Twenty Must-Read Short Story Writers

 

[  Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849)

o   father of the short story/detective story

o   known primarily for horror stories

o   stories feature sound and atmosphere

[  Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)

o   New England Puritan/recluse

o   strict schedule of studying, reading, writing (with walks at night)

o   interested in character and the problems of sin and conscience

[  Stephen Crane (1871-1900)

o   know for adventure/war stories

o   HG Wells called “The Open Boat” the finest short story of the English language

o   died of tuberculosis tied to the shipwreck on which the story was based

[  Jack London (1876-1916)

o   loved the rugged, Western life

o   wrote adventure stories about animals, land, sea

o   traveled extensively, including time as a hobo, to gain experience

[  O. Henry (William Sidney Porter; 1862-1910)

o   spent five years in jail for embezzlement and began to write with pen name

o   wrote stories that could fit on a single magazine page

o   had a liking for surprise endings and the New York atmosphere

[  Ernest Hemingway (1898-1961)

o   widely emulated American writer (followed Anton Chekhov rather than Poe)

o   left determination of “good” or “bad” characters to the reader

o   first person narration best suited the subtle psychological shifts of the characters

o   spent a lot of time with young American artists and others in Paris; part of the “lost generation” after World War I

[  F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940)

o   captured the spirit of the wealthy set in the 1920s Jazz Age

o   his wife, Zelda, was also a writer and had bouts with insanity

o   died at 40 of a heart attack brought on by chronic alcoholism

[  John Steinbeck (1902-1968)

o   writes objectively about his characters in the Hemingway style

o   like Chekhov and James Joyce he wrote about the little things

o   traveled the country extensively doing many kinds of jobs

[  William Faulkner (1897-1962)

o   descended from a long line of Southern generals and statesmen

o   his story “The Bear” is a good example of deeper meaning/symbolism

[  William Saroyan (1908-1981)

o   had an impressionistic/sentimental style that was often criticized

o   wrote about the zest and love of life

o   his style was passé well before his death, though he kept writing

[  James Joyce (1882-1941)

o   wrote about Dublin even when he was living abroad

o   felt that the most mundane things were the most story-worthy

o   wrote about his own experiences and in stream of consciousness

o   his book of short stories is ordered from child/private to mature/public

[  Joseph Conrad (1857-1924)

o   a Polish first mate named Korzeniowski who didn’t learn English ‘til 20

o   his career was jumpstarted by the impression he made on established writers

[  Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

o   born in India and often wrote about India and British colonialism

o   wrote equally well for children and adults

o   he was known for being a natural storyteller

[  Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930)

o   was originally a failed eye specialist in London (born in Edinburgh)

o   Sherlock Holmes patterned after his teacher, Dr. Joseph Bell

o   Dr. Watson is patterned on his own experience as a doctor

[  Saki (H H Munro) (1870-1916)

o   raised by his aunts (often wrote about aunts meeting unfortunate fates)

o   took his pen name from the cupbearer in The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

o   killed in action in World War I

[  H. G. Wells (1866-1946)

o   started out as a teacher of science before turning to science fiction

o   also wrote other types of fiction, less well known

[  Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893)

o   learned how to tell a story briefly by writing for newspapers

o   had a talent for the surprise ending

o   premier short story writer in France and one of the world’s most popular

o   wrote psychological studies like Fyodor Dostoyevsky

o   died insane at the age of 43

[  Anton Chekhov (1860-1904)

o   wrote about ordinary people in ordinary situations

o   the subconscious comes to the front in the reality of his scenes

o   the conflicts are in the minds and emotions of the characters

[  Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1922-2007)

o   satires of social and political trends; life as an absurd, apocalyptic comedy.

o   often uses science-fiction or fantasy techniques, presenting fictional worlds that mirror reality in grotesque or exaggerated ways

o   collections of short stories: Welcome to the Monkey House

[  J. D. Salinger (1919-2010)

o   wrote about the frustrations of American life after WW 2

o   collections of short stories: Nine Stories and Franny and Zooey

o   became a recluse in the 1970s and stopped publishing, but not writing

For my workshop outline for short story writers, see:

https://joeymadiastoryteller.blogspot.com/2025/05/short-story-101.html