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1000 Greatest Short Stories of All Time

1000 Greatest Short Stories of All Time

Posted on January 9, 2024January 10, 2024 by Richard

1000 Greatest Short Stories of All Time

This is our list of 1000 Great Short Stories of All Time. No list, book, film, or otherwise exists like this one. This will be the first list of its kind ever, as far as I know. Making a first list, you hope to do it best, but with 1000 stories on the list, it will make doing it well very difficult, so, as with our list of poems, we need your help. Please make suggestions in the comments section. We want to get 1000. We are in the 80s, so this will take a lot of work. I’ve seen a lot of top 50 lists for short stories, but the top 1000 is, again, unheard of.

Why do a list like this? It’s pretty simple, really, guidelines. It helps people find great short stories they want to read. It also will help with a consensus. Right now, name the top 10 short stories of all time, and you’ll get 10 different answers from 10 writers. When you say, what about story X, those ten writers would likely say well, it’s one of the greatest, but not in my top 10. So I’m not trying to list the 1000 greatest short stories that put Poe at 1 now and forever. I’m creating a list that people can point to and say, I agree. It might not be number 10 on the list, but it is among the 1000 best of all time. To that end, we don’t have to worry about the exact order. We have to come up with 1000 great stories.

The stories should be measured simply now; what stories have you read that have either stood the test of time or WILL stand the test of time? Developing criteria should come later, too. We are currently looking for 1000 stories; when we hit 2000 suggestions, I’ll worry about the definitive list of criteria.

We now have 1000 Great Stories that are the stepping stones to 1000 Greatest Short Stories of all time. This list may be impossible to create, but we are looking for stories that speak to people and teach something with a message that has more extensive insight into who we all are. As readers, we know the stories that speak to us. We know stories that have changed us. We know stories that we want to share with everyone we know. These are the stories we are looking for. After all, these incredible stories are determined by us. In expanding this list of great short stories, I will discuss some reasons for doing this list. We now have 1000 Great Stories that are the stepping stones to 1000 Greatest Short Stories of all time. This list may be impossible to create, but we are looking for stories that speak to people and teach something with a message that has more extensive insight into who we all are. As readers, we know the stories that speak to us. We know stories that have changed us. We know stories that we want to share with everyone we know. These are the stories we are looking for. After all, these incredible stories are determined by us.

Could you help us out? I want to see if this can be done. Any suggestions are welcome. Here is the list of the first 80 or so; I’ll come up with 100 more soon and add any suggestions to the list that I agree with. Also, please have some fun with this. If you have any misspellings or mistakes, feel free to point them out.

After several years, I’m finally starting to complete the list. Here are over 1000 short stories. These include the 1000 most excellent of all time, but notice that I went over 1000. I can’t tell you how hard this list was to put together. Compiling 1000 of anything is very difficult, but putting this list together was painful and exhausting. 

So why over 1000? I know there are mistakes. Instead of spending another 2 months editing, I’m just putting it out there. Tell me the errors in the comments, and we can begin to shape the list together. Also, if I missed any suggestions, or you want to put a story on the list and bump one, make an argument in the comments; I’m always happy to listen. I will also read whatever story you send my way. So here is the only some of-the-way complete list, but there are 1000. It still needs work. Will you help me? 

We also publish some great short stories right here on our site. If you are looking for stories written by classic writers or writers living today, please visit EWR: Short Stories.

1000 Greatest Stories of All Time

 

  1.  A Day’s Wait by Ernest Hemingway
  2. “”Bartleby, the Scrivener” by Herman Melville
  3. “2BR02B” by Kurt Vonnegut
  4. “A Circle in the Fire” by Flannery O’Connor
  5. “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” by Ernest Hemingway
  6. “A Dark-Brown Dog” by Stephen Crane
  7. “A Day’s Wait” by Ernest Hemingway
  8. “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
  9. “A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams
  10. “A Hunger Artist” by Franz Kafka
  11. “A Late Encounter with the Enemy” by Flannery O’Connor
  12. “A Little Cloud” by James Joyce
  13. “A Mystery of Heroism“ by Stephen Crane
  14. “A Painful Case” by James Joyce
  15. “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” by J.D. Salinger
  16. “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner
  17. “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury
  18. “A Temporary Matter” by Jhumpa Lahiri
  19. “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel García Márquez
  20. “A Visit of Charity” by Eudora Welty
  21. “A Weary Man’s Utopia” by Jorge Luis Borges
  22. “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty
  23. “Abraham” by Kay Boyle
  24. “After the Race” by James Joyce
  25. “An Encounter” by James Joyce
  26. “An Episode of War” by Stephen Crane
  27. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce
  28. “And the Rock Cried Out” by Ray Bradbury
  29. “Angel Levine” by Bernard Malamud
  30. “Araby” by James Joyce
  31. “Averroes’ Search” by Jorge Luis Borges
  32. “Barn Burning” by Haruki Murakami
  33. “Bartleby, the Scrivener” by Herman Melville
  34. “Battle Royal” by Ralph Ellison
  35. “Beware of the Dog” by Roald Dahl
  36. “Big Two-Hearted River” by Ernest Hemingway
  37. “Birthday Girl” by Haruki Murakami
  38. “Bloodknot” by Athol Fugard
  39. “Blue Tigers” by Jorge Luis Borges
  40. “Brokeback Mountain” by Annie Proulx
  41. “Bullet in the Brain” by Tobias Wolff
  42. “By the Waters of Babylon” by Stephen Vincent Benet
  43. “Careful” by Raymond Carver
  44. “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver
  45. “Charles” by Shirley Jackson
  46. “Chickamauga” by Ambrose Bierce
  47. “Child, Dead, in the Rose Garden” by E.L. Doctorow
  48. “Civil Peace” by Chinua Achebe
  49. “Clay” by James Joyce
  50. “Clytie” by Eudora Welty
  51. “Continuity of Parks” by Julio Cortázar
  52. “Counterparts” by James Joyce
  53. “Court in the West Eighties” by Carson McCullers
  54. “Cross Country Snow” by Ernest Hemingway
  55. “Death and the Compass” by Jorge Luis Borges
  56. “Death Constant Beyond Love” by Gabriel García Márquez
  57. “Death of a Traveling Salesman” by Eudora Welty
  58. “Delia Elena San Marco” by Jorge Luis Borges
  59. “Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin
  60. “Deutsches Requiem” by Jorge Luis Borges
  61. “Distance” by Raymond Carver
  62. “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  63. “Dry September” by William Faulkner
  64. “Emma Zunz” by Jorge Luis Borges
  65. “Eveline” by James Joyce
  66. “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
  67. “Everything Stuck to Him” by Raymond Carver
  68. “Everything That Rises Must Converge” by Flannery O’Connor
  69. “Fat” by Raymond Carver
  70. “Fever” by Raymond Carver
  71. “For Esmé – with Love and Squalor” by J.D. Salinger
  72. “Forever Overhead” by David Foster Wallace (from Girl with Curious Hair)
  73. “Gimpel the Fool” by Isaac Bashevis Singer
  74. “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor
  75. “Good Old Neon” by David Foster Wallace
  76. “Gooseberries” by Anton Chekhov
  77. “Greasy Lake” by T. C. Boyle
  78. “Haircut” by Ring Lardner
  79. “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
  80. “Here and There” by David Foster Wallace (from Girl with Curious Hair)
  81. “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway
  82. “How to Become a Writer” by Lorrie Moore
  83. “I Sing the Body Electric” by Ray Bradbury
  84. “In Another Country” by Ernest Hemingway
  85. “In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried” by Amy Hempel
  86. “Indian Camp” by Ernest Hemingway
  87. “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri
  88. “Intimacy” by Raymond Carver
  89. “Ivy Day in the Committee Room” by James Joyce
  90. “Jack-in-the-Box” by Ray Bradbury
  91. “Judgement Day” by Flannery O’Connor
  92. “Keela, the Outcast Indian Maiden” by Eudora Welty
  93. “Kew Gardens” by Virginia Woolf
  94. “Landscape with Flatiron” by Haruki Murakami
  95. “Life Being the Best” by Kay Boyle
  96. “Like Mother Used to Make” by Shirley Jackson
  97. “Like That” by Carson McCullers
  98. “Little Expressionless Animals” by David Foster Wallace (from Girl with Curious Hair)
  99. “Luckily the Account Representative Knew CPR” by David Foster Wallace (from Girl with Curious Hair)
  100. “Lyndon” by David Foster Wallace (from Girl with Curious Hair)
  101. “Miss Brill” by Katherine Mansfield
  102. “Mr. and Mrs. Elliot” by Ernest Hemingway
  103. “Mr. Coffee and Mr. Fixit” by Raymond Carver
  104. “My Oedipus Complex” by Frank O’Connor
  105. “My Old Man” by Ernest Hemingway
  106. “Old Man at the Bridge” by Ernest Hemingway
  107. “One of These Days” by Gabriel García Márquez
  108. “One Ordinary Day, with Peanuts” by Shirley Jackson
  109. “Out of Season” by Ernest Hemingway
  110. “Parable of Cervantes and the Quixote” by Jorge Luis Borges
  111. “Paranoia” by Shirley Jackson
  112. “Parker’s Back” by Flannery O’Connor
  113. “Paul’s Case” by Willa Cather
  114. “Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote” by Jorge Luis Borges
  115. “Popular Mechanics” by Raymond Carver
  116. “Powerhouse” by Eudora Welty
  117. “Put Yourself in My Shoes” by Raymond Carver
  118. “Rappaccini’s Daughter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  119. “Revelation” by Flannery O’Connor
  120. “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving
  121. “Roman Fever” by Edith Wharton
  122. “Runaway” by Alice Munro
  123. “Say Yes” by Tobias Wolff
  124. “Seven Types of Ambiguity” by Shirley Jackson
  125. “Shakespeare’s Memory” by Jorge Luis Borges
  126. “Silent Snow, Secret Snow” by Conrad Aiken
  127. “Sixty Acres” by Raymond Carver
  128. “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin
  129. “The Aleph” by Jorge Luis Borges
  130. “The Ambitious Guest” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  131. “The April Witch” by Ray Bradbury
  132. “The Babylon Lottery” by Jorge Luis Borges
  133. “The Bear Came Over the Mountain” by Alice Munro
  134. “The Beautiful Stranger” by Shirley Jackson
  135. “The Beryl Coronet” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  136. “The Bet” by Anton Chekhov
  137. “The Birds” by Daphne du Maurier
  138. “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  139. “The Blue Cross” by G. K. Chesterton
  140. “The Boarding House” by James Joyce
  141. “The Bribe” by Jorge Luis Borges
  142. “The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky” by Stephen Crane
  143. “The Cabin” by Raymond Carver
  144. “The Cane in the Corridor” by James Thurber
  145. “The Captive” by Jorge Luis Borges
  146. “The Catbird Seat” by James Thurber
  147. “The Cathedral” by Raymond Carver
  148. “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” by Mark Twain
  149. “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck
  150. “The Circular Ruins” by Jorge Luis Borges
  151. “The Comforts of Home” by Flannery O’Connor
  152. “The Courting of Dinah Shadd” by Rudyard Kipling
  153. “The Creeping Man” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  154. “The Crop” by Flannery O’Connor
  155. “The Crowd” by Ray Bradbury
  156. “The Daemon Lover” by Shirley Jackson
  157. “The Darling” by Anton Chekhov
  158. “The Daughters of the Late Colonel” by Katherine Mansfield
  159. “The Dead” by James Joyce
  160. “The Depressed Person” by David Foster Wallace (from Girl with Curious Hair)
  161. “The Destructors” by Graham Greene
  162. “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving
  163. “The Displaced Person” by Flannery O’Connor
  164. “The Doctor and the Doctor’s Wife” by Ernest Hemingway
  165. “The Doll’s House” by Katherine Mansfield
  166. “The Dragon” by Ray Bradbury
  167. “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh” by Ray Bradbury
  168. “The End” by Jorge Luis Borges
  169. “The Enduring Chill” by Flannery O’Connor
  170. “The Father” by Raymond Carver
  171. “The Final Problem” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  172. “The Five Boons of Life” by Mark Twain
  173. “The Fixer” by Bernard Malamud
  174. “The Flying Machine” by Ray Bradbury
  175. “The Fog Horn” by Ray Bradbury
  176. “The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl” by Ray Bradbury
  177. “The Garden of Forking Paths” by Jorge Luis Borges
  178. “The Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield
  179. “The Geranium” by Flannery O’Connor
  180. “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry
  181. “The Gloria Scott” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  182. “The Greatest Man in the World” by James Thurber
  183. “The Greek Interpreter” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  184. “The Happy Prince” by Oscar Wilde
  185. “The Honeymoon of Mrs. Smith” by Shirley Jackson
  186. “The Illustrated Man” by Ray Bradbury (frame story + multiple stories)
  187. “The Immortal” by Jorge Luis Borges
  188. “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” by Katherine Anne Porter
  189. “The Jockey” by Carson McCullers
  190. “The Key” by Eudora Welty
  191. “The Killers” by Ernest Hemingway
  192. “The Lady with the Dog” by Anton Chekhov
  193. “The Lady, or the Tiger?” by Frank R. Stockton
  194. “The Lame Shall Enter First ” by Flannery O’Connor
  195. “The Landlady” by Roald Dahl
  196. “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry
  197. “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara
  198. “The Library of Babel” by Jorge Luis Borges
  199. “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” by Flannery O’Connor
  200. “The Light of the World” by Ernest Hemingway
  201. “The Lot No. 249” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  202. “The Lottery in Babylon” by Jorge Luis Borges
  203. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
  204. “The Magic Barrel” by Bernard Malamud
  205. “The Man in the Woods” by Shirley Jackson
  206. “The Man Who Lived Underground” by Ralph Ellison
  207. “The Man Who Would Be King” by Rudyard Kipling
  208. “The Man with the Twisted Lip” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
  209. “The Mark on the Wall” by Virginia Woolf
  210. “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka
  211. “The Middle Toe of the Right Foot” by Ambrose Bierce
  212. “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  213. “The Missing Girl” by Shirley Jackson
  214. “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs
  215. “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” by Edgar Allan Poe
  216. “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant
  217. “The New York Times at Special Bargain Rates” by Stephen King
  218. “The Night the Ghost Got In” by James Thurber
  219. “The Nightingale and the Rose” by Oscar Wilde
  220. “The Omen” by Shirley Jackson
  221. “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin
  222. “The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane
  223. “The Other Death” by Jorge Luis Borges
  224. “The Outsider” by H.P. Lovecraft
  225. “The Overcoat” by Nikolai Gogol
  226. “The Partridge Festival” by Flannery O’Connor
  227. “The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury
  228. “The Pit and the Pendulum” by Edgar Allan Poe
  229. “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson
  230. “The Prison” by Bernard Malamud
  231. “The Prussian Officer” by D.H. Lawrence
  232. “The Ransom of Red Chief” by O. Henry
  233. “The Rats in the Walls” by H.P Lovecraft
  234. “The Remarkable Rocket” by Oscar Wilde
  235. “The Renegade” by Shirley Jackson
  236. “The Rich Brother” by Tobias Wolff
  237. “The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D. H. Lawrence
  238. “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst
  239. “The Scythe” by Ray Bradbury
  240. “The Sea Change” by Ernest Hemingway
  241. “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber
  242. “The Secret Miracle” by Jorge Luis Borges
  243. “The Seed of McCoy” by Octavia Butler
  244. “The Selfish Giant” by Oscar Wilde
  245. “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” by Ernest Hemingway
  246. “The Small Assassin” by Ray Bradbury
  247. “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” by Ernest Hemingway
  248. “The South” by Jorge Luis Borges
  249. “The Speckled Band” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
  250. “The Sphinx Without a Secret” by Oscar Wilde
  251. “The Storm” by Kate Chopin
  252. “The Story of an Eyewitness” by Jack London
  253. “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin
  254. “The Student’s Wife” by Raymond Carver
  255. “The Summer People” by Shirley Jackson
  256. “The Swimmer” by John Cheever
  257. “The Tall Tale of the Willy Nilly” by Eudora Welty
  258. “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
  259. “The Theme of the Traitor and the Hero” by Jorge Luis Borges
  260. “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
  261. “The Tooth” by Shirley Jackson
  262. “The Trees” by Conrad Aiken
  263. “The Turkey” by Flannery O’Connor
  264. “The Underground Woman” by Anne Cameron
  265. “The Unicorn in the Garden” by James Thurber
  266. “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury
  267. “The Villagers” by Shirley Jackson
  268. “The Voyage” by Katherine Mansfield
  269. “The Whistle” by Eudora Welty
  270. “The Wide Net” by Eudora Welty
  271. “The Wilderness” by Ray Bradbury
  272. “The Wind” by Ray Bradbury
  273. “The Witch” by Shirley Jackson
  274. “The Worn Path” by Eudora Welty
  275. “The Writing of the God” by Jorge Luis Borges
  276. “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
  277. “The Zahir” by Jorge Luis Borges
  278. “There Was an Old Woman” by Ray Bradbury
  279. “Three Versions of Judas” by Jorge Luis Borges
  280. “Tiny, Smiling Daddy” by Mary Gaitskill
  281. “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius” by Jorge Luis Borges
  282. “To Build a Fire” by Jack London
  283. “To Hell with Dying” by Alice Walker
  284. “Touched with Fire” by Ray Bradbury
  285. “Trial by Combat” by Shirley Jackson
  286. “Tuesday Siesta” by Gabriel García Márquez
  287. “Uncle Einar” by Ray Bradbury
  288. “Untitled Story” by Carson McCullers
  289. “Up in Michigan” by Ernest Hemingway
  290. “Vandals” by Raymond Carver
  291. “Ward No. 6” by Anton Chekhov
  292. “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” by Raymond Carver
  293. “Where I’m Calling From” by Raymond Carver
  294. “Who Am I This Time?” by Kurt Vonnegut
  295. “Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?” by Raymond Carver
  296. “Window Shopping” by Andrienne Kennedy
  297. “Wunderkind” by Carson McCullers
  298. “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  299. A & P by John Updike
  300. A Clean, Well-Lighted Place, by Ernest Hemingway
  301. A FIGHT WITH A CANNON by Victor Hugo
  302. A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor
  303. A Hunger Artist by Franz Kafka
  304. A LONELY RIDE by Bret Harte
  305. A Pair of Silk Stockings by Kate Chopin
  306. A Passion in the Desert, by Honoré de Balza
  307. A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner
  308. A Sound of Thunder, by Ray Bradbury
  309. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Beirce
  310. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce
  311. ARABY by James Joyce
  312. Barn Burning by William Faulkner
  313. Borges and I by Jorge Luis Borges
  314. Boys and Girls by Alice Monro
  315. Bullet in the Brain by Tobias Wolf
  316. Cathedral by Raymond Carver
  317. Chickamauga by Thomas Wolfe
  318. Dead Man’s Path by Chinua Achebe
  319. Died and Gone to Vegas by Tim Gautreaux
  320. Dracula’s Guest by Bram Stoker
  321. Dubliners by James Joyce
  322. Désirée’s’s Baby by Kate Chopin
  323. Girl with Curious Hair by David Foster Wallace
  324. Haircut by Ring Lardner
  325. Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr
  326. HOW MUCH LAND DOES A MAN NEED? by Leo Tolstoy
  327. How to Date a Brown Girl (Black Girl, White Girl, or Halfie) by Junot Díaz
  328. I Stand Here Ironing by Tillie Olsen.
  329. I Want to Live! by Thom Jones
  330. I, Robot by Issac Asimov
  331. Let me know if you would like me to suggest 50 more famous short stories!
  332. Love of a Good Woman by Alice Munro
  333. Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe
  334. Menseteung by Alice Munro
  335. MY RED CAP by Louisa M. Alcott
  336. Nine Stories by JD Salinger
  337. Paul’s Case by Willa Carther
  338. Paul’s Case by Willa Cather
  339. PRESENT AT A HANGING by Ambrose Bierce
  340. Rape Fantasies by Margaret Atwood
  341. Soldier’s home  by Ernest Hemingway
  342. That Evening Sun, by William Faulkner
  343. THE BET by Anton Chekhov
  344. The Bottle Imp by Robert Louis Stevenson
  345. The Call of Cthullhu by H.P. Lovecraft
  346. The Capital of the World by Ernest Hemingway
  347. THE CELEBRATED JUMPING FROG OF CALAVERAS COUNTY by Mark Twain
  348. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  349. The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy
  350. THE DEVIL AND TOM WALKER by Washington Irving
  351. The Door, by E. B Whit
  352. The Fall of the House of Usher’s by Edgar Allan Poe
  353. THE FALSE GEMS by Guy De Maupassant
  354. THE FORTIETH FRENCH ASCENT OF MONT BLANC by Jules Verne
  355. The Garden Party by Kathleen Mansfield
  356. The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
  357. The Hitch-Hikers by Eudora Welty
  358. The Lady and the Tiger by Ray Bradbury
  359. The Lady with the Dog by Anton Chekov
  360. The Last Leaf by O. Henry
  361. THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW by Washington Irving
  362. The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara
  363. The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
  364. THE MAGIC SHOP by H. G. Wells
  365. The Man Who Would be King by Rudyard Kipling
  366. THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH
  367. THE Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs
  368. The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell
  369. The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant
  370. THE NIGHT FACE-UP by JULIO CORTAZAR
  371. The Open Boat, by Stephen Crane
  372. The Other Side of the Hedge by E.M. Forster
  373. The Other Woman by Sherwood Anderson
  374. The Outcasts of Poker Flat, by Bret Harte
  375. THE REAL THING by Henry James
  376. The Red-Headed League by Arthur Conan Doyle
  377. The Resemblance Between a Vilin Case and a Coffin by Tennessee Williams
  378. The Rockinghorse Winner by D.H. Lawrence
  379. The Russian Prioner by Ha Jin
  380. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber
  381. The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad
  382. The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber by Ernest Hemingway
  383. THE SISTERS by James Joyce
  384. The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway
  385. The Swimmer by John Cheever
  386. The Use of Force by William Carlos Williams
  387. The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
  388. There Will Come Soft Rain by Ray Bradbury
  389. Thom Jones, The Pugilist at Rest
  390. To Build a Fire by Jack London
  391. Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? By Joyce Carol Oates:
  392. Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates
  393. Why Don’t You Dance by Raymond Carver (Film)
  394. Why I Live at the PO by Eudora Welty
  395. Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? by Raymond Carver
  396. Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  397. Ysrael” by Junot Diaz
  398. “2BR02B” by Kurt Vonnegut
  399. “A Beautiful Talisman” by Obotunde Ijimere
  400. “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” by Ernest Hemingway
  401. “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” by Ernest Hemingway
  402. “A Country Road. A Tree.” by James Joyce
  403. “A Cup of Tea” by Katherine Mansfield
  404. “A Dark Brown Dog” by Stephen Crane
  405. “A Day’s Wait” by Ernest Hemingway
  406. “A Doctor’s Visit” by Anton Chekhov
  407. “A Dog’s Tale” by Mark Twain
  408. “A Domestic Dilemma” by Carson McCullers
  409. “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
  410. “A History of Eternity” by Jorge Luis Borges
  411. “A Horseman in the Sky” by Ambrose Bierce
  412. “A Justice” by William Faulkner
  413. “A Little Cloud” by James Joyce
  414. “A Memory” by Eudora Welty
  415. “A Natural History of the Dead” by Ernest Hemingway
  416. “A Painful Case” by James Joyce
  417. “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” by J.D. Salinger
  418. “A Scandal in Bohemia” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  419. “A Small, Good Thing” by Raymond Carver
  420. “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury
  421. “A Temporary Matter” by Jhumpa Lahiri
  422. “A Tree, a Rock, a Cloud” by Carson McCullers
  423. “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel García Márquez
  424. “A Very Short Story” by Ernest Hemingway
  425. “A Visit of Charity” by Eudora Welty
  426. “A Wagner Matinee” by Willa Cather
  427. “A Way You’ll Never Be” by Ernest Hemingway
  428. “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty
  429. “Abenjacán el Bojarí, Dead in His Labyrinth” by Jorge Luis Borges
  430. “About Love” by Anton Chekhov
  431. “Across the Bridge” by Graham Greene
  432. “Ad Astra” by William Faulkner
  433. “After the Race” by James Joyce
  434. “After Twenty Years” by O. Henry
  435. “After You, My Dear Alphonse” by Shirley Jackson
  436. “Akueke” by Chinua Achebe
  437. “All Souls” by Jhumpa Lahiri
  438. “All Summer in a Day” by Ray Bradbury
  439. “All That You Love Will Be Carried Away” by Stephen King
  440. “Almos’ a Man” by Richard Wright
  441. “Alone” by Isaac Bashevis Singer
  442. “An Anonymous Story” by Anton Chekhov
  443. “An Educated American Woman” by John Cheever
  444. “An Encounter” by James Joyce
  445. “An Experiment in Misery” by Stephen Crane
  446. “An Ideal Family” by Katherine Mansfield
  447. “An Incident at Owl Creek Ridge” by Ambrose Bierce
  448. “An Indiscreet Journey” by Katherine Mansfield
  449. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce
  450. “An Unwritten Novel” by Virginia Woolf
  451. “Araby” by James Joyce
  452. “Are These Actual Miles?” by Raymond Carver
  453. “Art and Mr. Mahoney” by Carson McCullers
  454. “Asphodel” by Eudora Welty
  455. “At the Bay” by Katherine Mansfield
  456. “August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury
  457. “Aurora” by Junot Díaz
  458. “Averroes’ Search” by Jorge Luis Borges
  459. “Axolotl” by Julio Cortázar
  460. “Balthazar’s Marvelous Afternoon” by Gabriel García Márquez
  461. “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner
  462. “Bartleby, the Scrivener” by Herman Melville
  463. “Belfast Woman” by Mary Beckett
  464. “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  465. “Beyond” by William Faulkner
  466. “Biathanatos” by Jorge Luis Borges
  467. “Big Two-Hearted River” by Ernest Hemingway
  468. “Big Two-Hearted River” by Ernest Hemingway (Part 1)
  469. “Black Peter” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  470. “Blackbird Pie” by Raymond Carver
  471. “Blackness” by Jamaica Kincaid
  472. “Bliss” by Katherine Mansfield
  473. “Bloodchild” by Octavia Butler
  474. “Blow-Up” by Julio Cortázar
  475. “Blues Ain’t No Mockingbird” by Toni Cade Bambara
  476. “Bonded” by Lasana Sekou
  477. “Boxes” by Raymond Carver
  478. “Boy Breaking Glass” by Gwendolyn Brooks
  479. “Boyfriend” by Junot Diaz
  480. “Boys and Girls” by Alice Munro
  481. “Bright and Morning Star” by Richard Wright
  482. “Bullet in the Brain” by Tobias Wolff
  483. “Butcher’s Embrace” by Graham Greene
  484. “Carcassonne” by William Faulkner
  485. “Careful” by Raymond Carver
  486. “Careful” Raymond Carver
  487. “Carried Away” by Alice Munro
  488. “Cat in the Rain” by Ernest Hemingway
  489. “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver
  490. “Charles Augustus Milverton” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  491. “Charles” by Shirley Jackson
  492. “Che ti dice la patria?” by Ernest Hemingway
  493. “Chickamauga” by Ambrose Bierce
  494. “Civil Peace” by Chinua Achebe
  495. “Clancy in the Tower of Babel” by John Cheever
  496. “Clay” by James Joyce
  497. “Clytie” by Eudora Welty
  498. “Collectors” by Raymond Carver
  499. “Come Dance With Me in Ireland” by Shirley Jackson
  500. “Connection” by Mary Gaitskill
  501. “Consuelo’s Kiss” by Junot Diaz
  502. “Counterparts” by James Joyce
  503. “Court in the West Eighties” by Carson McCullers
  504. “Criticism” by Edith Wharton
  505. “De Daumier-Smith’s Blue Period” by J.D. Salinger
  506. “Dead Men’s Path” by Chinua Achebe
  507. “Death and the Compass” by Jorge Luis Borges
  508. “Death of a Traveling Salesman” by Eudora Welty
  509. “Defeat” by Kay Boyle
  510. “Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin
  511. “Deutsches Requiem” by Jorge Luis Borges
  512. “Do What You Can” by Stonewall Jackson
  513. “Don’t Look Now” by Daphne du Maurier
  514. “Down at the Dinghy” by J.D. Salinger
  515. “Drown” by Junot Diaz
  516. “Each in His Own Tongue” by William Dean Howells
  517. “Edgemont Drive” by E.L. Doctorow
  518. “Edison, New Jersey” by Junot Díaz
  519. “Eight O’Clock” by Hurd Hatfield
  520. “Elephant” by Raymond Carver
  521. “Emma Zunz” by Jorge Luis Borges
  522. “EPICAC” by Kurt Vonnegut
  523. “Eve’s Diary” by Mark Twain
  524. “Eveline” by James Joyce
  525. “Everything and Nothing” by Jorge Luis Borges
  526. “Everything That Rises Must Converge” by Flannery O’Connor
  527. “Exhalation” by Ted Chiang
  528. “Eyes of a Blue Dog” by Gabriel García Márquez
  529. “Family Furnishings” by Alice Munro
  530. “Fathers and Sons” by Ernest Hemingway
  531. “Fat” by Raymond Carver
  532. “Feathers” by Raymond Carver
  533. “Fifty Grand” by Ernest Hemingway
  534. “File and Forget” by James Thurber
  535. “First Confession” by Frank O’Connor
  536. “Flaca” by Junot Díaz
  537. “Flowering Judas” by Katherine Anne Porter
  538. “Flying Home” by Ralph Ellison
  539. “For John Keats, Apostle of Beauty” by Countee Cullen
  540. “Funes the Memorious” by Jorge Luis Borges
  541. “Funes, His Memory” by Jorge Luis Borges
  542. “Funes, the Memorious” by Jorge Luis Borges
  543. “Gazebo” by Raymond Carver
  544. “Genesis and Catastrophe: A True Story” by Roald Dahl
  545. “Girls at War” by Chinua Achebe
  546. “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid
  547. “God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen” by Ernest Hemingway
  548. “Going to Meet the Man” by James Baldwin (excerpt from novel)
  549. “Golden Land” by William Faulkner
  550. “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor
  551. “Goodbye, My Brother” by John Cheever
  552. “Gooseberries” by Anton Chekhov
  553. “Grace” by James Joyce
  554. “Graffiti” by Julio Cortázar
  555. “Greasy Lake” by T. Coraghessan Boyle
  556. “Guests of the Nation” by Frank O’Connor
  557. “Gusev” by Anton Chekhov
  558. “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood
  559. “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
  560. “Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage” by Alice Munro
  561. “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad (novella but famous excerpt)
  562. “Hearts and Hands” by O. Henry
  563. “Hell-Heaven” by Jhumpa Lahiri
  564. “Her First Ball” by Katherine Mansfield
  565. “Heritage” by Countee Cullen
  566. “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway
  567. “Honor” by William Faulkner
  568. “House Taken Over” by Julio Cortázar
  569. “How I Met My Husband” by Alice Munro
  570. “How Much Land Does a Man Need?” by Leo Tolstoy
  571. “How to Tell a True War Story” by Tim O’Brien
  572. “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” by Harlan Ellison
  573. “Ice Man” by Haruki Murakami
  574. “Idiots First” by Bernard Malamud
  575. “If—” by Rudyard Kipling (poem)
  576. “Ill-Considered Praises of a People” by Countee Cullen
  577. “In Another Country” by Ernest Hemingway
  578. “In the Garden of North American Martyrs” Tobias Wolff
  579. “In the Train” by Frank O’Connor
  580. “Indian Camp” by Ernest Hemingway
  581. “Infection” by Octavia Butler
  582. “Instant of the Hour After” by Carson McCullers
  583. “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri
  584. “Intimacy” by Raymond Carver
  585. “Ivy Day in the Committee Room” by James Joyce
  586. “Jealousy” by William Faulkner
  587. “John Billy” by David Foster Wallace (from Girl with Curious Hair)
  588. “Jolene: A Life” by E.L. Doctorow
  589. “Joy” by Isaac Bashevis Singer
  590. “Jubilee” by Graham Greene
  591. “Judgement Day” by Flannery O’Connor
  592. “Just Before the War with the Eskimos” by J.D. Salinger
  593. “Keela the Outcast Indian Maiden” by Eudora Welty
  594. “Kew Gardens” by Virginia Woolf
  595. “Kindred” by Octavia Butler (Excerpt)
  596. “King of the Bingo Game” by Ralph Ellison
  597. “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl
  598. “Lenox Avenue: Midnight” by Langston Hughes
  599. “Letter to a Young Lady in Paris” by Julio Cortázar
  600. “Life of Ma Parker” by Katherine Mansfield
  601. “Light is Like Water” by Gabriel García Márquez
  602. “Light” by Lesley Nneka Arimah
  603. “Like Mother Used to Make” by Shirley Jackson
  604. “Livvie” by Eudora Welty
  605. “Lizard’s Leg” by William Faulkner
  606. “Lot No. 249” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  607. “Louisa, Please Come Home” by Shirley Jackson
  608. “Love of Life” by Jack London
  609. “Lunch at the Gotham Café” by Stephen King
  610. “Madame Zilensky and the King of Finland” by Carson McCullers
  611. “Man and Superman” by Jamaica Kincaid
  612. “Man from the South” by Roald Dahl
  613. “Marriage is a Private Affair” by Chinua Achebe
  614. “Marriage à la Mode” by Katherine Mansfield
  615. “Master Harold and the Boys” by Athol Fugard
  616. “Menudo” by Raymond Carver
  617. “Miles City, Montana” by Alice Munro
  618. “Miss Brill” by Katherine Mansfield
  619. “Miss Lora” by Junot Díaz
  620. “Moments of Being: “Slater’s Pins Have No Points” by Virginia Woolf
  621. “Moon Lake” by Eudora Welty
  622. “Moonlight” by Kay Boyle
  623. “Morning Song of Senlin” by Conrad Aiken
  624. “Mr Reginald Peacock’s Day” by Katherine Mansfield
  625. “Mr. and Mrs. Dove” by Katherine Mansfield
  626. “Mr. Reginald Peacock’s Day” by Katherine Mansfield
  627. “Mrs Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat” by Roald Dahl
  628. “Mrs. Sen’s” by Jhumpa Lahiri
  629. “Mule in the Yard” by William Faulkner
  630. “My Old Man” by Ernest Hemingway
  631. “My Old Man” Ernest Hemingway
  632. “N.” by Stephen King
  633. “Night School” by Raymond Carver
  634. “Nineteen Eighty-Four” by George Orwell (novel but famous extract)
  635. “Nobody Said Anything” by Raymond Carver
  636. “Now I Lay Me” by Ernest Hemingway
  637. “O Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories” (multiple stories)
  638. “Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce
  639. “Odour of Chrysanthemums” by D. H. Lawrence
  640. “Odour of Chrysanthemums” by D.H. Lawrence
  641. “Oil of Dog” by Ambrose Bierce
  642. “Old Man at the Bridge” by Ernest Hemingway
  643. “On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning” by Haruki Murakami
  644. “On the Rainy River” by Tim O’Brien
  645. “One of These Days” by Gabriel García Márquez
  646. “One Ordinary Day, with Peanuts” by Shirley Jackson
  647. “Otravida, Otravez” by Junot Díaz
  648. “Pantaloon in Black” by William Faulkner
  649. “Parable of the Arrow” Jorge Luis Borges
  650. “Parable of the Palace” by Jorge Luis Borges
  651. “Paranoia” by Shirley Jackson
  652. “Parker Adderson, Philosopher” by Ambrose Bierce
  653. “Parker’s Back” by Flannery O’Connor
  654. “Parson’s Pleasure” by Roald Dahl
  655. “Patriotism” by Yukio Mishima
  656. “Paul’s Case” by Willa Cather
  657. “Pavilion” by John Updike
  658. “Peasants” by Frank O’Connor
  659. “Petrified Man” by Eudora Welty
  660. “Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature” by Richard Rorty
  661. “Pictures” by Katherine Mansfield
  662. “Pierre Menard, Author of Don Quixote” by Jorge Luis Borges
  663. “Pigeon Feathers” by John Updike
  664. “Pigeons” by Isaac Bashevis Singer
  665. “Pillar of Salt” by Shirley Jackson
  666. “Poor Little Black Fellow” by Langston Hughes
  667. “Popular Mechanics” by Raymond Carver
  668. “Possum Song” by Margaret Atwood
  669. “Powder” by Tobias Wolff
  670. “Powerhouse” by Eudora Welty
  671. “Prelude” by Katherine Mansfield
  672. “Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes” by J.D. Salinger
  673. “Previous Condition” by James Baldwin
  674. “Proof Positive” by Graham Greene
  675. “Psychology” by Katherine Mansfield
  676. “Put Yourself in My Shoes” by Raymond Carver
  677. “Raymond’s Run” by Toni Cade Bambara
  678. “Reunion” by John Cheever
  679. “Revelations” by Katherine Mansfield
  680. “Revelation” by Flannery O’Connor
  681. “Revenge of the Redheaded Kid” by Mary Gaitskill
  682. “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving
  683. “Roald Dahl Collected Stories” (multiple famous stories)
  684. “Romantic Weekend” by Mary Gaitskill
  685. “Roselily” by Alice Walker
  686. “Rothschild’s Fiddle” by Anton Chekhov
  687. “Royal Beatings” by Alice Munro
  688. “Salvation” by Langston Hughes
  689. “Saturday’s Child” by Countee Cullen
  690. “Say Yes” by Tobias Wolff
  691. “Schrödinger’s Cat” by Ursula K. Le Guin
  692. “Sexy” by Jhumpa Lahiri
  693. “Shingles for the Lord” by William Faulkner
  694. “Short Friday” by Isaac Bashevis Singer
  695. “Silver Blaze” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  696. “Six Years After” by Katherine Mansfield
  697. “Sixty Acres” by Raymond Carver
  698. “Sleep” by Haruki Murakami
  699. “So Much Water So Close to Home” by Raymond Carver
  700. “Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemingway
  701. “Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemingway
  702. “Something Nice” by Mary Gaitskill
  703. “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin
  704. “Speaking of Courage” by Tim O’Brien
  705. “Speech Sounds” by Octavia Butler
  706. “Spoiled Brats” by Simon Rich
  707. “Spotted Horses” by William Faulkner
  708. “Sredni Vashtar” by Saki
  709. “Still Life” by Louise Glück
  710. “Story of the Warrior and the Captive” by Jorge Luis Borges
  711. “Summer People” by Ernest Hemingway
  712. “Sun and Moon” by Katherine Mansfield
  713. “Swaddling Clothes” by Yukio Mishima
  714. “That Evening Sun” by William Faulkner
  715. “That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French” by Stephen King
  716. “That Will Be Fine” by William Faulkner
  717. “The $30,000 Bequest” by Mark Twain
  718. “The Abbey Grange” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  719. “The Aleph” by Jorge Luis Borges
  720. “The Aliens” by Carson McCullers
  721. “The Angel Child” by Stephen Crane
  722. “The Angel of the Bridge” by John Cheever
  723. “The Approach to Al-Mu’tasim” by Jorge Luis Borges
  724. “The Arms and Legs of the Lake” by Mary Gaitskill
  725. “The Astrakhan Cloak” by Kay Boyle
  726. “The Babylon Lottery” by Jorge Luis Borges
  727. “The Basement Room” by Graham Greene
  728. “The Bath” by Raymond Carver
  729. “The Bear Who Let It Alone” by James Thurber
  730. “The Bear” by William Faulkner
  731. “The Beauties” by Anton Chekhov
  732. “The Beautiful Stranger” by Shirley Jackson
  733. “The Beggar and the Diamond” by Stephen King
  734. “The Beggar Maid” by Alice Munro
  735. “The Birds” by Daphne du Maurier
  736. “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  737. “The Bishop” by Anton Chekhov
  738. “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe
  739. “The Black Monk” by Anton Chekhov
  740. “The Blanched Soldier” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  741. “The Blue Cross” by G.K Chesterton
  742. “The Blue Hotel” by Stephen Crane
  743. “The Blues I’m Playing” by Ralph Ellison
  744. “The Boarded Window” by Ambrose Bierce
  745. “The Boarding House” by James Joyce
  746. “The Branch Line” by John Cheever
  747. “The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky” by Stephen Crane
  748. “The Bridle” by Raymond Carver
  749. “The Brooch” by William Faulkner
  750. “The Bruce-Partington Plans” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  751. “The Call of the Wild” by Jack London (excerpt)
  752. “The Capital of the World” by Ernest Hemingway
  753. “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe
  754. “The Catbird Seat” by James Thurber
  755. “The Chamber of Statues” by Jorge Luis Borges
  756. “The Circular Ruins” by Jorge Luis Borges
  757. “The Cold Equations” by Tom Godwin
  758. “The Compartment” by Raymond Carver
  759. “The Congress” by Jorge Luis Borges
  760. “The Cop and the Anthem” by O. Henry
  761. “The Country Husband” by John Cheever
  762. “The Creeping Man” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  763. “The Crooked Man” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  764. “The Cure” by John Cheever
  765. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  766. “The Custodian” by Ray Bradbury
  767. “The Daemon Lover” by Shirley Jackson
  768. “The Darling” by Anton Chekhov
  769. “The Daughters of the Late Colonel” by Katherine Mansfield
  770. “The Dead Father” by Donald Barthelme
  771. “The Dead Man” by Jorge Luis Borges
  772. “The Dead” by James Joyce
  773. “The Death of Halpin Frayser” by Ambrose Bierce
  774. “The Death of Jack Hamilton” by Stephen King
  775. “The Death of Justina” by John Cheever
  776. “The Depressed Person” by David Foster Wallace
  777. “The Destruction of Kreshev” by Isaac Bashevis Singer
  778. “The Devil and Daniel Webster” by Stephen Vincent Benet
  779. “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving
  780. “The Devil’s Foot” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  781. “The Diamond as Big as the Ritz” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  782. “The Diary of Adam and Eve” by Mark Twain
  783. “The Dilettante” by Edith Wharton
  784. “The Doctor and the Doctor’s Wife” by Ernest Hemingway
  785. “The Doctor’s Case” by Stephen King
  786. “The Doll’s House” by Katherine Mansfield
  787. “The Drunkard” by Frank O’Connor
  788. “The Dubliners” by James Joyce (short story collection)
  789. “The Duchess and the Jeweler” by Virginia Woolf
  790. “The Ducks” by Raymond Carver
  791. “The Dying Detective” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  792. “The Empty House” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  793. “The Encounter” by Jorge Luis Borges
  794. “The End of Something” by Ernest Hemingway
  795. “The End” by Jorge Luis Borges
  796. “The Engineer’s Thumb” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  797. “The Enormous Radio” by John Cheever
  798. “The Escape” by Katherine Mansfield
  799. “The Evening and the Morning and the Night” by Octavia Butler
  800. “The Eye of Apollo” by G.K Chesterton
  801. “The Eyes of the Panther” by Ambrose Bierce
  802. “The Eyes” by Edith Wharton
  803. “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe
  804. “The Father” by Raymond Carver
  805. “The Final Problem” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  806. “The Five-Forty-Eight” by John Cheever
  807. “The Fixer” by Bernard Malamud
  808. “The Flying Machine” by Ray Bradbury
  809. “The Fly” by Katherine Mansfield
  810. “The Foster Portfolio” by Kurt Vonnegut
  811. “The Fox” by D.H. Lawrence
  812. “The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl” by Ray Bradbury
  813. “The Furnished Room” by O. Henry
  814. “The Future Looks Good” by Lesley Nneka Arimah
  815. “The Gambler, the Nun, and the Radio” by Ernest Hemingway
  816. “The Garden of Forking Paths ” by Jorge Luis Borges
  817. “The Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield
  818. “The Geometry of Love” by John Cheever
  819. “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry
  820. “The Gift Outright” by Robert Frost (poem)
  821. “The Girl on the Plane” by Mary Gaitskill
  822. “The Gloria Scott” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  823. “The Golem” by Jorge Luis Borges
  824. “The Grasshopper” by Anton Chekhov
  825. “The Grave” by Katherine Anne Porter
  826. “The Greek Interpreter” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  827. “The Guest” by Albert Camus
  828. “The Half-Skinned Steer” by E. Annie Proulx
  829. “The Haunted Boy” by Carson McCullers
  830. “The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson (excerpt)
  831. “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” by Carson McCullers (Excerpt)
  832. “The Heart of the Matter” by Graham Greene
  833. “The Hint of an Explanation” by Graham Greene
  834. “The Hitch-Hikers” by Eudora Welty
  835. “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter” by D. H. Lawrence
  836. “The House of Asterion” by Jorge Luis Borges
  837. “The House of the Dead Hand” by G.K Chesterton
  838. “The Housebreaker of Shady Hill” by John Cheever
  839. “The Idea” by Raymond Carver
  840. “The Illustrious Client” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  841. “The Immortal” by Jorge Luis Borges
  842. “The Interlopers” by Saki
  843. “The Intruder” by Jorge Luis Borges
  844. “The Invisible Japanese Gentleman” by Graham Greene
  845. “The Island of the Immortals” by Ursula K. Le Guin
  846. “The Jewbird” by Bernard Malamud
  847. “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” by Katherine Anne Porter
  848. “The Key” by Eudora Welty
  849. “The Killers” by Ernest Hemingway
  850. “The Kings” by Julio Cortázar
  851. “The Kiss” by Anton Chekhov
  852. “The Lady in the Looking Glass” by Virginia Woolf
  853. “The Lady of the Lake” by Bernard Malamud
  854. “The Lady or the Tiger?” by Frank Stockton
  855. “The Lady with the Dog” by Anton Chekhov
  856. “The Lady with the Little Dog” by Anton Chekhov
  857. “The Lady with the Pet Dog” by Anton Chekhov
  858. “The Lady’s Maid’s Bell” by Edith Wharton
  859. “The Lady, or the Tiger?” by Frank R. Stockton
  860. “The Landlady” by Roald Dahl
  861. “The Last Bow” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  862. “The Last Demon” by Isaac Bashevis Singer
  863. “The Last Flower” by James Thurber
  864. “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry
  865. “The Last Mohican” by Bernard Malamud
  866. “The Legacy” by Virginia Woolf
  867. “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving
  868. “The Leg” by William Faulkner
  869. “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara
  870. “The Letter Writer” by Isaac Bashevis Singer
  871. “The Library of Babel” by Jorge Luis Borges
  872. “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” by Flannery O’Connor
  873. “The Light of the World” by Ernest Hemingway
  874. “The Lion’s Mane” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  875. “The Little Governess” by Katherine Mansfield
  876. “The Little Things” by Raymond Carver
  877. “The Lives of the Dead” by Tim O’Brien
  878. “The Lottery in Babylon” by Jorge Luis Borges
  879. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
  880. “The Macbeth Murder Mystery” by James Thurber
  881. “The Mad Lomasneys” by Frank O’Connor
  882. “The Madman” by Chinua Achebe
  883. “The Magic Barrel” by Bernard Malamud
  884. “The Mainz Psalter” by Ursula K. Le Guin
  885. “The Man and the Snake” by Ambrose Bierce
  886. “The Man in the Black Suit” by Stephen King
  887. “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” by Richard Wright
  888. “The Marching Morons” by C.M Kornbluth
  889. “The March” by E.L. Doctorow
  890. “The Mark on the Wall” Virginia Woolf
  891. “The Mask of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe
  892. “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe
  893. “The Meeting” by Jorge Luis Borges
  894. “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate” by Ted Chiang
  895. “The Middle Toe of the Right Foot” by Ambrose Bierce
  896. “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  897. “The Mirror of Ink” by Jorge Luis Borges
  898. “The Missing Person” by Tobias Wolff
  899. “The Missing Three-Quarter” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  900. “The Mission of Jane” by Edith Wharton
  901. “The Mocking-Bird” by Ambrose Bierce
  902. “The Monkey’s Paw” by W. W. Jacobs
  903. “The Monster in the Bride’s Chamber” by Lucy Sussex
  904. “The Monster” by Stephen Crane
  905. “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell
  906. “The Mother of a Queen” by Ernest Hemingway
  907. “The Mourners” by Bernard Malamud
  908. “The Musgrave Ritual” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  909. “The National Pastime” by John Cheever
  910. “The Naval Treaty” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  911. “The Night the Bed Fell” by James Thurber
  912. “The Nine Billion Names of God” by Arthur C. Clarke
  913. “The Noble Bachelor” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  914. “The Odour of Chrysanthemums” by D.H. Lawrence
  915. “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin
  916. “The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane
  917. “The Open Window” by Saki
  918. “The Orphanage Runaways” by Carson McCullers
  919. “The Other Place” by Mary Gaitskill
  920. “The Other Two” by Edith Wharton
  921. “The Other” by Jorge Luis Borges
  922. “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” by Bret Harte
  923. “The Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu
  924. “The Pearl” by John Steinbeck (excerpt)
  925. “The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury
  926. “The Pelican” by Edith Wharton
  927. “The Pit and the Pendulum” by Edgar Allan Poe
  928. “The Plot” by Jorge Luis Borges
  929. “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson
  930. “The Princess and the Tin Box” by James Thurber
  931. “The Priory School” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  932. “The Progress of Love” by Alice Munro
  933. “The Prussian Officer” by D.H. Lawrence
  934. “The Purloined Letter” by Edgar Allan Poe
  935. “The Queer Feet” by G. K. Chesterton
  936. “The Queer Feet” by G.K Chesterton
  937. “The Rabbits Who Caused All the Trouble” by James Thurber
  938. “The Ransom of Red Chief” by O. Henry
  939. “The Reaper’s Image” by Stephen King
  940. “The Red Circle” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  941. “The Red-Headed League” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  942. “The Reflection” by Carson McCullers
  943. “The Reigate Puzzle” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  944. “The Reigate Squire” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  945. “The Renegade” by Shirley Jackson
  946. “The Resident Patient” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  947. “The Retired Colourman” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  948. “The Rich Brother” by Tobias Wolff
  949. “The Ring of Thor” by G.K Chesterton
  950. “The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence
  951. “The Round Road” by Lucy Maud Montgomery
  952. “The Rule of Names” by Ursula K. Le Guin
  953. “The Sacrificial Egg” by Chinua Achebe
  954. “The School” by Donald Barthelme
  955. “The Sculptor’s Funeral” by Willa Cather
  956. “The Sea Change” by Ernest Hemingway
  957. “The Second Bakery Attack” by Haruki Murakami
  958. “The Secret Goldfish” by David Means
  959. “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber
  960. “The Secret Weapons” by Julio Cortázar
  961. “The Sect of the Phoenix” by Jorge Luis Borges
  962. “The Seed of the Faith” by Edith Wharton
  963. “The Sermon on the Warpland” by Gwendolyn Brooks
  964. “The Shape of the Sword” by Jorge Luis Borges
  965. “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” by Ernest Hemingway
  966. “The Singing Lesson” by Katherine Mansfield
  967. “The Sisters” by James Joyce
  968. “The Skylight Room” by O. Henry
  969. “The Slaughterer” by Isaac Bashevis Singer
  970. “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” by Ernest Hemingway
  971. “The Sojourner” by Carson McCullers
  972. “The South” by Jorge Luis Borges
  973. “The Spinoza of Market Street” by Isaac Bashevis Singer
  974. “The Storm” by Kate Chopin
  975. “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin
  976. “The Story of the Drowning Men” by Jorge Luis Borges
  977. “The Storyteller” by Saki
  978. “The Stranger” by Katherine Mansfield
  979. “The Student’s Wife” by Raymond Carver
  980. “The Student” by Anton Chekhov
  981. “The Sussex Vampire” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  982. “The Swimmer” by John Cheever
  983. “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
  984. “The Theologians” by Jorge Luis Borges
  985. “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
  986. “The Third and Final Continent” by Jhumpa Lahiri
  987. “The Three Gables” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  988. “The Three Garridebs” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  989. “The Three-Day Blow” by Ernest Hemingway
  990. “The Tiger Who Understood People” by James Thurber
  991. “The Tooth” by Shirley Jackson
  992. “The Train” by Raymond Carver
  993. “The Treatment of Bibi Haldar” by Jhumpa Lahiri
  994. “The Trees of Pride” by G.K Chesterton
  995. “The Undefeated” by Ernest Hemingway
  996. “The Upturned Face” by Stephen Crane
  997. “The Veiled Lodger” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  998. “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury
  999. “The Veteran” by Stephen Crane 177 “The Monkey’s Paw” by W. W. Jacobs
  1000. “The Villagers” by Shirley Jackson
  1001. “The Voter” by Chinua Achebe
  1002. “The Voyage” by Katherine Mansfield
  1003. “The Wait” by Jorge Luis Borges
  1004. “The War of the Wall” by Toni Cade Bambara
  1005. “The Way Up to Heaven” by Roald Dahl
  1006. “The Whistle” by Eudora Welty
  1007. “The White Deer” by James Thurber
  1008. “The White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett
  1009. “The White Horses of Vienna” by Kay Boyle
  1010. “The White Stocking” by D. H. Lawrence
  1011. “The Wind Blows” by Katherine Mansfield
  1012. “The Witness” by Jorge Luis Borges
  1013. “The Woman Who Saw Snow” by Carson McCullers
  1014. “The World of Apples” by John Cheever
  1015. “The Wrong Thing” by Mary Gaitskill
  1016. “The Wrysons” by John Cheever
  1017. “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
  1018. “The Young Girl” by Katherine Mansfield
  1019. “The Zahir” by Jorge Luis Borges
  1020. “The £1,000,000 Bank Note” by Mark Twain
  1021. “Theft” by Katherine Anne Porter
  1022. “Theme of the Traitor and the Hero” by Jorge Luis Borges
  1023. “There Are No Thieves in This Town” by Gabriel García Márquez
  1024. “There Was a Queen” by William Faulkner
  1025. “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury
  1026. “This Blessed House” by Jhumpa Lahiri
  1027. “Thor Bridge” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  1028. “Three Day Blow” by Ernest Hemingway
  1029. “Three Million Yen” by Yukio Mishima
  1030. “Three Versions of Judas” by Jorge Luis Borges
  1031. “Tiny Smiling Daddy” by Mary Gaitskill
  1032. “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius” by Jorge Luis Borges
  1033. “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis, Tertius” by Jorge Luis Borges
  1034. “To Build a Fire” by Jack London
  1035. “To Room Nineteen” by Doris Lessing
  1036. “Tobermory” by Saki
  1037. “Today is Friday” by Ernest Hemingway
  1038. “Tomorrow” by William Faulkner
  1039. “Too Cute” by Kristen Roupenian
  1040. “Torch Song” by John Cheever
  1041. “Tri-Stan: I Sold Sissee Nar to Ecko” by David Foster Wallace (from Girl with Curious Hair)
  1042. “Trial By Combat” by Shirley Jackson
  1043. “Tuesday Siesta” by Gabriel García Márquez
  1044. “Two Gallants” by James Joyce
  1045. “Uncle Ben’s Choice” by Chinua Achebe
  1046. “Uncle Willy” by William Faulkner
  1047. “Under the Garden” by Graham Greene
  1048. “Untitled Piece” by Carson McCullers
  1049. “Up in Michigan” by Ernest Hemingway
  1050. “Uprooted” by Francis King
  1051. “Vengeful Creditor” by Chinua Achebe
  1052. “Viewfinder” by Raymond Carver
  1053. “Vitamins” by Raymond Carver
  1054. “Wakefield” by E. L. Doctorow
  1055. “Want to See Something?” by Raymond Carver
  1056. “Ward No. 6” by Anton Chekhov
  1057. “We Have Always Lived in the Castle” by Shirley Jackson
  1058. “We Love Glenda So Much” by Julio Cortázar
  1059. “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks
  1060. “Weekend Revisited” by William Faulkner
  1061. “Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way” by David Foster Wallace (from Girl with Curious Hair)
  1062. “What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky” by Lesley Nneka Arimah
  1063. “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” by Raymond Carver
  1064. “What’s in Alaska?” by Raymond Carver
  1065. “When Fiction Lives in Fiction” by Jorge Luis Borges
  1066. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates
  1067. “Where I’m Calling From” by Raymond Carver
  1068. “Who Has Seen the Wind?” by Carson McCullers
  1069. “Who Will Greet You at Home” by Lesley Nneka Arimah
  1070. “Whoever Was Using This Bed” by Raymond Carver
  1071. “Who’s Passing for Who?” by Langston Hughes
  1072. “Why Don’t You Dance?” by Raymond Carver
  1073. “Why I Live at the P.O.” by Eudora Welty
  1074. “Why We’re Patriots” by E.L. Doctorow
  1075. “Why, Honey?” by Raymond Carver
  1076. “Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?” by Raymond Carver
  1077. “Willi” by E. L. Doctorow
  1078. “Wine of Wyoming” by Ernest Hemingway
  1079. “Wingless” by Jamaica Kincaid
  1080. “Winter Dreams” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  1081. “Wisteria Lodge” by Arthur Conan Doyle
  1082. “Wunderkind” by Carson McCullers
  1083. “Yentl the Yeshiva Boy” by Isaac Bashevis Singer
  1084. “Zlateh the Goat” by Isaac Bashevis Singer

If you disagree or see a mistake, leave a comment. I’m happy to make changes and listen to suggestions. Thank you so much for helping create the 1000 Great Short Stories of All Time list. 

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Richard
Richard
Richard Everywriter (pen name) is the founder of EveryWriter and a 25-year veteran of the publishing industry. With degrees in Writing, Journalism, Technology, and Education, Richard has dedicated two decades to teaching writing and literature while championing emerging voices through EveryWriter's platform. His work focuses on making literary analysis accessible to readers at all levels while preserving the rich heritage of American literature. Connect with Richard on Twitter  Bluesky Facebook or explore opportunities to share your own work on ourSubmissions page. For monthly insights on writing and publishing, subscribe to our Newsletter.
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62 thoughts on “1000 Greatest Short Stories of All Time”

  1. Mike says:
    December 31, 2013 at 10:26 am

    Girl with Curious Hair by David Foster Wallace

    Reply
  2. Leah says:
    December 31, 2013 at 10:30 am

    The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy

    Reply
  3. Cillin McMahon says:
    January 9, 2014 at 7:07 am

    How to Talk to Girls at Parties, by Neil Gaiman.

    Reply
  4. Yasmin says:
    January 9, 2014 at 7:16 am

    The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze by William Saroyan

    Reply
  5. Yasmin says:
    January 9, 2014 at 7:18 am

    Also, St. Mawr by D.H. Lawrence and The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant

    Reply
  6. Tammy says:
    January 9, 2014 at 7:39 am

    “Meneseteung,” by Alice Munro
    “In the Gloaming,” by Alice Elliott Dark
    “My Parents’ Bedroom,” by Uwem Akpan
    “Intervention,” by Jill McCorkle

    Reply
  7. Richard says:
    January 9, 2014 at 12:11 pm

    Thank you for your suggestions. I will add them to the list very soon!

    Reply
  8. melaney says:
    January 12, 2014 at 9:50 pm

    Just surprised myself, I’ve read all of these.

    Reply
  9. Richard says:
    January 13, 2014 at 6:52 am

    Melaney, do you have any other suggestions?! Help please.

    Reply
  10. John Giles says:
    January 17, 2014 at 10:01 am

    The Nine Billion Names of God

    Arthur C. Clarke

    Reply
  11. Bill Barrett says:
    January 19, 2014 at 5:19 pm

    Greenleaf by Flannery O’Connor

    Reply
  12. Donna B. Comeaux says:
    January 24, 2014 at 12:31 pm

    “Sula” by Toni Morrison
    “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison

    Reply
  13. Donna B. Comeaux says:
    January 24, 2014 at 12:59 pm

    “The Blacker the Berry” by Wallace Thurman
    “Black Boy” by Richard Wright

    Reply
  14. joanna walsh says:
    January 28, 2014 at 4:55 am

    La Grosse Fifi – Jean Rhys
    The Debutante – Leonora Carrington
    The Poet And The Novelist As Roommates – Sheila Heti
    In the Cemetery where Al Jolson is Buried – Amy Hempel
    The Letter – Lydia Davis

    Reply
  15. joanna walsh says:
    January 29, 2014 at 9:39 am

    Oh damn, forgot Mary Gaitskill’s Romantic Weekend.

    Reply
  16. Leo says:
    February 23, 2014 at 4:38 am

    The Depressed Person by David Foster Wallace
    The Babysitter by Robert Coover
    The Nonce Prize by Will Self

    Reply
  17. Gordon Petry says:
    February 24, 2014 at 8:47 pm

    Why I live over the P.O. Eudora Welty
    The Chaser John Collier
    The Hypnoglyph John Anthony (pen name for John Ciardi)

    Reply
  18. Kasper Løvborg says:
    March 5, 2014 at 5:29 am

    The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster
    The Lady with the Dog by Anton Chekov
    Tardy Awakening by Steen Steensen Blicher
    Dead as They Come by Ian McEwan

    Reply
  19. Charmaine says:
    April 30, 2014 at 3:16 am

    What we talk about when we talk about love – Raymond Chandler

    Reply
  20. Vinita Agrawal says:
    July 15, 2014 at 8:48 pm

    Let’s Go Home…unfortunately I can’t remember the author’s name. I read it a long time in ago and loved it. I’ll be grateful to anyone who could tell me the author’s name. The story is about a little boy who’s lost his mother and taken in by an uncle. On one wonderful cloudy day, he feels so elated that he rushes to his old home only to remember that his mother is no more.

    Reply
  21. Vinita Agrawal says:
    July 15, 2014 at 8:50 pm

    The Japanese Wife by Kunal Basu

    Reply
  22. John timm says:
    August 12, 2014 at 3:34 pm

    Bartleby, the Scrivener

    Herman Melville

    Reply
  23. Jim says:
    August 13, 2014 at 1:42 am

    Greatest idea. Short Stories have become less popular since I was a kid. How about Saki’s The Open Window. BTW, I love Raymond Chandler but “What we talk about when we talk about love” should list author as Raymond Carver.Another good one – Guy de Maupassant’s Ball of Fat.

    Leiningen Versus the Ants by Carl Stephenson
    Haircut by Ring Lardner

    Let’s keep this active. Tell all your reader friends to contribute.

    Reply
  24. Paul Teodori says:
    September 2, 2014 at 4:57 am

    How about Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Masque of the Red Death?’ Also, his ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ should definitely make the list.

    Reply
  25. Yasmin says:
    September 17, 2014 at 6:08 pm

    The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant
    The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze by William Saroyan
    The Wall by Jean-Paul Sartre

    Reply
  26. warui says:
    November 5, 2014 at 10:03 am

    An act of Kindness….a story about taking cae of feelings of ur kids or else the unimaginable happens

    Reply
  27. Curtis says:
    February 7, 2015 at 2:35 am

    The Call of Cthulhu, by H.P. Lovecraft
    I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, by Harlan Ellison
    The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe
    The Devil and Daniel Webster by Stephen Vincent Benét
    Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad by M.R. James
    Emergency by Denis Johnson
    Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

    Reply
  28. Curtis says:
    February 8, 2015 at 12:30 am

    Some more:

    Nightfall and The Last Question, both by Asimov
    The Game of Rat and Dragon by Cordwainer Smith
    Inconstant Moon by Larry Niven
    The Gernsback Continuum by William Gibson
    Age of Lead by Margaret Atwood
    The Overcoat/The Cloak by Nikolai Gogol

    Reply
  29. Ed says:
    February 22, 2015 at 9:48 pm

    Barn Burning by Faulkner
    Soldier’s Home by Hemingway
    The Lady with the Little Dog by Chekhov
    Babylon Revisited by Scott Fitzgerald

    Reply
  30. Mélanie says:
    June 17, 2015 at 10:58 am

    Dubliners by James Joyce is a short story collection, not a short story. 🙂
    And surely some stories by Edna O’Brien, Yiyun Li, Colin Barrett and other winners of the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award shoud be added to the list!

    Reply
  31. Gerry Christmas says:
    November 24, 2015 at 2:09 am

    The Infallible Gadahl by Frederick Irving Anderson
    Paul’s Case by Willa Cather
    No Man’s Meat by Morley Callaghan
    Life in the Iron Mills by Rebecca Harding Dvis
    The Lost Phoebe by Theodore Dreiser
    The Last Leaf by O. Henry
    Haircut by Ring Lardner
    Big Blonde by Dorothy Parker
    Chickamauga by Ambrose Bierce
    The Open Boat by Stephen Crane
    Désirée’s’s Baby by Kate Chopin
    La Belle Zoraide by Kate Chopin
    Barn Burning by William Faulkner
    The Ballad of the Sad Cafe by Carson McCullers
    The Displaced Person by Flannery O’Conner
    The Gold Bug by Edgar Allan Poe
    Why I Live at the PO by Eudora Welty
    Chickamauga by Thomas Wolfe
    The Man Who Lived Underground by Richard Wright
    The Blue Hotel by Stephen Crane
    Under the Lion’s Paw by Hamlin Garland
    The Man Who Knew Coolidge by Sinclair Lewis
    A Deal in Wheat by Frank Norris
    The Painted Door by Sinclair Ross
    The Scarecrow by Varis Fisher
    The Outcasts of Poker Flat by Bret Harte
    The Diamond as Big as the Ritz by F. Scott Fitzgerald
    The League of Old Men by Jack London
    The Red One by Jack London
    An Odyssey of the North by Jack London
    Lost Face by Jack London
    Red Wind by Raymond Chandler
    The Mexican by Jack London
    Flowering Juda by Catherine Anne Porter
    The Jilting of Granny Weatherall by Catherine Anne Porter
    The Girl with the Silver Eyes by Dashiell Hammett
    A Man Called Spade by Dashiell Hammett
    The Apostate by Jack London
    The Third Circle by Frank Norris
    The Leader of the People by John Steinbeck
    The Snake by John Steinbeck
    A Passage to Benares by T. S. Stribling
    What Language Do Bears Speak? by Roch Carrier
    The Legacy by Marvis Gallant
    My Heart Is Broken by Marvis Gallant
    The Torrent by Anne Hébert
    The Heritage by Ringuet
    Babylon Revisited by F. Scott Fitzgerald
    Rappacini’s Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
    The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber by Ernest Hemingway
    Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry
    Benito Cereno by Herman Melville
    The Cask of Amantillado by Edgar Allan Poe
    Hop-Frog by Edgar Allan Poe
    The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe
    The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allan Poe
    For Esmé–with Love and Squalor by J. D. Salinger
    Pretty Mouth and Green my Eyes by J. D. Salinger
    The Light of the World by Ernest Hemingway
    A Clean Well-Lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway

    Reply
    1. Avatar photo Every Writer says:
      August 3, 2017 at 9:51 pm

      Thx for this Jerry

      Reply
  32. Gerry Christmas says:
    November 24, 2015 at 2:40 am

    The Killers by Ernest Hemingway
    The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway
    Rain by W. Somerset Maugham
    Vessel of Wrath by W. Somerset Maugham
    Red by W. Somerset Maugham
    The Pool by W. Somerset Maugham
    The Man Who Would Be King by Rudyard Kipling
    The Money’s Paw by W. W. Jacobs
    Markhiem by Robert Lewis Stevenson
    The Open Window by Saki
    Death in the Woods by Sherwood Anderson
    The Clicking of Cuthbert by P. G. Wodehouse
    The Devil and Daniel Webster by Stephen Vincent Benet
    Wasted Beauty by Guy de Maupassant
    The Jewels by Guy de Maupassant
    Ball of Fat by Guy de Maupassant
    The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant
    Passion in the Dessert by Honare Balzac
    The Bet by Anton Chekov

    Reply
  33. Dre says:
    August 1, 2016 at 9:59 am

    Please please! Somebody help me! I cant remember the name of the short story where the old womans gnome travels and sends postcards, get sick, and then the lady is murdered at the end when the gnome comes home? Please someone must know it!!

    Reply
  34. JB says:
    August 26, 2016 at 9:29 pm

    @Dre I believe it’s called “Wish you were here.” Great story!

    Reply
  35. Tarran says:
    August 31, 2016 at 9:03 pm

    Josephine the Singer (also known as The Mouse Folk) by Franz Kafka
    The Judgement by Franz Kafka
    Light is Like Water by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
    Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway
    The Nightwatchman’s Occurrence Book by VS Naipaul
    Death in Venice by Thomas Mann (variously referred to as a short story or novella)
    Esiotrot by Roald Dahl
    The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico

    Question 1: how to decide which short stories are masquerading as novellas?
    Question 2: many anthologies make use of excerpts from much longer works. Some of these can compete with the best short stories. (I’m thinking, for instance, of Bob Geldorf’s piece taken from Is That It? that appears in the Picador collection Worst Journeys. Should these be considered?

    Reply
  36. pmaha says:
    September 1, 2016 at 9:24 am

    I Do Not Take Messages from Dead People by Pauline Melville
    My Girl and the City by Samuel Selvon
    The Cricket Match by Samuel Selvon

    Reply
  37. Adam says:
    September 19, 2016 at 10:38 pm

    As a long-time high-school English teacher, I’d be disappointed if you didn’t include these titles in a top-1000 list. Some of these titles were Hugo award-winners or nominated for best short story:

    “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” 1974 Hugo award-winner by Ursela le Guin
    “The Necklace” Guy de Maupassant
    “The Lady or the Tiger?” Frank Stockton
    “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson
    “Flowers for Algernon” 1960 Hugo award-winner by Daniel Keyes
    “There Will Come Soft Rains” Ray Bradbury

    Reply
  38. Phil says:
    September 22, 2016 at 5:38 am

    Parsons pleasure by Roald Dahl
    I can’t remember the name of one of my favorites, about a guy who goes to the shoemaker, two brothers that run an old time shop that slowly goes out of business. I’d be much abliged if someone can tell what it’s called.

    Reply
  39. Tom Finn says:
    November 12, 2016 at 10:37 pm

    Alibi Ike by Ring Lardner. The funniest thing you’ll ever read, a sports story and a love story all in one.
    You could look it up by James Thurber

    Reply
  40. Larry m says:
    November 15, 2016 at 7:51 am

    Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin (the shortest novel I ever read)

    Reply
  41. Michael Calvert says:
    January 29, 2017 at 3:36 am

    Has anyone mentioned Bartleby the Scivener? I always considered it one of the very best.

    Reply
    1. Avatar photo Every Writer says:
      August 3, 2017 at 9:50 pm

      It’s on the list, but thank you

      Reply
  42. David Y says:
    February 16, 2017 at 3:56 pm

    I was told to read:
    The All-Girl Football Team
    My People’s Waltz

    Reply
  43. Phil says:
    July 17, 2017 at 4:32 pm

    Quality by John Galsworthy

    Reply
  44. Amy says:
    August 21, 2017 at 1:16 pm

    The Terrapin by Patricia Highsmith

    Reply
  45. Uday Kumar Das says:
    August 30, 2017 at 3:03 am

    Short stories
    ••••••••••••••

    Alphabetically arranged list of Story writers
    ■■■■■AAAAA■■■■■
    Chinua Achebe – Dead man’s path, Marriage is a private affair,
    Samuel Hopkins Adams Such as walk in darkness B
    George Ade To make a hoosier holiday B
    C.N. Adichie – The thing around your neck.
    Joan Aiken Lob’s girl
    Alcott – Scarlet stockings
    T.B. Aldrich Marjorie Daw B
    Joseph A. Altsheler After the battle B
    Ambrose An occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
    Frederick Irving Anderson – Infallible Gadahi (The),
    Sherwood Anderson (1876-1941)
    Death in the woods, I want to know why, Little match girl (The), Ohio, Other woman (The),
    Leonid Andreiev Valia B
    T.S. Arthur – Angel in disguise (An),
    Issac Asimov The fun they had, I-robot,
    Margaret Atwood – Rape fantasies,
    ■■■■■BBBBB■■■■■
    J.G Ballard Billennium
    H.D. Balzac , (France) – A passion in the desert, The unknown masterpiece B
    Toxi Cade Bambara Raymond’s run
    Julian Barnes – Pulse,
    Alexander Baron – The man who knew too much**,
    J.M. Barrie The Courting of T’nowhead’s bell B
    John Barth (1930-Lost in the funhouse
    Donald Barthelme (1933- The school T
    H.E. Bates The ox
    Rudolf Baumbach The fountain of youth B***
    Stephen Vincent Benet – Devil’s Daniel Webster (The),
    Ambrose Bierce (Am-1842-1914) – Beyond the wall, Boarded window, Chickamagua, The damned thing B, Horseman in the sky (A),Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, Present at a hanging, What occurred at Franklin,
    Bjornstjerme Bjornson Railroad and churchyard B**
    Ami Bloom – The story, Silver water,
    Ruskin Bond – The thief, The tiger in the tunnel,
    Jorge Luis Borges – Borges and I B*, The Circular ruins , The South,
    Paul Bowles In the red room
    Ray Bradbury All summer in a day, A Lady or Tiger?* Sound of thunder, There will come soft rains,The Veldt*m
    Pearl S. Buck – The refugee
    ■■■■■CCCCC■■■■■
    Morley Callaghan – No man’s meat,
    Roch Carrier – What language do bears speak?,
    Raymond Carver Cathedral, Why don’t you dance, Will you please be quiet,
    Willa Cather – On the Gull’s road, Paul’s case,
    Robert Cavanaugh Miss Awful
    Raymond Chandler – Red wind,
    John Cheever Goodbye my brother, Swimmer (The),
    Anton Chekhov (Russia-1860-1904) Aborigines, Agafya, The Album, At home, Bad weather, The beauties, Bet (The), The black monk, A Chameleon, Champagne, ●The Darling●, An enigmatic nature, Day in the country (A), A dead body, The death of a Government clerk, Dreams, Excellent people, The fish, A gentleman friend, A happy man, Happiness, The head gardener’s story, Home, The Huntsman, Hush !, In an hotel, In exile, Ladies, Lady with the dog (The), Looking Glass (The), Lottery ticket (The) Love, , Minds in Ferment, Misery, A Mystery, Neighbours, Peasant wives, The post, School mistress (The), A slander The Slanderer B, Strong impressions, The student, The Trousseau, ●Ward no. 6●, The witch, A work of art, A work of art B** ,Vanka,
    G.K. Chesterton – The queer feetB*3
    Kate Chopin – Desire’s baby, La belle Zoralde, Night came slowly (The), Regret, Story of an hour (The),
    Agatha Christie – A pot of tea,
    Sandra Cisneross – Eleven, Geraldo no name,
    Stuart Cloete – Soldier’s peaches (The),
    Judith Ortiz Cofer American history
    John Collier – Chaser (The) T
    E.E.J. Coppee The lost child B
    Richard Connell – Most dangerous game (The),
    Joseph Conrad – Lagoon (The) , Secret sharer (The),
    Robert Coover (1932- The magic poker
    A.E. Coppard (
    Robert Cormier The moustache
    Julio Cortázar – Continuity of the parks T, Night face up (The),
    ● Stephen Crane (Am-1871-1900)
    Blue hotel (The), Dark brown dog (A), An Experiment in misery Tb, Maggie Tm, The Open boat Tm , Pair of silk stockings (A),
    Michael Cunningham – White angel,
    James Oliver Curwood His first penitent B
    ■■■■■DDDDD■■■■■
    Roald Dahl – Beware of the dog, Lamb to the slaughter, The Landlady, Man from the south, The umbrella man,
    Gabriel D’Annunzio The end of Candia B
    Richard Harding Davis Balacchi Brothers B, The consul, Life in the iron mills,
    Fielding Dawson – The vertical field,
    Margaret Deland Many waters B
    Anita Desai Games at twilight
    Junot Diaz – How to date a brown girl,
    Charles Dickens – The Baron of Grogzwig, The poor relation’s story, Signal man (The)
    Dostoievski The thief B
    Arthur Conan Doyle – B24, My friend the murderer B, Red headed league (The), A scandal in Bohemia B
    Theodore Dreisser The lost Phoebe B
    Alexander Dumas A bal Masque B, Hanging at La Piroche B
    F.P. Dunne Mr. Dooley on the pursuit of riches B
    H.V. Dyke – The first Christmas tree,
    ■■■■■EEEEE■■■■■
    Jennifer Egan – Emerald city,
    Nataly Von Eschstruth The Gray nun B
    ■■■■■FFFFF■■■■■
    William Faulkner (1897-1962) – Barn burning, The Bear, Rose for Emily, That eve-sun,
    Edna Ferber They brought their women B
    Varis Fisher – The Scarecrow,
    F.S. Fitzgerald – Babylon revisited, The Curious case of Benjamin Button , A Diamond as big as a ritz,
    Ambrose Flac – The stranger that came to town,
    Antonio Fogazzaro The silver crucifix B
    JW.De Forest The Brigade commandar B
    E.M. Forster The eternal moment B, The Other side of the Hedge,
    Anatole France Putois B
    M.E.W. Freeman – The cat,
    ■■■■■GGGGG■■■■■
    Emile Gaboriau The accursed house B
    Neil Gaiman – How to talk to girls at parties,
    Marsis Gallant – My heart is broken,
    Hamlin Garland (1860-1940) – Under the lion’s paw,
    Theophile Gautier The Mummy’s foot B
    Tim Gautreaux – Died and gone to Vegas,
    William Gay – The paper hanger,
    C.P. Gilman – The yellow wallpaper,
    Susan Glaspell – A jury of her peers,
    Nokolai Vsilievitch Gogol – The Clock, The Nose, The cloak (The overcoat) B
    Maxim Gorky Boless/Her lover B*5
    Patricia Grace Journey
    Graham Green – The end of party, The case for the defence,
    ■■■■■HHHHH■■■■■
    Edward Everett Hale The man without a country B
    Dashiell Hammett – The girl with the silver eyes,
    Henry Harland Rosemary for remembrance B
    Joel Chandler Harris Brother Rabbit’s cradle B
    Bret Harte (Am-1836-1902) – A Lonely ride, The Luck of the roaring camp B, The Outcasts of Poker flat B, Tennessee’s partner,
    L.P. Hartley A Summons and The Apples
    Nathaniel Hawthorne (1805-1864) The ambitious guest, Birthmark**, David Swan, Dr. Heidegger’s experiment B, Ethan Brand, The great stone face B ,The green carbuncle,How Santa Claus came, Major Molineun, Minister’s black veil, My kinsman, Ropaccini’s daughter, The wedding knell, Young Goodman Brown**,
    A.A. Hayes The Denver Express B
    Ernest Hemingway (1898-1961) – A clean well lighted place, A day’s wait, The Killers, Light of the world, The shortest happy life of Francis Macomber, The snows of Kilimanjaro, Soldier’s home,
    Liliana Heker The stolen party
    Anne Herbert – The Torrent,
    Paul Johan Ludvig Heyse Young girl of Teipei B**
    Patricia Highsmith Ming’s Biggest Prey
    Langston Huges Thank you m’am
    Victor Hugo – A Flight with a canon
    Evan Hunter – The last spin
    James Hurst The scarlet ibis
    ■■■■■IIIII■■■■■
    Washington Irving (1783-1859) – The Legend of sleepy hollow, Rip Van Winkle*
    Boaz Izraeli The monkey,
    ■■■■■JJJJJ■■■■■
    Shirley Jackson Charles, The Lottery
    W.W. Jacobs The monkey’s paw
    Henry James (1843-1916) – The real thing
    Jules Gabriel Janin The Vandean marriage B
    Jerome K Jerome – A fishy story*,
    Ha Jin The Russian Prisoner
    Denis Johnson Emergency
    Thom Jones I want to live, The Pugilist at rest
    James Joyce (1882-1941)
    Araby, The Dead clay, Dubliners, A little cloud, The Sisters,
    ■■■■■KKKKK■■■■■
    Franz Kafka – Hunger artist (A), In the penal colony,
    Myra Kelly A Christmas present for a lady B,
    Daniel Keyes – Flowers for Algernon
    Stephen King – The body, Harvey’s dream.
    Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) Rikki Tikki Tavi, The elephant’s child, How the leopard got its spots, The man who would be king B
    Olive Kitteridge Elizabeth Stront
    Lerzv Koainski Steps,
    ■■■■■■LLLL■■■■■■■■
    Selma Lagerlof The Outlaws B, The Rattrap B
    Jhumpa Lahiri – Interpretation of maladies,
    Ring Lardner The golden honeymoon, Haircut B
    D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930) Odour of Chrysanthemums, The Rocking Horse winner*, Second best**,The shades of spring*, St. Mawr, The white stocking*,
    Stephen Leacock – The conjurer’s revenge,
    Jonathan Lethem The happy man,
    Doris Lessing Through the tunnel
    Sinclair Lewis Man who knew Coolidge (The),
    Jack London Apostle, The Legend of old man, Lost face, The Mexican, The Odyssey of the North, A piece of streak, The red one, To build a fire,
    John Luther Long Purple eyes B
    Malcolm Lorrie Under the volcano,
    H.P. Lovecraft Call of Cthullhu (The),
    ■■■■■MMMM■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
    Bernard Malamaud The prison
    Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923) The fly, The garden party, The stranger,
    Panteg Marshall To da-dah, in memorium
    Gabriel Garcia Marques –
    Eyes of a blue dog, The handsomest drowned man in the world Tm , One of these days, The very old man with enormous wings,
    W. Somerset Maugham The Colonel’s lady*, The Fall of Edward Barnard*, Gigolo and Gigolette*, Jane**, The lotus eater**, Luncheon, Rain*, Red, The vessel of wrath,
    Guy de Maupassant (France-1850-93) – Affair of state (An), Ball of fat, Bellflower, The bit of string B**, ●Boule de Suif●, Christening (The), Coco, Confessing, Coward (A), Dead woman’s secret (A), Denis, Devil (The), Donkey (The), Dowry (The), Drunkard (The), False gems (The), Family (A), Farewell, Father (The), Friend Patience, Hairpin (The), Hand (The), Humble drama (A), Humiliation, In the wood, In discretion, Inn (The), Jewels (The), Julie Romain, Kiss (The), Madame Parisse, Madmoiselle Fifi, Madmoiselle Pearl, Marquis de Fumerol (The), Miss Harriet, Misti-Recollections of bachelor, Moonlight, The necklace B* Old Mongilet, Piece of string (The), Pig of Morin (The), Theodule Sabot’s confession, Timbuctoo, Toine, Two little soldiers, Unknown (The), Useless beauty, Vagabond (The), Vendetta (The), Waiter, a Bock!, Wasted beauty, Wreck (The), Yvelle,
    Carson McCullers Ballad of sad cafe (The), Jon McGregor This isn’t the sort of things that happens to someone like you,
    Herman Melville – Bartleby, Benito Cereno, The fiddler, The lighting-rod man, The paradise of bachelors, The Scrivener,
    Prosper Merimee (France) – Mateo Falcone, How the redoubt was taken B
    David Miller The glimpses of Truth,
    Rohiton Mistry Of white hairs and cricket
    William De Mille Ruthless
    Lorrie Moore Dance in America,
    Hector Hugo Munro (Saki) –
    Boys and girls, The Dusk*, Gabriel EarnestTo, Interlopers, Love of a good woman Meneseteung, The mouse, Mrs. Packletide’s Tiger, The open window, Runaway, Sredni Vashtar, The story teller*5,
    Harukai Murakami The second bakery attack
    W.H.H. Murray A ride with a mad horse in a freight car B
    Alfred Louis Charles De Musset The Beauty spot B
    ■■■■■■■NNNN■■■■■■■
    R.K. Narayan A horse and two goats, An astrologer’s day B
    Thomas Nelson The burial of the guns
    W. Doglas Newton The charge B
    Max Nordau Deliverance B
    Frank Norris Deal in wheat (A), Third circle (The),
    Vladimir Novokov – Signs and symbols
    ■■■■■OOOOO■■■■■
    Carol Oates (1938- Where are you going, Where have you been,
    Fitz-James O’Brien The diamond lens B, Things they carried (The),
    Flannery O’Connor – Displaced person (The), A good man is hard to find, The lame shall enter first, The man of the house,
    O’Flaherty The sniper*5,
    O’Henry(Am-1862-1910) Black jacket burgainer (A), Cactus (the), Coming out of the Maggie (The), Gift of the Magi*3, Hearts and hands, Jimmy Valentine*, The last leaf, The Princess and the puma*, The phonograph and the graft B, Ransom of red chief (the), The skylight room *5, The Whirligig of life
    O’Keefe Death makes a comeback,
    Tillie Olsen I stand here ironing,
    Orwell – Politics and the English language, Shooting an elephant,
    ■■■■■PPPPP■■■■■
    Z.Z. Packer Brownies,
    Dorothy Parker Big blonde B, A Telephone call,
    Alan Paton – Ha’penny,
    Lyudmila Petrushevskya Like Penelope,
    Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) The black lack cat, The Cask of Amontillago**, The Descent into maelstrom, The Facts in the case of M.Valdemar, The Fall of the house of Usher** The gold bug B, Hop frog, The Imp of Perverse, Ligeia** The Masque of the red death, Mesmeric revelation, The Murders in the Rue Morgue B,The pittman and the pendulum, Premature burial (The), Purloined letter (The), Tell tale Heart (The), Thousand-and-second Tale of Scheherazade (The), Von Kempelen and his discovery,
    Catherine Anne Porter Flowering Juda, Jilting of Granny Weatherall (The),
    Alexander Pushkin (Russia)The queen of spades B
    ■■■■■QQQQQ■■■■■
    A.T. Quilter-Couch The roll call of the reef B
    Horacio Quiroga – The decapitated chicken. Tm
    ■■■■■RRRRR■■■■■
    Ringuet Heritage (The),
    Sinclair Ross – Painted door (The),
    ■■■■■SSSSS■■■■■
    Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch Thou shall not kill B
    J.D. Salinger – The catcher in the rye, For Esme, Nine stories, Pretty mouth and green my eyes,
    William Saroyan Darling (The), Young man on the flying trapeze,
    George Saunders Fall (The), Pastoralia, Puppy, Sea Oak, Tenth of December,
    Arthur Schnitzler – Dead are silent (The), The Dead are Silent B*
    Eugene Scribe The price of life**
    Maurice Shadbolt The people before
    Arwin Shaw The girls in their summer dresses,
    Mona Simpson Lawns,
    Ahdaf Soueif Sandpiper
    Frank L. Spearman The run of the yellow mail
    John Steinbeck Leader of the people (The), Snake (The),
    R.L. Stevenson (1850-94) – The body snatcher, Bottle imp (The), Markheim, The sire de Maletroit’s door, The suicide club
    Carl Stephenson Leiningen VS. ants,
    Frank Stockton Griffin (The), The lady or the tiger, My terminal moraine
    T.S. Stribling Passage to Benares (A),
    Jean August Strindberg Love and Bread
    Stroker, Bam Stroker Dracula guest,
    Jesse Stuart The split cherry Tree,
    Hermann Sundermann A new year’s evening confession
    ■■■■■TTTTT■■■■■
    Antonio Tabucchi The trains that go to Madras,
    Booth Tarkington Mrs. Protheroe
    Avery Taylor – Remember the roses,
    Bayard Taylor Who was she?
    Nokolai Teleshov The duel
    Theodore Thomas Test
    Dylan Thomas A child’s Christmas in Wales,
    Adam Thorpe Tyre
    James Thuber The secret life of Walter Mitty,
    Leo Tolstoy (Russia-1828-1910) – ●The death of Ivan Ilytch●,● Family happiness●, The long exile, How much land does a man require? , Three questions, What men live by
    J.T. Trowbridge The Man who stole a meeting house
    Evan Turgenev (1813-83) The Rendezvous
    Mark Twain – Burlesque biography (A), The celebrated jumping frog, Italian with a grammar, Italian with a master, Luck, Private (The) history of a campaign that failed,Telephonic (A) conversation , Was it heaven or hell,
    ■■■■■UUUUU■■■■■
    John Updike (1932- ) A&P,
    ■■■■■VVVVV■■■■■
    Giovani Verga Cavalleria Rusticana
    Jules Verne – Fortieth French ascent of Mont Blanc,
    Barbara Vine House of stairs (The)
    Kurt Vonnegut Harrison Bergaron, Welcome to the honeymoon,
    ■■■■■WWWW■■■■■
    Patrick Waddington The street that got misled,
    Foster Wallace Girl with curious hair,
    S.T Warner The phoenix
    Irving Washington Legend of sleeping hollow (The),
    H.G. Wells Door in the wall (The), The magic shop, The red room*5, Time machine,
    Leila Burton Wells Bondage
    Eudora Welty Hitch Hikers (The), Why I live at the post office,
    Edith Wharton (1862-1937) – Afterwards, Souls belated,
    E.B. White Door in the wall (The),
    Oscar Wilde – The Happy Prince, The nightingale and the rose, The devoted friend**
    Tennessee William – Resemblance between a Vilin Case and coffin
    William Carlos Williams – Use of force (The),
    Thomas Wolfe – Chickamauga,
    P.G. Wodehouse -Clicking of Cuthbert (The), The prize poem,
    Virginia Woolf – Haunted house (A)
    Richard Wright – Man who lived underground (The),
    ■■■■■ZZZZZ■■■■■
    Emile Zola Fete at Coqueville
    ●■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■●
    General stories
    •••••••••••••••••
    K.A. Abbas Sparrows
    Peter Bichsel The man who no longer wanted to know**
    Ruskin Bond BDn The night train at Deoli**
    A.R. Burton Going places*
    Karel Capek The fortune teller**
    Joyce Cary Growing up**
    Arthur Conun Clarke Report on planet three
    K.N.Daruwala Love across the salt desert
    Anita Desai A devoted son
    Nathaniel Hawthorne Dr. Heidegger’s experiment**
    Amy Hempel At the gate of Animal Kingdom OL
    Sheila Heti Mermaid in the jar OL
    George Klein A dwarf’s Tale OL
    Selma Lagerlof The Rattrap*
    Maxim Loskutoff End Times OL
    E.V. Lucas Third thought**
    Hilary Mantel The assassination of Margaret Thatcher OL
    A.G. Macdonell A village cricket match
    Laura Jean McKay The real Cambodia OL
    A. Mishani Reflections in the lake OL
    Irne Nemirovsky Domingo OL
    Uri Orlev The Chinese OL
    George Orwell The rebellion
    Willard Price Trailing the Jaguar
    Evgeny Schwartz The boss OL
    Khuswant Singh The Portrait of a Lady
    R.N. Tagore The castaway
    Leo Tolstoy What men live by*
    Z
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    ●■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■

    Reply
  46. Aiden says:
    November 14, 2017 at 12:31 pm

    The Egg, by Andy Weir has always been brough up whenever I hear a conversation about short stories.
    I think any list without it is incomplete.

    Also there are better Allen Poe stories but I guess you could populate the list with them.

    Reply
  47. Lana says:
    November 28, 2017 at 6:50 am

    Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx hasn’t been mentioned yet. A beautiful piece of writing.

    Reply
  48. Robert Peate says:
    August 1, 2018 at 9:25 am

    My list of suggestions. Some are already up there.

    “The Masque of the Red Death” (1842) by Edgar Allan Poe

    “The Purloined Letter” (1844) by Edgar Allan Poe

    “The New Utopia” (1891) by Jerome K. Jerome

    “The Story of an Hour” (1894) by Kate Chopin

    “Afterward” (1902) by Edith Wharton

    “The Monkey’s Paw” (1902) by W. W. Jacobs

    “To Build a Fire” (1908) by Jack London

    “Goliah” (1909) by Jack London

    “The Machine Stops” (1909) by E. M. Forster

    “The Jameson Satellite” (1931) by Neil R. Jones

    “Who Goes There?” (1938) by John W. Campbell, Jr.

    “The Wall” (1939) by Jean-Paul Sartre

    “Katina” (1941) by Roald Dahl

    “Arena” (1944), by Fredric Brown

    “The Lottery” (1948) by Shirley Jackson

    “There Will Come Soft Rains” (1950) by Ray Bradbury

    “The Marching Morons” by C. M. Kornbluth

    “Lamb to the Slaughter” (1953) by Roald Dahl

    “The Adjustment Team” (1954), by Philip K. Dick

    “Fondly Fahrenheit” (1954) by Alfred Bester

    “Brightside Crossing” (1956), by Alan E. Nourse

    “Thank you, Ma’am” (1958) by Langston Hughes

    “Examination Day” (1958), by Henry Slesar

    “Billennium” (1962) by J. G. Ballard

    “Marigolds” (1969) by Eugenia Collier

    “The Village” (1969) by Kate Wilhelm

    “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” (1973) by Ursula K. LeGuin

    “The Forbidden Words of Margaret A.” (1990) by L. Timmel Duchamp

    “Peter Skilling” (a.k.a., “Retroactive Anti-Terror”) (2004) by Alex Irvine

    “Red Card” (2007) by S. L. Gilbow

    “The Osage Orange Tree” (2014) by William Stafford

    Reply
  49. Evan Waller says:
    October 1, 2018 at 6:22 pm

    “The Secret Integration” and “Under the Rose”, both by Thomas Pynchon (does this list still get updated btw?)

    Reply
  50. Ron Ginzler says:
    October 10, 2018 at 8:37 pm

    “Configuration of the North Shore,” “Narrow Valley,” “Continued on Next Rock,” “The Hole on the Corner,” “Cliffs That Laughed,” all by R. A. Lafferty.
    “The Man Who lost the Sea,” Theodore Sturgeon.
    “Buffalo Gals, Won’t You Come Out Tonight,” Ursula K.. LeGuin.
    “All You Zombies,” Robert Heinlein.
    “Ten Thousand Assyrians,” William Saroyan.
    “Are You Too Late, or Was I Too Early?” John Collier.
    “The Man Who Rowed Christopher Columbus Ashore,” Harlan Ellison.

    Reply
    1. Ted Mosser says:
      April 5, 2019 at 3:45 pm

      I’m glad to see Paul’s Case included. I also believe Sonny’s Blues, Flight, The Overcoat, Silent Snow, Secret Snow and some others by Hemingway, Conrad and London belong in a top 50s list.
      The Lottery at least for me is too casually violent.

      Reply
  51. mike whitney says:
    February 4, 2019 at 1:59 pm

    1. “The Dead,” James Joyce; Last two paragraphs constitute, to many, some of the most beautiful writing in our language.

    2. “Odour of Chrysanthemums,” D H Lawrence. Death of a husband; Defines loneliness and the feeling of profound isolation and separateness of each of us possibly better than anything ever written.

    3. “Dry September,” Wm. Faulkner – the evil that is latent in us all.

    4. “Winter Dreams,” Scott Fitzgerald; The loss of our most cherished youthful hopes.

    5. “A Christmas Memory,” Truman Capote; the strength of love and deepest friendship even in the permanency of profound loss and change. A beautiful story.

    6. “The Sojourner,” Carson McCullers; the consequences of a wasted life due to fear of commitment.

    7. “In Football Season,” John Updike; A fond and bright reflection of happy high school memories and friendships. Anyone who enjoyed their high school years will find happy reminiscence here.

    8. “The Land and the Water,”; Shirley Anne Grau; a child’s first understanding of death, and the effect it has on her. Superb.

    9. “The Monkey’s Paw;” WW Jacobs; the classic and finest ghost story ever written.

    10. “Shaving,” Leslie Norris (Welsh); A devoted teenage son ministers lovingly to his beloved, but dying, father. A good death, if ever such can be.

    11. “The Last Lesson,”; by Daudet (French writer) A teacher in a provincial town delivers his final lesson just before victorious Prussian soldiers come in to take charge of the schools and mandate teaching of German language and culture.

    12. “Seven Floors,” Dino Buzatti. A man admitted to a hospital for minor illness sees his condition continually diagnosed as unaccountably worsening amidst a cold and sterile environment. Indictment of modern isolation and technology.

    13. “The Grasshopper and the Bell Cricket,” by Kawabata (Japan) – the most moving story of childhood innocence and joy I have ever read.

    14, “Discovery of a Father,” Sherwood Anderson; A young boy thinks his father nothing but a clown until a late night swim together opens his eyes to the dignity and fineness of his dad.

    15. “Flight” John Steinbeck – a young Mexican boy must become a man quickly after knifing a man out of hot, angry pride. The description of his flight on horseback from a pursuing posse through the West Mexican wilds and mountains is a thrilling story.

    16. “My Oedipus Complex,” Frank O’Connor; A happy young boy quickly becomes very unhappy when his father (whom he’s too young to have met before) returns from four years of war replacing the boy in his mother’s attentions. Very humorous.

    17. “The First Death of Her Life,” Elizabeth Taylor (NOT the actress, but a superb English short story writer.) A teenage girl’s confrontation with the death of her mother, and the grief shared with her father.

    This is a worthy endeavor which may even lead to some excellent anthologies resulting in a wider variety of stories than is typically seen. We wish you the best.

    Reply
  52. Jannetta Vairin says:
    July 3, 2019 at 7:37 pm

    Hunters in the snow by Tobias Wolf, Desirees Baby by Kate chopin The River by Flannery O’Connor

    Reply
    1. Heidi B says:
      May 10, 2021 at 12:33 pm

      Revelation by Flannery O Connor, The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky by Stephen Crane

      Reply
  53. Pam Hall says:
    August 1, 2019 at 1:44 pm

    August 1, 2019

    Hello Every Writer (& Reader),

    I’m looking for an old short story I read over 20 years ago in an old (lost) textbook that contained compilations of short stories, essays and other writings. I don’t when the story was actually written or published. And, of course, I don’t remember the title or the author. I’ve been on a futile search. No luck with a university librarian or a public librarian. I’ve searched this and other sites, as well.

    With all the readers & writers on this website, I’m hoping someone can help me identify and find this story. A brief description:

    It was about a man who lived all his life in the same village and when he died was buried in the local cemetery. The story is about how he was remembered and then ultimately, over the passage of time, his existence was erased.

    I don’t remember for sure but I think it was set somewhere in Europe maybe in 1800’s. He was a carpenter and furniture maker. There were examples of how the memory of him and his existence on earth, eventually disappeared in the years following his death:

    1. A desk he had built for a customer was being moved and the old hand-written paid receipt he had given his customer flew out of a drawer and blew away. The rain washed away his writing. That was the last of anything he had ever written.

    2. An old woman lay dying and she remembered a young man she had once known – that was the last time he was ever thought of by another person.

    3. One cold and cruel winter, the wooden cross on his grave was stolen and used for firewood. That was the last remaining sign he had ever existed.

    Appreciate anyone’s help!! Thank you.

    Pam

    Reply
    1. mike whitney says:
      August 2, 2020 at 11:15 am

      Wonderful story, Pam. Now I, too, wish I knew the title. Doesn’t sound American or British. Perhaps Russian; maybe French ? If you find out, please post.

      Reply
  54. Henrique says:
    November 12, 2019 at 11:49 am

    You need to travel the world through short stories. I suggest you read more German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese and Chinese writers (among the more or less well-known literatures), but if you really want to dig deeper, look for Hungarians, Romanians, Bulgarians, Polishs, Czechs, Ukrainians, Swedishs, Danes, Dutchs, Koreans, Brazilians, Mexicans, Angolans, Mozambicans and Indians writers. At least these. I assure you that in each of these literatures you will find not only short stories that will go to a list of a thousand, but even to a list of top 100. Greetings from Brazil!

    Reply
  55. Martin G. says:
    May 21, 2021 at 11:47 am

    Seeing no John Wyndham here:- Chronoclasm, Meteor, Opposite Number

    Reply
  56. Mike says:
    February 22, 2022 at 4:23 am

    I can find Stockton’s story but not Bradbury.
    100. The Lady and the Tiger by Ray Bradbury
    “The Lady or the Tiger?” Frank Stockton

    Reply
  57. David Collins says:
    September 25, 2024 at 3:28 pm

    Here are some things I noticed while looking quickly through your list:

    309 and 310 are the same story.
    321 is a collection, not a story.
    331 is not a story.
    336 is a collection, not a story (it also appears at 788).
    337 and 338 are the same story.
    391 and 392 are the same story.
    400 and 401 are the same story.
    447, 449, and 638 are the same story — “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”
    485 and 486 are the same story.
    540, 541, and 542 are all the same story.
    630 and 631 are the same story.
    639 and 640 are the same story.
    700 and 701 are the same story.
    854 and 859 are the same story.
    855 and 856 are the same story.
    935 and 936 are the same story.

    Reply

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