1st Quarter 2026 favorites

1st Quarter 2026

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

  1. ‘Attraction’ by David Long
  2. ‘Red Light’ by Zach Williams
  3. ‘Wrong Object’ by Mona Simpson
  4. ‘The Ladder’ by V.S. Pritchett
  5. ‘Treelaw’ by Anna Noyes
  6. ‘Electric Car, El Paso’ by Lucia Berlin
  7. ‘The Necklace’ by V.S. Pritchett
  8. ‘Air Fair’ by Richard Leise
  9. ‘The Eighth Day’ by Max Apple
  10. ‘Neighbors’ by Zach Williams
  11. ‘Mousetraps’ by Zach Williams
  12. ‘Trial Run’ by Zach Willams
  13. ‘Head And Shoulders’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  14. ‘Nine Inches’ by Tom Perrotta
  15. ‘Matinee’ by Robert Coover
  16. ‘Effie Whittlesy’ by George Ade
  17. ‘In Retail’ by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
  18. ‘Hibernation’ by Anna Noyes
  19. ‘Geese’ by ZZ Packer
  20. ‘Bijou’ by Stuart Dybek
  21. ‘Arrogance’ by Megan Staffel
  22. ‘The New Toe’ by Zach Williams
  23. ‘When Flashers Meet’ by Pamela Painter
  24. ‘The Little Widow From The Capital’ by Yohanca Delgado
  25. ‘Time Invents Us’ by Anita Felicelli
  26. ‘The Woman Who Lived In A Restaurant’ by Leone Ross
  27. ‘The Chaser’ by John Collier

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

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June 2019 favorites

June 2019

The June stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘The Surrogate’ by Tessa Hadley
  2. ‘The Card Trick’ by Tessa Hadley
  3. ‘Silk Brocade’ by Tessa Hadley
  4. ‘A Bundle Of Letters’ by Henry James
  5. ‘Cecilia Awakened’ by Tessa Hadley
  6. ‘The Sound Of Summer Running’ by Ray Bradbury
  7. ‘The Long QT’ by Hilary Mantel
  8. ‘Paste’ by Henry James
  9. ‘Clever Girl’ by Tessa Hadley
  10. ‘Agatha’ by John O’Hara
  11. ‘Greville Fane’ by Henry James
  12. ‘One Saturday Morning’ by Tessa Hadley
  13. ‘Second-Hand Man’ by Rita Dove
  14. ‘The Special Type’ by Henry James
  15. ‘Miss Gunton From Poughkeepsie’ by Henry James
  16. ‘Principal Alpaca’ by Richard Leise
  17. ‘Reading The Paper’ by Ron Carlson
  18. ‘Invasion Of The Martians’ 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.