Happy Short Story Month!

Happy Short Story Month!

It’s gonna be May, which means the time has come to celebrate Short Story Month! We’re delighted to publish so many incredible masters of the craft, and never want to miss a moment to recognize their outstanding contributions to the literary landscape. So without further ado, here are some of the best audio clips from our award-winning short story writers. Scroll down to listen to excerpts from eight of our favorite collections:

DROWN by Junot Díaz

“Tell her that you love her hair, that you love her skin, her lips, because, in truth, you love them more than you love your own.”

Listen to a clip here!

WHAT IT MEANS WHEN A MAN FALLS FROM THE SKY by Lesley Nneka Arimah

“When Enebeli Okwara sent his girl out in the world, he did not know what the world did to daughters. He did not know how quickly it would wick the dew off her, how she would be returned to him hollowed out, relieved of her better parts.”

Listen to a clip here!

PILGRIMS by Elizabeth Gilbert

“She was no dancer and she didn’t want to dance with me, but we found a good slow sway anyway, each of us with an arm hanging down, like a rodeo cowboy’s right arm, like the right arm of a bull rider, not reaching for anything.”

Listen to a clip here!

AWAYLAND by Ramona Ausubel

“What are you doing?“ the mother asked. "I guess I’m throwing roses,” the girl said, unable to make sense of herself.”

Listen to a clip here!

DEVOTION by Maile Meloy

“Eleanor had never bought a house before and the real estate broker had the air of an authoritative and impatient aunt, waiting for a decision. She tapped long nails on the steering wheel of her parked Lexus while Eleanor gazed at the little house from the passenger seat. The sycamore in the yard had good roots, the broker said.”

Listen to a clip here!

FIVE-CARAT SOUL by James McBride

“I am a lion. I live in a zoo. But I was once a free lion, and never forgot it.”

Listen to a clip here!

HALL OF SMALL MAMMALS by Thomas Pierce

“Inside every group, he decides, there are more groups. Circles within circles, and inside of those, more circles still, all of them infinitely divisible. You could spend your whole life wondering which ones you’re in and which ones you’re not and which ones really want you and which ones are holes that have no bottom.”

Listen to a clip here!

THE BUS DRIVER WHO WANTED TO BE GOD by Etgar Keret

“There are two kinds of people, those who like to sleep next to the wall, and those who like to sleep next to the people who push them off the bed.”

Listen to a clip here!

For more short story collections, visit our Short Story Month Goodreads shelf!