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Book Riot's 100 Must Read Contemporary Short Story Collections

Of all of the 100 must-read lists I have done so far, this was probably the easiest, because there are so many amazing contemporary short story collections. Story collections are such a gift: a whole bunch of different stories in one convenient place! What fun! The following list is made up of the first 100 collections that popped into my head. I have read and loved each of them. (And I probably have enough titles to do a sequel—stay tuned!) And by "contemporary" I mean "published this century." (Which still gave me eighteen amazing years to choose from!)
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The Thing Around Your Neck (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
The Thing Around Your Neck
1
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
War by Candlelight (Daniel Alarcón)
War by Candlelight
2
Daniel Alarcón
The Water Museum (Luis Alberto Urrea)
The Water Museum
3
Luis Alberto Urrea
In the Country (Mia Alvar)
In the Country
4
Mia Alvar
What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky (Lesley Nneka Arimah)
What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky
5
Lesley Nneka Arimah
North American Lake Monsters
North American Lake Monsters
6
Young Skins (Colin Barrett)
Young Skins
7
Colin Barrett
There Are Little Kingdoms (Kevin Barry)
There Are Little Kingdoms
8
Kevin Barry
We Show What We Have Learned and Other Stories (Clare Beam)
We Show What We Have Learned and Other Stories
9
Clare Beam
Welcome Thieves: Stories (Sean Beaudoin)
Welcome Thieves: Stories
10
Sean Beaudoin
The Man Who Shot My Eye Out Is Dead (Chanelle Benz)
The Man Who Shot My Eye Out Is Dead
11
Chanelle Benz
Birds of a Lesser Paradise (Megan Mayhew Bergman)
Birds of a Lesser Paradise
12
Megan Mayhew Bergman
A Manual for Cleaning Women (Lucia Berlin)
A Manual for Cleaning Women
13
Lucia Berlin
Things That Fall From the Sky (Kevin Brockmeier)
Things That Fall From the Sky
14
Kevin Brockmeier
Mothers, Tell Your Daughters (Bonnie Jo Campbell)
Mothers, Tell Your Daughters
15
Bonnie Jo Campbell
Honeymoon and Other Stories (Kevin Canty)
Honeymoon and Other Stories
16
Kevin Canty
The Complete Stories of Leonora Carrington (Leonora Carrington)
The Complete Stories of Leonora Carrington
17
Leonora Carrington
Among the Missing (Dan Chaon)
Among the Missing
18
Dan Chaon
Stories of Your Life (Ted Chiang)
Stories of Your Life
19
Ted Chiang
The Ladies of Grace Adieu (Susanna Clarke)
The Ladies of Grace Adieu
20
Susanna Clarke
Whatever Happened to Interracial Love (Kathleen Collins)
Whatever Happened to Interracial Love
21
Kathleen Collins
Mary and O'Neil (Justin Cronin)
Mary and O'Neil
22
Justin Cronin
We've Already Gone This Far (Patrick Dacey)
We've Already Gone This Far
23
Patrick Dacey
The Redemption of Galen Pike (Carys Davies)
The Redemption of Galen Pike
24
Carys Davies
The Shell Collector (Anthony Doerr)
The Shell Collector
25
Anthony Doerr
Ghost Summer: Stories (Tananarive Due)
Ghost Summer: Stories
26
Tananarive Due
The Wilds (Julia Elliott)
The Wilds
27
Julia Elliott
What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank (Nathan Englander)
What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank
28
Nathan Englander
A Collapse of Horses (Brian Evenson)
A Collapse of Horses
29
Brian Evenson
Half an Inch of Water (Percival Everett)
Half an Inch of Water
30
Percival Everett
A Natural History of Hell (Jeffrey Ford)
A Natural History of Hell
31
Jeffrey Ford
Brief Encounters With Che Guevara (Ben Fountain)
Brief Encounters With Che Guevara
32
Ben Fountain
Ayiti (Gay)
Ayiti
33
Gay
Dead Girls and Other Stories (Emily Geminder)
Dead Girls and Other Stories
34
Emily Geminder
Gutshot (Amelia Gray)
Gutshot
35
Amelia Gray
Delicate Edible Birds (Lauren Groff)
Delicate Edible Birds
36
Lauren Groff
You Should Pity Us Instead (Amy Gustine)
You Should Pity Us Instead
37
Amy Gustine
Madame Zero (Sarah Hall)
Madame Zero
38
Sarah Hall
You Are Not a Stranger Here
You Are Not a Stranger Here
39
Single, Carefree, Mellow (Katherine Heiny)
Single, Carefree, Mellow
40
Katherine Heiny
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