Tag Archives: Short Stories

Wet

“Wet” by Joy Williams from 99 Stories of God The Lord was drinking some water out of a glass. There was nothing wrong with the glass, but the water tasted terrible. This was in a white building on a vast wasteland. … Continue reading

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Happy Short Story Month

May is Short Story Month so why not celebrate by reading some classic short fiction. Here’s a list of short story collections worth visiting this month, or any time. James Baldwin’s Going to Meet the Man J. G. Ballard’s The Complete … Continue reading

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The supply of strange ideas is not endless.

“The Flight of Pigeons from the Palace” by Donald Barthelme In the abandoned palazzo, weeds and old blankets filled the rooms. The palazzo was in bad shape. We cleaned the abandoned palazzo for ten years. We scoured the stones. The … Continue reading

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An odd place for a lighthouse

It’s always a treat to stumble upon an engaging short story and doubly so to discover a prize-winning work. The VS Pritchett Short Story Prize for 2022 was recently awarded to Kaliane Bradley’s genre-bending story Doggerland. Simultaneously humorous and creepy, the story … Continue reading

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“Actually”

“Actually” by Joy Williams from 99 Stories of God The child wanted to name the rabbit Actually, and could not be dissuaded from this. It was the first time one of our pets was named after an adverb. It made us … Continue reading

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My AI Tale

To say that I am ambivalent about the rush to use AI in the arts would be an understatement. In many instances it seems more like an automated plagiarism machine than cutting edge technology. However, I was game to give … Continue reading

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In The Stacks (Maisie’s Tune)

In the Stacks (Maisie’s Tune) by Robin Sloan is both a synthesizer with knobs you can fiddle with and a short story you can read. Here’s a sample, but you can read the entire story by the author of the … Continue reading

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Ghost Stories of an Antiquary

Each year the Halloween season seems to engender new found interest in both popular and lesser known spooky stories. Those of us raised on classic ghost tales likely are familiar with the work of M.R. James, but younger generations may … Continue reading

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What then do we want words for?

“By the Numbers” by Hob Broun [1] THEY WORKED AT THE enclosed mall in King of Prussia. They wore plastic nametags, the corporate logo above a deep groove accommodating a Dymo label. Jenelle for the record store, Courtney for the … Continue reading

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The Library of Short Stories

The Library of Short Stories  is a website which compiles and share sout-of-copyright fiction for anyone to peruse. The site collects all types of short stories across various genres – you have your classic Conan Doyle, Dickens, Chekov, Hemingway and … Continue reading

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