• Although the protagonist makes a sincere attempt to attain her goal/meet her need, she fails and feels defeated:  Nina chooses a georgette-chiffon sari the family calls ‘The Flame’. Nina’s mother cautions her about wearing this sari.  
• This is the mid-point where the protagonist tries to defeat the thing preventing her from getting what she needs. If she succeeds, a bigger challenge faces her. If she fails, she has to face up to her weakness (usually internal). More often than not, she’s made the problem worse:  Nina’s mother reminds her that it’s ‘a rule’ that women wear silk garments at Hindu wedding ceremonies. Nina stages a protest.   
• This is the time for self-reflection, a mentor’s pep-talk, or, the protagonist hits rock bottom:  Nina does some research into this ‘rule’.   
• The protagonist accepts her fate and begins to make a concerted effort to overcome her weakness:  Rejecting the ‘rule’ Nina insists on wearing ‘The Flame’.   
• At this ¾ mark, all seems lost. The protagonist figures out that there’s a chance at success, but it’s a long shot:  ‘The Flame’ is nowhere to be found.  
• The final push where everything that is improbable yet plausible happens. Yet, the protagonist succeeds because she’s overcome all her weaknesses:  Nina turns the house upside down looking for ‘The Flame’.   
• This is the wrap up where the protagonist returns to the status quo a transformed person:  Nina finds ‘The Flame’ and is the only guest who’s comfortable at the wedding.   

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you still have questions about writing a short story? Take a look at these questions short story writers have been asking us lately:

What Are The 5 Parts Of A Short Story Structure?

• Exposition  Give us a glimpse of what the main character’s life looks like before the big thing happens. Who are they? What’s the setting? What does their life look like? How do they interact with others?
• Rising Action  This is the big where the big thing happens – without this inciting incident there would be no story (In Romeo and Juliet it’s the part where they meet, in A Christmas Carol it’s the part where the ghosts visit Scrooge).
• Climax  Bang! It’s all coming to a head, there’s been a big twist in the middle, and now the bad guys are closing in. This is the part where people should be on the edge of their seats (or at least flipping the pages faster).
• Falling Action  Things are going from bad to worse but the main character is nearly there.
• Resolution (or Denouement)  And phew, they made it. Whether they got the girl, won the fight, or learned a lesson about themselves, the story is all wrapped up and the reader is (hopefully) happy.

Do Short Stories Have Structure?

Yes, they must, otherwise you are simply writing a snippet of prose (which is lovely, but you’re not telling the reader anything). Like any story, regardless of its length, a short story must have a clear beginning, middle, and end.

What Is Plot And Structure In Short Stories?

The plot and structure of a short story (otherwise known as a story arc) is the logical order in which events happen in the story. It’s important to set the scene, introduce the inciting incident and obstacles, then show the resolution.

But, as you have fewer words to play with its vital that you keep your theme simple, your storyline linear (no complicated subplots) and don’t overcomplicate your characters (of which you don’t need as many).

Try It Yourself!

I hope you have found this short story structure guide useful and are now eager to get writing. It’s easy…

Once you have your story idea, take a look at our various types of short structures, analyse them, and decide which one will work best for your short story – then see what you create! 

Writing a great short story takes time, but once you apply the skills you’ve learnt you’ll soon find yourself in the company of outstanding writers. 

About the author

Once upon a time, Aneeta Sundararaj created a website and called it ‘ How to Tell a Great Story ’. She has contributed feature articles to national newspapers and various journals, magazines and ezines. Aneeta’s bestselling novel, The Age of Smiling Secrets was shortlisted for the Book Award 2020 organised by the National Library of Malaysia. Throughout, Aneeta continued to pursue her academic interests and, in 2021, successfully completed a doctoral thesis entitled ‘Management of Prosperity Among Artistes in Malaysia’. For more on Aneeta see her Twitter or Amazon author page .

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Secondary Classrooms 10 Short Stories High School Teachers Love

Allie Liotta

These compelling short stories for high school are sure to engage your students!

When it’s time to plan a new unit, it can be daunting to find high-quality, relatable short stories your students will enjoy. That’s why we’ve put together a roundup of engaging, thematically rich short stories that high school teachers love.

Whether you’re new to CommonLit or a longtime CommonLit fan looking to refresh your lesson plans, you’re sure to find a great text for your students from this list!

“ Showdown ” by Shirley Jackson (9th Grade)

In this short story for 9th graders, the town of Mansfield is haunted — stuck reliving the same day because the townspeople stood by and watched Thad Ruskin kill Tom Harper, his daughter’s beloved. Once Billy figures out they are reliving the same day, he realizes that he needs to stop the murder, which might help the town escape the haunting. This is a great story for analyzing how authors build suspense.

“ The Pedestrian ” by Ray Bradbury (9th Grade)

In this dystopian science fiction story, set in a technology-dominated society, Leonard Mead is out for an evening walk. He is stopped by an automated police car, which asks him why he does not own a television. The police car determines that because of Mr. Mead’s “regressive” view of technology, he must be brought to a psychiatric center, and it takes him away. This short story provides students with an interesting opportunity to reflect on the use of technology in society.

“ Two Kinds ” by Amy Tan (9th Grade)

In this excerpt from The Joy Luck Club , June’s mother is determined to make June some kind of prodigy. Eventually, she decides June will be a piano prodigy, but June is determined not to try very hard. When June plays wrong note after wrong note at a recital, her mother is stricken, and they have a terrible fight. June reflects on this experience later in life and comes to reconcile her mother’s ambitions for her with her own. This is a great text for analyzing character development and relationships.

“ Rules of the Game ” by Amy Tan (9th Grade)

In another excerpt from The Joy Luck Club , Waverly recounts her memories of growing up in San Francisco’s Chinatown and her relationship with her mother. One Christmas, Waverly’s brother receives a chess set and she is determined to learn how to play. Waverly becomes a skilled player, but she also begins to feel suffocated by her mother’s pride. This is a great text for studying the use of metaphor, as chess represents the conflict between Waverly and her mother.

“ He — Y, Come On Ou — t! ” by Shinichi Hoshi, translated by Stanleigh Jones (9th Grade)

This allegorical science fiction tale tells of a small village that discovers a newly formed hole nearby. After shouting into the hole and tossing in a pebble, the townspeople hear no echo and start squabbling over what to do about this curiosity. Soon, a businessman claims the hole and starts charging people to dispose of their trash. The townspeople forget all about the mystery of the hole until the day they hear a shout from the sky and see a single pebble falling down. This text offers commentary on the consequences of acting selfishly and not respecting the environment.

“ Eraser Tattoo ” by Jason Reynolds (10th Grade)

In this short story for 10th graders, teenagers Shay and Dante sit on a stoop in Brooklyn reflecting on their relationship as they wait for Shay’s parents to finish packing up to move out of town. Shay uses a pencil eraser to give Dante a friction burn in the shape of an “S.” As they make their final goodbyes, Dante knows that the hurt of the moment will fade but he is forever changed by Shay–just as his arm will retain the scar of the eraser tattoo. This text offers an opportunity for students to analyze how dialogue develops characters and reveals themes.

“ Safety of Numbers ” by Lucy Tan (10th Grade)

In this short story for high school, a Chinese-American teenager just wants to hang out with her friends; she doesn’t understand why her mother pressures her so much to study for the SATs. Over time, she begins to understand her mother by learning of her experiences in China and with the Tiananmen Square Massacre. This is a great story to analyze complex characters and how characters may change over time.

“ Cooking Time ” by Anita Roy (10th Grade)

Set in a dystopian future, “Cooking Time” tells the story of a world in which all natural sources of food have been destroyed. People subsist on synthetic food tubes produced by a large and powerful corporation. A passionate young girl aspires to taste and cook real food by way of a competition reality TV show in which contestants time travel to retrieve real ingredients. This poignant story offers an opportunity for students to understand how science fiction is used to make social commentary about the real world.

Have students read “Cooking Time” and analyze how science fiction is used to make social commentary.

“ Marigolds ” by Eugenia Collier (10th Grade)

In this classic short story for high school, Lizabeth recalls a moment from her childhood that marked the end of her innocence. In the midst of the Great Depression, young Lizabeth feels confused and afraid of the upheaval in her family and community. Her inner turmoil drives her to destroy Miss Lottie’s beautiful marigolds. This thematically rich text is great for analyzing symbolism, as the marigolds represent different things to Lizabeth and Miss Lottie.

“ The Wretched and the Beautiful ” by E. Lily Yu (10th Grade)

This science fiction story asks the reader to consider what it truly means to be human. In it, one group of aliens — who appear to be grotesque and in poor health — arrive and ask for asylum on earth. Another group arrives, but they are fewer, have more resources, and appear incredibly beautiful. This story uses symbolism to discuss the concepts of prejudice, immigration, and charity.

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by Michelle Boyd Waters, M.Ed.  

40 Excellent Short Stories For Middle School

May 13, 2014 in  Pedagogy

Middle school is a funny place. Students can be mature and insightful one minute, obtuse and petulant the next. Yet even the most resistant scholar will enjoy a good story. The 40 stories below are sometimes surprising, other times hair-raising. They are all guaranteed to raise questions and instigate discussions in your classroom that can lead to meaningful dialogues about what really matters in the lives of your students.

Note: Would you like access to ALL of our curated short story resources -- PLUS a free lesson plan template you can use for ANY short story without having to enter your email address more than a dozen times?

For just a few dollars per month, you can have ongoing access to current and future curated resources! Let us do the late-night searching for you. Show me how!

Curated Short Stories Library Members: Click here to access your downloads!

All Summer in a Day

" All Summer in a Day " by Ray Bradbury is a science fiction short story that transports us to Venus, where the sun only shines for two hours every seven years - quite the weather shock, huh? The plot revolves around Margot, a young girl from Earth, and her classmates who've never seen sunlight. Margot, who remembers Earth's sunlight, is eagerly awaiting the brief summer. However, her classmates, jealous and unable to comprehend her experiences, lock her in a closet, causing her to miss the rare sunshine. Bradbury's vivid description of the yearning for sunlight and the emotional cruelty of children leaves a haunting impression. This story will make you feel the sun on your face a little differently, trust me!

Short Story Unit  |  Short Story Unit on TpT

Amigo Brothers

" Amigo Brothers " is a heartwarming tale by Piri Thomas , revolving around two best friends, Antonio and Felix, both superb boxers from New York City. Here's the twist - they have to fight each other in the division boxing finals! Even though they're both fiercely competitive and want to win, their friendship is always front and center. The real punchline comes at the end when, after giving it their all in the ring, they leave without knowing who won, because their friendship outshines any championship. This engaging story is a fantastic knockout that explores friendship, sportsmanship, and loyalty like no other. Be ready to be floored!

The Scholarship Jacket

" The Scholarship Jacket " by Marta Salinas is an inspiring tale that tackles themes of perseverance, integrity, and the true meaning of success. The story follows Martha, a hardworking Mexican-American student who has always looked forward to earning the coveted scholarship jacket, awarded annually to the school's top eighth-grade student. However, when the school decides to charge for the jacket, effectively meaning it would go to the student whose parents can afford it, Martha finds herself in a moral quandary. Faced with the reality of her financial limitations, she must stand up for what she believes is right. Salinas' narrative powerfully explores the intersection of education, social inequities, and personal courage. This is an encouraging read that reminds us that true merit cannot be measured in monetary terms. Get ready to cheer for Martha as she fights for her rightful recognition!

Icarus and Daedalus

" Icarus and Daedalus " is a captivating Greek myth that paints a vivid picture of inventiveness, daring, and the perils of overconfidence. Daedalus, renowned as a brilliant craftsman, and his young son Icarus are stranded on the island of Crete. To find a way off the island, Daedalus hatches an ingenious plan: he crafts wings out of feathers and wax for both of them. Despite Daedalus' words of caution about the wings' limitations, Icarus is exhilarated by the prospect of flight. As they take off on their daring escape, you'll be left on the edge of your seat, witnessing the suspenseful consequences of Icarus' boldness. Buckle up for a riveting journey into Greek mythology!

Flowers for Algernon

" Flowers for Algernon " by Daniel Keyes is a profound science fiction story that explores the human condition, intellect, and emotions through a unique lens. The narrative unfolds through the diary entries of Charlie Gordon, a man with intellectual disabilities, who undergoes an experimental procedure to increase his intelligence. As Charlie's intellect begins to surpass that of the doctors who created the experiment, he experiences the world in ways he never could before. However, alongside these exhilarating discoveries comes the understanding of his past treatment and a newfound loneliness. This story takes you on an emotional rollercoaster, probing deep questions about intellect, happiness, and the essence of human experience. It's a powerful read that is sure to leave a lasting impression!

Harrison Bergeron

" Harrison Bergeron " by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. is a provocative dystopian short story by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., set in a future where the government enforces 'equality' by handicapping the gifted and talented. This compelling narrative introduces us to Harrison Bergeron, a teenager who, being exceptionally intelligent and athletic, is burdened with severe handicaps. When Harrison rebels against this oppressive system live on national television, things take a dramatic turn. Vonnegut's tale masterfully highlights the danger of enforced uniformity, posing potent questions about individuality, equality, and freedom. It's a thought-provoking read that'll challenge your perspective on societal norms. Get ready for a rollercoaster of ideas!

Raymond's Run

" Raymond's Run " by Toni Cade Bambara is an uplifting short story that explores themes of self-discovery, personal growth, and the power of love. Our protagonist is Squeaky, a fast and fiercely competitive runner with the responsibility of caring for her mentally disabled brother, Raymond. Squeaky's world revolves around winning races and protecting Raymond, but when a rival runner challenges her, she experiences a transformation in her understanding of what truly matters. Bambara's narrative beautifully captures the journey from personal ambition to a broader sense of community and love. It's a heartwarming read that showcases the strength of sibling bonds and the victories that matter most in life. Get ready to cheer for Squeaky as she races not just for victory, but for love and acceptance!

Rules of the Game

" Rules of the Game " by Amy Tan is a captivating story that explores themes of cultural identity, family dynamics, and personal growth through the lens of chess. The story is a part of Tan's novel "The Joy Luck Club," and focuses on Waverly Jong, a Chinese-American girl living in San Francisco. When she receives a chess set as a Christmas gift, Waverly quickly becomes a child prodigy under her mother's intense encouragement. However, this success strains their relationship as Waverly struggles with her mother's high expectations and the complexities of navigating two distinct cultures. Tan's narrative is a powerful exploration of the delicate balance between respect for tradition and the pursuit of individuality. It's a fascinating read that serves as a metaphor for the intricate game of life. Prepare for a compelling journey into the mind of a chess prodigy and the intricate dynamics of a mother-daughter relationship.

The Monkey's Paw

" The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs is a gripping tale of fate, magic, and unintended consequences. The story begins when Sergeant-Major Morris, a friend of the White family, brings an unusual memento from his travels—a monkey's paw that allegedly grants three wishes to its holder. Despite Morris's warnings about the paw's curse, Mr. White, spurred by curiosity and the prospect of altering their humble lives, makes a wish. What follows is a chilling series of events that powerfully highlight the perilous side of having one's desires fulfilled. Jacobs' narrative is masterfully crafted, intertwining suspense and the supernatural to create a cautionary tale about tampering with fate. Brace yourself for a hauntingly memorable journey into the world of the uncanny!

The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant

" The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant " by W.D. Wetherell is a poignant coming-of-age tale about the agonizing choices of adolescence. Our protagonist is a 14-year-old boy, torn between his passion for bass fishing and his crush on the sophisticated, indifferent Sheila Mant. The climax hits when he's forced to choose between reeling in a record-breaking bass and potentially embarrassing himself in front of Sheila. It's a striking story that explores the bittersweet nature of growing up and the painful lessons of prioritizing the superficial over true passion. It's sure to tug at your heartstrings!

To Build a Fire

" To Build a Fire " by Jack London is a gripping tale of survival set in the harsh, unforgiving wilderness of the Yukon. The story follows an unnamed protagonist as he embarks on a treacherous journey through the freezing cold temperatures of the Klondike in order to reach a mining camp. With only a dog as his companion, the man faces numerous challenges and setbacks along the way, including his underestimation of the extreme weather conditions and his inability to build a fire to keep himself warm. As his situation becomes increasingly dire, the story unfolds with a sense of impending doom, highlighting the power of nature and the frailty of human existence in the face of its merciless forces. With its vivid descriptions and suspenseful narrative, "To Build a Fire" serves as a cautionary tale, reminding readers of the inherent vulnerability of mankind when confronted with the raw power of the natural world.

The Ransom of Red Chief

" The Ransom of Red Chief " by O. Henry is a hilarious and unexpected tale that turns the concept of kidnapping on its head. The story revolves around two hapless criminals, Sam and Bill, who kidnap a boy named Johnny, hoping for a hefty ransom. However, they quickly find that Johnny, who insists on being called "Red Chief," is more than they bargained for, with his wild imagination and boisterous antics. As the kidnappers struggle to handle their energetic and uncontrollable captive, they find themselves in a host of comical situations. O. Henry's narrative is a delightful reversal of roles, filled with wit and humor. It's an entertaining read that playfully reminds us that things aren't always as they seem, and sometimes the best-laid plans can go hilariously awry. Prepare for laughter and surprise as you follow the misadventures of Sam, Bill, and the irrepressible "Red Chief."

Seventh Grade

" Seventh Grade " by Gary Soto is a charming tale that captures the ups and downs of adolescence, as well as the complexities of young crushes. The story follows Victor, a seventh grader who's excited and nervous about his first day of middle school. On this day, Victor decides he will impress his crush, Teresa, with his 'maturity.' He signs up for French, a subject Teresa is also studying, and even tries to fake fluency in French. However, his plans go comically awry, leading to a series of amusing and relatable situations. Soto's narrative is a delightful exploration of young love, friendship, and the trials of growing up. This light-hearted read will surely take you back to your own school days and the simplicity of first crushes. So, buckle up and get ready for a nostalgic ride back to the adventures of seventh grade!

A Sound of Thunder

" A Sound of Thunder " by Ray Bradbury is a captivating science fiction short story that takes readers on a thrilling journey through time. Set in the future, the story follows a group of adventurous hunters who travel back in time to hunt dinosaurs. However, they are strictly instructed to avoid altering the past in any way, as even the slightest change can have unforeseen and catastrophic consequences on the present. Amidst the danger and excitement of the hunt, one hunter inadvertently steps off the designated path, crushing a seemingly insignificant butterfly. Little does he know that this small act sets off a chain of events that alters the course of history, leading to a chilling and thought-provoking twist. Bradbury's skillful storytelling and vivid imagery leave readers questioning the fragile nature of time and the potential consequences of our actions, emphasizing the importance of our choices in shaping the world around us.

The Tell-Tale Heart

" The Tell-Tale Heart " by Edgar Allan Poe dives deep into the human mind's dark abyss. Here's the deal: the story features an unnamed narrator, haunted not by ghosts, but by the "vulture eye" of an elderly man he cares for. It drives him so mad, he actually decides to... well, let's just say things get quite intense. After the 'incident,' our narrator stashes something under the floorboards, pretty confident he's managed a perfect cover-up. But then he starts hearing a sound – a heartbeat, louder and more persistent, echoing from beneath the boards. Is it real or is it all in his head? Driven to the brink, the narrator... But hey, no spoilers here! You've gotta dive into Poe's world to find out. Now that's a story you don't want to miss!

The Lady or the Tiger?

" The Lady or the Tiger? " by Frank R. Stockton is an intriguing short story that dabbles in love, jealousy, and suspense, all while keeping readers on their toes. Set in an ancient kingdom, the narrative spins around a semi-barbaric king's unique method of justice: a public arena with two doors, one hiding a fierce tiger and the other a beautiful lady. When the princess's secret lover, a lowly courtier, is accused of a crime, he's thrown into the arena to choose his fate. Now, here's where things heat up: the princess knows what's behind each door and signals her lover towards one. But, does she lead him to a gruesome death or a life married to another woman? Stockton leaves us guessing, turning this tale into a riveting debate about human nature, passion, and choice. This is one story that'll get your mind racing!

There will Come Soft Rains

" There Will Come Soft Rains " by Ray Bradbury is a captivating short story set in a post-apocalyptic world. In this haunting tale, an automated house, devoid of human inhabitants, continues its daily routines, dutifully preparing meals and cleaning, unaware that humanity has been wiped out by a devastating event. As nature slowly reclaims the surrounding landscape, the house persists in its futile efforts to serve its nonexistent occupants, creating a poignant juxtaposition between the persistence of technology and the transience of human existence. Bradbury's masterful storytelling and evocative descriptions compel readers to contemplate the fragility of civilization and the enduring power of nature.

The Lottery

" The Lottery " by Shirley Jackson is a riveting short story that takes a seemingly idyllic small town and turns it into a setting for a chilling tradition. The narrative centers around an annual event known as "the lottery," where the townsfolk gather, led by Mr. Summers, to draw slips of paper from a black box. The seemingly innocuous event builds an air of suspense and mystery as Jackson masterfully drops hints about the lottery's true purpose. As the tradition unfolds, we're confronted with a shocking revelation about the town's disturbing practice. "The Lottery" is a haunting exploration of conformity, tradition, and the dark side of human nature. Get ready for a story that will leave you stunned and make you question the power of societal norms!

Hearts and Hands

" Hearts and Hands " by O. Henry is a short story that masterfully spins a tale of identity, deceit, and the surprising complexities of the human heart. The narrative unfolds on a train journey where Miss Fairchild, a young and sophisticated woman, unexpectedly encounters Mr. Easton, an old acquaintance. Easton, handcuffed to another man, tries to maintain his dignity by introducing the man as an annoying Marshal who's escorting him to a meeting in the West. But as the story evolves, we realize that appearances can be misleading, and the truth is often far more surprising. O. Henry's narrative is renowned for its unexpected twists and touching exploration of human character. It's an intriguing read that serves as a reminder that true gentleness and nobility of spirit can exist in the most unlikely places. Prepare for an exciting journey filled with unexpected revelations!

Mother and Daughter

" Mother and Daughter " by Gary Soto is a heartfelt short story that explores the complex dynamics of the mother-daughter relationship. Yollie, an intelligent and spirited teen, and her mother, Mrs. Moreno, a hardworking and devoted single parent, face life's challenges with resilience and humor. However, their relationship gets strained as Yollie grapples with typical teenage struggles and the hardships of poverty, particularly when a stained dress ruins her chance to shine at a school dance. Through the ups and downs, Soto paints a tender portrait of love, sacrifice, and understanding, highlighting the unbreakable bond between a mother and her daughter. It's a touching narrative that's sure to stir your emotions and make you appreciate the strength of family ties!

" Miss Awful " by Arthur Cavanaugh is a delightful tale that invites readers to question their perceptions of people and life. The story unfolds in a third-grade classroom where the students are initially overjoyed when their beloved teacher, Miss Branding, takes a week off. Her replacement, Miss Orville, dubbed "Miss Awful" by the kids, seems to be their worst nightmare: she's strict, assigns lots of homework, and believes in learning by doing rather than just fun and games. However, as the week progresses, the students start to see Miss Orville in a new light. Cavanaugh's narrative cleverly explores the balance between discipline and creativity in learning, making us reevaluate our quick judgments and appreciate the value of differing teaching styles. It's a charming read that's both entertaining and thought-provoking!

" Charles " is a whimsical short story by Shirley Jackson , revolving around Laurie, a kindergartner with a flair for tall tales. Laurie regales his parents daily with stories of a classmate named Charles, who seems to be a magnet for trouble. As the tales of Charles's misbehavior escalate, Laurie's parents grow increasingly concerned and curious about this notorious boy. Jackson expertly weaves humor and suspense into the narrative, keeping readers on their toes about the true identity of Charles. So buckle up, this rollercoaster ride of childhood imagination and parental bemusement is sure to leave you entertained and guessing till the end!

The Moustache

" The Moustache " by Robert Cormier is a touching short story that explores themes of memory, aging, and familial bonds. The narrative follows seventeen-year-old Mike, who decides to grow a moustache, making him look older than he actually is. One day, he visits his grandmother at a nursing home, and due to his moustache, she mistakes him for her deceased husband. In their conversation, Mike learns more about his grandmother's past, her regrets, and the toll that time can take on memories and relationships. Cormier's story offers a poignant reflection on the cycle of life, the bonds that connect generations, and the surprising ways we learn about ourselves and our loved ones. It's a sweet, thought-provoking read that'll warm your heart and make you ponder the passage of time.

Young Goodman Brown

" Young Goodman Brown " is a gripping short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne , and it's all about the struggle between good and evil inside us. Goodman Brown takes off one night into the sinister woods of Salem, leaving behind his wife, Faith. In the forest, he runs into all sorts of crazy stuff like witches, demons, and even his seemingly upright neighbors and mentors practicing devilish rituals! This wild and eerie journey shakes Goodman Brown to his core, making him question everything he knows and trusts. By the time he gets back home, he's so disillusioned that he can't even look at his wife and townsfolk the same way again. It's a haunting, suspenseful story that really gets you thinking about faith, trust, and the darkness hidden in all of us.

The Metamorphosis

" The Metamorphosis " by Franz Kafka is a profound and surreal narrative that explores themes of alienation, guilt, and identity. The story centers around Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman, who wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into a gigantic insect-like creature. This inexplicable metamorphosis drastically alters Gregor's life, confining him to his room and straining his relationship with his family, who are both repulsed and dependent on him. Kafka's narrative brilliantly explores the depths of human isolation and the societal pressures that can shape our existence. With its symbolic imagery and thought-provoking themes, "The Metamorphosis" is a fascinating read that will leave you pondering the essence of human nature and the meaning of life. Trust me, it's an experience like no other!

The Most Dangerous Game

" The Most Dangerous Game " by Richard Connell is a pulse-pounding short story that brilliantly explores themes of civilization, savagery, and the human will to survive. Our protagonist, the accomplished hunter Sanger Rainsford, finds himself marooned on an isolated island, the guest of the mysterious General Zaroff. But there's a twist: Zaroff, a hunting aficionado, has grown bored of hunting animals and has turned to a new game, the most dangerous game, humans. Rainsford becomes the unwilling participant in Zaroff's twisted hunt, turning from hunter to hunted in this deadly game of survival. Connell's tale is a thrilling exploration of the thin line between hunter and hunted, civilization and savagery. Buckle up for a heart-racing adventure that'll keep you on the edge of your seat!

The Two Brothers

" The Two Brothers " by Leo Tolstoy is a thought-provoking fable that examines the dichotomy between materialistic and spiritual pursuits. The narrative centers on two brothers who embark on contrasting paths in life after their father's death. The elder brother chooses a path of wealth and worldly success, while the younger one opts for a life of simplicity and peace in the countryside. Over time, their choices lead to vastly different outcomes and experiences. Through these brothers, Tolstoy paints a vivid picture of human values and the true meaning of success. This poignant story is a meditation on the essence of happiness and the inherent worth of a simple, honest life. Prepare for a contemplative journey that invites us to reflect on our choices and what truly matters in life.

The Black Cat

" The Black Cat " is an unnerving tale by Edgar Allan Poe , master of the macabre. This chilling story plunges us into the dark descent of an initially loving narrator who, under the influence of alcohol, grows increasingly violent towards his pets, especially a black cat named Pluto. After a gruesome act, a series of strange, horrifying events unfold - including the appearance of a second black cat, chillingly similar to Pluto. The narrator's spiralling madness and guilt culminate in a twist ending that's classic Poe. This gripping story will make your spine tingle - it's a compelling exploration of guilt, madness, and the supernatural. Brace yourself for a thrilling, hair-raising read!

" The Veldt " by Ray Bradbury is a riveting short story that takes readers on a chilling journey into a future where technology dominates every aspect of life. Set in a high-tech automated house, the story follows the Hadley family, who are captivated by their advanced virtual reality nursery, which can create any environment the children desire. However, the parents grow concerned when they notice their children's obsession with the African veldt, a hyper-realistic savannah filled with lions. As the tale unfolds, Bradbury masterfully builds suspense, delving into the sinister consequences of unchecked technology and the perils of an overly immersive virtual world. With its thought-provoking exploration of human dependency on technology and the erosion of family bonds, "The Veldt" serves as a haunting cautionary tale that reminds us to preserve our humanity amidst the ever-advancing digital age.

Rip Van Winkle

" Rip Van Winkle " by Washington Irving is a tale that blurs the lines between reality and fantasy. The story revolves around Rip, a lovable but lazy villager in pre-Revolutionary War New York, who's well-liked but often escapes from his nagging wife into the tranquil landscapes of the Catskill Mountains. On one such outing, Rip encounters strange men playing nine-pins, drinks their mysterious liquor, and subsequently falls into a deep sleep. When he awakens, he finds that his world has drastically changed: his beard has grown long, his dog is gone, and he discovers that he has slept through the entire American Revolution. Irving's whimsical narrative takes us on a journey of time, change, and the enduring charm of the past. Get ready for a heartwarming read that'll transport you to a world where reality intertwines with fantasy!

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

" The Legend of Sleepy Hollow " by Washington Irving is a classic that melds together folklore, humor, and the supernatural. The story is set in the tranquil town of Sleepy Hollow, known for its ghostly tales, the most famous being the terrifying Headless Horseman. Enter our protagonist, Ichabod Crane, the town's new, superstitious schoolmaster who's smitten with the beautiful Katrina Van Tassel. However, he faces a rival in the boisterous Brom Bones. One night, after a failed proposal to Katrina, Ichabod encounters the dreaded Headless Horseman, culminating in a chase that leaves his fate a mystery. Irving's tale weaves suspense, romance, and the uncanny into a timeless tale that will give you just the right amount of chills. Get ready for a fantastic journey into American folklore!

The Third Wish

" The Third Wish " by Joan Aiken is a captivating short story that follows the life of Mr. Peters, a mild-mannered, solitary man who discovers a magical fish while out fishing one day. With each wish he makes, Mr. Peters unintentionally faces unexpected consequences that lead to an amusing and thought-provoking tale. Aiken weaves together themes of fate, the power of wishes, and the importance of selflessness, leaving readers pondering the complexities of human desires and the potential price one may have to pay for their fulfillment. With its delightful blend of fantasy and moral lessons, "The Third Wish" is a must-read that will leave you enchanted and contemplating the intricacies of life's choices.

The Landlady

" The Landlady " is a spine-chilling short story by Roald Dahl that brilliantly dips into suspense and the macabre. The plot follows a young man named Billy Weaver who, while on a business trip, is drawn to a seemingly charming bed and breakfast. The quirky landlady who runs the B&B seems harmless, if a bit odd, and mentions only two other guests ever stayed there. But as the evening unfolds, Dahl sprinkles in eerie details that make Billy and the readers question the true nature of the landlady and the fate of her previous guests. Dahl's masterful storytelling creates an atmosphere of creeping dread that hooks you from start to finish. Get ready for an unnerving read that'll leave you questioning every turn!

Rikki Tikki Tavi

" Rikki Tikki Tavi " by Rudyard Kipling is a thrilling tale that celebrates the spirit of bravery and loyalty. The story centers around Rikki Tikki Tavi, a courageous mongoose who becomes the unlikely hero of a human family living in India. After being washed away by a flood, he's adopted by the family and soon takes it upon himself to protect them from dangerous creatures - particularly the menacing cobras Nag and Nagaina. Through a series of exciting battles and clever strategies, Rikki illustrates the power of courage and cunning against formidable odds. Kipling's narrative brings the animal world to life with vivid descriptions and fast-paced action, making this a truly unforgettable read. Buckle up for a wild ride with Rikki Tikki Tavi, as he takes on the venomous threats to safeguard his adopted family!

The Fall of the House of Usher

" The Fall of the House of Usher " is an iconic gothic tale by Edgar Allan Poe that draws you into a world of decay, madness, and eerie supernatural elements. The story circles around the final days of the Usher family, as narrated by a friend who visits the dilapidated mansion. He arrives to find the siblings, Roderick and Madeline Usher, in a state of despair and illness. The house itself, mirroring its inhabitants, seems to be decaying and imbued with an air of uncanny dread. As the chilling narrative unfolds, Poe masterfully weaves a tapestry of terror and suspense, culminating in a horrifying climax. Prepare yourself for an intense, spine-tingling experience with this classic piece of horror literature!

Thank you, Ma'am

" Thank You, Ma'am " by Langston Hughes is a heartwarming and thought-provoking short story that revolves around an unexpected encounter between a young boy named Roger and a kind-hearted but tough woman named Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones. After Roger attempts to steal her purse, he is caught by Mrs. Jones. Instead of handing him over to the police, she takes him to her home, cleans him up, feeds him a delicious meal, and listens to his story. Through this encounter, Hughes explores themes of compassion, forgiveness, and the transformative power of empathy, leaving readers with a profound sense of hope and the belief that a single act of kindness can change a person's life.

Names/Nombres

" Names/Nombres " by Julia Alvarez is a delightful autobiographical story that explores the struggles of cultural identity and assimilation. The story recounts the Alvarez family's move from the Dominican Republic to the United States, focusing particularly on Julia's personal experiences with the transition. One of the main challenges she encounters is the frequent mispronunciation and misspelling of her name by her American peers, symbolizing her struggle to maintain her cultural identity while integrating into a new environment. Through her heartwarming narrative, Alvarez skillfully captures the immigrant experience and the complexities of finding one's place between two cultures. It's an insightful and relatable read that will resonate with anyone who's ever felt caught between different worlds.

• The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry |  Assessment Activity & Creative Writing Project | Assessment Activity & Creative Writing Project on TpT
• The Possibility of Evil by Shirley Jackson |  Assessment Activity & Writing Project |  Assessment Activity & Writing Project on TpT
• The Masque of the Red by Death by Edgar Allan Poe* |  Assessment Activity | Assessment Activity on TpT
• The Stone by Lloyd Alexander (Available in our Curated Short Stories Library)
• 2 B R 0 2 B by Kurt Vonnegut (Available in our Curated Short Stories Library)
• The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury
• The Adventures of the Blue Carbuncle by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Note:  An RTE subscriber emailed me to ask if there was a simple way to subscribe to all the curated resources in one place, without having to enter an email address for every short story. At the time, there wasn’t, but we have worked out a way to make it easy for you to access all the resources in one place — right here on this page! For just $10 per month, you can have ongoing access to current and future curated resources! Let us do the late-night searching for you! Learn more here .

Copyright notice:  These stories are published on sites other than reThinkELA.com and NO copyrighted stories are excerpted or quoted in RTE-created materials. Some stories are in the public domain (not copyrighted), or are excerpts of larger works, while others are not. In some cases, teachers may print a class set for their own classroom usage, but there are exceptions. Please check with your district regarding its policies and licenses for reproducing printed copies. Generally speaking, you may ask students to download their own copies (outside of the one you download for your own use) to their devices for their own educational studies.

Related topics: Short Story Lesson Plans

About the author 

Michelle Boyd Waters, M.Ed.

I am a secondary English Language Arts teacher, a University of Oklahoma student working on my doctorate in Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum with an concentration in English Education and co-Editor of the Oklahoma English Journal. I am constantly seeking ways to amplify students' voices and choices.

Man, oh, man…I don’t usually use capitals in the comments section, but I’m going to mind my p’s and q’s in the presence of an English teacher with a short story list this awesome. Much obliged.

Thank you very much, Ann. I’m glad to be of help.

Hey, I have a book report that I have to do. i have to pick a short story and fill out a sheet. It asks for, setting, pov, characters, conflict, climax, resolution, theme. Which story from the list would be the easiest and most fun?

I liked the stories because they are just cool! 🙂 My classmates are choosing stories from here to read in our book club! 😀

Wow that’s great

The sniper was really good Thank you Mrs. Waters

I am a fellow English teacher and I greatly appreciate this litany of excellent short stories. Cheers!

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Can you suggest any short stories that have characters clearly acting on their beliefs or values?

Hi Jennifer! I think “Raymond’s Run” and “Thank you, Ma’am” will both fit the bill. Have you considered those stories before?

Where are all the fairy tales?

I am working on an article with a list of fairy tales and resources. If you’re following this blog , then you’ll receive an update whenever I publish new content.

All Summer In A Day, is an amazing book! I suggest it to everyone!

Thank you, Brandon!

it’s amazing!

I know this might be off topic, but I need help coming up with ideas for a writing piece I have to do for my English class. My teacher isn’t being very clear on what we need to do, as “there are no expectations or boundaries”.

-Your grade will be determined by your display of “growth mindset” characteristics throughout the process and by the timeliness of your submission. -All genres of writing will be accepted; however, only narrative, informational, and argumentative pieces can be considered for the district writing contest. -You are allowed to submit up to three (3) original works; however, only one will be expected.

This is all she told us. Maybe if you have any writing topic ideas for a argumentative, informal piece? I’m not a fan of narrative, it make me feel self centered.

Thank you so much.

Scroll through this list of writing prompts , particularly the persuasive ones. Perhaps something here will inspire you. If that doesn’t work, go to Debate.org and look for topics that are of interest to you.

I would like to read a great book have any suggestions?

Oh wow! There are so many great books to read, it’s hard to suggest just one. What genre of books do you like? Perhaps then I can recommend one that my students enjoy.

Thanks so much for this wonderful collection !! What a time saver 🙂

Thank you so much for the links! This is an excellent compilation.

Have you ever read “Priscilla and the Wimps” by Richard Peck? It’s a great story and would make a great addition to your (already amazing) list!

No, I have not read that story yet, but I’ll have to check it out. Thank you!

Hi Mrs. Walters, I’m currently student teaching and I was wondering if you could help me. I love your list that you have provided. I have used some of these short stories with my students. I’m reviewing Lit Analysis with students again before the PAARC exams in a few weeks. I feel that my students are strong with Lit Anal but I want to give them a practice test that is authentic and not from the PAARC study materials. What two texts would you recommend for students to use to address, theme, tone, POV, or characterization? I need some inspiration. This will be part of a Thinking Skill Drill unit, which asks students to think critically about how they will answer the prompt, create thesis statements, find evidence, etc, they will not be assessed on actually writing the paper itself. HELP! I was thinking of “Raymund’s Run” for one text, since I have not used that in this class yet.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

I think “Raymond’s Run” is an excellent choice! Also, I’ve added another story, which I found on an ACT sample question site: 2 B R 0 2 B by Kurt Vonnegut, which I recommend as well. You can view the ACT sample questions that go along with the story on the this practice site or peruse the speaking and writing prompts in this file .

Ms. Waters I want to say thank you so much for putting so much hard work and effort into making this page so useful for everybody. I have used many of these stories in the past and, without your page here, had to search high and low for just the story while here it is just waiting for us! It makes putting together my lesson plans so much easier as I work with special needs students and I do not always have good materials for them so your materials here are a huge help! I do appreciate your hard work here as I know that you are probably already taxed with too much work.

Thank you so much for your kind words, Elizabeth! I’m glad to have been able to help you.

I agree with Elizabeth 1000%!!!!! Thank you Mrs. Waters for taking the time to put this list together, saving so many of us across the interwebs both time and stress. I am a freelance tutor in New York City who teaches several subjects, and I recently began working with a literature/writing student. She loves to read but has not been exposed to many classic works of literature. She also particularly loves to write short stories. Tracking down a variety of tried and true short stories seemed like a no brainer for our first few sessions, but I had no idea where to find them quickly. Lo and behold I stumbled upon your site and this fantastic list. It has been invaluable in terms of my lesson planning, and frankly, these stories are always worth re-reading for students of any age. I might just stay up for the next few hours reading all of them!! So very glad I’ve found your page, and I know my students will be too. Your passion for teaching and your empathy for and understanding of human nature are all extremely evident. THANK YOU!

Thank you, Sarah! I really needed to hear these words this week.

Yes Ama, What a wonderful world we live in 😉 ( ﾉ ﾟｰﾟ)ﾉ

I have to write a character analysis on “The Sniper,” and with there being two different snipers in the story, and the title being “The Sniper” I would like to know if I should address the main sniper the story is about by anything other than just the main sniper. Thanks, Adam Swaggington

If your teacher didn’t tell you which sniper to analyze, then I’d just pick the character that you prefer to write about. The Republican sniper is the protagonist while the other sniper is the antagonist, so that might make a difference to you.

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Thank you very much! This helped a lot!!!!

Glad to hear it, Ama!

I been meaning to ask you a question if you don’t mind?

If you have a question unrelated to this topic, you’re welcome to ask via my Contact Page .

This is an amazing resource! Thank you truly from the bottom of my heart for all the hard work you have put into collecting these stories.

You’re welcome! I’m glad this resource helped you!

this website is really cool and it helps a lot 🙂

Thanks a lot.

Thanks a lot for these. I am looking forward to reading them myself! I’m hoping they’ll be useful for my students.

Thanks so much for this fantastic list. Several of these I have taught in Grade 8 and 9; they are spectacular! Do you recommend any stories specifically for grade 7 (based on reading level, etc.)

Many thanks!!

What non-fiction short stories would you recommend for middle school children?

I like to either find articles at NewsELA.com, or let the kinds find articles on their own that they like on the site. Other sources of non-fiction include The Learning Network at The New York Times.

Does anyone know a short story about a granddaughter going through the woods on a full moon night to get a doctor/medicine for her ailing grandmother… and she turns into a hart deer?

I’m sorry. I have not heard of this short story. Do you know any more details that you can share? If not, try posting the description on this Goodreads forum or follow this advice .

I am looking for a short historical fiction selection to read to my middle school students who are completing a Historical Fiction Unit. Are any of your selections here in that genre?

Generally speaking, historical fiction is written by contemporary authors who craft a story set in the past. While the majority of these stories are set in our past, the authors created settings that were contemporary to them at that time. If you’re wanting a story by a current author who is intentionally creating a historical setting, check out this Pinterest board . Most of the listings are of books, but some of them may be relatively short.

Can you tell me about a story which I can act — a story of around 3 minutes?

I recommend you choose one of the short stories above, and then choose your favorite scene, or a very dramatic scene to act out. You might write a one-minute part for a narrator to fill in some background to setup the scene, then write the dialogue and stage directions for two or three actors who will convey the action of the scene. The narrator can then fill in the rest of the story in a minute or less.

I absolutely love “All Summer In a Day” and “Rules of the Game”! I definitely recommend both. 🙂

I was wondering if any of these shot stories included challenging vocab for ninth graders.

The Fall of the House of Usher, The Landlady, and The Most Dangerous Game all have vocabulary that would be challenging to 9th graders, as well.

Thank you so much! 🙂

You’re welcome! I’m glad I could help.

I am trying to recall a short story which I read in high school (early 70s). At the end of the story some boys are climbing through a window with hunting rifles.

Do you recall this story?

I’m afraid I don’t recall that story, as I was only in kindergarten in the late 70s. (Thank you for making me feel young!) That said, you might be able to use one or more of these book finder resources to find the short story you remember. Good luck!

Is it “The Most Dangerous Game”?

yes it is the most dangerous game

What should I do, because this story do not read in my computer and I desperately need her

Which story are you referring to?

This cool!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Mrs. Waters,

It’s been so difficult to find a good list of short stories. I am working with two black students from a lower socioeconomic neighborhood on their literacy. I’m finding one of the students has anger issues that are often directed towards authority and the system, in addition to racial issues. I would like to share with him some texts (particularly short stories) that involve social justice and diversity. Hopefully this will be relatable and will be an outlet for him. I pulled “Thank You Ma’am” for this goal Would you recommend anything else?

A great list but you have to include Three Skeleton Key! A favorite of my 7th graders for over a decade!

hi, I wanted to read the Third Wish, it seems very cool but it says that the “subscription has expired” why is that?

Me to but it comes up with 404 error

I have updated the link to one a PDF file that still exists. You should be able to download the story now.

Hi i was wondering if u did any short short stories because i need to do a review for one for school however i don’t want to use a longish one, Thank you.

Hi Tilly! I’m not currently writing any short stories, but there are some shorter ones on my list, or in the comments. Thank you!

Thank you so much for “Rule of the game.”

These stories are amazing!!!

The Sniper is great

The Black Cat and The Sniper are the best. In the feline-related one, I don’t really care that the wife died, but the KITTY! 🙁 It just ruined my soul.

These are very great books I have ever had. Thank you Mrs. Waters

Very nice stories. Especially for doing hw and projects. I want to say thanks to whoever has made this site.Very helping………..

Thank you for the wonderful collection of short stories. It has truly been helpful in persuading my students to read

Fall of the House of Usher? For middle schoolers? I can see most of these being used at that level, but my AP Lit kids have had a hard time with Usher – it’s definitely too advanced for 7th graders.

I agree that “Fall of the House of Usher” is for older students.

I have no favorite book yet

Keep looking! Think about the books you liked the most, and see if you can find others similar in genre, or written by the same author. If that doesn’t work, start sampling other books. Check with your friends and see what books they are reading, and what they recommend to you. Also, think about what movies you like and find books in the same genre. For example, if you like action movies, you might like books in the same genre.

I had a student this year who thought he’d like sports books because he loves playing sports. But he doesn’t like them. Instead, he prefers science fiction books. So, just keep looking!

wow these stories are really great, i do remember reading a few of them. Do you know any of the stories that have some sort of mythical/magical battle, by any chance?

Fantastic list. But man, stories really take a dark turn at this age, eh?

Your list is amazing! I’ve had my students read some of the ones you reccommend here, and they’re as excited as I am when finishing them. Would you have any short story suggestions for High Schoolers? I have such a hard time since I go through a lot of authors with eighth graders!

Is there a specific story that shows growth or change within a character from beginning to end?? Thanks.

I like the story The black Cat.

You have done a wonderful job with this post!! Are any of these stories based on historical events? I am on the search for short stories that are based on topics such as the Renaissance, Reformation, Silk Road – anything between the time periods of 7th century to 1750. Any help would be awesome!! Thank you!

I loved a short story I read back in the mid 70’s. I believe the title was “Nancy” about a little girl who sneaks out of the house when her family is napping and runs into a family from the wrong side of the tracks. She spends the afternoon with them having all kinds of adventures until her aunt or mother finds her, scolds her, and brings her home. I have had no luck finding this story anywhere!

A brilliant resource. Thank you for assembling a great list of short stories AND giving access to them. A great time-saver.

All the stories are great, and they help me a lot to improve my language.

I am in middle school in Iowa and my AM told me about this and now everyday in AM I read at least a story and my reading comp. has improved so much!!!

I like just have to say this… thank you! Your stories are great! I improved so much in reading! I’m in 5th grade and my friends are too. We had to pick a story to read and picked one of your stories. This is how much I love your stories! Thank you again! Have a great day!

Love, Admirer

i am a student and i really find these short stories very intesting and confurting i love them

I am a student in year 6 and with these stories,…………… I am lost for words Incredibly incredible Awesomely awesome Greatly great Fantastically fantastic

Hi there, Thank you so much for helping me pick out a short story for my class. They loved the short story Amigo Brothers so much. Just wanted to say thank you. I am hoping that after this story we can read another one. My class is very skilled and talented, they are almost done with the book, and it has only been a week. they are the smartest kids in the world. thank you again.

English teacher from across the globe, here. Just wanted to say thanks for putting together this awesome resource! It’s been a real boon, and I wanted to let you know that after all these years, it’s still appreciated!

I’m a substitute teacher and lists like this are pure gold for me. Thank you for putting an engaging resource at my fingertips!

Well Mrs waters all I have been doing is rummaging through the prompts and stories since I opened up this site actually my teacher told me that she wanted us to write some short stories but she doesn’t want them to be narrative and this what I figured out from her expressions ? This site is fabulous but I’m now a bit confused so could you please suggest me some good prompts to begin my story with because I have to submit these stories to her by tomorrow Thanks

Hi, I am a mom trying to help my children better their reading comprehension. I came upon your site and love the 40 selections you have here. My question is , do you happen to have any guided questions that I can follow to ask my children to make sure they are understanding what they are reading? Any help would be greatly appreciated and welcomed. I am feeling desperate trying to help them. Thank you.

Beautiful stories. Thanks a lot!

I need help.I have to do a short story 300-500 using figurative language and the 5 senses.It has to have a clear message and im really stuck.Help?

Hi Anna! Do you know what message you’d like to convey to your audience and who your audience is? Once you know that, you can start creating characters who your audience will identify with and most likely ones that you will identify with as well. You can also decide what will happen to your characters and how they will respond to those events in a way that will craft the message you’re wanting your audience to get.

“A Christmas Memory” BY Truman Capote. PERFECT for figurative language! Debbie Hutchinson Colleton County Middle School Walterboro, SC

Not all the links work

Hi Celeste!

Which links are not working for you? I have a system setup so that I can tell which links are broken. However, all the links on this page appear to be working.

I can check the specific ones that you’re having trouble with though. Just let me know which ones here.

Comments are closed.

Selected Short Stories Essay Questions

By william faulkner, essay questions.

These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own.

Written by Elizabeth Miller

What does the protagonist’s name in “Barn Burning” assume? What is its meaning?

The story "Barn Burning" lacks any explanation of the protagonist's name, and it is mentioned only once, in the beginning of the story, when the justice asks the boy what his name is. The boy answers Colonel Sartoris Snopes, to which the justice reckons that “anybody named for Colonel Sartoris in this country can’t help but tell the truth”. The protagonist’s name, though metaphoric, assumes that truth would be revealed in any case, and this boy is the one to make it clear. Towards the end of the story he breaks up with his father, and leaves the family. This is the act that his name demands of him. Sartoris name becomes an allegory for justice and truth within many of the Faulkner’s works.

With the help of what means does the author manage to convey the theme of domestic violence? (based on the short story “That Evening Sun”)

Domestic violence is depicted in the story “That Evening Sun” as ruthless and constantly perpetrated evil, and the author addresses this theme, telling a small episode from the life of the black woman Nancy, but doing it so skillfully and subtly that on his pages one can feel the fear and tension of the heroine spilled in the air, the constant expectation of a blow from the darkness and the feeling the helplessness and inevitability of an attack. With the help of emotions and brightly depicted feelings of the protagonist the author manages to convey the theme of domestic violence.

What place does nature have in Faulkner’s stories?

Nature is presented in Faulkner’s stories as an essential part of human existence. For Faulkner a man has not yet completely distinguished himself from the natural environment, he is still firmly connected with the earth, its flora and fauna. That’s why his stories accumulate themes of hunting, forests, animals etc. The special role of plants and smells is also traced through his works (“Dre September”, “The Bear”). Faulkner's characters have a heightened sense of smell, and especially black people, in comparison with whites (“Red Leaves”).

Update this section!

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Selected Short Stories Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Selected Short Stories is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Questions for the book the duel by Nicola teleshov

Please limit your question to one per submission. Thanks

To 'jill d #170087' and 'Aslan'

You are very welcome, thank you for letting us know.

Seeing at the Spread of Sound

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Study Guide for Selected Short Stories

Selected Short Stories study guide contains a biography of William Faulkner, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Selected Short Stories
• Selected Short Stories Summary
• Character List

Essays for Selected Short Stories

Selected Short Stories essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Selected Short Stories by William Faulkner.

• Fahrenheit 451 Through the Lens of "We Wear the Mask" and "Barn Burning"
• From the Page to the Plantation: A Comparison of Hemingway and Faulkner
• Chronicle of a Death Foretold and Dry September
• Dissolution in "A Rose for Emily"
• Corruption of Justice

Wikipedia Entries for Selected Short Stories

• Introduction

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9510+ Contemporary Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest . All the newest modern day stories to thrill and inspire, all in one place.

🏆 Winning stories

“ dear aunt beth ” by sandrine hu.

🏆 Winner of Contest #261

January 27, 1997 Dear Aunt Beth Thank you for giving me a dollhouse for Christmas. I love it! Mom says I need to write you a letter to say thank you. Thank you!Love your neice Hanna December 26, 1998 Dear Aunt Beth,  Thank you for the chemistry set! It is really cool! I already made a volcano! It exploded everywhere and the turkey got wet! Dad was mad but mom thought it was funny!  Love  Hanna April 25, 1999 Dear Aunt Beth,  Thank you so much for taking me to Disneyland! I had the best time ever. I specially liked the...

“ Getting Better ” by Christine Foy Jackson

🏆 Winner of Contest #259

The feeling was like sinking. Gert and the counselor drifted outside her field of vision; her breath halted. Sophie knew even if she could speak, her words would go unheard. She wanted to run out of the room, but thought better of it, so she sat, head in hand as if she were concentrating.  “Are you ok?” The counselor’s voice was even, warm. The clock ticking, the sound of Gert breathing next to her on the couch, the stare of the counselor, all irritated her. She took a deep breath, looked up.  Gert said, “We all want you to be ok.”...

“ She Owed Nothing to Ghosts. ” by Rozmarin Ideas

🏆 Winner of Contest #258

 The sun was harsh today. Through the lens, the scene was black and white, harsh shadows and stark highlights. Emma adjusted the aperture to be as small as it would go, cutting out much of the glare. The relative darkness restored faint traces of flavour to the frame, revealing the detail that the sunlight had tried to hide.A family stood huddled together, centred in a flat, if competent, composition. A man, with a bright smile and dark eyes, leaning close over his children, a pair that shared his expression. Behind them stretched a vas...

⭐️ Recommended stories

“ father of the bride ” by vj hamilton.

Submitted to Contest #264

Maggie settled down in the reserved pew, second from the front. Listening to the organ prelude, she smoothed and re-smoothed the skirt of her new dress. Dove gray or pearl gray, she couldn’t remember what she’d finally decided on. Keep it together, she reminded herself. Do not embarrass your daughter. This day was about Sasha and Devon—those two gung-ho, madly-in-love young folks. She adjusted the pin of her corsage, an ebullient display of lily, chrysanthemum, and baby’s breath.“Go ahead, turn around, have a look,” a familiar quiet voice wh...

“ In Memoriam ” by Ashley Pennock

In MemoriamJohnny Vetruchio  He lived as he died: alone. Johnny Vetruchio died on August 2nd, six days before his thirty-fifth birthday. It was a quiet passing; sudden cardiac arrest at the stroke of 2:37am. He was discovered midmorning on the living room couch, an episode of The Simpsons still playing in the background. He is honored by a humble group of twenty-five in the basement of St. Richard’s church, Sunday night at 7pm. Prelude . . . . . . organ rendition of ‘Iris,’ Goo Goo Dolls.Prayer . . . . . . Pastor Benjamin Richard ...

“ The Receipts ” by Maribel Linares

When Omar and Giselle exited the church, they beamed at their guests, who pelted them with the biodegradable confetti the wedding planner had chosen as an affordable and humane alternative to flower petals or rice grains. “It’s colorful, fun, and much easier to clean up after in the end,” Dyanne had said, as she had gone over their budget.It had been so important to save, to invest their money in something worthy of them, that both of them had rented their wedding clothes. Their twenty - five guests fit in the patio of a new trattoria t...

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🏆 Featuring 12 prize-winning stories from our community. Download it now for FREE .

✍️ All stories

“ a chance to breathe ” by christine foy jackson.

The room was beautiful, bulbs strung along the walls and topiary scattered about for a feeling of clean elegance, but that didn’t do anything to help Alicia’s mood. Looking around, the word she decided on was stiff-- stiff people walking wordlessly past each other, the women gliding on tanned legs smoothed with lotion as silk billowed away from slits in their dresses. Worse, she was with her mother, who was keen to give Alicia an advantage in this new circle. The clubhouse was a rotunda in the middle of the golf course and offered a view of ...

“ A Wedding Feast Like No Other ” by Pete Gautchier

Prompt: Center your story around two people who meet at a wedding. A Wedding Feast Like No OtherI entered the lobby of my apartment building noting that one of the mailboxes was stuffed full of paper. Whoa! It happened to be mine! I thought I had emptied it the other day. Apparently, in my absent mindedness I had ignored the obvious signs of the postman to “please empty your box.” I struggled with my key to retrieve the contents. As I rummaged through the various ads, bills, and political flyers one textured envelope...

“ From Beginning to End ” by Lindsay Burns

The Proposal‘Yes…yes I will!’, said Lizzie. She’d never forget this day, this proposal, on top of a hill overlooking the town that she loved. The wind almost blew the tiny jewellery box out of her boyfriend’s…fiancé’s…hand. A simple solitaire, exactly what she would have chosen. It had only been a year, but he knew her so well. ‘Let’s not wait,’ said Rick. ‘Let’s get married this Christmas.’ Lizzie hesitated. That would only give them six months. It would be freezing in December, raining perhaps, but then again, this far north, the same coul...

“ Celestine meets Luciano ” by Tirashia Lastrapes

Clarence Roosevelt and Clementine Fitzgerald had jumped the broom. Clementine gave birth 2 years before. Named her Clare Ann Roosevelt. Clarence was happier than kids in a water balloon fight on a sizzling hot day.  In a little town called Mancini, they picked the one and only church big enough to fit a thousand people inside. Light gray and royal blue were the colors for the wedding. Clementine's hair pin curled which complimented her soft and playful features. She was a slender framed woman. Short and sweet. She wore light gray o...

“ Unexpected ” by Joshua Kim

Unexpected June’s mouth gaped at the revelation. Today was the day of her dear friend’s wedding, and she didn’t think much of it, rather than the fact that her dear friend, who had gone through much suffering in her relatively short life was now getting married… It was enough to move her to tears. But the reason that her mouth was gaping was because of the person right in front of her.  Someone that she thought she had seen the last of during her turbulent, suffering years in high school was back in her life, albeit it would have been f...

“ We never said "I do" ” by Laura Camacho Frias

I never thought I would be one day here, in this position, in front of all these people, but the truth is that life has surprised me a lot in the last few years, so I guess this is one of those occasions where life was bigger than my own dreams—and that's quite a thing.I grew up with a single mother, wishing for a big family, as if that could be something I could hope for, rubbing a magic lamp or buying a lottery ticket. When I became an adult, though, my focus changed, and I forgot for a while what I wanted, how, when, and most of all, with...

“ A Lovely Pair ” by Beth Jackson

“Well, you can go with Martin then.” Aunt Viv stares at me, and with the subtle lifting of her chin, the snare snaps shut.I fumble for an answer, glancing around the table, hoping for an ally, but everyone here is well versed in the art of dodging Aunt Viv’s ire.I’m on my own.“Pray tell,” she says, her gaze blasting through her mean little spectacles, “Is there a reason you can’t possibly accompany Martin to the wedding?”The clink of cutlery ceases, the gauntlet has been thrown, and in the silence, it roars. It’s a miracle her chin hairs are...

“ Once upon a time. ” by Rose Lind

Warning, One swear word.On Saturday afternoons, Jim typically dedicated his time to studying. However, on this particular Saturday, his role took a different turn as he was tasked with the simple yet important duty of directing wedding guests to their designated seating areas, as Bob, the usual usher, had fallen sick. Armed with the straightforward question, "Are you with the bride or groom?" Jim would then guide guests to either the right or left row of the long, wooden pews based on their responses.Maree chose not to respond to Jim's inqui...

“ A Wedding and A Break Up ” by Tyler Kettle

A Wedding and A BreakupBy Tyler Kettle Why did I agree to this?  I wondered as I sat in a half-crowded and heavily decorated church. Countless amounts of flowers were hung throughout the room, creating a pollen sufferer's worst nightmare. Bright, white sash was draped along the walls. To top it all off, rose petals littered the aisle.  To me, it felt so lavish and overdone.  I took a look at my watch, and saw that the ceremony was still ten minutes away. I stifled a groan, and leaned back into my seat. I wanted to be home, pla...

“ Brown Dog and the Red Panda ” by Chris Baird

          Always one to keep his options open, Henry changed his major seven times. When he finally graduated from college, his father, Eugene, congratulated him for “cramming a four-year degree into eight years of study.”       “Dad,” Henry replied, “with all the choices we have today, it’s hard to lock yourself into something you’ll have to do for the next fifty years.”       “Forty-six in your case, Henry. Four years are already ...

“ In Bed ” by Tim Baehr

In Bed Peter lay watching the girl in his bed. Her long black hair, even in the delicate dawn light, shone like obsidian. Her features were ordinary, neither classically beautiful nor out of balance with each other. She lay on her side, facing him; a droplet of drool hung from the lower corner of her mouth. She was snoring quietly. She was wearing one of Peter’s T-shirts. The T-shirt was plenty roomy on her slender, almost scrawny frame. On him the shirt clung to him; Peter needed to lose a few — well, maybe ten or a dozen — pounds. They ha...

“ Castle ” by Alia Divine

I was holding Mom's cold hand in mine when I saw the doors. I felt a really bad feeling, like a plum pit sank to the bottom of my heart.  They were even taller than Dad, and he’s like the tallest person I know. Mom stopped at the bottom of the steps and squeezed my hand so tight I pulled away! “Ow Mommy!” I said, “you hurt me.” “Sorry, sweety,” She said in a crackling voice looking down at me now.  I had to look twice to make sure it was my mom. Her eyes looked like a swarm of bees had stung them, and her cheeks sunk in like a land...

The Best Contemporary Short Stories

There are plenty of great reasons for writing stories set in the here and now. Contemporary stories resonate with readers by the very fact that they are presented with a world so familiar to what they know. They can also be reminders of this moment in time — artefacts that readers of the future can look back upon.

A category that reflects a time period, contemporary stories can cover a broad range of genres, from tales of romance in modern-day New York City to thrillers set in some of the world’s remotest mountain peaks. Who knows, you might even find a Sci-Fi-tinged story set on the International Space Station!

Need a fresh fix of contemporary short stories?

If you’re looking for writing from some of the freshest talent on the web, look no further. The stories on this page are taken from Reedsy’s writing contest . At the top of the page, you’ll find entries shortlisted by our panel of judges, representing the best contemporary stories from the hundreds of submissions each week. We also compile the best of the best for publication in Prompted , our brand new literary magazine.

If you like anything you read, simply ‘follow’ the writer and you’ll be alerted anytime they publish a new piece. It’s a brilliant way to track the progress of an emerging author and — who knows — you might even discover the next great writer at the start of their career!

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This page features 22 of my favorite short stories with questions . These reading activities are perfect for classroom use. Written by some of the greatest authors in history, these stories are short enough to cover in a single class period, and rich enough to warrant study. I tried to select stories that students would find highly interesting. I chose stories with ironic endings, interesting twists, and clever plot movements . This collection will nurture your students' love of reading and storytelling. I also prepared ten multiple-choice and long response questions for each text. These questions cover a range of reading skills from comprehension and inferring to interpreting themes and identifying figurative language techniques.

These reading activities are available in both the old-school paper format (.RTF and .PDF) and the updated Ereading Worksheet format . With the print-out versions, I optimized to reduce paper use. Most of these fit onto 4 sides. With the new Ereading Worksheets (online versions), I was not limited by paper sides, and was able to ask follow-up short response questions to each multiple-choice. I recommend that you use these if you have the tech at your disposal. They can be completed on any Internet connected device. Students receive instant feedback, and they can print, save, or email score sheets . They can also share their results on Facebook. These activities are easy to integrate with Google Classroom . Definitions of challenging vocabulary words can be found with one click. And perhaps most importantly, these activities are more accessible to students with disabilities . Without further introduction, I present 22 of my favorite short stories with questions, available as worksheets and online activities.

I hope that these stories and resources help you accomplish your goals. Please let me know if you find any errors or have any feedback. Leave a comment below or contact me directly at [email protected] . Thank you for visiting my website.

Short Story Comprehension Common Core State Standards

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34 English Short Stories for Learners

What if you could understand big ideas in English with just a little bit of text?

You don’t need to read an entire English book to learn. A good English short story is often enough!

Stories are all about going beyond reality, and these classics will not only improve your English reading but also open your mind to different worlds.

1. “The Tortoise and the Hare” by Aesop

2. “the ant and the grasshopper” by aesop, 3. “white wing: the tale of the doves and the hunter”, 4. “royal servant”, 5. “emily’s secret”, 6. “the bogey beast” by flora annie steel, 7. “love is in the air”, 8. “the tale of johnny town-mouse” by beatrix potter, 9. “paul bunyan” adapted by george grow, 10. “cinderella” by charles perrault, 11. “little red riding hood” adapted by the british council, 12. “the lottery” by shirley jackson, 13. “the happy prince” by oscar wilde.

• 14. “The Night Train at Deoli” by Ruskin Bond

15. “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury

• 16. “Orientation” by Daniel Orozco

17. “Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu

18. “the missing mail” by r.k. narayan, 19. “harrison bergeron” by kurt vonnegut.

• 20. “The School” by Donald Barthelme

21. “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid

22. “rikki-tikki-tavi” by rudyard kipling, 23. excerpt from “little dorrit” by charles dickens, 24. “to build a fire” by jack london, 25. “miracles” by lucy corin.

• 26. “Evil Robot Monkey” by Mary Robinette Kowal

27. “The Boarded Window” by Ambrose Bierce 

28. “the monkey’s paw” by w.w. jacobs, 29. “a tiny feast” by chris adrian, 30. “the story of an hour” by kate chopin, 31. “the zero meter diving team” by jim shepherd, 32. “the velveteen rabbit” by margery williams, 33. “the friday everything changed” by anne hart, 34. “hills like white elephants” by ernest hemingway, how to use short stories to improve your english, and one more thing....

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

This classic fable (story) is about a very slow tortoise (turtle) and a speedy hare (rabbit). The tortoise challenges the hare to a race. The hare laughs at the idea that a tortoise could run faster than him, but the race ends with a surprising result.

Have you ever heard the English expression, “Slow and steady wins the race”? This story is the basis for that common phrase . You can read it for free , along with a number of other stories in this list!

This is another great story that teaches a lesson that’s written for kids but adults can enjoy, too . The story tells of a grasshopper who lounges around all summer while his friend the ant prepares for the winter. When winter comes, the two friends end up in very different situations!

The moral is that those who save up during the good times will get to enjoy the benefits when times are bad.

This very short story from India was originally written in Sanskrit (an ancient language). When a group of doves is caught in a hunter’s net, they must work together as a team to escape from the hunter’s clutches.

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You can listen to a reading of the story as you read along on this website.

In this story, an old man sets out to ask an African king to dig some wells in his village when their water runs dry. But first, he teaches the king a lesson in humility by showing him how all people help each other. Read the story to see how the clever old man gets the king to do as he asks!

This is a modern-day story about a little girl with a big secret she can’t tell anyone about. When her teacher finds out her secret, they work together to fix the issue.

This story is a good choice for absolute beginners, because it uses only the present tense. It’s also written in very basic English with simple vocabulary and short sentences.

The woman in this story finds a pot of treasure on her walk home. As she carries it home, the treasure keeps changing, becoming things of lesser value.

However, the woman’s enthusiasm makes her see only the positive after each change, which would have upset anyone else. Her positive personality tries to make every negative situation seem like a gift!

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This story shows how important it is to look at things from a positive point of view. Instead of being disappointed in what we don’t have, this story reminds us to view what we do have as blessings.

This modern story is about a young woman named Penny who is anxious about going to her family’s annual reunion barbecue. But despite screaming children and arguing cousins, Penny ends up happy that she came to the reunion when she starts a conversation with a handsome man.

The story is written in simple English, using only the present tense, so it’s perfect for beginners.

This classic children’s story is about two mice, one from the country and one from the city. Both mice think that the other mouse is so lucky to live in what they think is a wonderful place!

The two mice decide to visit each other in their homes. It turns out that the country mouse has a difficult time in the city, and the city mouse struggles in the country.

In the end, they realize that they believed the old English saying: “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” In other words, each mouse thought the other had a better life, only to discover that they actually preferred their own life!

The story of Paul Bunyan has been around in the United States for many years. He’s the symbol of American frontier life, showing the ideal strength, work ethic and good morality that Americans work hard to imitate.

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Paul Bunyan is considered a legend, so stories about him are full of unusual details, such as eating 50 eggs in one day and being so big that he caused an earthquake. It can be a pretty funny read, with characters such as a blue ox and a reversible dog.

This version of the story is also meant to be read out loud, so it’s fast-paced and entertaining. This website has an audio recording with the story, which you can play at slower or faster speeds.

You may already know the story of Cinderella, whether you saw the Disney movie or read a children’s book of it.

However, there are actually many different versions of “Cinderella.” This one by Charles Perrault is the most well-known and is often the version told to children.

“Cinderella” is a beloved story because it describes how a kind and hard-working person was able to get a happy ending. Even though Cinderella’s stepsisters treated her awfully, Cinderella herself remained gentle and humble. It goes to show that even though you may experience hardships, it’s important to stay kind, forgiving and mindful.

This is a story that every English-speaking child knows. It’s about a little girl who meets a wolf in the forest while going to see her sick grandmother. The wolf pretends to be her grandmother in order to trick the little girl.

This story is presented by the British Council as a video with the text clearly spoken. You can then play a game to rearrange the sentences below the video into the correct order, read the text of the story in a PDF file and answer some activity questions (then check your answers with the provided answer sheet.

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This website has many other stories you can read and listen to, like “Circus Story” by Sue Clarke, which is an excellent option for learning animal vocabulary, and even adaptations of Shakespeare plays for younger readers.

Every year, the small town in this story holds an event known as “The Lottery.” During this event, someone from the community is randomly chosen.

What are they chosen for? You’ll have to read the story to find out.

You may have heard of the term “mob mentality” and how it can allow for some pretty surprising (and terrible) things to happen. This classic story looks at society, and how much evil people are willing to overlook to keep their society stable.

This is considered to be one of the most famous short stories in American literature. It’s a great example of what is known as a dystopian society, where people live in a frightening way. To learn more, check out this TED-Ed video that tells you how to recognize a dystopia.

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Since the story is old, much of the English is outdated (not used in modern English). Still, if you have a good grasp of the English language, you can use this story to give yourself a great reading challenge.

14. “The Night Train at Deoli”  by Ruskin Bond

Ruskin Bond used to spend summers at his grandmother’s house in Dehradun, India. While taking the train, he always had to pass through a small station called Deoli. No one used to get down at the station and nothing happened there.

Until one day, when he sees a girl selling fruit and is unable to forget her.

Ruskin Bond is a writer who can communicate deep feelings in a simple way. This story is about our attachment to strangers and why we cherish (value or appreciate deeply) them even though we might never meet them again.

The title is taken from a poem that describes how nature will continue its work long after humanity is gone. But in this story, we see that nature plays a supporting role and the machines are the ones who have taken its place.

They continue their work without any human or natural assistance. This shows how technology has replaced nature in our lives and how it can both destroy us and carry on without humanity itself.

16. “Orientation”  by Daniel Orozco

This is a humorous story in which the speaker explains the office policies to a new employee while gossiping about the staff. It’s extremely easy to read, as the sentences are short and the vocabulary is simple.

Many working English learners will relate to this story, as it explains the silly, nonsensical moments of modern office life. Modern workplaces often feel like theaters where we pretend to work rather than get actual work done. The speaker exposes this reality that few would ever admit to.

He over-explains everything from the view out the office window to the intimate details of everyone’s life—from the overweight loner to the secret serial killer. It talks about the things that go unsaid; how people at the office know about the deep secrets of our home life, but don’t discuss them.

Jack’s mother can make paper animals come to life. In the beginning, Jack loves them and spends hours with his mom. But once he grows up, his mother’s inability to speak English keeps Jack from talking to her.

When his mother tries to talk to him through her creations, he kills them and collects them in a box. After a tragic loss, he finally gets to know her story through a hidden message that he should have read a long time ago.

The story is a simple narration that touches on complex issues, like leaving your home country and the conflicts that can occur within families when different cultures and languages collide.

Thanappa is the village mailman, who is good friends with Ramanujam and his family. He learns about a failed marriage and helps Ramanujam’s daughter get engaged to a suitable match.

Just before the wedding, Thanappa receives a tragic letter about Ramanujam’s brother. To spare them heartache, he decides not to deliver the letter.

The story explores the idea that despite the best of intentions, our actions can cause more harm to our loved ones than we ever intended. If you like this and want to read more by R.K. Narayan, check out the other stories in the author’s “ Malgudi Days” short story collection.

The year is 2081, and everyone has been made equal by force. Every person who is superior in any way has been handicapped (something that prevents a person’s full use of their abilities) by the government. Intelligent people are distracted by disturbing noises. Good dancers have to wear weights so that they don’t dance too well. Attractive people wear ugly masks so they don’t look better than anyone else.

However, one day there is a rebellion, and everything changes for a brief instant.

Technology is always supposed to make us better. But in this case, we see that it can be used to disable our talents. Moreover, the writer shows us how the mindless use of a single value like equality can create more suffering for everyone.

20. “The School”  by Donald Barthelme

And that’s just the beginning of the series of unfortunate events at the school in this short story, narrated by a teacher. The story is absurd (ridiculous to the point of being silly), even though the topic is serious. By the end, the kids start asking difficult questions about death that the adults don’t quite know how to answer.

This story leaves a lot of things unsaid, which means you’ll need to “read between the lines,” or look closer at the text to understand what’s really happening.

In “Girl,” a mother tells her daughter how to live her life properly. The mother instructs the girl to do all the household chores, in very specific ways, making it seem like that’s her only duty in life.

Sometimes the mother tells the girl how to attract attention, not to talk to boys and to always keep away from men. Other times, the mother hints that the girl will need to be attractive to men to live a good life.

This story doesn’t feel like a story. There’s no plot, and nothing really happens. But read closely, and you’ll see an important message about how girls are taught to live restricted lives since childhood.

“Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” is a classic tale about a Mongoose who regularly visits a family in India. The family feeds him and lets him explore their house, but they worry that he might bite their son, Teddy.

One day, when a snake is about to attack Teddy, the Mongoose kills it. This event helps the family accept the mongoose into their family.

This is a simple story about humans and animals living together as friends. It’s old, but the language is fairly easy to understand. It reminds us that animals can also experience feelings of love and, like humans, they will also protect the ones they love.

“Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” is part of Kipling’s short story collection “The Jungle Book,” which was famously made into a movie by Disney.

Dorrit is a child whose father has been in prison ever since she could remember. Unable to pay their debts, the whole family is forced to spend their days in a cell. Dorrit dreams of seeing the world outside their little cell.

This excerpt (short part of a larger work) introduces you to the family and their life in prison. The novel is about how they manage to get out and how Dorrit never forgets the kindness of the people who helped her.

Injustice in law is often reserved for the poor. “Little Dorrit” shows the government jailing people for not being able to return their loans, a historical practice the writer hated since his own father was punished in a similar way.

A man travels to a freezing, isolated place called Yukon with only his dog for company. Throughout his journey, he ignores the advice other people have given him and takes his life for granted.

Finally, he realizes the real power of nature and how fragile (easily broken) human life actually is.

Nature is often seen as a powerful force that should be feared and respected. The animal in this story is the one who’s cautious and sensible in this dangerous situation. By the end, readers wonder who is really intelligent—the man who could not deal with nature, or the dog who could survive?

This is a modern-day story that describes a group of children gathering around their father to watch little spiders hatch out of their eggs. But the story gets a different meaning as it nears the end. What do you think happened?

26. “Evil Robot Monkey ” by Mary Robinette Kowal

Sly is a character who doesn’t fit into society. He’s too smart for the other chimps, but humans don’t accept him. He is punished for acting out his natural emotions.

But the way he handles his rage, in the end, makes him look more mature than most human beings. Nominated for the  Hugo award , many readers have connected with Sly since they can see similarities in their own lives.

“The Boarded Window” is a horror story about a man who has to deal with his wife’s death. The setting is a remote cabin in the wilderness in Cincinnati, and he feels helpless as she gets sick.

There’s an interesting twist to this story, and the ending will get you thinking (and maybe feeling a bit disturbed!).

If you enjoy older stories with a little suspense, this will be a good challenge for you. It talks about the event that made a hermit decide to live alone for decades, with a mysterious window boarded up in his cabin. It also uses a lot of psychology and symbolism, so you may want to read the story more than once to understand everything it has to say.

Be careful what you wish for! One man finds this out the hard way when he brings a magical monkey’s paw home from India. This paw is supposed to grant three wishes to three people. People start to wish on it, only to realize that our wishes can have severe consequences.

The characters in this story immediately regret when their wishes come true. Even though they get what they wanted, it comes at a large cost!

This short story is from the early 1900s and uses some outdated English, but it’s still easy to follow. It reminds us that there are no shortcuts in life, and to be wary if something seems too good to be true.

This story centers around Titania and Oberon, two fairy characters from Shakespeare’s famous play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The two fairies are having a rough time in their marriage when they find a human child. They decide to adopt him, hoping that he’ll help them save their relationship. However, the child develops a deadly, modern disease and the fairies have no idea what to do since they have never known illness or death.

This is a tragic tale about how they try to understand something they’ve never seen before and their deep love for a stranger who is so unlike them. The story explores the grief of parenthood and the uncertainty of knowing whether your child will ever even know you.

This story, written by a woman, is a sad look inside an unhappy marriage. Mrs. Mallard is a woman with heart troubles. When her husband dies, the people who come to give her this news tell it to her gently, so she doesn’t have a shock.

Mrs. Mallard busts into tears and locks herself in her room. At first, she’s upset by the news. But the more she considers it, the more excited she becomes about the idea of the freedom that would come from her husband’s death.

What happens, then, when her husband comes home after an hour, alive and well?

The story explores the conflicting range of the human emotions of grief and hope in a short span, and the impact it can have on a person’s mind and body.

The Chernobyl nuclear disaster was one of the deadliest accidents of the twentieth century. This is a story about that event seen through the eyes of a father and his sons, who were all unfortunate enough to be close to the disaster area.

The story exposes the whole system of corruption that led to a massive explosion taking innocent lives and poisoning multiple generations. The technical vocabulary and foreign words make this text a little more difficult. However, its plot is relatively easy to follow.

The story is divided into small parts that make it both easy and exciting to read. Its various events show what it was like to live in the former Soviet Union . And just like any other good story, it’s also about human relationships and how they change due to historic events.

A simple, stuffed rabbit toy is given to a young boy as a Christmas present. At first, the rabbit isn’t noticed, as the boy is distracted by much fancier gifts. While being ignored, the rabbit begins to wonder what it means to be “real.”

One day, a certain event brings the rabbit into contact with the boy, and changes the toy’s life forever.

Have you ever loved a toy or doll so much, that you treated it as if it were alive? This story shows the power of love from a very unexpected viewpoint: that of a fluffy stuffed rabbit. It also highlights the importance of self-value, being true to yourself and finding strength in those who love you.

Tradition is important in this school, where the boys always go to fetch water for the class. The girls are teased for being “weaker,” and are last to get other privileges, like having the first choice of magazines. One day, a girl asks the teacher why girls aren’t allowed to get the water, as well. This one question causes a big reaction and leads to a huge change.

The girl’s courage surprises everyone, but it also inspires other girls to stand up for themselves. One act from one brave person can lead to change and inspire others. The story reflects on gender equality and how important it is to fight for fairness. Just because something is accepted as “normal,” doesn’t mean it is right!

At a Spanish train station, an American man and a young woman wait for a train that would take them to the city of Madrid. The woman sees some faraway hills and compares them to “white elephants.” This starts a conversation between the two of them, but what they discuss seems to have a deeper meaning.

This is another very well-known story that asks you to “read between the lines” to find the hidden meaning behind the text. Much of the story is a back-and-forth dialogue between two people, but you can tell a lot about them just from what they say to each other.

There’s a lot of symbolism that you can analyze in this story, along with context clues. Once you realize what the real topic of the characters’ conversation is, you can figure out the quiet, sadder meaning behind it.

Short stories are effective in helping English learners to practice all four aspects of language learning: reading, writing, listening and speaking. Here’s how you can make the most out of short stories as an English learner:

• Use illustrations to enhance your experience: Some short stories come with illustrations that you can use to guess what the story is about. You can even write your own caption or description of the picture. When you finish the story, go back to your image description. How did you do?

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• Explore stories related to a theme: Do you like ghost stories? Science fiction? Romance? If you’re learning about food or cooking, find a short story with a lot of food vocabulary .
• Choose the right reading level: Make sure that you always challenge yourself! One easy way to tell if a story is just right for you is to use the “five-finger test.” Hold up your fist as you read a paragraph, and put up one finger for each word you don’t know. If you have all five fingers up before the end of the paragraph, try to find an easier text.
• Practice “active reading”: Your reading will only help you learn if you read actively . You’re reading actively when you’re paying very close attention to the story, its words and its meanings. Writing with a notebook nearby and in a place with no distractions can help you focus on active reading.
• Choose only a few words to look up: You may be tempted to stop at every unknown word, but it’s actually better to try to figure out its meaning from context clues. This means looking at everything else in the sentence or paragraph to try and guess the meaning of the word. Only look up words that you can’t figure out even with context clues.
• Summarize the story: When you’ve finished reading the story, retell it in your own words or write a summary of it. This will help you to practice any new words you learned, and make sure that you understood the story well. If you’re struggling, read the story again and take notes as you read.
• Take breaks: Just because these stories are short, doesn’t mean you need to read them in one sitting! If you find it hard to focus or you’re struggling to understand the story, take a break. It’s okay to read it one paragraph at a time.

I hope you have fun with these English short stories while improving your English language skills.

Happy reading!

If you like learning English through movies and online media, you should also check out FluentU. FluentU lets you learn English from popular talk shows, catchy music videos and funny commercials , as you can see here:

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The FluentU app and website makes it really easy to watch English videos. There are captions that are interactive. That means you can tap on any word to see an image, definition, and useful examples.

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As a Teenager in Europe, I Went to Nudist Beaches All the Time. 30 Years Later, Would the Experience Be the Same?

In July 2017, I wrote an article about toplessness for Vogue Italia. The director, actor, and political activist Lina Esco had emerged from the world of show business to question public nudity laws in the United States with 2014’s Free the Nipple . Her film took on a life of its own and, thanks to the endorsement from the likes of Miley Cyrus, Cara Delevingne, and Willow Smith, eventually developed into a whole political movement, particularly on social media where the hashtag #FreeTheNipple spread at lightning speed. The same year as that piece, actor Alyssa Milano tweeted “me too” and encouraged others who had been sexually assaulted to do the same, building on the movement activist Tarana Burke had created more than a decade earlier. The rest is history.

In that Vogue article, I chatted with designer Alessandro Michele about a shared memory of our favorite topless beaches of our youth. Anywhere in Italy where water appeared—be it the hard-partying Riviera Romagnola, the traditionally chic Amalfi coast and Sorrento peninsula, the vertiginous cliffs and inlets of Italy’s continuation of the French Côte d’Azur or the towering volcanic rocks of Sicily’s mythological Riviera dei Ciclopi—one was bound to find bodies of all shapes and forms, naturally topless.

In the ’90s, growing up in Italy, naked breasts were everywhere and nobody thought anything about it. “When we look at our childhood photos we recognize those imperfect breasts and those bodies, each with their own story. I think of the ‘un-beauty’ of that time and feel it is actually the ultimate beauty,” Michele told me.

Indeed, I felt the same way. My relationship with toplessness was part of a very democratic cultural status quo. If every woman on the beaches of the Mediterranean—from the sexy girls tanning on the shoreline to the grandmothers eating spaghetti al pomodoro out of Tupperware containers under sun umbrellas—bore equally naked body parts, then somehow we were all on the same team. No hierarchies were established. In general, there was very little naked breast censorship. Free nipples appeared on magazine covers at newsstands, whether tabloids or art and fashion magazines. Breasts were so naturally part of the national conversation and aesthetic that Ilona Staller (also known as Cicciolina) and Moana Pozzi, two porn stars, cofounded a political party called the Love Party. I have a clear memory of my neighbor hanging their party’s banner out his window, featuring a topless Cicciolina winking.

A lot has changed since those days, but also since that initial 2017 piece. There’s been a feminist revolution, a transformation of women’s fashion and gender politics, the absurd overturning of Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction in New York, the intensely disturbing overturning of Roe v Wade and the current political battle over reproductive rights radiating from America and far beyond. One way or another, the female body is very much the site of political battles as much as it is of style and fashion tastes. And maybe for this reason naked breasts seem to populate runways and street style a lot more than they do beaches—it’s likely that being naked at a dinner party leaves more of a permanent mark than being naked on a glamorous shore. Naked “dressing” seems to be much more popular than naked “being.” It’s no coincidence that this year Saint Laurent, Chloé, Ferragamo, Tom Ford, Gucci, Ludovic de Saint Sernin, and Valentino all paid homage to sheer dressing in their collections, with lacy dresses, see-through tops, sheer silk hosiery fabric, and close-fitting silk dresses. The majority of Anthony Vaccarello’s fall 2024 collection was mostly transparent. And even off the runway, guests at the Saint Laurent show matched the mood. Olivia Wilde appeared in a stunning see-through dark bodysuit, Georgia May Jagger wore a sheer black halter top, Ebony Riley wore a breathtaking V-neck, and Elsa Hosk went for translucent polka dots.

In some strange way, it feels as if the trends of the ’90s have swapped seats with those of today. When, in 1993, a 19-year-old Kate Moss wore her (now iconic) transparent, bronze-hued Liza Bruce lamé slip dress to Elite Model Agency’s Look of the Year Awards in London, I remember seeing her picture everywhere and feeling in awe of her daring and grace. I loved her simple sexy style, with her otherworldly smile, the hair tied back in a bun. That very slip has remained in the collective unconscious for decades, populating thousands of internet pages, but in remembering that night Moss admitted that the nude look was totally unintentional: “I had no idea why everyone was so excited—in the darkness of Corinne [Day’s] Soho flat, the dress was not see-through!” That’s to say that nude dressing was usually mostly casual and not intellectualized in the context of a larger movement.

But today nudity feels loaded in different ways. In April, actor and author Julia Fox appeared in Los Angeles in a flesh-colored bra that featured hairy hyper-realist prints of breasts and nipples, and matching panties with a print of a sewn-up vagina and the words “closed” on it, as a form of feminist performance art. Breasts , an exhibition curated by Carolina Pasti, recently opened as part of the 60th Venice Biennale at Palazzo Franchetti and showcases works that span from painting and sculpture to photography and film, reflecting on themes of motherhood, empowerment, sexuality, body image, and illness. The show features work by Cindy Sherman, Robert Mapplethorpe, Louise Bourgeois, and an incredible painting by Bernardino Del Signoraccio of Madonna dell’Umiltà, circa 1460-1540. “It was fundamental for me to include a Madonna Lactans from a historical perspective. In this intimate representation, the Virgin reveals one breast while nurturing the child, the organic gesture emphasizing the profound bond between mother and child,” Pasti said when we spoke.

Through her portrayal of breasts, she delves into the delicate balance of strength and vulnerability within the female form. I spoke to Pasti about my recent musings on naked breasts, which she shared in a deep way. I asked her whether she too noticed a disparity between nudity on beaches as opposed to the one on streets and runways, and she agreed. Her main concern today is around censorship. To Pasti, social media is still far too rigid around breast exposure and she plans to discuss this issue through a podcast that she will be launching in September, together with other topics such as motherhood, breastfeeding, sexuality, and breast cancer awareness.

With summer at the door, it was my turn to see just how much of the new reread on transparency would apply to beach life. In the last few years, I noticed those beaches Michele and I reminisced about have grown more conservative and, despite being the daughter of unrepentant nudists and having a long track record of militant topless bathing, I myself have felt a bit more shy lately. Perhaps a woman in her 40s with two children is simply less prone to taking her top off, but my memories of youth are populated by visions of bare-chested mothers surveilling the coasts and shouting after their kids in the water. So when did we stop? And why? When did Michele’s era of “un-beauty” end?

In order to get back in touch with my own naked breasts I decided to revisit the nudist beaches of my youth to see what had changed. On a warm day in May, I researched some local topless beaches around Rome and asked a friend to come with me. Two moms, plus our four children, two girls and two boys of the same ages. “Let’s make an experiment of this and see what happens,” I proposed.

The kids all yawned, but my friend was up for it. These days to go topless, especially on urban beaches, you must visit properties that have an unspoken nudist tradition. One of these in Rome is the natural reserve beach at Capocotta, south of Ostia, but I felt a bit unsure revisiting those sands. In my memory, the Roman nudist beaches often equated to encounters with promiscuous strangers behind the dunes. I didn’t want to expose the kids, so, being that I am now a wise adult, I went ahead and picked a compromise. I found a nude-friendly beach on the banks of the Farfa River, in the rolling Sabina hills.

We piled into my friend’s car and drove out. The kids were all whining about the experiment. “We don’t want to see naked mums!” they complained. “Can’t you just lie and say you went to a nudist beach?”

We parked the car and walked across the medieval fairy-tale woods until we reached the path that ran along the river. All around us were huge trees and gigantic leaves. It had rained a lot recently and the vegetation had grown incredibly. We walked past the remains of a Roman road. The colors all around were bright green, the sky almost fluorescent blue. The kids got sidetracked by the presence of frogs. According to the indications, the beach was about a mile up the river. Halfway down the path, we bumped into a couple of young guys in fanny packs. I scanned them for signs of quintessential nudist attitude, but realized I actually had no idea what that was. I asked if we were headed in the right direction to go to “the beach”. They nodded and gave us a sly smile, which I immediately interpreted as a judgment about us as mothers, and more generally about our age, but I was ready to vindicate bare breasts against ageism.

We reached a small pebbled beach, secluded and bordered by a huge trunk that separated it from the path. A group of girls was there, sharing headphones and listening to music. To my dismay they were all wearing the tops and bottoms of their bikinis. One of them was in a full-piece bathing suit and shorts. “See, they are all wearing bathing suits. Please don’t be the weird mums who don’t.”

At this point, it was a matter of principle. My friend and I decided to take our bathing suits off completely, if only for a moment, and jumped into the river. The boys stayed on the beach with full clothes and shoes on, horrified. The girls went in behind us with their bathing suits. “Are you happy now? my son asked. “Did you prove your point?”

I didn’t really know what my point actually was. I think a part of me wanted to feel entitled to those long-gone decades of naturalism. Whether this was an instinct, or as Pasti said, “an act that was simply tied to the individual freedom of each woman”, it was hard to tell. At this point in history, the two things didn’t seem to cancel each other out—in fact, the opposite. Taking off a bathing suit, at least for my generation who never had to fight for it, had unexpectedly turned into a radical move and maybe I wanted to be part of the new discourse. Also, the chances of me going out in a fully sheer top were slim these days, but on the beach it was different. I would always fight for an authentic topless experience.

After our picnic on the river, we left determined to make our way—and without children—to the beaches of Capocotta. In truth, no part of me actually felt very subversive doing something I had been doing my whole life, but it still felt good. Once a free breast, always a free breast.

This article was originally published on British Vogue .

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NYC TikToker Unknowingly Makes Video with Sabrina Carpenter on 'Short n Sweet' Release Day

Sabrina Carpenter got some free publicity over the weekend thanks to a viral video created by a New York City-based TikTok creator, who unknowingly ran into the pop star.

The 25-year-old singer dropped her new album Short n Sweet on Friday (August 23) and she celebrated the launch in New York. While in the SoHo neighborhood, Sabrina encountered TikTok creator @ JudiJupiter , who said she makes videos about “really cool people in Soho. All the hot girls in Soho, and in Fire Island.”

Judi filmed a video of Sabrina walking down the street and could be heard asking people who she was, but she eventually just went up to the singer and asked, “What’s your name?”

While snapping selfies with fans, Sabrina had an adorable interaction with Judi . “I’m obsessed with you, honestly,” Sabrina told her.

Head inside to watch the video…

You can watch the video below!

Sabrina has revealed what she really wrote her song “Espresso” about.

@judijupiter @sabrinacarpenter album release today @Short N Sweet as she handed me a signed copy she said she's in awe of me She's absolutely adorable and short n sweet Soho NYC #sabrinacarpenter #shortnsweet #album #release #soho #blonde #blueeyes #adorable #instagood ♬ original sound – JudiJupiter

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Is India a Safe Place for Women? Another Brutal Killing Raises the Question.

The rape and murder of a trainee doctor at her own hospital has brought up, once again, uncomfortable truths about a country that wants to be a global leader.

By Anupreeta Das and Sameer Yasir

In December 2012, a 23-year-old physiotherapy student boarded a bus in New Delhi a little after 9 p.m., expecting it would take her home. Instead, she was gang-raped and assaulted so viciously with an iron rod that her intestines were damaged. She died days later as India erupted in rage.

Nearly 12 years later, the nation is convulsing with anger once again — this time, over the ghastly rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor in a Kolkata hospital, as she rested in a seminar room after a late-night shift. Since the Aug. 9 killing, thousands of doctors have gone on strike to demand a safer work environment and thousands more people have taken to the streets to demand justice.

For a country desperate to be seen as a global leader, repeated high-profile cases of brutal sexual assaults highlight an uncomfortable truth: India, by many measures , remains one of the world’s most unsafe places for women. Rape and domestic violence are relatively common, and conviction rates are low.

This week, the Supreme Court of India took up the Kolkata case as one of fundamental rights and safety, questioning how hospital administrators and police officers had handled it and saying new protective measures were needed. “The nation cannot wait for another rape and murder for real changes on the ground,” Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said.

Gender-related violence is hardly unique to India. But even as millions of Indian women have joined the urban work force in the past decade, securing their financial independence and helping to fuel the country’s rapid growth, they are still often left to bear the burden of their own safety.

Longstanding customs that both repress women and in many cases confine them to the home have made their safety in public spaces an afterthought. It can be dangerous for a woman to use public transportation, especially at night, and sexual harassment occurs frequently on the streets and in offices. Mothers tell their daughters to be watchful. Brothers and husbands drop their sisters and wives off at work.

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