as in stories
a work with imaginary characters and events that is shorter and usually less complex than a novel
her very first short story was accepted for publication in a local journal
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Recent Examples of short stories
Rowell is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Slow Dance, Eleanor & Park, and the Simon Snow trilogy, as well as several other award-winning novels, short stories, and comics.
—
Literary Hub, 15 Apr. 2026
Those close to Khong marvel at the long half-life of her short stories.
—Mariella Rudi, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2026
Feeling neglected by Les, Lindy has struck up a retaliatory affair with his colleague Richie (O-T Fagbenle), who mistakenly submits one of her students’ short stories to The New Yorker as her own.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 9 Apr. 2026
Sultan’s latest posthumous collection shifts the focus to the artist’s mostly unpublished writings, which include his musings on teaching and art, unfinished short stories, dream logs, and essays.
—Vanity Fair, 26 Mar. 2026
While Capote was still a child writing his first short stories in Monroeville, Alabama, Darger was a middle-aged hospital janitor in Chicago quietly filling his tiny apartment with hundreds of paintings and drawings and thousands and thousands of pages of writing.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026
The writer and performer composes poems, short stories and plays that highlight joys and contend with struggles.
—Domenica Bongiovanni, IndyStar, 13 Mar. 2026
My novels are in a major key, but my short stories tend to be in a minor key.
—Stuart Miller, Oc Register, 28 Feb. 2026
For her, the little pink houses of our decaying American mythology are still haunted enough to give her a few more good short stories.
—Jon Dolan, Rolling Stone, 27 Feb. 2026
Literary Hub, 15 Apr. 2026
Those close to Khong marvel at the long half-life of her short stories.
—Mariella Rudi, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2026
Feeling neglected by Les, Lindy has struck up a retaliatory affair with his colleague Richie (O-T Fagbenle), who mistakenly submits one of her students’ short stories to The New Yorker as her own.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 9 Apr. 2026
Sultan’s latest posthumous collection shifts the focus to the artist’s mostly unpublished writings, which include his musings on teaching and art, unfinished short stories, dream logs, and essays.
—Vanity Fair, 26 Mar. 2026
While Capote was still a child writing his first short stories in Monroeville, Alabama, Darger was a middle-aged hospital janitor in Chicago quietly filling his tiny apartment with hundreds of paintings and drawings and thousands and thousands of pages of writing.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026
The writer and performer composes poems, short stories and plays that highlight joys and contend with struggles.
—Domenica Bongiovanni, IndyStar, 13 Mar. 2026
My novels are in a major key, but my short stories tend to be in a minor key.
—Stuart Miller, Oc Register, 28 Feb. 2026
For her, the little pink houses of our decaying American mythology are still haunted enough to give her a few more good short stories.
—Jon Dolan, Rolling Stone, 27 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for short stories
Noun
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Inside the media center, rows of workstations equipped with laptops and charging points allow reporters to file stories.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 Apr. 2026
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Filmmakers have used the Civil War as a setting for many decades now, inspiring stories of epic military battles, romantic melodramas, and even satires, from sweeping Best Picture winners like Gone With the Wind (1939) to revisionist Westerns like Django Unchained (2012).—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Amid social turmoil, three intertwining tales of disillusioned misfits collide under the machinations of an all-seeing institution.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
16 Apr. 2026
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Unfortunately, these supernatural tales drop into the story as conveniences rather than as spiritual experiences.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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House of the Dragon premieres its third season this summer ahead of a fourth and likely final season in 2028, while A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, based on Martin's Tales of Dunk & Egg novellas, is in production on season 2 for release in 2027.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
13 Apr. 2026
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Stern has also published four collections of stories, four novellas, and two children’s books, all of them steeped in Jewish folklore.—
Cathleen Schine,
The New York Review of Books,
19 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Short stories.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/short%20stories. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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