Short Stories

In the twelve stories of Heart Lamp, Banu Mushtaq exquisitely captures the everyday lives of women and girls in Muslim communities in southern India. Published originally in the Kannada language between 1990 and 2023, praised for their dry and gentle humor, these portraits of family and community tensions testify to Mushtaq’s years as a journalist and lawyer, in which she tirelessly championed women’s rights and protested all forms of caste and religious oppression.

When vandals destroy beach hut 512 on Brighton’s iconic seafront, they reveal a dead body that has apparently lain undisturbed for two months. But according to the hut’s owner, Sims, its locks rusted shut three months ago and she hasn’t had access to it since. So how could the man have got in, and why is there no evidence of the murderer?

It’s a New Jersey summer in 1967, and thirteen-year-old Ravi Ramanathan has the makings of a tennis prodigy. His surgeon father encourages his ambition, while his mother dreams of their only child following his father’s path. Surrounded by his parents’ love, Ravi chafes a bit at their daily routines and little traditions. Then one unexpected day, everything changes. Realizing how much he took for granted, Ravi must grow up overnight and find a new role in the life of his family.

A man awakens in silence, surrounded by darkness. He believes he has died—but the truth is far more haunting. Unclaimed is a literary short story exploring memory, mortality, and the invisible thread that binds us to others. Told in lyrical, intimate prose, it reflects on the relationships we build—and what remains of us in the silence after we're gone.

Isn't it strange that the registering of life's most important moments happens in a sterile municipal office? Everyone's got a story to tell about how they got there. Listen for the first time to this spectacular collection of six funny, quirky and moving plays that start in a Register Office and end in a birth, marriage or death.

Jeremy Jumper isn’t like normal people. Jeremy has a medical condition which causes a large mass to grow on the end of his nose. It starts as a red mark and, over the following days, balloons to ridiculous size. Strangers stop and stare while others dive for cover, worried it’s about to explode.

結婚は「始まり」に過ぎない。今も昔も――

From the depths of grief and the thirst for revenge to the terror of supernatural forces and the fight for survival, these stories and others delve into the darkest corners of our world where the lines between reality and nightmare blur, and the only certainty is that nothing is quite as it seems.

Good or bad. Right or wrong. The choice is yours ... Josslyn has a problem. A big problem. Not only is she fed up with her loser boyfriend hitting her, but she also has Alicia to deal with … and Alicia wants to kill the said boyfriend. Alicia is the psychotic voice in her head who seems to have her own personality and can take over her body at will, resulting in blackouts and memory loss. Josslyn has never told anyone about Alicia and isn’t about to start now. But can she deal with her abusive boyfriend on her own … or will Alicia need to step in and save the day?

Twelve years ago, Wolff Mannheim was afraid. Afraid to admit he was gay but also in love. He broke up with his boyfriend, Gage Norton, in the most heinous of ways. When Wolff accepts his dream job, he finds out his ex not only works there but is also his superior. Memories of the last time he saw him come rushing back and bring a deep level of shame. Now, older, wiser, and definitely out and proud, Wolff reaches out, through social media, to explain to Gage. All he gets is a resounding “no.” Gage can’t believe his ears. He is filled with happiness as he’s finally made partner.

Edgar Allan Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum plunges listeners into the claustrophobic mind of a prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition, who awakens in utter darkness to face a series of psychological and physical torments. Chained beneath a slowly descending pendulum blade, surrounded by monstrous iron walls and the yawning mouth of a deadly pit, he must summon every ounce of courage, reason, and instinct to survive.

"A Pail of Air” by Fritz Leiber is a haunting and poetic science fiction short story set in a frozen, post-apocalyptic Earth where the sun has gone dark. Written in the early 1950s, this atmospheric tale follows a resilient family struggling to survive in a world turned to eternal night, where even breathable air must be collected by hand. Told through the eyes of a young boy, the story captures the stark beauty of isolation, the desperation of survival, and the enduring hope that flickers in humanity’s darkest hours.

Author Henry Elder came to Alta Novis to learn more about the fabled battle lord and his lady. But rather than re-tell the tales of their already well-known exploits, he wants to hear about the couple from the people who really know them. The people who live, love, interact, and fight alongside with them. He wants to hear those personal anecdotes in order to discover a side of Yulen and Atty that few people know.

One of the last true classics of Russian literature and 1933 Nobel Laureate for literature, Ivan Bunin brings you a series of relationship tales as diverse as the seasons and far more engrossing.

One Man’s Poison by Robert Sheckley is a witty and suspenseful science fiction short story from the early 1950s that explores alien life and survival with a darkly comedic twist.

Life, Death, and the In-between: A heartbreaking supernatural horror dealing with themes of suicide, grief and the after-life. I guess I wanted to write this given my own personal struggles with thoughts of suicide. Every day I deal with some degree of pain where some days are better than others. When the pain is at its worst, my thoughts often drift to ending my own life.

First published in the early 1950s, the story follows beings from across the universe—especially Morran and Lingman—as they seek out the enigmatic Answerer, a near-omniscient entity designed to reveal the answers to any question. But as the seekers discover, the quality of the answer depends entirely on the quality of the question.

Quando la protagonista, chiamata semplicemente la Scrittrice, ha un aborto spontaneo, nel mezzo di un periodo già turbolento della sua vita caratterizzato da relazioni sbagliate e lotte professionali, perde del tutto non solo la capacità di parlare e scrivere ma anche quella di comprendere il proprio posto nel mondo. In questo scenario di smarrimento interiore, dal Dipartimento di Ricerca Celeste viene inviato sul posto uno Spirito Guida per aiutarla.

Step into the witty, unsettling, and delightfully ironic world of Saki (H.H. Munro), one of the sharpest voices in Edwardian literature. This classic collection gathers his most memorable and darkly humorous short stories, including The Music on the Hill, The Unrest-Cure, Gabriel-Ernest, and the widely loved The Open Window. Saki's tales are known for their unexpected twists, elegant prose, and subtle satire of British society, often exposing the absurdities behind genteel manners and upper-class conventions.

She’s almost got the recipe for success, but love might be the missing ingredient. Callie Jones thought she had everything figured out with her booming bakery and close-knit friends in Peachwood Grove—until her first love, Macon Everette, rolls back into town. The surprise isn't just that he's back, but he's a father now, with an adorable daughter who's as charming as he is. Callie’s world starts to crumble faster than day-old scones. As Callie and Macon reignite a connection that's hotter than her ovens, they must navigate the surprises and secrets of their past.

Diese liebevoll erzählten Gute-Nacht-Geschichten nehmen Kinder ab 5 Jahren mit auf eine Reise voller Magie, Mut und Mitgefühl. Ob ein Stern sein Licht sucht, ein Kenku seinen Platz in der Welt findet, ein Mädchen den Zauberwald rettet oder ein Drache in einer dunklen Höhle Trost findet – jede Geschichte erzählt von innerer Stärke, Freundschaft und dem Mut, über sich hinauszuwachsen.

Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30, 1874 – April 24, 1942), published as L. M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a series of novels beginning in 1908 with Anne of Green Gables . The book was an immediate success. The title character, orphan Anne Shirley, made Montgomery famous in her lifetime and gave her an international following. The Revolt of Mary Isabel: "For a woman of forty, Mary Isabel, you have the least sense of any person I have ever known," said Louisa Irving. Louisa had said something similar in spirit to Mary Isabel almost every day of her life.

Prepárate para adentrarte en un mundo donde el ingenio es la única arma contra el crimen. En este fascinante audiolibro de Baroness Orczy, te encontrarás con "El Abogado Milagro", un detective sin igual cuya mente aguda desentraña los misterios más complejos. A lo largo de trece apasionantes relatos, cada historia teje una red de suspense que te atrapará desde la primera palabra. Con cada nuevo enigma, El Abogado Milagro te invita a seguir sus pasos mientras desentraña verdades ocultas y se enfrenta a las mentes más astutas.

Dans cette toute première œuvre de Stefan Zweig, empreinte de délicatesse, l’auteur capture avec justesse la mélancolie des souvenirs et la douceur des rêves évanouis. Sous le soleil éclatant d’une villa en bord de mer, une femme et un homme se retrouvent après de longues années d’éloignement. Leur conversation, d’abord empreinte de légèreté, ravive bientôt les échos d’une jeunesse lointaine, d’un amour effacé par le temps mais jamais complètement éteint.

Entdecken Sie den Zauber des Gardasees in einer einzigartigen Sammlung von Kurzgeschichten, die weit mehr enthüllen als die bekannten Genüsse von Pizza und Wein! „Mehr als Pizza und Wein – Kurzgeschichten vom Gardasee“ nimmt Sie mit auf eine emotionale Reise durch das lebendige, facettenreiche Leben am größten See Italiens.