March 2024 favorites

March 2024

The March stories ordered solely by my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Torch Song’ by John Cheever
  2. ‘You Never Get It Back’ by Cara Blue Adams
  3. ‘Three Women Of Chuck’s Donuts’ by Anthony Veasna So
  4. ‘The Worm In Philly’ by Sam Lipsyte
  5. ‘Brigid’ by Mary Lavin
  6. ‘Chance’ by Alice Munro
  7. ‘Departure’ by Andrew Porter
  8. ‘The Long Black Line’ by John L’Heureux
  9. ‘The Run Of Yoursef’ by Richard Ford
  10. ‘The Slip-Up’ by John McGahern
  11. ‘The Maths Tutor’ by Tessa Hadley
  12. ‘Hearts Of Oak And Bellies Of Brass’ by John McGahern
  13. ‘Take Half, Leave Half’ by Thomas McGuane
  14. ‘What Feels Like The World’ by Richard Bausch
  15. ‘Seeing Ershadi’ by Nicole Krauss
  16. ‘The Triumph Of Night’ by Edith Wharton
  17. ‘Ocracoke Island’ by Alice Adams
  18. ‘Those As Are Brothers’ by Nancy Hale
  19. ‘The Man Who Saw The Flood’ by Richard Wright
  20. ‘Envoy’ by Caleb Crain
  21. ‘Rumm Road’ by Alice Elliott Dark
  22. ‘The Glass House’ by Chris Adrian
  23. ‘A Story Without A Title’ by Anton Chekhov
  24. ‘Beach Town’ by Amy Hempel
  25. ‘The Help’ by Mary Robison
  26. ‘Korean Jesus’ by Pete Hsu
  27. ‘So Late In The Day’ by Claire Keegan
  28. ‘The Kid Nobody Could Handle’ by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
  29. ‘Xífù’ by K-Ming Chang
  30. ‘Miss Mary Pask’ by Edith Wharton
  31. ‘You Tell Me’ by Clare Sestanovich

As always, join the conversation in the comments section below, on SSMT Facebook or on Twitter @ShortStoryMT.

Subscribe to the Short Story Magic Tricks Monthly Newsletter to get the latest short story news, contests and fun.

January 2024 favorites

January 2024

The January stories ordered solely by my personal tastes.

  1. ‘City Of Churches’ by Donald Barthelme
  2. ‘In The Cart’ by Anton Chekhov
  3. ‘Parker’s Back’ by Flannery O’Connor
  4. ‘Death’ by Sherwood Anderson
  5. ‘Sophistication’ by Sherwood Anderson
  6. ‘Harrison Bergeron’ by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
  7. ‘The Continuity Of Parks’ by Julio Cortázar
  8. ‘The Night’s For Cryin’’ by Chester Himes
  9. ‘Love Is Not A Pie’ by Amy Bloom
  10. ‘The House Behind’ by Lydia Davis
  11. ‘Queer’ by Sherwood Anderson
  12. ‘The Untold Lie’ by Sherwood Anderson
  13. ‘Fjord Of Killary’ by Kevin Barry
  14. ‘Drink’ by Sherwood Anderson
  15. ‘U.F.O. In Kushiro’ by Haruki Murakami
  16. ‘Ruthy And Edie’ by Grace Paley
  17. ‘What It Takes To Keep A Young Girl Alive’ by Jayne Anne Phillips
  18. ‘In A Different Light’ by Elizabeth Taylor
  19. ‘Departure’ by Sherwood Anderson
  20. ‘An Awakening’ by Sherwood Anderson
  21. ‘Under The Boardwalk’ by Jayne Anne Phillips
  22. ‘One Night In New Jersey’ by Chester Himes
  23. ‘It’s Not You’ by Elizabeth McCracken
  24. ‘Three Popes Walk Into A Bar’ by Amy Hempel
  25. ‘My Mother’s Memoirs, My Father’s Lie, And Other True Stories’ by Russell Banks
  26. ‘Pool Night’ by Amy Hempel
  27. ‘Thunderbirds: Who, Why, and How’ by Rebecca Scherm
  28. ‘University Days’ by James Thurber
  29. ‘An Enigmatic Nature’ by Anton Chekhov
  30. ‘The New Lodger’ by Amy Hempel
  31. ‘Detour’ by Évelyne Trouillot

As always, join the conversation in the comments section below, on SSMT Facebook or on Twitter @ShortStoryMT.

Subscribe to the Short Story Magic Tricks Monthly Newsletter to get the latest short story news, contests and fun.

August 2023 favorites

August 2023

The August stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘All Will Be Well’ by Yiyun Li
  2. ‘Virginia City’ by Claire Vaye Watkins
  3. ‘A Consent’ by Wendell Berry
  4. ‘The Hurt Man’ by Wendell Berry
  5. ‘A Sandstone Farmhouse’ by John Updike
  6. ‘Wednesday’s Child’ by Yiyun Li
  7. ‘After The Theatre’ by Anton Chekhov
  8. ‘Don’t Send A Boy To Do A Man’s Work’ by Wendell Berry
  9. ‘The Devastating Boys’ by Elizabeth Taylor
  10. ‘The Bride’ by Maeve Brennan
  11. ‘The First Kiss’ by Clarice Lispector
  12. ‘Exit Zero’ by Marie-Helene Bertino
  13. ‘The Lost Bet’ by Wendell Berry
  14. ‘Home Sickness’ by George Moore
  15. ‘Bettering Myself’ by Ottessa Moshfegh
  16. ‘The Management Of Grief’ by Bharati Mukherjee
  17. ‘Brawler’ by Lauren Groff
  18. ‘Plan Of The Peak Cavern’ by Emily Temple
  19. ‘Three Days’ by Samantha Hunt
  20. ‘Gryphon’ by Charles Baxter
  21. ‘Cords’ by Edna O’Brien
  22. ‘The Archivist’ by Claire Vaye Watkins
  23. ‘Moon Rocket’ by Elizabeth Spencer
  24. ‘Separation’ by Clare Sestanovich
  25. ‘Thicker Than Liquor’ by Wendell Berry
  26. ‘The Cult Of Mary’ by Laura Van Den Berg
  27. ‘You Are Now Entering The Human Heart’ by Janet Frame
  28. ‘Wide Spot’ by Thomas McGuane
  29. ‘A Prize For Every Player’ by A.M. Homes
  30. ‘Lord Emsworth And The Girlfriend’ by P.G. Wodehouse
  31. ‘Resistance’ by Stephan Enter

As always, join the conversation in the comments section below, on SSMT Facebook or on Twitter @ShortStoryMT.

Subscribe to the Short Story Magic Tricks Monthly Newsletter to get the latest short story news, contests and fun.

March 2023 favorites

March 2023

The March stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘The Past Perfect, The Past Continuous, The Simple Past’ by Claire Vaye Watkins
  2. ‘When Mr. Pirzada Came To Dine’ by Jhumpa Lahiri
  3. ‘Sliding’ by Leslie Norris
  4. ‘Different People’ by Clare Sestanovich
  5. ‘A Choice Of Butchers’ by William Trevor
  6. ‘Rondine Al Nido’ by Claire Vaye Watkins
  7. ‘The Stain’ by Tessa Hadley
  8. ‘Sarah’ by Mary Lavin
  9. ‘Matrilineal’ by Tessa Hadley
  10. ‘Bad Boy’ by Kristen Roupenian
  11. ‘The Widow’s Son’ by Mary Lavin
  12. ‘The Piano Teacher’s Pupil’ by William Trevor
  13. ‘Wife Wooing’ by John Updike
  14. ‘In The Middle Of The Fields’ by Mary Lavin
  15. ‘The Adulterous Woman’ by Albert Camus
  16. ‘Coda’ by Tessa Hadley
  17. ‘Encounters With Unexpected Animals’ by Bret Anthony Johnston
  18. ‘Brother Boniface’ by Mary Lavin
  19. ‘The Bunty Club’ by Tessa Hadley
  20. ‘Happiness’ by Mary Lavin
  21. ‘The Ormulu Clock’ by Muriel Spark
  22. ‘An Upheaval’ by Anton Chekhov
  23. ‘The Itch’ by Don DeLillo
  24. ‘Ceil’ by Harold Brodkey
  25. ‘Look At Your Game, Girl’ by Kristen Roupenian
  26. ‘One Sun Only’ by Camille Bordas
  27. ‘After The Funeral’ by Tessa Hadley
  28. ‘The Ugliest Babies In The World’ by Vanessa Chan
  29. ‘The Night We All Had Grippe’ by Shirley Jackson
  30. ‘The Father’ by Raymond Carver
  31. ‘Head Over Knees’ by Eric Schlich

As always, join the conversation in the comments section below, on SSMT Facebook or on Twitter @ShortStoryMT.

Subscribe to the Short Story Magic Tricks Monthly Newsletter to get the latest short story news, contests and fun.

September 2021 favorites

September 2021

The September stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘The Singers’ by Ivan Turgenev
  2. ‘The House With The Mezzanine’ by Anton Chekhov
  3. ‘The Country Doctor’ by Ivan Turgenev
  4. ‘The Husband’ by Anton Chekhov
  5. ‘The Story Of A Horse’ by Isaac Babel
  6. ‘Dolgushov’s Death’ by Isaac Babel
  7. ‘Salt’ by Isaac Babel
  8. ‘How Much Land Does A Man Need?’ by Leo Tolstoy
  9. ‘The Queen Of Spades’ by Alexander Pushkin
  10. ‘A Dashing Fellow’ by Vladimir Nabokov
  11. ‘Khor And Kalinich’ by Ivan Turgenev
  12. ‘After The Battle’ by Isaac Babel
  13. ‘The Continuation Of The Story Of A Horse’ by Isaac Babel
  14. ‘Ivan And Ivan’ by Isaac Babel
  15. ‘Polinka’ by Anton Chekhov
  16. ‘Afonka Bida’ by Isaac Babel
  17. ‘Katania’ by Lara Vapnyar
  18. ‘Prince Hamlet Of Shchrigrovo’ by Ivan Turgenev
  19. ‘Two Landowners’ by Ivan Turgenev
  20. ‘The Destiny Of A Professor’s Wife’ by Daniil Kharms
  21. ‘On The Golden Porch’ by Tatyana Tolstaya
  22. ‘A Drama’ by Anton Chekhov
  23. ‘Little Whale, Varnisher Of Reality’ by Vasily Aksenov
  24. ‘Rapture’ by Anton Chekhov

As always, join the conversation in the comments section below, on SSMT Facebook or on Twitter @ShortStoryMT.

Subscribe to the Short Story Magic Tricks Monthly Newsletter to get the latest short story news, contests and fun.