Short Story Definition – What’s the best definition for short story genre? Books in the short story genre are made up of a collection of short stories brought together by author or subject matter (or genre) that combines in total word count to a novel length work. Most short stories range from one thousand to twenty thousand words. Stories written in the short story genre are stories with lower word count that take the reader on a journey with the characters to either a satisfying or open ended resolution; the open ended resolution gives the reader a chance to imagine more of the story in their own mind, in essence giving the reader a chance to participate in the outcome and their own take away. Short stories can be written for any genre and often take on signatures characteristics that show the traits of the author.
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Short Story Definition – Examples
Review this list of popular examples to help you get a better understanding of the short story fiction genre.
1. After the Quake by Haruki Murakami
2. Battleborn by Claire Vaye Watkins
3. Birds of America by Lorrie Moore
4. Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It by Maile Meloy
5. CivilWarLand in Bad Decline by George Saunders
6. Dear Life: Stories by Alice Munro
7. Delicate Edible Birds and Other Stories by Lauren Groff
8. Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower
9. Honored Guest by Joy Williams
10. In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin
11. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
12. Jesus’ Son by Denis Johnson
13. Like You’d Understand, Anyway by Jim Shepard
14. Lost in the City by Edward P. Jones
15. No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July
16. Our Story Begins: New and Selected Stories by Tobias Wolff
17. Runaway by Alice Munro
18. Tenth of December by George Saunders
19. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke
20. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie
21. The Stories of Breece D’J Pancake by Breece D’J Pancake
22. The View from Castle Rock by Alice Munro
23. This Is Not Your City by Caitlin Horrocks
24. Throw Like a Girl by Jean Thompson
25. Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro
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Short Story Definition – Related Book Genres
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