Short Story Collections

Short Story Collections pays homage to the power of short fiction to move and inspire in mere pages. Featuring short fiction collections from Junot Díaz, James Baldwin, Jhumpa Lahiri, and others, this Collection highlights the diversity of voices within the short fiction genre through narratives that reflect a broad spectrum of themes and settings.

Publication year 2015

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Tags Classic Fiction, History: Middle Eastern, Middle Eastern Literature, Fantasy, Romance, Fairy Tale / Folklore

Tales from the Thousand and One Nights, also known as One Thousand and One Nights, is a collection of interconnected stories, an amalgamation of Arab, Persian, Indian, and other fairytales which were reshaped and retold by storytellers throughout the medieval Islamic world. The tales are akin to a Russian Matryoshka doll in that they begin with one story which leads the reader to a series of other cascading and interconnected stories. The tales end with... Read One Thousand and One Nights Summary


Publication year 2014

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Tags Military / War, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction

Redeployment is a 2014 book of short stories written by veteran Phil Klay. Its grim humor and unflinching look at the brutality and horrors of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars won Klay the National Book Award for fiction. The twelve stories in the collection examine themes of maddening bureaucracy, camaraderie among Marines, the cost of civilian casualties to Iraqi society and to the soldiers who inflict them, the difficulty of transitioning back into civilian life... Read Redeployment Summary


Publication year 2019

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Tags Gender / Feminism, Modern Classic Fiction

Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s short story collection Sabrina & Corina (2019) centers the lives of Latinx, Indigenous women and their daily struggles, including poverty, racism, and addictions of various kinds. All of the stories take place in Colorado.Plot SummaryIn “Sugar Babies,” preteen Sierra struggles with coming to terms with her mother, who was a teen mother who abandoned her when she was a child. In school, Sierra is forced to participate in an exercise in which she... Read Sabrina & Corina: Stories Summary


Publication year 2001

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Society: Immigration

Tags Psychological Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Drama / Tragedy, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Addiction / Substance Abuse, Immigration / Refugee, Food, Asian Literature

Madeleine Thien is a Canadian writer whose work explores the trans-cultural world of Asian art, politics, and family life within Canada’s diasporic Asian Communities. She was born in 1974 to a Malaysian Chinese father and a Hong Kong Chinese mother. Thien studied contemporary dance but switched to creative writing as an undergraduate in college. She earned her MFA in writing from the University of British Columbia.Thien’s collection of short stories, Simple Recipes (2001, Little Brown... Read Simple Recipes Summary


Publication year 2022

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Teams, Society: Class, Society: Politics & Government

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Crime / Legal, Incarceration, Social Justice, Finance / Money / Wealth


Publication year 2005

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Magical Realism, Fantasy

St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves (2006) is a collection of 10 short stories by Karen Russell. The book, released when Russell was just 25, resulted in the National Book Foundation naming her one of its “5 Under 35” in 2009. Russell is also the recipient of the MacArthur Genius Grant, and her later novel, Swamplandia!, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Swamplandia! is based on the first short story... Read St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves Summary


Publication year 2014

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Life/Time: Aging

Tags Victorian Period, Modern Classic Fiction, Fantasy

Stone Mattress: Nine Wicked Tales is a 2014 collection of nine short stories from Canadian author Margaret Atwood. While Atwood has published fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, she is probably best known for her dystopian novel, The Handmaid’s Tale. Other works by this author include Cat’s Eye, The Testaments, and Oryx and Crake. Atwood often tackles the power of the written word in her work. Many of the characters in Stone Mattress: Nine Wicked Tales are... Read Stone Mattress Summary


Publication year 2002

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Tags Chinese Literature, Asian Literature, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Magical Realism, Technology, Science / Nature, Religion / Spirituality, Information Age, Fantasy, Philosophy, Philosophy

Stories of Your Life and Others is a collection of short stories published in 2002 by the American science fiction and fantasy writer Ted Chiang. The book contains eight stories that belong to science fiction, science fantasy, alternative history, and magic realism genres. Seven of the eight stories appeared in previous publications. In the stories, Chiang explores concepts including the ethics of science, the benefits and dangers of intelligence, and cultural differences in alternate realities... Read Stories of Your Life and Others Summary


Publication year 1983

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Values/Ideas: Beauty

Tags Classic Fiction, American Literature, Auto/Biographical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Humor, Love / Sexuality, Sports, Education, Education

W. D. Wetherell’s short story “The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant,” first published in 1983 and later anthologized in 1985’s The Man Who Loved Levittown, has been popular ever since for its gently humorous depiction of youthful infatuations. Wetherell reaches into his own past to present a tale that’s both lyrically beautiful and achingly funny. In the story, a 14-year-old boy gets a crush on an older girl and must make a painful decision... Read The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant Summary


Publication year 2000

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Revenge

Tags Chinese Literature, Asian Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Asian Literature, Historical Fiction

The Bridegroom (2000) is a short story collection by Ha Jin. The stories touch on themes involving Chinese social life, the intersection of Chinese and American cultural and economic customs, and authority and the individual. The Bridegroom is Ha Jin’s third short story collection, and first following the success of his 1999 novel, Waiting. Each of the stories in The Bridegroom previously appeared in journals, such as Harper’s and The Boston Book Review.Other works by... Read The Bridegroom Summary


Publication year 1997

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Immigration, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Society: Education, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth

Tags Historical Fiction, Poverty, Immigration / Refugee, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Arts / Culture


Publication year 2004

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Fathers

Tags Realistic Fiction, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction

The Dew Breaker is a 2004 novel by Haitian American author Edwidge Danticat. The novel focuses partly on life in Haiti under the totalitarian regime of Francois Duvalier and his son, Jean-Claude Duvalier. The Duvaliers were deposed in 1986, and book offers glimpses into the lives of Haitians and Haitian Americans in the aftermath of the regime. Some of these historical events are mentioned directly. Most of the time, though, historical events are revealed indirectly... Read The Dew Breaker Summary


Publication year 1877

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Classic Fiction, Russian Literature, Philosophy, History: World, Philosophy


Publication year 1993

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Society: Community, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness

Tags Magical Realism, Fantasy, Modern Classic Fiction, Asian Literature, Japanese Literature


Publication year 1839

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Grief

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, American Literature, Gothic Literature, Classic Fiction, Romanticism / Romantic Period, Education, Education, Mystery / Crime Fiction

American author Edgar Allan Poe wrote the Gothic short story “The Fall of the House of Usher” in 1839. It first appeared in Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine and later in Poe’s collection of short stories Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque in 1840. Poe is considered a founding figure of US Gothic and Romantic literature. He is best known for his poetry, including "The Raven" (1845) and "Annabel Lee" (1849), and short stories such as "The... Read The Fall of the House of Usher Summary


Publication year 1951

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family

Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Fantasy, Classic Fiction

First published in 1951, The Illustrated Man is a collection of 18 short stories of speculative fiction by one of the preeminent American writers of the 20th and 21st centuries: Ray Bradbury. It includes some of his most famous short stories, including “The Veldt” and “Marionettes, Inc.” While the volume received mixed reviews on release, it was nominated for the International Fantasy Award in 1952 and is now widely considered to be a highlight of... Read The Illustrated Man Summary


Publication year 1894

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Natural World: Animals, Society: Colonialism

Tags Fantasy, Classic Fiction, Action / Adventure, Animals, Allegory / Fable / Parable, Children's Literature, Indian Literature

The Jungle Book is a collection of stories by Rudyard Kipling first published in 1894. Rudyard Kipling was born to a British family living in India and spent the first six years of his life there before being sent to England for schooling. Kipling’s works reflect his colonialist upbringing and support for British imperial rule over India, as well as ideas of European racial and cultural superiority developed in the Victorian Era. While the seven... Read The Jungle Book Summary


Publication year 1993

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Fate

Tags Fantasy, Action / Adventure

The Last Wish, by Andrzej Sapkowski, is a collection of short stories in the fantasy genre, although it borrows heavily from the folk and fairy tale tradition, as well. The collection was first published in Polish in 1993, although several stories had previously been published as part of a separate collection in 1990. Along with a series of short story collections and novels, The Last Wish is part of the Witcher saga. Subtitled Introducing the... Read The Last Wish Summary


Publication year 1993

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Society: Community, Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Indigenous, Identity: Language, Life/Time: The Future

Tags American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Humor, Relationships

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is a collection of 24 loosely connected short stories by writer Sherman Alexie; all are set on or near the Spokane Reservation in Washington state. As a Salish descendant (his mother was of Spokane heritage and his father of Coeur d’Alene) and celebrated author, Alexie has become a mouthpiece for Northwestern American Indigenous tribes. Two stories cut from the original 1993 publication have been reinserted in the... Read The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven Summary


Publication year 1895

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality

Tags Science / Nature, Surrealism, Classic Fiction