10 Female Written Short Stories Everyone Should Read
I have seen a post circulating for a while that lists 10 short stories everyone should read and, while these are great works, most of them are older and written by white men. I wanted to make a modern list that features fresh, fantastic and under represented voices. Enjoy!
1. A Temporary Matter by Jhumpa Lahiri — A couple in a failing marriage share secrets during a blackout.
2. Stone Animals by Kelly Link — A family moves into a haunted house.
3. Reeling for the Empire by Karen Russell — Women are sold by their families to a silk factory, where they are slowly transformed into human silkworms.
4. Call My Name by Aimee Bender — A woman wearing a ball gown secretly auditions men on the subway.
5. The Man on the Stairs by Miranda July — A woman wakes up to a noise on the stairs.
6. Brownies by ZZ Packer — Rival Girl Scout troops are separated by race.
7. City of My Dreams by Zsuzi Gartner — A woman works at a shop selling food-inspired soap and tries not to think about her past.
8. A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor — A family drives from Georgia to Florida, even though a serial killer is on the loose.
9. Hitting Budapest by NoViolet Bulawayo — A group of children, led by a girl named Darling, travel to a rich neighborhood to steal guavas.
10. You’re Ugly, Too by Lorrie Moore — A history professor flies to Manhattan to spend Halloween weekend with her younger sister.
I LOVE THIS POST!!
I’d like to add:
11. Good Country People by Flannery O’Connor
12. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (this one is my favorite short story of all time)
13. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
14. Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates
15. Désirée’s Baby by Kate Chopin
16. The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin
17. Impressions of an Indian Childhood by Zitkala-Ša
(I wanted to put little summaries for each of them, but I’m afraid I’d spoil the whole story if I did!)
adding a few more! all by women of color, & the first four were published within the last few years
18. “My Dear You,” Rachel Khong — love, loss, & absurdity in the afterlife
19. “The Husband Stitch,” Carmen Maria Machado — a feminist retelling of the folklore story “The Green Ribbon”
20. “Inventory,” Carmen Maria Machado — one woman’s retrospective list of her life’s sexual encounters
21. “Boys Go to Jupiter,” Danielle Evans — what happens after a white college student poses for a photo in a Confederate flag bikini
22. “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere,” ZZ Packer — a Black woman attends Yale University
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