The short story is a literary genre of fictional prose narrative that tends to be more concise and to the point than longer works of fiction such as novels. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define a short story as having a word count of less than 7,500.

Some authors are known almost entirely for their short stories, either by choice or by critical regard. Authors such as Kurt Vonnegut, Nathaniel Hawthorne, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ernest Hemingway were highly accomplished writers of both short stories and novels.
Short stories date back to oral story-telling traditions which originally produced epics such as Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. Oral narratives were often told in the form of rhyming or rhythmic verse, often including recurring sections or, in the case of Homer, Homeric epithets. These types of stories were a staple of early-19th-century magazines and often led to fame and novel-length projects for their authors. More recently, short stories have been reprinted in anthologies, categorized by topic or critical reception. Today many authors release collections of their short stories.

The art of story telling is without doubt older than record of civilization. Even the so called modern short story, which was the latest of the major literary types to evolve, has an ancient lineage. Perhaps the oldest and most direct ancestor of the short story is the anecdote and illustrative story, straight to the point. The ancient parable and fable, starkly brief narrative used to enforce some moral or spiritual truth, anticipate the severe brevity and unity of some short stories written today.

Today’s short stories emerged as their own genre in the early 19th century. In the latter 19th century, the growth of print magazines and journals created a strong demand for short fiction of between 3,000 and 15,000 words. In the first half of the 20th century, a number of high-profile magazines such as The Atlantic Monthly, Scribner’s and The Saturday Evening Post published short stories in each issue. The demand for quality short stories was so great and the money paid for such so high that F. Scott Fitzgerald repeatedly turned to short-story writing to pay his numerous debts.

While the number of commercial magazines that publish short stories has declined, quite a few magazines such as The New Yorker continue to feature them. You will also find literary magazines that also provide a showcase for short stories. In addition, short stories have recently found a new life online, in publications, collections organized by author or theme, and blogs.