

The stories on this list that are not from any of these publications, I found through simple Google searches.

Tor of course has some great free stuff, and you can find most of the classics through Gutenberg. I also like Narrative Magazine, which will ask you for an email, but their stories are free too. Like a music playlist I create to match a mood, I create short story playlists to break a book slump, or to sample a bunch of different authors’ writing.Īs to where to find great stories, The New Yorker stories are generally best, but require a subscription if you read too many in a month.

(Editor’s note: this post was updated in August, 2021, with current links to all stories.) When I have no idea what to read, I find a bunch of free short stories online, save them onto the Pocket app, and read them as if I’ve compiled my own short story collection.
