The Best Short Stories 2025: The O. Henry Prize Winners

The Best Short Stories 2025: The O. Henry Prize WinnersThe prestigious annual story anthology, featuring prize winning stories by a diverse and exciting array of writers, including Wendell Berry, Alice Hoffman, Dave Eggers, Ling Ma, Lori Ostlund, and Anthony Marra. Continuing a century long tradition of cutting edge literary excellence, this year's edition contains twenty prizewinning stories chosen from the thousands published in magazines over the previous year. Guest editor Edward P. Jones has brought

she struggles to keep her alter-canine-identity secret

and enchanting magical realism” (Esquire)

As Clary uncovers more about her family’s past

cranky old church deacon known as Sportcoat shuffles into the courtyard of the Cause Houses housing project in south Brooklyn

Jake is prepared to dismiss the boast as typical amateur narcissism

it becomes clear that Lachlan could hold the answers Keyanna is after—and that she might also be the key to uncovering his

Nestled amid picture-perfect mountains

Flo and Clara

Because it's not a normal bed & breakfast: it's a portal between the land of the living and the realm of the dead

Find Waldo among zany games

Bonded by an old

When Jack and Elizabeth meet as college students in the gritty '90s Chicago art scene