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Who is the best short story writer?

Hemingway. If fact, I don't even like his novels that much, but read his short stories a dozen times. I consider him the greatest short story writer, who also happened to dabble in novels.
 
Listed in order of preference:
Maupassant, O Henry, Premchand, Tolstoy (his short stories are very direct, unlike his novels), Somerset Maugham, Ambrose Bierce, Poe..........Hemingway (list is no longer in any order). Too many great writers and stories to sift through.

There's a very short story 'Attrition', I don't remember the author's name, it stayed with me for a very long time.
 
''Cat in the Rain'' by Hemingway is beautiful. Also a fan of ''Babylon Revisited'' by F. Scott.
Favorite author is definitely Lahiri. Not sure if you can find a better collection of stories than Interpreter.
 
I am very surprised to see that Guy de Maupassant has not been mentioned.

Please allow me to suggest this website as a must for all readers. It has all of Chekhov, Maupassant and H.H. Munro's (Saki) short stories. I recommend both the website and the stories HIGHLY.

OUTSTANDING WEBSITE http://www.online-literature.com (Scroll down when you get there)

Sample short story by Saki - The Open Window - (GREAT) ... http://www.online-literature.com/hh-munro/1851/
 
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steffee said:
I love short stories, they are so memorable! You can usually only remember a vague outline of many books you've read, other than a certain few, and often nothing much at all, but short stories really capture your imagination.

I like:

The Yellow Wallpaper (not sure)
James Joyce (Dubliners)
Joanne Harris (Jigs and Reels)
Edgar Allen Poe

But always on the look out for more, who do you like?
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It depends what sort of fiction appeals to you as to which author you would admire.
 
I'm a big fan of Rudyard Kipling, even though he is (unjustly) maligned today.
H. G. Wells and Arthur Conan Doyle also wrote some excellent short stories.
 
Richard Hannay said:
I'm a big fan of Rudyard Kipling, even though he is (unjustly) maligned today.
H. G. Wells and Arthur Conan Doyle also wrote some excellent short stories.
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I love Wells. Have you read Moorcock's Dancers at the end of Time trilogy?
Wells is in them!!!
 
member said:
I love Wells. Have you read Moorcock's Dancers at the end of Time trilogy?
Wells is in them!!!
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As a character?! Wow! I'll have to look into that. I read Moorcock's Oswald Bastable series as well as The Final Programme, but I put him off for several years because his collection of works was so vast.
 
Richard Hannay said:
As a character?! Wow! I'll have to look into that. I read Moorcock's Oswald Bastable series as well as The Final Programme, but I put him off for several years because his collection of works was so vast.
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The two series you have read, I found the weakest.
The Eternal Champion series is actually more adult and better than Lord of the Rings!
 
Not sure if anyone has heard of her, but I am really enjoying Lydia Davies' collection of short stories so far. It's through her work that I've been introduced to this genre; she has that ability to transform the most mundane of tasks into an enticing read.

I would recommend her to anyone looking for a good short story collection. :)

I have also bought a Short Story collection written by Vladimir Nabokov after reading his short story "Signs and Symbols" online. I'm glad to see his wonderful prose is consistent with Lolita and the novel wasn't just a one off.
 
Angury said:
I have also bought a Short Story collection written by Vladimir Nabokov after reading his short story "Signs and Symbols" online. I'm glad to see his wonderful prose is consistent with Lolita and the novel wasn't just a one off.
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Right you are, Angury. Lolita was not just a one off. He has written many novels, 16 or 17, and they are all wonderful. Each one different and each one excellent -- if you can imagine such a thing for an author. And then of course his memoir, Speak Memory, which is truly in a world by itself. If you wish to be further entranced, I would suggest Pnin next, but there are so many it is hard to stop at naming just one. I am gald you have found your way to Nabokov. And I'll stop there. :D
 
Peder said:
Right you are, Angury. Lolita was not just a one off. He has written many novels, 16 or 17, and they are all wonderful. Each one different and each one excellent -- if you can imagine such a thing for an author. And then of course his memoir, Speak Memory, which is truly in a world by itself. If you wish to be further entranced, I would suggest Pnin next, but there are so many it is hard to stop at naming just one. I am gald you have found your way to Nabokov. And I'll stop there. :D
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Couldn't agree more. :D

Add Stacy Schiff's Vera to the list, as well.........and Glory, and Laughter in the Dark, and The Defense, for sure. BTW, there is a film of The Defense. It was pretty good.
 
I would put Will Self forward to this list. Dark satire and very 'English', perhaps not to everyone's taste, but brilliant and hard to forget once read. He's short story collections are:

The Quantity Theory of Insanity (1991)
Grey Area (1993/4)
Tough, Tough Toys for Tough, Tough Boys (1998)
Dr. Mukti and Other Tales of Woe (2004)
Liver (2008)

I just have Liver left to read now.
 
I am a big fan of short fiction, and there are many authors and anthologies I like, but the ones I like best are Elizabeth Gaskell's Gothic Tales, EF Benson's Night Terrors, MR James' Ghost Stories, and The Collected Stories of Arthur C Clarke. I also like a lot of the short fiction of Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King, HP Lovecraft and Ray Bradbury. Also, two short stories that really had a big impact on me were The Whimper of Whipped Dogs by Harlan Ellison, and Warm by Robert Sheckley.
 
Peder said:
Right you are, Angury. Lolita was not just a one off. He has written many novels, 16 or 17, and they are all wonderful. Each one different and each one excellent -- if you can imagine such a thing for an author. And then of course his memoir, Speak Memory, which is truly in a world by itself. If you wish to be further entranced, I would suggest Pnin next, but there are so many it is hard to stop at naming just one. I am gald you have found your way to Nabokov. And I'll stop there. :D
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Peder do you know if his short story collection has, The Wood-sprite, in it? And have you read it? It came up in a recent conversation on something completely unrelated and I am interested in finding it. I am putting together a list of short story collections for my 2015 reading goal to read 1 short story everyday, an idea borrowed from a podcast I love. I can't say I have been a fan of short stories in the past but maybe I have just not found the right ones yet :) I have seen a few listed here that I will be adding to my stack.
 
Ronny said:
Peder do you know if his short story collection has, The Wood-sprite, in it? And have you read it? It came up in a recent conversation on something completely unrelated and I am interested in finding it. I am putting together a list of short story collections for my 2015 reading goal to read 1 short story everyday, an idea borrowed from a podcast I love. I can't say I have been a fan of short stories in the past but maybe I have just not found the right ones yet :) I have seen a few listed here that I will be adding to my stack.
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Yes, The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov doe have that story, as its very first one.
I haven't read many of his shorts, but I have enjoyed The Vane Sisters and Spring in Fialta.
 
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