Love short story telling?

 10 Short story authors to inspire your short story writing

by Carola Kolbeck

Learning from the best writers to help you writing your own story - below check out our new competition

Last week’s blog post looked at our love for short stories and the many reasons why writers write, and readers read them.  Happy London Press is a fierce and passionate advocate of short stories and has worked hard in the last few years to aid the revival of a genre which often doesn’t get enough credit. Short stories are diverse, they are positively addictive and, as a writer, extremely beneficial to hone one’s writing skills.  Packing a whole plot, suspense and intrigue into a short story takes time and practice, and we are here at hand to give you a few tips and tricks, if you want to hone your writing skills.  

Most importantly, however, good writing comes from reading a lot and a diverse genre of stories.  As discussed previously, this is another reason why short stories are so incredibly important and useful for budding and existing writers.  Through short stories, it’s easy to dip in and out of various genres, try out different writing styles and get accustomed to a large number of authors.  

Famous short story authors

Given the relative lack of popularity of short stories, especially when compared with other genres, it may come as a surprise that the list of short story authors is longer than the Chinese Wall itself.  There are hundreds of famous and influential authors that have written impactful short stories.  There are too many to share, but we have come up with a list which we hope may inspire your own research for short stories and their writers:

1. Rabindranath Tagore was born in 1861 in Kolkata and was incredibly knowledgeable in many subject areas.  He contributed especially to areas of literature, art and philosophy. “Referred to as the “Bard of Bengal”, Tagore is credited with reshaping Bengali literature and music. The first non-European to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, Tagore is also credited with composing the national anthems of India and Bangladesh.”
   Although Rabindranath Tagore was a talented poet, song writer and writer of novels, he also wrote a lot of short stories.  “ ‘Galpaguchchha,’ a collection of 80 stories, is his most famous short story collection. It revolves around the lives of rural folks of Bengal. The stories mostly deal with the subjects of poverty, illiteracy, marriage, femininity, etc. and enjoy immense popularity even today.”

2. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is best known for creating the legendary Sherlock Holmes, a figure that continues to captivate audiences throughout the times.  Doyle gained his love for stories from his mother, who told him lots of stories when he was a child.  Doyle was not always an author - he initially studied medicine and then practised as a doctor. However, his career did not work out and he allegedly started penning stories whilst waiting for patients.  Doyle wrote more than 60 Sherlock Holmes stories, but he also wrote non-fiction, fantasy and poetry. His best-known Sherlock Holmes stories include ‘Stories of Sherlock Holmes', 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes', 'The Hound of the Baskervilles', 'The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes' and 'The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes'. 

   

3. Anton Chekhov was also a trained doctor, but wrote alongside his medical career.  He is said to be “one of the most illustrious and celebrated short-story writers in the history of literature”. Chekhov’s works were featuredFollowing this, he started writing materials which soon were initially featured in newspapers and journals.  His writing evolved and he is credited with what many see today as “the modern short story”.  Some notable works of Chekhov include  ‘The Cherry orchard’, ‘The Seagull’, ‘Uncle Vanya’, ‘Three Sisters’ and ‘Lady with the Dog’.

4. Many of us fondly think of Roald Dahl, having enriched our childhood with his vivid and colourful stories, such as Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The BFG, The Twits, The Witches or The Fantastic Mr Fox.  Roald Dahl was not only a prominent children’s book author, he also wrote novels, poems, screen plays and short stories.  The latter are considered to be the best-selling fiction books in the world.  Many of them have been translated into over 60 languages.  His adult fiction is renowned for sudden plot twists and surprising storylines.  Roald Dahl is also the creator of many made up words or phrases, which he used in his children’s books.  The expressions “snozzcumber”, “oompa loompa”, fleshlump eater”, “human beans” and many more are a solid part of the English language with generations fondly remembering which story they came from.  In addition to this, many of his children’s books have been made into successful films, with some being remade over and over again, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  Dahl is a timeless favourite and his short stories and tales have inspired many existing and budding writers.  

5. Legendary and talented Silvia Plath had her first poem published when she was only eight years old.  Plath’s poetry was so influential that many say that she has been a pivotal figure in promoting the genre of confessional poetry.  Plath also wrote many short stories and a novel, most of which were only published after her suicide.  Plath was only 30 years old when she died.  Nevertheless, her legacy lives on and other books were published in her name after her death.   Her short stories are said to “have very little theme or anything of general interest with the result that they cannot be strictly considered fictional pieces. On the other hand, they are full of her own experiences, her fears and her dreams, her obsessions and her own views of people are all reflected in the prose writings.” (Sarkar, 2021).

6. Jhumpa Lahiri is a contemporary author who was born in London to immigrant parents.  She moved to the USA as an infant and her stories heavily feature themes of experiences as an immigrant.  Although her first book, a collection of short stories “Interpreter of Maladies” was widely rejected by many publishers, she eventually got published and the book won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.  She is now considered as one of the most successful and influential authors of her time. “Interpreter of Maladies” features nine short stories.  According to Goodreads (2022), the characters in Lahiri’s stories “navigate between the Indian traditions they've inherited and the baffling new world. [...they…] seek love beyond the barriers of culture and generations. In "A Temporary Matter," published in The New Yorker, a young Indian-American couple faces the heartbreak of a stillborn birth while their Boston neighbourhood copes with a nightly blackout. In the title story, an interpreter guides an American family through the India of their ancestors and hears an astonishing confession. Lahiri writes with deft cultural insight reminiscent of Anita Desai and a nuanced depth that recalls Mavis Gallant.”
   Lahiri’s second book of short stories was called “Unaccustomed Earth” also features short stories that deal with themes of immigrant experiences and take the reader on journeys all across the world.

7. James Baldwin’s young life was coined by poverty, abuse from his step father and duties to look after younger brothers and sisters.  Through his mentor Beauford Delaney, Baldwin was encouraged to write, which had been a passion of his for a long time already.  As a young, gay and black man in mid-20th century America, he faced a lot of abuse and discrimination.  He therefore moved to France where he became a successful and influential writer.  Many of his works and stories feature themes of sexuality, race, discrimination and also deal with political issues of that time.  His most famous short story is considered “Sonny’s Blues”, which combines several of his characteristic themes, including those regarding family, human frailty, racial prejudice, and the transformation of suffering through art, specifically, the power of black music to transform suffering and create community, which became an increasingly important theme in his work.

8. Margaret Atwood was born in 1939 and is one of the most accredited female writers of our time.  The Canadian, best-known for her novel “A Handmaid’s Tale”, has also penned many short stories and poems.  A writer since the early years of her life, Atwood’s stories are mostly about female characters and the struggles of women in society.  Her fictional work is often based on historic and scientific events and manages to draw its readers into different worlds, and forces them to consider the story and compare it to real life events.  Her short story “Impatient Griselda” was published by The New York Times as part of the Decameron Project. 
   Many regard Atwood as a literary genius and she has won numerous international awards.  Atwood is also a humanist and important public figure, whose stories and novels continue to inspire readers and writers.

9. Chimamand Ngozi Adichi was born in Nigeria and is best known for her book “Half of a yellow sun”.  Time Magazine named her as one of the 100 Most Influential People and have recognised her work surrounding feminism, race and helping Africans who live in the US and in other countries.  Many of her short stories feature the theme of the Nigerian Civil War and the suffering of the people within the conflict. Adichi writes frankly about social and racial issues she believes need to be changed and is an active member of society.  Her stories and short story collections have won her many awards and honorary degrees from various universities.  

10. Our final pick of short story authors is Roxane Gay, an American writer and professor, whose essay collection “Bad Feminist” was a New York Times bestseller.  She also published the short story collections Ayiti (2011) and  Difficult Women (2017).  Her short story “The mark of Cain” from Difficult Women tells a story of marital violence and was published in “Elle”. 
    Gay’s writing is impactful, frank and candid and evokes a deep sense of being part of her stories, feeling her character’s feelings to the core.  Gay is also a professor, contributor to The New York Times and an editor of her own publishing company.

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Short stories with Happy London Press

The above list of famous short story authors should by no means intimidate you as a writer.  It aims to show that short story authors bring with them many different experiences and that their stories mostly have found great popularity amongst their contemporaries.  The beauty of short stories, short story collections and their authors is that they can be eclectic and rich in variety, just as humans are.  As a writer, this means you can indulge in many different themes, genres and cover a width and breadth of topics.  Here at Happy London Press we encourage writers to pen short stories and, during lockdown 2020, held a short story competition.  It resulted in a rich and colourful book called “High 2020”, which is a collection of short stories from new and emerging writers.  The book has something for everyone: fantasy, intimate reviews of personal lives, recollections and wild imaginings.  

Short stories will never go out of style, having persisted over many centuries.  Happy London Press is here to support writers to publish their short stories and help readers to explore the various joys of short story reading.

High 2020 is available to buy as an eBook:

Short stories | Happy Story Store : instant fiction downloads

Our guide to short story writing can be downloaded here:

How to write short stories | Happy Story Store

References:

Elle. 2022. The Mark of Cain. Available at: "The Mark of Cain" by Roxane Gay - Short Fiction by Roxane Gay from Difficult Women (elle.com) (Accessed 22.01.22)

Goodreads. 2022. Interpreter of Maladies. Available at: Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (goodreads.com). (Accessed 22.01.22)

Sarkar. 2021. All Sylvia Plath short stories. Available at: All Sylvia Plath Short Stories and Prose Writings Summary - All About English Literature (eng-literature.com). Accessed 22.01.22

The Famous people. 2022. Available at: List of Famous Short Story Writers - Biographies, Timelines, Trivia & Life History (thefamouspeople.com) (Accessed 19.01.22)