"25 for 25" — a first, rough attempt at some kind of "best stories of the century (so far)" list

Rereading, recommending, highlighting, discussing, and just generally thinking about some of the "best" short stories from the last 25 years

First:

Submissions are open now, until the end of the month!

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Then…

I mentioned last week, but going to take a break from publishing new stories here in May and June. A few weeks here and there will be off-off, and some other weeks, I’m going to gather some assorted “25 for 25” stuff. Again, as mentioned last week:

I’ve seen a couple of places this year — most notably, but not only, one of my fave podcasts, “The Big Picture” — doing assorted “25 for 25” lists. It’s really just using the year as a peg and an excuse for content, but also lists can be fun. And I thought it might be fun to do something similar for short stories.

So, in the coming weeks, and then probably here and there throughout the rest of the year, we’re going to spotlight some of our favorite short stories of the last 25 years. I threw the idea out to all the SSL contributors and am already starting to get back some really fun stuff and great ideas, and I’m excited to share with you all! Some lists, some longer form raves, some interviews with authors of fave stories.

Over the weekend, I started brainstorming my own list. I came up with a list of 20, and then thought of a few more on a walk yesterday.

There’s a few on here I’d earnestly and strongly argue as belonging on a list of 25 Best Stories of the Century, but many more are just personal faves. Stories that, for one reason, have especially stuck with me — stories I’ve found myself revisiting over the years, stories that surprised me in opening up what a short story can do, stories I’ve used in the classroom, stories I’ve been especially inspired by in my own writing, stories I’ve never quite “figured out” in that way that a good piece of art can act like a magic trick while burying itself somewhere deep inside you…

There’s at least a couple authors on here (Evenson, Lipsyte, and Kevin Wilson jump to mind) where I really could have picked any number of stories from; I tried to go with the one that stood out for one reason or another, even if maybe not the “best” or “favorite.” There are also a few (Gray, Miller, Ostlund, Stuber) where my favorite from them just might the story I was lucky enough to get to publish, back on Hobart or here on Short Story, Long, but I disqualified anything I’d published from the list (sorry Roxane Gay’s “North Country,” Mike Meginnis’ “Navigators,” Claire Vaye Watkins’ “Graceland,” a handful of Kevin Maloney stories…).

• “The Ceiling” by Kevin Brockmeier (2001)

• “Going for a Beer” by Robert Coover (2011)

• “A Mown Lawn” by Lydia Davis (2000)

• “The Sound Gun” by Matthew Derby (2002)

• “Notes for a Story of a Man who Will Not Die Alone” by Dave Eggers (2005)

• “Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain” by Danielle Evans (2016)

• “Windeye” by Brian Evenson (2012)

• “The Other Place” by Mary Gaitskill (2011)

• “Thank You” by Amelia Gray (2015)

• “The Wind” by Lauren Groff (2021)

• “Do Not Disturb” by A.M. Homes (2001)

• “The Largesse of the Sea Maiden” by Denis Johnson (2014)

• “In the Tradition of My Family” by Phil LaMarche (2005)

• “Love and Honor and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice” by Nam Le (2006)

• “The Wisdom of the Doulas” by Sam Lipsyte (2006)

• “Cowboy” by Thomas McGuane (2005)

• “Leak” by Mary Miller (2007)

• “Debarking” by Lorrie Moore (2003)

• “Just Another Family” by Lori Ostlund (2023)

• “Austin” by Andrew Porter (2017)

• “Train Choir” by Jon Raymond (2009)

• “Last Night” by James Salter (2002)

• “The History of Sound” by Ben Shattuck (2018)

• “Cinema” by Amy Stuber (2024)

• “Tunneling to the Center of the Earth” by Kevin Wilson (2005)

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I’d love to turn this into a bigger discussion. I’m curious to hear what you’d add! Am really hoping to encourage people to use the comments on these posts, and I haven’t dug into other areas of Substack that much, but maybe I’ll experiment with using the chat feature on here some too?

Thanks!
-Aaron