Short Fiction

I have read reports that many people are finding they no longer have the attention span to read an entire novel. No problem. Start with short fiction. These are stories that can be read anywhere from about two hours to less than five minutes. The challenge can be where to find them. This page is my contribution to solving that problem. Be sure to check out the tools section at the bottom for how to save these stories to read later without an internet connection.

My Favorite Short Stories

This is where I share the short stories, novelettes, and novellas that I have read and rated as five stars (out of five). All of these are available to read online for free. Most of the titles below are speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, horror) as that is my area of focus. They are sorted by publication date with the most recent at the top. Reading time is based on the average adult reading speed of between 220 and 350 words per minute. Stories in italics are from audio podcasts.

Wanderlust by LP Kindred (2023) [3,788 words/11-17 minutes]
(emet) by Lauren Ring (2023) [7,470 words/21-34 minutes]
The Mausoleum’s Children by Aliette de Bodard (2023) [5,411 words/15-25 minutes]
The Belfry Keeper by S.L. Harris (2023) [845 words/3-4 minutes]
Saturday’s Song by Wole Talabi (2023) [8,677 words/25-39 minutes]
Blood for a Stranger by Timothy Mudie (2023) [9,434 words/27-43 minutes]
She Blooms and the World is Changed by Izzy Wasserstein (2023) [2,337 words/7-11 minutes]
To Sail Beyond the Botnet by Suzanne Palmer (2023) [21,920 words/63-100 minutes]
Better Living Through Algorithms by Naomi Kritzer (2023) [5,610 words/16-26 minutes]
The Toll of the Snake by Grace P. Fong (2023) [4,900 words/14-22 minutes]
They Could Have Been Yours by Joy Baglio (2023) [6,900 words/20-31 minutes]
Every Shade of Healing by Taryn Frazier (2023) [1,000 words/3-5 minutes]
Over Moonlit Clouds by Coda Augeuy-Pegon (2023) [6,900 words/20-31 minutes]/li>
The Spoil Heap by Fiona Moore (2023) [6,640 words/19-30 minutes]
Pinocchio Photography by Angela Liu (2023) [6,450 words/18-29 minutes]
Blank Space by Delilah S. Dawson (2023) [4,745 words/14-22 minutes]
Silo, Sweet Silo by James Castles (2023) [4,397 words/13-20 minutes]
An Ode to Stardust by R. P. Sand (2023) 14,616 words/42-66 minutes]
Learning Letters by Carrie Vaughn (2023) [4,384 words/13-20 minutes]
The Father Provincial of Mare Imbrium by E. Lily Yu (2023) [3,545 words/10-16 minutes]
Waystation City by A.T. Greenblatt (2023) [4,274 words/12-19 minutes]
Cold Relations by Mary Robinette Kowal (2023) [7,980 words/23-36 minutes]
Braid Me a Howling Tongue by Maria Dong (2023) [9,909 words/28-45 minutes]
A Man Walks Into a Bar; or, In Which More Than Four Decades After My Father’s Reluctant Night of Darts on West 54th Street, I Finally Understand What Needs to Be Done by Scott Edelman (2023) [5,977 words/17-27 minutes]
The Narrative Implications of You Untimely Death by Isabel J. Kim (2023) [5,122 words/15-23 minutes]
The Last Serving by Lincoln Michel (2023) [1,006 words/3-5 minutes]
Your Rover Is Here by LP Kindred (2023) [3,500 words/10-16 minutes]
Message in a Vessel by V. G. Harrison (2023) [4,900 words/14-22 minutes]
Foster by Claire Keegan (2010) [10,095 words/29-46 minutes]
Or All The Seas with Oysters by Avram Davidson (1958) [3,430 words/10-16 minutes]
The Star by Arthur C. Clarke (1955) [2,432 words/7-11 minutes]
Youth by Isaac Asimov (1952) [9,485 words/27-43 minutes]
To Build a Fire by Jack London (1916) [7,042 words/20-32 minutes]
Springtime à la Carte by O. Henry (1906) [2,137 words/6-10 minutes]
The Green Door by O. Henry (1906) [2,679 words/8-12 minutes]
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry (1905) [2,023 words/6-9 minutes]
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1892) [5,815 words/17-26 minutes]
The Gentle Spirit by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1876) [16,000 words/46-73 minutes]

Short Fiction

My Favorite Short Stories

Short Fiction on the Internet

Reading

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Tools to Save and Read Later