1st Quarter 2025 favorites

1st Quarter 2025

The 1st Quarter (Jan-Mar) stories ordered solely by my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Emperor Of The Air’ by Ethan Canin
  2. ‘The Year Of Getting To Know Us’ by Ethan Canin
  3. ‘Goodbye Marcus, Goodbye Rose’ by Jean Rhys
  4. ‘Sweethearts’ by Richard Ford
  5. ‘Crown-Fire’ by Erskine Caldwell
  6. ‘For A Long Time, This Was Griselda’s Story’ by Anthony Doerr
  7. ‘We Are Nighttime Travelers’ by Ethan Canin
  8. ‘The Man In The Moon’ by William Maxwell
  9. ‘Star Food’ by Ethan Canin
  10. ‘The Smile On Happy Chang’s Face’ by Tom Perrotta
  11. ‘Biology’ by Kevin Wilson
  12. ‘The Nice Restaurant’ by Mary Gaitskill
  13. ‘A Tiny Feast’ by Chris Adrian
  14. ‘The Lucid Eye In Silver Town’ by John Updike
  15. ‘Boy And Girl Games Like Coupling’ by Jamie Paige
  16. ‘The Pearl Of Love‘ by H.G. Wells
  17. ‘There He Go’ by Ladee Hubbard
  18. ‘Where We Are Now’ by Ethan Canin
  19. ‘Things My Mother Said’ by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
  20. ‘Goodbye To The Road Not Taken’ by A.M. Homes
  21. ‘Smote, Or When I Find I Cannot Kiss You In Front Of A Print By Bridget Riley’ by Eley Williams
  22. ‘Song Of Roland’ by Jamaica Kincaid
  23. ‘The Last Question’ by Isaac Asimov
  24. ‘Los Angeles’ by Ling Ma
  25. ‘Good Legs’ by Joshua Ferris
  26. ‘The Space’ by Christopher Boucher

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

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April 2022 favorites

April 2022

The April stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Roses, Rhododendron’ by Alice Adams
  2. ‘Warm River’ by Erskine Caldwell
  3. ‘What Have You Done?’ by Ben Marcus
  4. ‘A Story In Almost Classical Mode’ by Harold Brodkey
  5. ‘Back Then’ by Mary Grimm
  6. ‘Waugh’ by Bryan Washington
  7. ‘Car Crash While Hitchhiking’ by Denis Johnson
  8. ‘Thrift Store Coats’ by Brooks Rexroat
  9. ‘The Bride Comes To Yellow Sky’ by Stephen Crane
  10. ‘Maggie Of The Green Bottles’ by Toni Cade Bambara
  11. ‘The Landlord’ by Wells Tower
  12. ‘Heathen’ by Mike Wilson
  13. ‘Donna’ by Michaella Thornton
  14. ‘The Princess And The Puma’ by O. Henry
  15. ‘The Day The Dam Broke’ by James Thurber
  16. ‘The Texas Principessa’ by William Goyen

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 2015 favorites

November 2015

The November stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘A Conversation With My Father’ by Grace Paley
  2. ‘The Warm Fuzzies’ by Chris Adrian
  3. ‘Kid MacArthur’ by Stephanie Vaughn
  4. ‘Kneel To The Rising Sun’ by Erskine Caldwell
  5. ‘Over The River And Through The Wood’ by John O’Hara
  6. ‘We’re On TV In The Universe’ by Stephanie Vaughn
  7. ‘Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog’ by Stephanie Vaughn
  8. ‘I Bought A Little City’ by Donald Barthelme
  9. ‘Sweet Talk’ by Stephanie Vaughn
  10. ‘Yao’s Chick’ by Max Apple
  11. ‘The Battle Of Fallen Timbers’ by Stephanie Vaughn
  12. ‘Collectors’ by Daniel Alarcon
  13. ‘The Great Mountains’ by John Steinbeck
  14. ‘Last Day In The Field’ by Caroline Gordon
  15. ‘Ann Mary; Her Two Thanksgivings’ by Mary Wilkins Freeman
  16. ‘Business Talk’ by Max Apple
  17. ‘Theft’ by Katherine Anne Porter
  18. ‘Zelig’ by Benjamin Rosenblatt
  19. ‘Brothers And Sisters Around The World’ by Andrea Lee
  20. ‘The Kitchen Baby’ by Angela Carter
  21. ‘The Best Girlfriend You Never Had’ by Pam Houston
  22. ‘Cinnamon’ by Neil Gaiman