Short Stories bestsellers

Where We Go When All We Were Is Gone

“I loved every minute of this strange, fantastical, and often heartwarming collection of short stories.”

Rayna, Blue Cypress Books

Her Body and Other Parties

“Her Body and Other Parties: Stories by Carmen Maria Machado is a blend of urban legends and horror stories all focusing on the roles women play in society. Machado writes in the most beautiful, haunting way, and each story is truly unique and almost always a little uncomfortable.”

Emma, Quail Ridge Books

WINNIE-THE-POOH
POOH GOES VISITING and other stories
Story 1 In which we are introduced
Story 2 In which Pooh goes visiting and gets into a tight place
Story 3 In which Pooh and Piglet go hunting and nearly catch a Woozle
Story 4 In which Eeyore loses a tail and Pooh finds one
Story 5 In which Piglet is entirely surrounded by water
Story 6 In... Read more »

Florida

“This collection of stories, read by the author, is impeccable. Lauren Groff weaves her way through many lives and many circumstances in a way that makes everyday life experiences climactic yet accessible. The sound, timber and cadence of her voice as she speaks her own words to the listener is spellbinding. If you are looking for an intimate author/reader experience, download this and put on your headphones! You won't be disappointed.”

Casey, Innisfree Bookshop

Stories of Your Life and Others

“I have read in several places that Ted Chiang is one of the most important voices in modern science fiction and after reading this book I fully agree with this statement. Stories of Your Life is a collection of short stories that for the most part were originally published in magazines. Each of the stories dealt with wildly different subjects, proving Chiang’s versatility as an author. And each story was deeply compelling and filled with truly original ideas. My favorite kind of science fiction is the kind that forces you to put the book down occasionally and ponder the implications of the ideas being presented. This collection had no shortage of these moments. Another one of my favorite issues in science fiction is linguistics and communication difficulties, the title story that was made into the film Arrival, did a wonderful job at addressing this issue and presented fresh concepts that I will be considering for some time to come. The best books are the ones that keep you thinking for months on end and I have no doubt that this book has had that effect on me. I don’t want to give away the premises of these stories because I found them surprising throughout and wouldn’t want to deprive you of a similar experience. Highly recommended!”

Jean-Paul, Space Cowboy Books

The long-awaited first short story-collection by the author of the cult sensation Convenience Store Woman, tales of weird love, heartfelt friendships, and the unsettling nature of human existenceWith Life Ceremony, the incomparable Sayaka Murata is back with her first collection of short stories ever to be translated into English. In Japan,... Read more »

The Office of Historical Corrections

“I have been holding my breath for Danielle Evans’ next book of short stories since Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self, and The Office of Historical Corrections was worth the wait. She delivers the same great storytelling, insight, and sharp cultural commentary. Her touch on themes usually associated with older people, such as redemption, reconciliation, and propitiation, moved me. I read the whole collection in two days.”

Miesha Headen, Loganberry Books

An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed

“An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed by Helene Tursten is simply the cutest book in the world with the most delightful protagonist by the name of Maud. Maud is an 89-year-old murderess with no remorse and an acerbic inner monologue that will have you anticipating and even endorsing her kills.”

Emma, Quail Ridge Books

Exhalation

“WOW. My first experience with Ted Chiang absolutely blew me out of the water. Each story left me with wide eyes and a racing mind, running to my husband to read a passage so we could both be knocked over with wonder. Exhalation filled me with so many questions about our collective past, present, and future, I’ll be coming back to this book again and again trying to find the answers.”

Kasey Kane, Country Bookshelf

Children have always found a delightful friend in James Herriot. His award-winning stories for young readers bring the farmyard world of Herriot's Yorkshire to vibrant life. Featuring a host of adorable animals and colorful townsfolk, each of the stories is narrated by the country vet himself, with all of the warmth, caring, and good humor that... Read more »

"Narrator Katharine Chin nails the dark humor and flat tone of this bizarre and fascinating short story collection."- AudioFile

A new creation by the author of Severance, Bliss Montage crashes through our carefully built mirages.

What happens when fantasy tears the screen of the everyday to wake us up? Could that waking be our end?

In Bliss... Read more »

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • NAMED ONE OF TIME’S TEN BEST FICTION BOOKS OF THE DECADE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE DECADE BY ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY AND BUZZFEED • NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY People • The New York Times... Read more »

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the bestselling, award-winning author of The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments, a dazzling collection of short stories that look deeply into the heart of family relationships, marriage, loss and memory, and what it means to spend a life together

"If you consider yourself an Atwood fan and have only read her novels: Get... Read more »

Featured in the Netflix series Love, Death & Robots

Bestselling author Ken Liu selects his multiple award-winning stories for a groundbreaking collection—including a brand-new piece exclusive to this volume.

With his debut novel, The Grace of Kings, taking the literary world by storm, Ken Liu now shares his finest short fiction in The Paper... Read more »

Finalist for the 2012 National Book AwardA Time and People Top 10 Book of 2012
Finalist for the 2012 Story Prize
Chosen as a notable or best book of the year by The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, The LA Times, Newsday, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, the iTunes bookstore, and many more... 

"Electrifying." –The New York Times Book... Read more »

From chudails and peris to jinn and goddesses, this lush collection of South Asian folklore, legends, and epics reimagines stories of old for a modern audience.This fantasy and science fiction teen anthology edited by Samira Ahmed and Sona Charaipotra contains a wide range of stories from fourteen bestselling, award-winning, and emerging writers... Read more »

A masterful new collection of interconnected stories, from the renowned National Book Award–winning author

In Natural History, Andrea Barrett completes the beautiful arc of intertwined lives of a family of scientists, teachers, and innovators that she has been weaving through multiple books since her National Book Award–winning collection, Ship... Read more »

Liberation Day

“The stories are creative and well written, although can be a bit dark! This audio version is a must listen however. The various actors that read are all fabulous. It was such fun listening, I listened to some twice!”

Kristine, Buttonwood Books and Toys

Now, new in audio and completely unabridged, the collection that made Borges a household name in the English-speaking world. The groundbreaking trans-genre work of Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) has been insinuating itself into the structure, stance, and very breath of world literature for well over half a century.... Read more »

“As impeccable as [the] title story is, every entry astonishes” (The New York Times), from the National Jewish Book Award-winning author of A Play for the End of the World

"Whether in Brooklyn, Kolkata, upstate New York or elsewhere, these characters captured my heart and endure in my memory like loved ones.” —Mia Alvar, author of In the... Read more »

Tsalagi should never have to live on human blood, but sometimes things just happen to sixteen-year-old girls. Making her YA debut, Cherokee writer Andrea L. Rogers takes her place as one of the most striking voices of the horror renaissance. Horror fans will get their thrills in this collection—from werewolves to vampires to zombies, all the... Read more »

A busybody aunt who disapproves of hair removal; a pair of door-to-door saleswomen hawking portable lanterns; a cheerful lover who visits every night to take a luxurious bath; a silent house-caller who babysits and cleans while a single mother is out working. Where the Wild Ladies Are is populated by these and many other spirited women-who also... Read more »

Full Throttle

“What a ride! This book of stories (two written with Stephen King) is a fast ride through Hill’s considerable imagination. He takes us through 13 stories of suspense, from the back of a motorcycle and outrunning a murderous semi-truck driver to an American sea monster, then on to a young girl who befriends a machine, and ending with, well, the end of the world. His stories are reminiscent of a certain well-known horror writer, but are clearly his own brand of terror. I enjoyed each of them and wished that some might morph into full-length books because it was hard to let them go. I always look forward to Hill’s books, and this one did not disappoint.”

Sarah Harmuth Letke, Redbery Books

From “a marvelous new voice” (Rebecca Makkai), these “extraordinarily imaginative” (Sigrid Nunez), “revelatory” (Nicole Krauss), “superb” (Kiran Desai) stories transcend borders as they render the intimate lives of people striving for connection.

WINNER OF THE AJL JEWISH FICTION AWARD • FINALIST FOR THE WINGATE PRIZE

The Man Who Sold Air in the... Read more »

A debut short story collection in the tradition of writers like Kelly Link, Aimee Bender, and George Saunders—strange, imaginative, and refreshingly original—now on audio as part of Ecco’s “Art of the Story” Series, and with a new introduction from the author.Kevin Wilson’s characters inhabit a world that moves seamlessly between the real and... Read more »

With a career that spanned more than half a century, William Trevor is regarded as one of the best writers of short stories in the English language. Now, in Last Stories, the master storyteller delivers ten exquisitely rendered tales—nine of which have never been published in book form—that illuminate the human condition and will surely linger... Read more »

The critically acclaimed author of The Rib King returns with an eagerly anticipated collection of interlocking short stories including the title story written exclusively for this volume, that explore relationships between friends, family and strangers in a Black neighborhood over fifteen yearsThe twelve gripping tales... Read more »

When it happens to you, you will be surprised. That thing they say about how you knew all the time, but just weren't facing it? That might be the case, but nevertheless, there you will be.Molly Ringwald mines the complexities of modern relationships in this gripping and nuanced collection of interlinked stories. Writing with a deep compassion... Read more »

A perfect introduction for new listeners and a must-have for avid fans, this New York Times Notable Book includes "Bloodchild," winner of both the Hugo and the Nebula awards and "Speech Sounds," winner of the Hugo Award. Appearing in audio for the first time, "Amnesty" is a story of a woman named Noah who works to negotiate the tense and... Read more »

Award-winning author Cynthia "Cina" Pelayo's acclaimed short story collection Lotería, now with added illustrations and new bonus stories...as well as an exclusive preview for her upcoming sequel to CHILDREN OF CHICAGO, THE SHOEMAKER'S MAGICIAN (out this Spring).
The Mexican board game of Lotería is a game of chance—similar to bingo. However, in... Read more »

Set in a Native community in Maine, Night of the Living Rez is a riveting debut collection about what it means to be Penobscot in the twenty-first century and what it means to live, to survive, and to persevere after tragedy. In twelve striking, luminescent stories, author Morgan Talty—with searing humor, abiding compassion, and deep... Read more »

We Two Alone

“A stunning debut from a new voice in fiction. Multiple stories from all walks of the class spectrum during the 1920's Chinese Diaspora. We Two Alone is a must-read for someone looking to explore more of their relationship with race and US history. ”

Kelso, Gibson's Bookstore

An outstanding array—52 pieces in all—of selected fiction from the multiple-award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, curated by his readers around the world, and introduced with a foreword by Booker Prize-winning author Marlon JamesSpanning Gaiman’s career to date, The Neil Gaiman Reader: Selected Fiction is a captivating... Read more »

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
"Reading a perfectly plotted Agatha Christie is like crunching into a perfect apple: that pure, crisp, absolute satisfaction.” —Tana French, New York Times bestselling author of the Dublin Murder Squad novelsAn all-new collection of winter-themed stories from the Queen of Mystery, just in time for the... Read more »

Uncommon Type

“Wow! Here is a collection of stories that are at times funny, often moving, and really, really good, if not great. 'Welcome to Mars' is perhaps my favorite. It's Kirk's 19th birthday, and he joins his father to go surfing on what turns out to be a defining day in his life. And then there's 'Alan Bean Plus Four,' which is a hilarious telling of four friends' journey to the moon. Read it. You'll be pleasantly surprised by Tom Hanks' writing.”

Randy Schiller, Left Bank Books

Three-time Hugo Award winner and NYT bestselling author N. K. Jemisin challenges and delights readers with thought-provoking narratives of destruction, rebirth, and redemption that sharply examine modern society in her first collection of short fiction, which includes never-before-seen stories.

"Marvelous and wide-ranging." -- Los Angeles... Read more »

White Cat, Black Dog

“Kelly Link is a national treasure. These stories are like prismatically unsettled and modern versions of familiar tales, equipping each eerie element with a hefty dose of the banal, like any of these tales can happen in your living room--even if they're mired in a post-apocalyptic wasteland or peopled by robots on an abandoned asteroid. Stunning marvels, each of these stories is burrowed into my body. ”

Gretchen, A Room Of One's Own Bookstore

At last, a single volume that gathers together all of the short stories featuring Agatha Christie's most famous creation, Hercule Poirot. The dapper, mustache-twirling little Belgian with the egg-shaped head and curious mannerisms has solved some of the most puzzling crimes of the century—and, in his own humble opinion, is "probably the greatest... Read more »

An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good

“Refreshingly original, with great pacing, fascinating character development, and surprisingly funny charm in each short story. After almost 90 years of life, Maud delights in living life her way: splitting time between exploring the world and living in her rent-free apartment, alone. When someone - a selfish artist, the upstairs wife-beating neighbor, a gold-digger, or a shifty antiques dealer - threatens Maud’s lifestyle, well, that just won’t do. They’ll have to go. Luckily for Maud, no one suspects an elderly lady to be up to no good.”

BrocheAroe, River Dog Book Co.

Filthy Animals

“These stories about human relationships range from those between lovers, friends, and family. How is it that Taylor can write so that we can see the interior crevices of these characters’ souls?”

Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop

WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE
 
WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST FOR TRANSLATED LITERATURE

A visionary work of fiction by "A writer on the level of W. G. Sebald" (Annie Proulx)

"A magnificent writer." — Svetlana Alexievich, Nobel Prize-winning author of Secondhand Time

"A beautifully fragmented... Read more »

“Bowles’s tales are at once austere, witty, violent, and sensuous. They move with the inevitability of myth. His language has a purity of line, a poise and authority entirely its own.” —Tobias WolffAn American cult figure, Paul Bowles has fascinated such disparate talents as Norman Mailer, Allen Ginsberg, Truman Capote, William S. Burroughs,... Read more »

Grand Union

“Whether she’s telling a very short story about a mother and daughter discussing animal cruelty while on vacation or a longer story about a trio of celebrities on a road trip to escape New York, Grand Union shows that Zadie Smith is as adept with short fiction as she is with the novel. For a form of literature that always seems to enhance the faults of lesser writers, short stories, for Smith, seem only to make her shine brighter than ever.”

Bennard Fajardo, Politics and Prose Bookstore

Look Both Ways

“Each chapter is a different voice in the audiobook, with the final chapter read by Jason Reynolds himself (which is perfect, because it is the most poetic, as well). I adored this book, and my students are loving it, too! The little clues throughout about the bus, and the way the characters subtly interact without realizing it is masterful. ”

Kim, Lark & Owl

If you enjoyed Her Body and Other Parties, then you’ll love Land Of Big Numbers.

“ How can someone write about China? It’s a land of contradictions and multitudes seemingly impossible to tease apart. Te-ping Chen has managed to do just that with this slim and stunning short story collection. Each entry is a small glimpse into someone’s life; you will hunger for more. The book blends the real with the surreal to delicately touch on topics like technology, censorship, globalization, and conformity in surprising ways. The collection is like a perfect pearl: brilliant, gleaming and a little elusive.”

Samantha, Rediscovered Books

Finalist for the Pulitzer PrizeFrom the legendary literary master, winner of the National Book Award and New York Times bestselling author Joyce Carol Oates, a collection of thirteen mesmerizing stories that maps the eerie darkness within us all.Insightful, disturbing, imaginative, and breathtaking in their lyrical precision, the stories in... Read more »

The best science fiction and fantasy stories of 2021, selected by series editor John Joseph Adams and guest editor Veronica Roth.

This year’s selection of science fiction and fantasy stories, chosen by series editor John Joseph Adams and bestselling author of the Divergent series Veronica Roth, showcases a crop of authors that are willing to... Read more »

An essential collection of classic stories that established Flannery O’Connor’s reputation as an American master of fiction—now with a new introduction by New York Times bestselling author Lauren Groff In 1955, with the title story and others in this critical edition, Flannery O’Connor firmly laid claim to her place as one of the most original... Read more »

Love in Color

“Love in Color is delicious. I wanted to both savor every word and devour the next story. Each story unlike the last, each with a different voice and style. Babalola's retellings and reimaginings draw you in to each unique trial of love. A decadent read perfect for a beach, cabin, orrr anywhere else. ;)”

Emma, Content

This classic science fiction masterwork by Isaac Asimov weaves stories about robots, humanity, and the deep questions of existence into a novel of shocking intelligence and heart.
 
“A must-read for science-fiction buffs and literature enjoyers alike.”—The Guardian

I, Robot, the first and most widely read book in Asimov’s Robot series, forever... Read more »