March 2024 favorites

March 2024

The March stories ordered solely by my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Torch Song’ by John Cheever
  2. ‘You Never Get It Back’ by Cara Blue Adams
  3. ‘Three Women Of Chuck’s Donuts’ by Anthony Veasna So
  4. ‘The Worm In Philly’ by Sam Lipsyte
  5. ‘Brigid’ by Mary Lavin
  6. ‘Chance’ by Alice Munro
  7. ‘Departure’ by Andrew Porter
  8. ‘The Long Black Line’ by John L’Heureux
  9. ‘The Run Of Yourself’ by Richard Ford
  10. ‘The Slip-Up’ by John McGahern
  11. ‘The Maths Tutor’ by Tessa Hadley
  12. ‘Hearts Of Oak And Bellies Of Brass’ by John McGahern
  13. ‘Take Half, Leave Half’ by Thomas McGuane
  14. ‘What Feels Like The World’ by Richard Bausch
  15. ‘Seeing Ershadi’ by Nicole Krauss
  16. ‘The Triumph Of Night’ by Edith Wharton
  17. ‘Ocracoke Island’ by Alice Adams
  18. ‘Those As Are Brothers’ by Nancy Hale
  19. ‘The Man Who Saw The Flood’ by Richard Wright
  20. ‘Envoy’ by Caleb Crain
  21. ‘Rumm Road’ by Alice Elliott Dark
  22. ‘The Glass House’ by Chris Adrian
  23. ‘A Story Without A Title’ by Anton Chekhov
  24. ‘Beach Town’ by Amy Hempel
  25. ‘The Help’ by Mary Robison
  26. ‘Korean Jesus’ by Pete Hsu
  27. ‘So Late In The Day’ by Claire Keegan
  28. ‘The Kid Nobody Could Handle’ by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
  29. ‘Xífù’ by K-Ming Chang
  30. ‘Miss Mary Pask’ by Edith Wharton
  31. ‘You Tell Me’ by Clare Sestanovich

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 2023 favorites

June 2023

The June stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘The Gorge’ by Umberto Eco
  2. ‘Not Here You Don’t’ by Thomas McGuane
  3. ‘Just Before The War With The Eskimos’ by J.D. Salinger
  4. ‘The Laughing Man’ by J.D. Salinger
  5. ‘Paddle To Canada’ by Heather Monley
  6. ‘Playin With Punjab’ by Toni Cade Bambara
  7. ‘Waves Of Darkness’ by Cord Meyer Jr.
  8. ‘Zero Pineapples’ by Timothy Willis Sanders
  9. ‘Uncle Wiggily In Connecticut’ by J.D. Salinger
  10. ‘Wish’ by Bobbie Ann Mason
  11. ‘First Heat’ by Peter Taylor
  12. ‘Billy Goats’ by Jill McCorkle
  13. ‘Madame Lazarus’ by Maile Meloy
  14. ‘The Entire Northern Side Was Covered With Fire’ by Rivka Galchen
  15. ‘Girls In Their Summer Dresses’ by Irwin Shaw
  16. ‘God’s Work’ by Kevin Canty
  17. ‘The (Unhealthy) Breakfast Club’ by Monica Roe
  18. ‘A Perfect Day For Bananafish’ by J.D. Salinger
  19. ‘An Imperial Message’ by Franz Kafka
  20. ‘It’s Just Another Day In Big Bear, California’ by Ann Beattie
  21. ‘Raft In Water, Floating’ by A.M. Homes
  22. ‘Down At The Dinghy’ by J.D. Salinger
  23. ‘Behind The Blue Curtain’ by Steven Millhauser
  24. ‘The Empress’s Ring’ by Nancy Hale
  25. ‘Flotsam’ by Diane Cook
  26. ‘The Love-Philtre Of Ikey Schoenstein’ by O. Henry
  27. ‘The Night Of The Curlews’ by Gabriel García Márquez
  28. ‘The Scooby-Doo Lunch Box’ by Quinton Bradley
  29. ‘The Deal’ by Leonard Michaels
  30. ‘The Descent Of Man’ by Edith Wharton

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 2022 favorites

September 2022

The September stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Willing’ by Lorrie Moore
  2. ‘The Man Who Knew Belle Starr’ by Richard Bausch
  3. ‘A Father-To-Be’ by Saul Bellow
  4. ‘A Vermont Tale’ by Mark Helprin
  5. ‘The Five Wounds’ by Kirstin Valdez Quade
  6. ‘Nemecia’ by Kirstin Valdez Quade
  7. ‘Where The Mountains Are’ by Bill Barich
  8. ‘Seeing Clear’ by Cara Blue Adams
  9. ‘Sugar Babies’ by Kali Fajardo-Anstine
  10. ‘The Beautiful Mountains’ by John Cheever
  11. ‘Afternoon In Linen’ by Shirley Jackson
  12. ‘Sauerkraut Soup’ by Stuart Dybek
  13. ‘Our Lady Of Peace’ by ZZ Packer
  14. ‘Sunday Lunch’ by Nancy Hale
  15. ‘Benediction’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  16. ‘With Reference To An Incident At A Bridge’ by William Maxwell
  17. ‘Along The Frontage Road’ by Michael Chabon

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 2022 favorites

June 2022

The June stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Ghosts, Cowboys’ by Claire Vaye Watkins
  2. ‘The Last Thing We Need’ by Claire Vaye Watkins
  3. ‘The Night Rhonda Ferguson Was Killed’ by Edward P. Jones
  4. ‘The Ant Of The Self’ by ZZ Packer
  5. ‘Georgetown Nights’ by Nancy Hale
  6. ‘In My Next Life’ by Pam Houston
  7. ‘The Face’ by Virginia Sorensen
  8. ‘The Weave’ by Charles Johnson
  9. ‘Road’s End’ by Alexis Smith
  10. ‘Happy Hour’ by Denis Johnson
  11. ‘An Orange Line Train To Ballston’ by Edward P. Jones
  12. ‘The Nevada School Of Acting’ by Judy Troy
  13. ‘Where Nothing Is Long Ago’ by Virginia Sorensen
  14. ‘Monroe’s Wedding’ by John Holman
  15. ‘Island Rodeo Queen’ by Yamile Saied Méndez
  16. ‘White Girl, Fine Girl’ by Shirley Ann Grau
  17. ‘Magnificent Desolation’ by Jess Walter
  18. ‘How To Cure A Cold’ by Mark Twain

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.