April 2023 favorites

April 2023

The April stories ordered solely by my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Intertextuality’ by Mary Gordon
  2. ‘Leopard’ by Wells Tower
  3. ‘The Coast Of Leitrim’ by Kevin Barry
  4. ‘The Ship Ahoy’ by Ursula K. Le Guin
  5. ‘Cat In The Rain’ by Ernest Hemingway
  6. ‘Mother Savage’ by Guy de Maupassant
  7. ‘Sex Scenes From A Chain Book Store’ by Aryn Kyle
  8. ‘Flights’ by Alice Adams
  9. ‘A Sister’s Confession’ by Guy de Maupassant
  10. ‘The Lying Bee’ by John Henrik Clarke
  11. ‘A Country Wedding’ by Laurie Colwin
  12. ‘Are You In Love?’ by Alice Adams
  13. ‘The Balloon’ by Donald Barthelme
  14. ‘Beautiful Girl’ by Alice Adams
  15. ‘Lifeguard’ by John Updike
  16. ‘Edna In Rain’ by Marie-Helene Bertino
  17. ‘The Last Married Man’ by Alice Adams
  18. ‘The Last Lovely City’ by Alice Adams
  19. ‘The Day Before The Revolution’ by Ursula K. Le Guin
  20. ‘A Domestic Dilemma’ by Carson McCullers
  21. ‘The Great Hug’ by Donald Barthelme
  22. ‘Son Of Friedman’ by Emma Cline
  23. ‘The Presentation On Egypt’ by Camille Bordas
  24. ‘Heart Of Hearts’ by Emily Temple
  25. ‘Comma’ by Hilary Mantel
  26. ‘At The Zoo’ by Caitlin Horrocks
  27. ‘Rain, Rain, Go Away’ by Isaac Asimov
  28. ‘Tapioca Surprise’ by William Goyen
  29. ‘The Company Is Not Responsible’ by Mary McCarthy
  30. ‘Ex Parte’ by Ring Lardner

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.

November 2022 favorites

November 2022

The November stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Reunion’ by Julie Schumacher
  2. ‘Caveat Emptor’ by Joan Hess
  3. ‘Ashes’ by Cristina Henríquez
  4. ‘The Wellman Twins’ by Mary Robison
  5. ‘Chasing Birds’ by Cristina Henríquez
  6. ‘Too Much To Bare’ by Joan Hess
  7. ‘Nebraska’ by Ron Hansen
  8. ‘Drive’ by Cristina Henríquez
  9. ‘That Thing Around Your Neck’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  10. ‘Polaroid’ by Sally Wells
  11. ‘Peter’ by Willa Cather
  12. ‘Correspondence’ by Carson McCullers
  13. ‘Beatrice Trueblood’s Story’ by Jean Stafford
  14. ‘Murder At Fork Junction’ by Alston Anderson
  15. ‘I Get By’ by Mary Robison
  16. ‘Bad Latch’ by Curtis Sittenfeld
  17. ‘The Haunter Of The Dark’ by H.P. Lovecraft
  18. ‘This Is My Living Room’ by Tom McAfee

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.

May 2022 favorites

May 2022

The May stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Children On Their Birthdays’ by Truman Capote
  2. ‘A View Of The Woods’ by Flannery O’Connor
  3. ‘Complicities’ by Alice Adams
  4. ‘This Is Paradise’ by Kristiana Kahakauwila
  5. ‘Birdland’ by Michael Knight
  6. ‘Consolation’ by Richard Bausch
  7. ‘Strange Moonlight’ by Conrad Aiken
  8. ‘The Quest For “Blank Claveringi”’ by Patricia Highsmith
  9. ‘Sucker’ by Carson McCullers
  10. ‘Buck Boy’ by James McBride
  11. ‘Friends From Philadelphia’ by John Updike
  12. ‘To Hell With Dying’ by Alice Walker
  13. ‘The Devil And Daniel Webster’ by Stephen Vincent Benét
  14. ‘The Local Production Of Cinderella’ by Allegra Goodman
  15. ‘Young Francis Whitehead’ by William Maxwell
  16. ‘Playing Before Royalty’ by Ian MacMillan
  17. ‘The Child Screams And Looks Back At You’ by Russell Banks
  18. ‘The Intermediate Class’ by Sam Allingham

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.

December 2020 favorites

December 2020

The December stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Mirrorball’ by Mary Gaitskill
  2. ‘Accident Brief’ by Karen Russell
  3. ‘The Unknown Masterpiece’ by Honoré de Balzac
  4. ‘Drinking Coffee Elsewhere’ by ZZ Packer
  5. ‘The Half-Husky’ by Margaret Laurence
  6. ‘Home For Christmas’ by Carson McCullers
  7. ‘Seven’ by Edwidge Danticat
  8. ‘A Room Forever’ by Breece D’J Pancake
  9. ‘The Weirdos’ by Ottessa Moshfegh
  10. ‘Irina’ by Mavis Gallant
  11. ‘The Lily-White Boys’ by William Maxwell
  12. ‘The Pocketbook Game’ by Alice Childress
  13. ‘The Dancer’ by Patricia Highsmith
  14. ‘The Yo-Yo’ by P.D. James
  15. ‘Temptation’ by Clarice Lispector
  16. ‘Ordinary Nudes’ by Stuart Dybek
  17. ‘Neighbors’ by Anthony Tognazzini
  18. ‘The Canebrake’ by Mohammed Mrabet
  19. ‘Odd Behavior’ by Lydia Davis
  20. ‘The Warmth Of Things’ by Nélida Piñón
  21. ‘Times’ by Ann Beattie

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.

December 2019 favorites

December 2019

The December stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Bad Characters’ by Jean Stafford
  2. ‘The Possibility Of Evil’ by Shirley Jackson
  3. ‘The Loudest Voice’ by Grace Paley
  4. ‘Encarnación Mendoza’s Christmas Eve’ by Juan Bosch
  5. ‘The Discovery Of Christmas’ by Carson McCullers
  6. ‘The Christmas Turkey’ by Mário de Andrade
  7. ‘The Artist’ by Patricia Highsmith
  8. ‘Mortals’ by Tobias Wolff
  9. ‘Uncles’ by Peter Taylor
  10. ‘Santa Claus Is A White Man’ by John Henrik Clarke
  11. ‘The Cliff’ by Charles Baxter
  12. ‘Two Turtledoves’ by John O’Hara
  13. ‘His Final Mother’ by Reynolds Price
  14. ‘Sleep’ by Haruki Murakami
  15. ‘Rose’ by Mavis Gallant
  16. ‘On The Street Where You Live’ by Yiyun Li
  17. ‘All That’ by David Foster Wallace

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.