Some stories are too long to feel like traditional short fiction, but not long enough to be full novels. These works are often described as long short stories, novelettes, or novellas, depending on the definition used.
The stories on this page are all longer than a typical short story, generally 7,500 words or more, and offer more space for character development, atmosphere, and complex ideas. Many of them are available to read online, while others are widely anthologized or included in previews. Approximate word counts are included where available to give you a sense of the time commitment involved.
Long Stories
“Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor (8,800 words)
Mrs. Hopewell runs a small farm and prides herself on valuing “good country people.” Her daughter Joy, an atheist with a Ph.D. and a wooden leg, believes she sees through everyone around her. When a traveling Bible salesman arrives, Joy’s confidence — and her sense of superiority — are put to a brutal test. (Summary & Analysis of “Good Country People”)
“Revelation” by Flannery O’Connor (8,700 words)
Mrs. Turpin and her husband are in a doctor’s waiting room. Mrs. Turpin is racist and judgmental, and she attracts the attention of a young woman, who looks at her intently. (Summary of “Revelation”)
“The Snows of Kilimanjaro” by Ernest Hemingway (9,200 words)
Stranded on the African plains with a severe infection, Harry waits while his wife tries to comfort him and arrange help. As time runs out, his mind returns to the memories, failures, and unlived work that haunt him. The story moves between stark physical reality and the life he can’t stop replaying.
“A Bottle of Perrier” by Edith Wharton (8,950 words)
Medford, from the American School of Archaeology at Athens, goes to visit his friend, Henry, an amateur archaeologist living in the desert. When he arrives, Henry isn’t home. The servant, Gosling, says he was invited to some unexplored ruins. Medford waits for his friend’s return. (Read “A Bottle of Perrier”)
“Pastoralia” by George Saunders
The narrator works in a prehistoric-themed attraction where employees must remain in character at all times. As visitors stop coming and workplace rules tighten, his relationship with a coworker begins to fray. Beneath the absurd setup, the story explores economic anxiety, emotional isolation, and quiet desperation.
“The Gay Old Dog” by Edna Ferber (8,300 words)
Jo Hertz is a plump, lonely bachelor of fifty. The narrator tells us Jo’s story from the age of twenty-seven when his mother died and she got him to promise to put his life on hold until his three sisters were cared for. (Summary of “The Gay Old Dog”)
This is the first story in the preview of 100 Years of the Best American Short Stories.
“The Love of a Good Woman” by Alice Munro
A museum in Walley has a box of optometrist’s instruments that were owned by D. M. Willens, who drowned in the Peregrine River decades ago. It was found by an anonymous donor. Three boys who were out exploring on a spring morning first spotted the car and the body submerged in the river. In another thread, Enid is providing homecare for Mrs. Quinn, a young woman dying of kidney failure.
“Bartleby, the Scrivener” by Herman Melville (14,400 words)
A Manhattan lawyer recounts his encounters with Bartleby, a law-copyist whose attitude puzzles his coworkers and boss. Bartleby’s passive resistance slowly disrupts the office and unsettles everyone around him, raising questions about free will, authority, and withdrawal from society. (Read “Bartleby, the Scrivener”)
“Boule de Suif” by Guy de Maupassant (14,450 words)
During the Franco-Prussian War, a small group of passengers flees an occupied city together by coach. They include a prostitute known as Boule de Suif, whose presence some of the others scorn—until they need something from her. The journey becomes a sharp study of hypocrisy, respectability, and moral bargaining. (Read “Boule de Suif”)
“Amy Foster” by Joseph Conrad (12,600 words)
A doctor tells the story of a foreign man who survives a shipwreck and ends up in an isolated English rural community. Unable to speak the language, he becomes a figure of suspicion and loneliness, even as he forms a fragile connection with Amy Foster. The story focuses on isolation, misunderstanding, and what it means to be truly “outside” a society. (Read “Amy Foster”)
“Young Archimedes” by Aldous Huxley (13,500 words)
A young English couple rent a house in Italy because it has a great view, and a local peasant boy, Guido, makes an excellent playmate for their own son. Guido is a gifted child, with an affinity for music, and a natural understanding of mathematics. The landlady wants to adopt Guido to mold him and make money from his talents.
“Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin (13,750 words)
A Harlem schoolteacher learns that his younger brother Sonny has been arrested for heroin use. The news forces him to confront years of distance, grief, and fear—along with the life they both survived growing up. Music becomes the space where pain is finally expressed and understood. (Read “Sonny’s Blues”)
“Everything’s Eventual” by Stephen King
Dinky Earnshaw has a strange but comfortable job that provides him with everything he needs — except freedom. He isn’t allowed to save money, contact old friends, or ask questions. As his mysterious work continues, Dinky begins to understand the true cost of his unusual talent.
“Hester Lilly” by Elizabeth Taylor
Hester Lilly, a young woman and orphan, has come to stay with her older cousin Robert and his wife, Muriel, who didn’t want her to come. Robert and Hester have been writing to each other frequently for a while. Muriel is relieved when she sees that Hester is poorly dressed and seems unthreatening. Hester is going to do some dictation work for Robert.
This story can be read in the preview of Complete Short Stories.
“Royal Jelly” by Roald Dahl (8,000 words)
A new mother grows increasingly frightened as her baby fails to gain weight. Her husband, an expert on bees, insists he has a solution and begins adding royal jelly to the infant’s feeding. The story’s domestic worry slowly twists into something far more unsettling.
“A Circle in the Fire” by Flannery O’Connor (7,600 words)
Mrs. Cope owns a large farm. She is protective of her property and feels she is good at handling whatever comes up. One day, three boys visit her; the father of one of the boys used to work for Mrs. Cope. That boy, Powell, remembers the farm and has been telling his friends about it. They want to enjoy farm life for a while.
“Parker’s Back” by Flannery O’Connor (8,200 words)
Parker is dissatisfied with his life. He’s not sure why he’s still with his wife—a deeply religious woman—and she’s pregnant. His main focus has been to get tattoos; there’s no room left on the front of his body. While driving a tractor, he has an experience that proves to be a turning point for him. (Read “Parker’s Back”)
“Parson’s Pleasure” by Roald Dahl (9,300 words)
An antiques dealer works a con to buy valuable items from unsuspecting country dwellers. On one trip, he makes the find of his life and tries to get it for next to nothing.
“Think Like a Dinosaur” by James Patrick Kelly
Kamala is on the Tuulen station, which is run by the Hanen, a cold-blooded dinosaur race. Tuulen station is home to a teleportation device, a migrator, that can send people to other planets. A perfect copy arrives at the destination, and the equation is “balanced” by killing the original person. A complication arises during Kamala’s migration.
“Second Variety” by Philip K. Dick
During a nuclear war between the Soviets and the United Nations, the U.N. authorities are forced to relocate to a moon base, leaving the troops behind. U.N. developers build “claws”, a basic robot with churning blades that seeks out warm bodies. U.N. troops are protected by a special radiation-emitting wrist device. After the robots turn the tide of the conflict, the Soviets want to talk to a high ranking officer to discuss a new threat. (Read “Second Variety”)
“The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate” by Ted Chiang
Fuwaad, a fabric merchant, appears before the Caliph to recount a remarkable story. While looking for a gift, he entered a large shop with a new owner. It had a marvelous assortment of offerings, all made by the owner or under his direction. Fuwaad is led into the back where he’s shown a small hoop that manipulates time. He also has a larger gateway that people can walk through. The owner tells Fuwaad the stories of a few who did just that.
“Friend of My Youth” by Alice Munro (8,900 words)
The narrator recounts the life of Flora Grieves. She lived on a farm with her sister, Ellie, and her brother-in-law, Robert. She tells us how the house and work was divided, how Ellie and Robert came to be married, and how Flora responded to the many changes in her life.
“Rachel in Love” by Pat Murphy
Rachel, a small chimpanzee, watches a Tarzan movie on television. She knows her father, Dr. Aaron Jacobs, wouldn’t approve, but he’s still sleeping. When she gets hungry, she goes to wake him up. He has died of a heart attack. Rachel doesn’t know what to do. He is the only person she has ever known.
“The Country of the Blind” by H. G. Wells (9,600 words)
After an accident in the mountains, Nunez stumbles into a secluded valley whose inhabitants have been blind for generations. Convinced that sight will make him superior, he expects to dominate the community. Instead, he finds that what seems like an advantage can become a liability in a world built without it. (Read “The Country of the Blind”)
“The Legend of St. Julian the Hospitaller” by Gustave Flaubert (9,800 words)
After Julian’s birth, his parents are given two prophecies–that he will become a saint, and that he will attain glory in a royal family. As a young man he is given a third prophecy, that he will kill his parents. (Read “The Legend of St. Julian the Hospitaller”)
“William and Mary” by Roald Dahl (10,000 words)
Mary Pearl receives a letter from her lawyer following her husband’s death. Her husband had been approached by a doctor with an unusual plan for extending his life. He went ahead with it, even though Mary was against the idea. (Read “William and Mary”)
“The Great Good Place” by Henry James (10,300 words)
George Dane is a successful writer with much responsibility and work to do. Soon after he feels like he’s experiencing a rebirth into a great good place, somewhere charming and peaceful.
“The Bruce-Partington Plans” by Arthur Conan Doyle (10,900 words)
A young man is found dead near railway tracks, and documents tied to a top-secret submarine project are discovered on him—though the most critical pages are missing. Mycroft Holmes brings the case to Sherlock as a matter of national security. Holmes must untangle a mystery that blends espionage, deception, and urgency. (Read “The Bruce-Partington Plans”)
“A Simple Heart” (A Simple Soul) by Gustave Flaubert (12,100 words)
After early heartbreak, Félicité becomes a devoted servant in a provincial household and pours her love into the people she cares for. Over time, loss after loss reshapes her inner life rather than hardening it. The story is a quiet portrait of devotion, loneliness, and meaning. (Read “A Simple Heart”)
“The Fall of Edward Barnard” by W. Somerset Maugham (12,250 words)
A man returns from the South Pacific with surprising news about his friend Edward, who has chosen an unfamiliar kind of life far from ambition and social expectation. The story contrasts conventional success with a different vision of contentment. It’s a character-driven look at values, freedom, and what “wasted” life might really mean. (Read “The Fall of Edward Barnard”)
“Disorder and Early Sorrow” by Thomas Mann (13,100 words)
Professor Cornelius’s oldest children plan and throw a party for their friends. Economic times are difficult, but everyone tries to keep up good appearances. The professor is concerned about things that have changed such as his children, his profession, and art and the theater. (Read “Disorder and Early Sorrow”)
“Sandkings” by George R. R. Martin (15,000 words)
Simon Kress lives alone outside the city. He likes unusual and exotic pets. After his last trip his animals died. He finds a new shop, Wo and Shade Importers, where he is shown sandkings, an insect-sized life-form with a hivemind that fights wars with other colonies. (Read “Sandkings”)
Long short stories and novellas offer the depth of a novel with the focus and intensity of short fiction. If you’re looking for something immersive without committing to a full-length book, these longer works are an excellent place to start.