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.

Advertisement

July 2020 favorites

July 2020

The July stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

    1. ‘Wenlock Edge’ by Alice Munro
    2. ‘The Green Banana’ by J.F. Powers
    3. ‘Corrie’ by Alice Munro
    4. ‘Family Furnishings’ by Alice Munro
    5. ‘A Bird In The House’ by Margaret Laurence
    6. ‘The Mask Of The Bear’ by Margaret Laurence
    7. ‘To Set Our House In Order’ by Margaret Laurence
    8. ‘Mademoiselle Pearl’ by Guy de Maupassant
    9. ‘Gravel’ by Alice Munro
    10. ‘Father Abe’ by James McBride
    11. ‘The Loons’ by Margaret Laurence
    12. ‘A Priest In The Family’ by Colm Tóibín
    13. ‘Robert E. Lee Is Dead’ by Danielle Evans
    14. ‘Brownies’ by ZZ Packer
    15. ‘Some Get Back’ by Robert J. Williams
    16. ‘The Sound Of The Singing’ by Margaret Laurence
    17. ‘Cattle Haul’ by Jesmyn Ward
    18. ‘Visitor’ by Bryan Washington
    19. ‘The Creature’ by Edna O’Brien
    20. ‘Funny Little Snake’ by Tessa Hadley
    21. ‘Connection’ by Mary Gaitskill
    22. ‘Trying To Be’ by Mary Gaitskill
    23. ‘At The Seminary’ by Joyce Carol Oates
    24. ‘An Affair, Edited’ by Mary Gaitskill
    25. ‘The Rise Of Capitalism’ by Donald Barthelme
    26. ‘Exteriors’ by Kathleen Collins
    27. ‘Prue’ by Alice Munro

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.

June 2020 favorites

June 2020

The June stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Like It Or Not’ by Deborah Eisenberg
  2. ‘Across The Lake’ by Deborah Eisenberg
  3. ‘The Rug’ by Edna O’Brien
  4. ‘Mrs. Reinhardt’ by Edna O’Brien
  5. ‘Number Ten’ by Edna O’Brien
  6. ‘The Flaw In The Design’ by Deborah Eisenberg
  7. ‘The Connor Girls’ by Edna O’Brien
  8. ‘Comfort’ by Mary Gaitskill
  9. ‘All The Way In Flagstaff, Arizona’ by Richard Bausch
  10. ‘Fatality’ by Richard Bausch
  11. ‘The Girl On The Plane’ by Mary Gaitskill
  12. ‘In The Hours Of Darkness’ by Edna O’Brien
  13. ‘The Two Davises And The Rug’ by Lydia Davis
  14. ‘Twilight Of The Superheroes’ by Deborah Eisenberg
  15. ‘Aren’t You Happy For Me?’ by Richard Bausch
  16. ‘I Live On Your Visits’ by Dorothy Parker
  17. ‘Wedlock’ by Richard Bausch
  18. ‘Nobody In Hollywood’ by Richard Bausch
  19. ‘The Third Tower’ by Deborah Eisenberg
  20. ‘Clean, Cleaner, Cleanest’ by Sherman Alexie

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 2020 favorites

February 2020

The February stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Lunch At The Loyola Arms’ by Stuart Dybek
  2. ‘The Most Girl Part Of You’ by Amy Hempel
  3. ‘The Proxy Marriage’ by Maile Meloy
  4. ‘Snow’ by Ann Beattie
  5. ‘The Metal Bowl’ by Miranda July
  6. ‘A Talking Cure’ by Justin Taylor
  7. ‘Turgor’ by Mary Gaitskill
  8. ‘The Sock’ by Lydia Davis
  9. ‘The Tree Of Knowledge’ by Henry James
  10. ‘Life After High School’ by Joyce Carol Oates
  11. ‘My Sister’s Marriage’ by Cynthia Marshall Rich
  12. ‘Reading Lessons’ by Edwidge Danticat
  13. ‘Northeast Regional’ by Emma Cline
  14. ‘Show Don’t Tell’ by Curtis Sittenfeld
  15. ‘The Hanging Of The Schoolmarm’ 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.

September 2018 favorites

September 2018

The September stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Red From Green’ by Maile Meloy
  2. ‘Thirteen And A Half’ by Maile Meloy
  3. ‘Dido’s Lament’ by Tessa Hadley
  4. ‘What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank’ by Nathan Englander
  5. ‘Lobster Night’ by Russell Banks
  6. ‘Tome’ by Maile Meloy
  7. ‘Aqua Boulevard’ by Maile Meloy
  8. ‘Miracle Polish’ by Steven Millhauser
  9. ‘Red’ by Maile Meloy
  10. ‘Grammar Questions’ by Lydia Davis
  11. ‘The Knowers’ by Helen Phillips
  12. ‘Spirituality; With Or Without A Prayer’ by Elmore Leonard
  13. ‘You Must Be This Happy To Enter’ by Elizabeth Crane
  14. ‘Diem Perdidi’ by Julie Otsuka
  15. ‘Watching Mysteries With My Mother’ by Ben Marcus

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.