July 2023 favorites

July 2023

The July stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Interpreter Of Maladies’ by Jhumpa Lahiri
  2. ‘Three People’ by William Trevor
  3. ‘Mrs. Sen’s’ by Jhumpa Lahiri
  4. ‘In The Basement’ by Isaac Babel
  5. ‘The Dancing-Master’s Music’ by William Trevor
  6. ‘This Blessed House’ by Jhumpa Lahiri
  7. ‘A Real Durwan’ by Jhumpa Lahiri
  8. ‘Di Grasso’ by Isaac Babel
  9. ‘Miss Brill’ by Katherine Mansfield
  10. ‘The Diver’ by V.S. Pritchett
  11. ‘The Secret Of Cartwheels’ by Patricia Henley
  12. ‘Sexy’ by Jhumpa Lahiri
  13. ‘The Parrot’ by Elizabeth Bowen
  14. ‘First Love’ by Isaac Babel
  15. ‘Sacred Statues’ by William Trevor
  16. ‘The Third And Final Continent’ by Jhumpa Lahiri
  17. ‘The Widow’ by Isaac Babel
  18. ‘Allegiance’ by Aryn Kyle
  19. ‘How Things Were Done In Odessa’ by Isaac Babel
  20. ‘The Meeting’ by Alix Ohlin
  21. ‘Graillis’s Legacy’ by William Trevor
  22. ‘After Rain’ by William Trevor
  23. ‘Odd Jobs’ by Jonathan Escoffery
  24. ‘The Treatment Of Bibi Haldar’ by Jhumpa Lahiri
  25. ‘Invisible Bird’ by Claire-Louise Bennett
  26. ‘I Am An American’ by James Alan McPherson
  27. ‘Pestilence’ by Jonathan Escoffery
  28. ‘Ten Indians’ by Ernest Hemingway
  29. ‘The Cure’ by Melissa Febos
  30. ‘The Break Up Of Ice’ by Lucie Elven
  31. ‘In Bed One Night’ by Robert Coover

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.

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.

October 2022 favorites

October 2022

The October stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘End Of The World’ by Dean Doner
  2. ‘The Mud Below’ by Annie Proulx
  3. ‘Home’ by Jayne Anne Phillips
  4. ‘Indian Burial’ by Dean Doner
  5. ‘The Paper Menagerie’ by Ken Liu
  6. ‘The Half-Skinned Steer’ by Annie Proulx
  7. ‘Rock Springs’ by Richard Ford
  8. ‘Hollow’ by Breece D’J Pancake
  9. ‘Close Enough’ by Nora Shalaway Carpenter
  10. ‘Before Crowned Heads’ by Dean Doner
  11. ‘Job History’ by Annie Proulx
  12. ‘The State’ by Tommy Orange
  13. ‘The Boys’ by Ethan Coen
  14. ‘A Death In The Desert’ by Willa Cather
  15. ‘Soldier’s Home’ by Ernest Hemingway
  16. ‘Different Shorelines’ by S.E. Hinton
  17. ‘Happy’ by Jayne Anne Phillips

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 2018 favorites

March 2018

The March stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘The Short Happy Life Of Francis Macomber’ by Ernest Hemingway
  2. ‘The Wide Net’ by Eudora Welty
  3. ‘Attracta’ by William Trevor
  4. ‘Folie À Deux’ by William Trevor
  5. ‘The Woman Of The House’ by William Trevor
  6. ‘After The Denim’ by Raymond Carver
  7. ‘The Midnight Zone’ by Lauren Groff
  8. ‘Of The Cloth’ by William Trevor
  9. ‘Probably Shakespeare’ by Jessamyn West
  10. ‘A Meeting In Middle Age’ by William Trevor
  11. ‘About Jessie Mae’ by James Purdy
  12. ‘Filial Sentiments Of A Parricide’ by Marcel Proust
  13. ‘My Mother’ by Andre Gide
  14. ‘Fable’ by Charles Yu
  15. ‘Three Short Moments In A Long Life’ by John L’Heureux

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 2016 favorites

January 2016

The January stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘In The Garden Of North American Martyrs’ by Tobias Wolff
  2. ‘The Night In Question’ by Tobias Wolff
  3. ‘Bernice Bobs Her Hair’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  4. ‘Goodbye And Good Luck’ by Grace Paley
  5. ‘Break It Down’ by Lydia Davis
  6. ‘The Falls’ by George Saunders
  7. ‘The Sensible Thing’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  8. ‘Awaiting Orders’ by Tobias Wolff
  9. ‘Dice, Brassknuckles & Guitar’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  10. ‘Next Door’ by Tobias Wolff
  11. ‘The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  12. ‘Financing Finnegan’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  13. ‘New Year’s Night’ by Henry Lawson
  14. ‘When We Were Nearly Young’ by Mavis Gallant
  15. ‘Say Yes’ by Tobias Wolff
  16. ‘Homage To Switzerland’ by Ernest Hemingway
  17. ‘But The One On The Right’ by Dorothy Parker