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.

February 2023 favorites

February 2023

The February stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Dead Men’s Path’ by Chinua Achebe
  2. ‘At The Clinic’ by Sally Rooney
  3. ‘Secret Weapons’ by Julio Cortázar
  4. ‘Bliss’ by Katherine Mansfield
  5. ‘Every Tongue Shall Confess’ by ZZ Packer
  6. ‘In The Name Of Bobby’ by Julio Cortázar
  7. ‘The Cold Boy’ by Benjamin Percy
  8. ‘Ain’t That Good News’ by Brit Bennett
  9. ‘The Pace Of Youth’ by Stephen Crane
  10. ‘I Am Twenty-One’ by Mary Robison
  11. ‘The Daughters’ by Maeve Brennan
  12. ‘Ray-Ray’s Picture Box’ by James McBride
  13. ‘Smart’ by Mary Robison
  14. ‘My Apology’ by Sam Lipsyte
  15. ‘Billboard’ by Richard Bausch
  16. ‘Ozème’s Holiday’ by Kate Chopin
  17. ‘The Waltz’ by Dorothy Parker
  18. ‘The Green Door’ by O. Henry
  19. ‘In The Woods’ by Mary Robison
  20. ‘Sugar Baby’ by Chinua Achebe
  21. ‘Some Like Them Cold’ by Ring Lardner
  22. ‘My Last Story’ by Janet Frame
  23. ‘Haunted’ by Walter Mosley
  24. ‘Yancey’ by Ann Beattie
  25. ‘The Neighbor’ by Russell Banks
  26. ‘A Deserted Street’ by Tawfiq Al-Hakim
  27. ‘Top Of The Food Chain’ by T. Coraghessan Boyle
  28. ‘Miracles’ by Lucy Corin

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 2017

September 2017

The September stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Daylight Come’ by Amy Hempel
  2. ‘Last Evenings On Earth’ by Roberto Bolaño
  3. ‘The Toughest Indian In The World’ by Sherman Alexie
  4. ‘Other Women’ by Stephanie Vaughn
  5. ‘New York Day Women’ by Edwidge Danticat
  6. ‘The Harvest’ by Amy Hempel
  7. ‘Phone Calls’ by Roberto Bolaño
  8. ‘Rapture Of The Deep’ by Amy Hempel
  9. ‘Mauricio (‘The Eye’) Silva’ by Roberto Bolaño
  10. ‘Tom-Rock Through The Eels’ by Amy Hempel
  11. ‘The Lady’s Maid’ by Katherine Mansfield
  12. ‘The Wind-Up Bird And Tuesday’s Women’ by Haruki Murakami
  13. ‘Son Of The Wolfman’ by Michael Chabon
  14. ‘Days Of 1978’ by Roberto Bolaño
  15. ‘Henri Simon Leprince’ by Roberto Bolaño
  16. ‘And Lead Us Not Into Penn Station’ by Amy Hempel
  17. ‘Soldiers’ by Ellease Southerland
  18. ‘At The Animal Shelter’ by Amy Hempel
  19. ‘Murder’ by Amy Hempel

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 2017 favorites

april2017

April 2017

The April stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ by Hans Christian Andersen
  2. ‘The Garden Party’ by Katherine Mansfield
  3. ‘The Dinner Party’ by Joshua Ferris
  4. ‘The Party’ by Anton Chekhov
  5. ‘The Red Bow’ by George Saunders
  6. ‘Ranch Girl’ by Maile Meloy
  7. ‘Stitches’ by Antonya Nelson
  8. ‘Communist’ by Richard Ford
  9. ‘Malta Sheffer’ by Nelson Eubanks
  10. ‘A Short Walk From The Station’ by John O’Hara
  11. ‘Disguised’ by Isaac Bashevis Singer
  12. ‘Incarnations Of Burned Children’ 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.

November 2016 favorites

november2016

November 2016

The November stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘The Tree Line, Kansas, 1934’ by David Means
  2. ‘The Gift’ by John Steinbeck
  3. ‘Dance Of The Happy Shades’ by Alice Munro
  4. ‘Gloomy Tune’ by Grace Paley
  5. ‘Mastiff’ by Joyce Carol Oates
  6. ‘The Contest’ by Grace Paley
  7. ‘At The Bay’ by Katherine Mansfield
  8. ‘War Dances’ by Sherman Alexie
  9. ‘The Shining Houses’ by Alice Munro
  10. ‘An Honest Woman’ by Ottessa Moshfegh
  11. ‘Night Women’ by Edwidge Danticat
  12. ‘A Presidential Candidate’ by Mark Twain
  13. ‘Wants’ by Grace Paley
  14. ‘Love’ by Grace Paley
  15. ‘Debts’ by Grace Paley