March 2023 favorites

March 2023

The March stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘The Past Perfect, The Past Continuous, The Simple Past’ by Claire Vaye Watkins
  2. ‘When Mr. Pirzada Came To Dine’ by Jhumpa Lahiri
  3. ‘Sliding’ by Leslie Norris
  4. ‘Different People’ by Clare Sestanovich
  5. ‘A Choice Of Butchers’ by William Trevor
  6. ‘Rondine Al Nido’ by Claire Vaye Watkins
  7. ‘The Stain’ by Tessa Hadley
  8. ‘Sarah’ by Mary Lavin
  9. ‘Matrilineal’ by Tessa Hadley
  10. ‘Bad Boy’ by Kristen Roupenian
  11. ‘The Widow’s Son’ by Mary Lavin
  12. ‘The Piano Teacher’s Pupil’ by William Trevor
  13. ‘Wife Wooing’ by John Updike
  14. ‘In The Middle Of The Fields’ by Mary Lavin
  15. ‘The Adulterous Woman’ by Albert Camus
  16. ‘Coda’ by Tessa Hadley
  17. ‘Encounters With Unexpected Animals’ by Bret Anthony Johnston
  18. ‘Brother Boniface’ by Mary Lavin
  19. ‘The Bunty Club’ by Tessa Hadley
  20. ‘Happiness’ by Mary Lavin
  21. ‘The Ormulu Clock’ by Muriel Spark
  22. ‘An Upheaval’ by Anton Chekhov
  23. ‘The Itch’ by Don DeLillo
  24. ‘Ceil’ by Harold Brodkey
  25. ‘Look At Your Game, Girl’ by Kristen Roupenian
  26. ‘One Sun Only’ by Camille Bordas
  27. ‘After The Funeral’ by Tessa Hadley
  28. ‘The Ugliest Babies In The World’ by Vanessa Chan
  29. ‘The Night We All Had Grippe’ by Shirley Jackson
  30. ‘The Father’ by Raymond Carver
  31. ‘Head Over Knees’ by Eric Schlich

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

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.

October 2020 favorites

October 2020

The October stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘The Sphinx’ by Edgar Allan Poe
  2. ‘The Pram’ by Roddy Doyle
  3. ‘The Invalid, Or The Bedridden’ by Patricia Highsmith
  4. ‘The Female Novelist’ by Patricia Highsmith
  5. ‘Stone Mattress’ by Margaret Atwood
  6. ‘The Coquette’ by Patricia Highsmith
  7. ‘Mark Of Satan’ by Joyce Carol Oates
  8. ‘The Adventure Of The German Student’ by Washington Irving
  9. ‘You Can’t Be Any Poorer Than Dead’ by Flannery O’Connor
  10. ‘Paranoia’ by Shirley Jackson
  11. ‘The Hand’ by Patricia Highsmith
  12. ‘The Fully Licensed Whore, Or, The Wife’ by Patricia Highsmith
  13. ‘The Mirror’ by Haruki Murakami
  14. ‘Asleep In Armageddon’ by Ray Bradbury
  15. ‘The Middle-Class Housewife’ by Patricia Highsmith
  16. ‘The Breeder’ by Patricia Highsmith
  17. ‘The Flowering Of The Strange Orchid’ by H.G. Wells
  18. ‘The Bold Dragoon, Or The Adventure Of My Grandfather’ by Washington Irving
  19. ‘The Annex’ by Amy Hempel
  20. ‘The Afterlife’ by Jonathan Lethem

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.

December 2019 favorites

December 2019

The December stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Bad Characters’ by Jean Stafford
  2. ‘The Possibility Of Evil’ by Shirley Jackson
  3. ‘The Loudest Voice’ by Grace Paley
  4. ‘Encarnación Mendoza’s Christmas Eve’ by Juan Bosch
  5. ‘The Discovery Of Christmas’ by Carson McCullers
  6. ‘The Christmas Turkey’ by Mário de Andrade
  7. ‘The Artist’ by Patricia Highsmith
  8. ‘Mortals’ by Tobias Wolff
  9. ‘Uncles’ by Peter Taylor
  10. ‘Santa Claus Is A White Man’ by John Henrik Clarke
  11. ‘The Cliff’ by Charles Baxter
  12. ‘Two Turtledoves’ by John O’Hara
  13. ‘His Final Mother’ by Reynolds Price
  14. ‘Sleep’ by Haruki Murakami
  15. ‘Rose’ by Mavis Gallant
  16. ‘On The Street Where You Live’ by Yiyun Li
  17. ‘All That’ by David Foster Wallace

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.

August 2019 favorites

August 2019

The August stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Pig-hoo-o-o-o-e-y’ by P.G. Wodehouse
  2. ‘The Peace Of Utrecht’ by Alice Munro
  3. ‘Charles’ by Shirley Jackson
  4. ‘The Thistles In Sweden’ by William Maxwell
  5. ‘In The White Night’ by Ann Beattie
  6. ‘No One’s A Mystery’ by Elizabeth Tallent
  7. ‘The Patterns Of Love’ by William Maxwell
  8. ‘The Trojan Women’ by William Maxwell
  9. ‘What’s Your Problem?’ by Robert Boles
  10. ‘The Pilgrimage’ by William Maxwell
  11. ‘Heaven On A Summer Night’ by Ann Beattie
  12. ‘The Poor Orphan Girl’ by William Maxwell
  13. ‘The Lookout’ by Cyrus Colter
  14. ‘Coney Island’ by Ann Beattie
  15. ‘Pygmalion’ by John Updike
  16. ‘Lofty’ by Ann Beattie
  17. ‘High School’ by Ann Beattie
  18. ‘To The Moon And Back’ by Etgar Keret

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.