3rd Quarter 2025 favorites

3rd Quarter 2025

The 3rd Quarter (Jul-Sep) stories ordered solely by my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Peking Duck’ by Ling Ma
  2. ‘Conversion Of The Jews’ by Philip Roth
  3. ‘Happiest Moment’ by Lydia Davis
  4. ‘Scales’ by Louise Erdrich
  5. ‘Best Western’ by Louise Erdrich
  6. ‘The Red Convertible’ by Louise Erdrich
  7. ‘Great Experiment’ by Jeffrey Eugenides
  8. ‘Every Night For A Thousand Years’ by Chris Adrian
  9. ‘Lies’ by Ethan Canin
  10. ‘The Hollow Children’ by Louise Erdrich
  11. ‘Nothing To Declare’ by Richard Ford
  12. ‘Fires’ by Rick Bass
  13. ‘The Hand’ by Colette
  14. ‘Snares’ by Louise Erdrich
  15. ‘The Prom Terrorists’ by Rabih Alameddine
  16. ‘A Woman Driving Alone’ by Marie-Helene Bertino
  17. ‘Still-Life’ by John Updike
  18. ‘The Ghost Birds’ by Karen Russell
  19. ‘Psychology’ by Katherine Mansfield
  20. ‘How To Make The Wrong Impression’ by Katherine Heiny

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

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August 2022 favorites

August 2022

The August stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘The Murder’ by John Steinbeck
  2. ‘San Francisco’ by Amy Hempel
  3. ‘Iona Moon’ by Melanie Rae Thon
  4. ‘The Canoeists’ by Rick Bass
  5. ‘The Walk’ by Elizabeth Strout
  6. ‘Snow Blind’ by Elizabeth Strout
  7. ‘The Train’ by Flannery O’Connor
  8. ‘Greyhound People’ by Alice Adams
  9. ‘Elk’ by Rick Bass
  10. ‘The Story Of Keesh’ by Jack London
  11. ‘Fish And Fences’ by Veeda Bybee
  12. ‘Son In The Afternoon’ by John A. Williams
  13. ‘Officer Friendly’ by Lewis Robinson
  14. ‘Going To Shrewsbury’ by Sarah Orne Jewett
  15. ‘The Go-Getter’ by P.G. Wodehouse
  16. ‘The Naked Lady’ by Madison Smartt Bell
  17. ‘The Walled Garden’ by Peter Taylor
  18. ‘The Alaska Of Giants And Gods’ by Dave Eggers
  19. ‘From 100 Elvis Stories’ by Lisa Walker
  20. ‘What I Hear’ by Mary Robison

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.