Whether it’s the epic heroism of Homer’s Odyssey, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s enduring anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin or a more recent, evocative retelling in the form of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, it’s fair to say that our list of Top stories features many world-changing works of fiction. But we also know that there are plenty more great stories out there that deserve to be heard.
So, to celebrate World Short Story Day (March 16) we’ve pulled together a collection of our favourites from the past 35 years. This includes a brilliant debut from a writer we’re delighted to have in our ranks and a pair of stories that perfectly encapsulate the complexities of family life.
In this story of a New York City born from a dead ocean, N. K. Jemisin explores how a city will live or die by the songs it sings – but there are ancient enemies that can’t tolerate new life and the narrator is just one midwife among them.
An expert at compression, Scanlan uses technology, needlework, sex and horror to reveal the fractures in family life in these superbly written short stories. Often just a page long, her sense of wild anachronism and mad erudition – combined with infectious humour, English eccentricity and deep feeling – make her work truly special.