Ten Short Stories I Read in 2024 That Stayed With Me

Photo by Courtney Baucom on Unsplash

 

 

This year, I tried to shift my focus from novels to short stories and journal about them, with mixed results. I read more short stories, but fell off of the journaling. I found it was slowing me down, and if my journal wasn’t handy, I would put off reading the stories. Eventually, I decided to just enjoy the short stories as they came and not worry so much about journaling. That said, I do want to highlight ten of my favourite stories this year. I am limiting this selection to magazines, newsletters, and free online, not anthologies. This is also by no means an exhaustive list of my favourites, just ten that stayed with me. Listed roughly in the order I read them, I think.

1. The Grit Born by Frances Ogamba - January 2024 - The Dark

A lonely woman, Egoabia, learns about a company called Rebirth which will send special powder that can be moulded into a child. This story was unsettling the whole way through with a brilliant twist that left me gasping. Excellent work.

2. In My Mind the Deep Calls - Maxwell Morais - Tales from the Darkest Depth - Crystal Lake Newsletter, Feb 4, 2024 (also included in Shallow Waters Vol.9) 

This has one of my favourite metaphors - “as I hung sleeping like a moldering teabag in some long-forgotten china cup”. This refers to the character who is under the sea in a diving suit. It soon becomes apparent that something has happened on the boat above them. The dread builds slow and sure throughout the story and even though you are curious, you wonder if you really want to know what happened on the boat above.

3. Kill That Groundhog by Fu Qiang - Issue 207 - December 2023 - Clarkesworld

A fun time loop story about a group of people with overlapping loops looking to break free. More lighthearted than the rest of the stories on this list. I enjoyed it a lot.

4. Harvest of Bones by Eugenia Triantafyllou - Issue 20 - The Deadlands

A powerful story about a culture under threat of extermination and they must use the strength of their ancestors to fight off the threat. This one was moving and resonated with me.

5. Eddies are the Worst by Bo Balder - Issue 206 - November 2023 - Clarkesworld

Labour in the future is supplied by clones of specific types of people. In this story, a fishing company purchases a series of "Eddies" who are one of the cheapest work clones available. As the company, run by two siblings, struggles, so too do the people in the story with their lives, families, and goals. The story is a touching exploration of grief and life.

6. The Best Version of Yourself by Grant Collier - Issue 214 - July 2024 - Clarkesworld

In this future, there is a large company called Eudaimon that offers brain-altering services. These services promise to make you happy by changing what you want and the company does deliver, after a fashion. The story is, on the surface, a sweet tale of a woman's relationship with her mother, but it has some of the darkest implications of any of these stories.

7. I Will Meet You When the Artifacts End by Amal Singh - Issue 214 - July 2024 - Clarkesworld

I didn't mean for Clarkesworld to dominate this list, but I read a lot of the magazine this year and it's filled with amazing stories. I can't recommend this magazine enough.

This story appealed to my inner archaeologist and historian. A woman is through a wormhole from her family that allows her to study the ancient civilization she obsesses over. However, the wormhole is soon to be closed and she has to choose whether to continue her work or return to her family.

8. How Sara Found the Possum That Held Time in Its Pouch Under Her Porch, Then Lost It
by S. L. Harris - Issue 10 - April 2024 - Small Wonders

I found Small Wonders late in the year and only read this one issue, but it's a zine that's definitely on my list for next year. I enjoyed the whole issue, but this one was the standout by far. The first part of the story is literally the title and the rest of it is about her quest to find the possum again. The story is about more than a possum though, it is about appreciating life in all its stages. 

9. The Man Who Married Death by Jessica Lévai - Issue 36 - June 2024 - Factor Four Magazine

An unconventional love story. Death is lonely and decides to take a husband. Neither one of them are in love and the marriage is more about convenience than romance. The story follows them as their relationship develops and what happens when he lets other people's judgments get into his head.

10. The Dreadful and Specific Monster of Starosibirsk by Kristina Ten - December 2023 - The Dark

I started with The Dark, so I will end here, too. A village decides to invent a monster because they are going bankrupt because they lost their main source of income from tourism. Everyone comes together to weave tales of this imaginary monster and it works, for a while. People come to the town and they prosper, but in order to keep up the ruse, the town has to double down on their lie until eventually, it's not clear what is real or not anymore. Fascinating story.

 

Thanks for reading along. I think I'll make this a new tradition along with my end of year top books list. Next year, I might make two lists - short fiction from magazine and anthologies. See you next time!

Thanks for reading! 

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