I spent most of 2019 reading short stories and thought it would be a good idea to list some of my favourites as we head into a new decade. However, before looking at my offerings I wanted to point you in the direction of two writers I often turn to for a wealth of story recommendations.
First up, I need to point to James Everington’s blog, which offers an annual list of short stories he enjoyed in the previous year. Here are his lists for 2018 and 2019. Make sure to take a look – they put mine to shame.
Secondly is Maria Haskins. Maria offers monthly reviews of stories she enjoyed in her Short Fiction Roundup and it is well worth your time.
Now, here is my list. Note: not all of the stories listed below were published in 2019 – but this was the year I read them.
- A. T. Greenblatt – And Yet (Uncanny Magazine #21)
- Ariane Both – Let the Water In (Lamplight 7:4)
- Alex Acks – 40 Facts About the Strip Mall at the Corner of Never and Was (Shimmer #46)
- Betty Rocksteady – Tiny Bones Beneath Their Feet (Dark Moon Digest 34)
- Bob Pastorella – In-A-Gaga-Da-Vida On 8Track (Lost Films)
- Christopher Shultz – Alarm Will Sound (Pseudopod)
- Charlotte Huggins – By the Bones of Broken Birds (Lamplight 7:4)
- Clay McLeod Chapman – Battlefield Seances (Dark Moon Digest 34)
- Clive Barker – In The Hills, The Cities (Books of Blood Vol. 1-3)
- David Nickle – Camp (Aickman’s Heirs)
- Dennis Etchison – It Only Comes Out At Night (The Dark Country)
- G. V. Anderson – Four Stops (Personal Website)
- G. V. Anderson – The Butchery Tree (Pareidolia)
- James Everington – Damage (Trying To Be So Quiet & Other Hauntings)
- Joe R. Lansdale – Night They Missed The Horror Show (Online)
- John Langan – Underground Economy (Aickman’s Heirs)
- Kathryn Louise – The Blacklist (Tragedy Queens)
- Kristi DeMeester – Everything That’s Underneath (Everything That’s Underneath)
- L’Erin Ogle – The Coven of Dead Girls (Pseudopod)
- Michael Wehunt – Deducted From Your Share In Paradise (Greener Pastures)
- Michael Wehunt – Greener Pastures (Greener Pastures)
- Nadia Bulkin – Seven Minutes In Heaven (Aickman’s Heirs)
- Priya Sharma – Fabulous Beasts (All The Fabulous Beasts)
- Ray Cluley – 6/6 (Signed, Limited Edition from Black Shuck Books)
- Robert Ashcroft – Double Yellow in Pidcoke, TX (Dark Moon Digest #37)
- Stephen Graham Jones – The Darkest Part (The Dark #35)
- Stephen Hargadon – Dixon Parade (Black Static #71)
- Tim Major – What Can You Do About A Man Like That? (Pareidolia)
If nothing else this list proves I’m woefully far behind in my reading, but I hope you still find something amongst these to enjoy…
