📄

Best Short Stories Books

The short story is a distinct art form, not a failed novel. Its compression — the requirement to achieve in 5,000 words what a novel achieves in 100,000 — demands a different kind of mastery: the precise word, the telling detail, the implication held in reserve. Chekhov, who largely invented the modern form, understood that a story could end without resolution, that a life could be captured in its peripheral moments. Alice Munro, who won the Nobel Prize largely on the strength of her stories, called them "novels in miniature". The tradition includes O. Henry, Flannery O'Connor, Raymond Carver, Mavis Gallant, and Alice Walker.

50 titles ranked · Scored across 40+ editorial sources

literary-fiction

Nouvelles histoires extraordinaires (Berenice / Black Cat / Cask of Amontillado / Colloquy of Monos and Una / Conversation of Eiros and Charmi / Devil in the Belfry / Fall of the House of Usher / Four Beasts in One / Hop-Frog / Imp of the Perverse / Island of the Fay / King Pest / Lionizing / Man of the Crowd / Masque of the Red Death / Oval Portrait / Pit and the Pendulum / Power of Words / Shadow / Silence / Some Words with a Mummy / Tell-Tale Heart / William Wilson)

Edgar Allan Poe· 1857

Library Journal

Editorial Score55/100

#31

literary-fiction

Tales of Mystery and Imagination [46 stories]

Edgar Allan Poe· 1908

Library Journal

Editorial Score55/100

#32

literary-fiction

The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe [67 stories, 52 poems, 4 essays]

Edgar Allan Poe· 1938

Library Journal

Editorial Score55/100

#33

literary-fiction

Tales of Mystery and Imagination [22 stories]

Edgar Allan Poe· 1985

Library Journal

Editorial Score55/100

#34

literary-fiction

Selected Writings of Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe· 1967

Publishers Weekly

Editorial Score55/100

#35

classic-literature

Short Stories (Adventures of Sherlock Holmes / Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes [12 stories])

Arthur Conan Doyle· 1946

Publishers Weekly

Editorial Score55/100

#36

classic-literature

Sherlock Holmes (Adventures of Sherlock Holmes / Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes / His Last Bow / Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes [11 stories] / Return of Sherlock Holmes)

Arthur Conan Doyle· 1928

Library Journal

Editorial Score55/100

#37

classic-literature

Great Short Works of Herman Melville

Herman Melville· 1940

Publishers Weekly

Editorial Score55/100

#38

science-fiction

Beast Quest

Adam Blade· 2007

Publishers Weekly

Editorial Score55/100

#39

short-stories

The Stories of John Edgar Wideman

John Edgar Wideman· 1993

★PEN/Faulkner Award

Editorial Score54/100

#40

literary-fiction

The Call of the Wild

Jack London· 1903

Library Journal

Editorial Score50/100

#41

literary-fiction

Decamerone

Giovanni Boccaccio· 1516

Library Journal

Editorial Score50/100

#42

literary-fiction

The Turn of the Screw

Henry James· 1898

Kirkus Reviews

Editorial Score50/100

#43

literary-fiction

Pollyanna

Eleanor Hodgman Porter· 1912

Library Journal

Editorial Score50/100

#44

literary-fiction

Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes [11 stories]

Arthur Conan Doyle· 1893

Kirkus Reviews

Editorial Score50/100

#45

literary-fiction

Baum's American Fairy Tales

L. Frank Baum· 1901

Library Journal

Editorial Score50/100

#46

literary-fiction

The sketch-book of Geoffrey Crayon, Esq

Washington Irving· 1819

Publishers Weekly

Editorial Score50/100

#47

literary-fiction

The Awakening

Kate Chopin· 1899

Library Journal

Editorial Score50/100

#48

literary-fiction

Plain tales from the hills

Rudyard Kipling· 1888

Library Journal

Editorial Score50/100

#49

literary-fiction

The Fall of the House of Usher

Edgar Allan Poe· 1704

Library Journal

Editorial Score50/100

#50

literary-fiction

The Amateur Cracksman

Ernest William Hornung· 1899

Publishers Weekly

Editorial Score50/100

The Parenting Companion

Happy Children

What Evolution Actually Built Your Child’s Emotions For

Your child’s emotions are not the problem. They are the operating system.

Get It on Amazon →Paperback & Kindle

By Country

🇺🇳International2694 🇺🇸United States207 🇬🇧United Kingdom100 🇮🇪Ireland12 🇮🇳India9 🇦🇷Argentina8 🇯🇵Japan8 🇩🇰Denmark7 🇵🇱Poland7 🌍Italy5 🇩🇪Germany4 🌍France4 🌍Nigeria3 🇨🇿Czech Republic3 🇨🇴Colombia3 🇸🇪Sweden2 🇷🇺Russia2 🇪🇸Spain1 🌍Turkey1 🌍Chile1 🌍Peru1 🇲🇽Mexico1 🇨🇳China1 🇿🇦South Africa1 🇦🇹Austria1

Key Authors

Elizabeth Strout Jorge Luis Borges Jennifer Egan John Cheever Breece D'J Pancake Grace Paley Andrea Barrett Charles Dickens James Joyce Thomas Hardy

Short Stories Books — FAQ

What are the best short stories books of all time?

The top-ranked short stories books include Olive Kitteridge, Ficciones, A Visit from the Goon Squad — all with high editorial consensus scores across major literary prizes and critic lists.

How are short stories books ranked on 50 Best Books?

Rankings are based on aggregate editorial scores drawn from Nobel Prizes, Booker Awards, Pulitzer Prizes, and 40+ other critical sources. Each mention is weighted by prestige, recency, and scope.

Which countries produce the most acclaimed short stories books?

International, United States, United Kingdom lead our rankings in short stories, producing the most internationally recognised titles in the genre.

Who are the most acclaimed short stories authors?

Key authors in short stories include Elizabeth Strout, Jorge Luis Borges, Jennifer Egan, whose works consistently appear across major prize lists and critic selections.

Are there short stories books for beginners?

Yes — our rankings include books at every level. Look for titles with broad critical acclaim and accessible descriptions. Start with books scoring 70+ on our editorial scale.

Olive Kitteridge

Ficciones

A Visit from the Goon Squad

The Stories of John Cheever

The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake

The Collected Stories of Grace Paley

Ship Fever

A Christmas Carol

Анна Каренина

The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes [12 stories]

Dubliners

The Mayor of Casterbridge

The Second Jungle Book

His Last Bow [8 stories]

Heart of Darkness

The Jungle Book

Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Twice-Told Tales

Daisy Miller

Heidi

The Vampyre

The Complete Sherlock Holmes [4 novels, 56 stories]

In the Midst of Life. Tales of Civilians

The Works of Edgar Allan Poe in Five Volumes

Tales of Mystery and Imagination [29 stories]

Great American Short Stories

Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe [21 stories, 34 poems]

Tales of Mystery and Imagination [46 stories]

The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe [67 stories, 52 poems, 4 essays]

Tales of Mystery and Imagination [22 stories]

Selected Writings of Edgar Allan Poe

Short Stories (Adventures of Sherlock Holmes / Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes [12 stories])

Sherlock Holmes (Adventures of Sherlock Holmes / Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes / His Last Bow / Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes [11 stories] / Return of Sherlock Holmes)

Great Short Works of Herman Melville

Beast Quest

The Stories of John Edgar Wideman

The Call of the Wild

Decamerone

The Turn of the Screw

Pollyanna

Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes [11 stories]

Baum's American Fairy Tales

The sketch-book of Geoffrey Crayon, Esq

The Awakening

Plain tales from the hills

The Fall of the House of Usher

The Amateur Cracksman

By Country

Key Authors

Short Stories Books — FAQ