May 2024 favorites

May 2024

The May stories ordered solely by my personal tastes.

  1. ‘This Is Salvaged’ by Vauhini Vara
  2. ‘Making Friends’ by Joy Williams
  3. ‘Martha, Martha’ by Zadie Smith
  4. ‘The New Englander’ by Sherwood Anderson
  5. ‘A Penny Short’ by Pete Hsu
  6. ‘The Choc-Ice Woman’ by Mary Costello
  7. Coyotes’ by Andrew Porter
  8. ‘Admirals’ by Michael Chabon
  9. ‘Control Negro’ by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson
  10. ‘The Colonel’s Daughter’ by Robert Coover
  11. ‘Julia’ by Ada Zhang
  12. ‘An Actor Prepares’ by Donald Antrim
  13. ‘Comfort’ by Jamel Brinkley
  14. ‘Bad Behavior’ by Alexia Arthurs
  15. ‘What Feminism Is’ by Louise Nealon
  16. ‘Keats At Twenty-Four’ by Caleb Crain
  17. ‘You Are Not Alone’ by Vauhini Vara
  18. ‘Foster’ by Bryan Washington
  19. ‘Annunciation’ by Clare Sestanovich
  20. ‘Alvin The Typesetter’ by Lydia Davis
  21. ‘Bayonne’ by John Cheever
  22. ‘William Wei’ by Amie Barrodale
  23. ‘Thataway’ by Thomas McGuane
  24. ‘Tickets, Please!’ by D.H. Lawrence
  25. ‘Referent’ by Ray Bradbury
  26. ‘The Body’s Defenses Against Itself’ by Nafissa Thompson-Spires
  27. ‘The Ends’ by Peter Ho Davies
  28. ‘The Treasure In The Forest’ by H.G. Wells
  29. ‘Five Weddings’ by Kevin Maloney
  30. ‘The Breaking Up Of The Winships’ by James Thurber
  31. ‘What Stumped The Blue-Jays’ by Mark Twain

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

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January 2024 favorites

January 2024

The January stories ordered solely by my personal tastes.

  1. ‘City Of Churches’ by Donald Barthelme
  2. ‘In The Cart’ by Anton Chekhov
  3. ‘Parker’s Back’ by Flannery O’Connor
  4. ‘Death’ by Sherwood Anderson
  5. ‘Sophistication’ by Sherwood Anderson
  6. ‘Harrison Bergeron’ by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
  7. ‘The Continuity Of Parks’ by Julio Cortázar
  8. ‘The Night’s For Cryin’’ by Chester Himes
  9. ‘Love Is Not A Pie’ by Amy Bloom
  10. ‘The House Behind’ by Lydia Davis
  11. ‘Queer’ by Sherwood Anderson
  12. ‘The Untold Lie’ by Sherwood Anderson
  13. ‘Fjord Of Killary’ by Kevin Barry
  14. ‘Drink’ by Sherwood Anderson
  15. ‘U.F.O. In Kushiro’ by Haruki Murakami
  16. ‘Ruthy And Edie’ by Grace Paley
  17. ‘What It Takes To Keep A Young Girl Alive’ by Jayne Anne Phillips
  18. ‘In A Different Light’ by Elizabeth Taylor
  19. ‘Departure’ by Sherwood Anderson
  20. ‘An Awakening’ by Sherwood Anderson
  21. ‘Under The Boardwalk’ by Jayne Anne Phillips
  22. ‘One Night In New Jersey’ by Chester Himes
  23. ‘It’s Not You’ by Elizabeth McCracken
  24. ‘Three Popes Walk Into A Bar’ by Amy Hempel
  25. ‘My Mother’s Memoirs, My Father’s Lie, And Other True Stories’ by Russell Banks
  26. ‘Pool Night’ by Amy Hempel
  27. ‘Thunderbirds: Who, Why, and How’ by Rebecca Scherm
  28. ‘University Days’ by James Thurber
  29. ‘An Enigmatic Nature’ by Anton Chekhov
  30. ‘The New Lodger’ by Amy Hempel
  31. ‘Detour’ by Évelyne Trouillot

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.