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Short Story Collections

“A short story must have a single mood and every sentence must build towards it.”

– Edgar Allan Poe


While many definitions of short stories focus on word count (which varies widely), Edgar Allan Poe, often considered the first American short-story writer, suggested that a short story "should take 30 minutes to two hours to read". Short stories usually introduce a small number of characters and focus on one moment in time. They do not usually include in-depth character development or backstory.


This list contains short story collections, written by one author per book, as opposed to anthologies which contain stories written by a variety of authors. Here you'll find classics written by well-known authors as well as newly-published books by authors you may not have read before.


Click here for a great National Book Critics Circle article about the history of short stories


Afterparties

by Anthony Veasna So






The Dangers of Smoking in Bed

by Mariana Enriquez


Filthy Animals

by Brandon Taylor


First Love Last Rites

by Ian Mcewan


First Person Singular

by Haruki Murakami




A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories

by Flannery O'Connor




The Interpreter Of Maladies

by Jhumpa Lahiri


Labyrinths Selected Stories & Other Writings

by Jorges Luis Borges


The Lottery And Other Stories

by Shirley Jackson


The Love Object

by Edna O'brien


Men Without Women

by Haruki Murakami


Milk Blood Heat

by Daniel W. Moniz


The Moons of Jupiter

by Alice Munro


The Office of Historical Corrections

by Danielle Evans


The Souvenir Museum

by Elizabeth Mccraken


The Telltale Heart and other writings

by Edgar Allen Poe


The Tenth of December

by George Saunders


Thank You, Mr. Nixon

by Gish Jen


That Old Country Music

by Kevin Barry


The Thing Around Your Neck

by Chimanda Ngozi


This is How You Lose Her

by Junot Diaz




Vampires in the Lemon Grove

by Karen Russell


What We Talk About When We Talk About Love

by Raymond Carver


You Think It, I'l Say It

by Curtis Sittenfeld


You Will Never Be Forgotten

by Mary South


Your Duck is My Duck

by Deborah Eisenberg