As much as we may all love novels, it’s not always easy to work that much reading into our busy schedules. I recently read the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy by Liu Cixin and while I deeply enjoyed it, it took me months to get through all three ginormous books. Since finishing, I’ve been left with the desire to read shorter works where I can reach a satisfying conclusion in just an hour or two—sometimes within just minutes.
Luckily for me (and all you other readers with short attention spans), there are plenty of terrific short stories right here on Fictionate. We’ve had a few great short fiction contests here on the site, which has invited writers to submit some wonderful short tales.
I’ve put together a list of some of the best short stories this site has to offer. Many of them are from two contests we’ve hosted on the site—one is our April 2022 Short Fiction Writing Contest, which tasked writers with writing speculative fiction fairy tale retellings. The other contest is our July 2022 Worldbuilding Short Fiction Contest, which revolved around building a science fiction/fantasy world within a short story based on a picture prompt.
Here are ten bite-size Fictionate stories for you to enjoy for free.
1) “The Red Shoes” by DoubleBlind
The Red Shoes is the name of a fabled neural chip that makes small, nearly invisible changes in the brain with exceptional results. The user will no longer need three meals a day or a full night’s sleep. Trivial bodily functions won’t stand in the way of you and the rush.
This story was the winner of the April 2022 Short Fiction Writing Contest and is a cyberpunk retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of the same name. The second person—a notoriously difficult perspective to write from—is used very effectively here. It really helps you to sink into the twists and turns and visceral details of the story. The story works as a retelling of “The Red Shoes” and as a powerful standalone. You can read an interview with the author here.
2) “Radio Silence” by Tracy Pitts
The world has been cleansed by aliens called the “Others” and it is now the year 3045. Eleanor’s Gran likes to tell her about the Old World before the Others destroyed everything. She gives Eleanor an old radio, which Eleanor takes to her friend Juniper, a boy with violet eyes who was left behind by the Others. The radio may prove the key to making the robot Juniper has been working on come to life.
This short story was the Grand Prize winner in our July 2022 Worldbuilding Short Fiction Contest. The writing in this story is simply beautiful, with lines like this about the stories Eleanor’s grandmother tells her about the Old World: “Bite sized pieces coaxed from a little girl’s distant memory, torn roughly, and chewed carefully, thoughtfully, until they taste like something from a dream.” As you might expect from the name of the contest, the worldbuilding is also excellent. You can read an interview with the author here.
3) “Death in the City” by Anne Welborn
Acting as tour guides to an immortal female humanoid and taking her around the great cities of humankind scattered across the universe seems like the perfect job for Jan and Sa/Ruth. One of the perks of the job is that they are now immortal too. But one by one these great cities have fallen over time and are no longer what they once were. With seemingly no other place to go that they haven’t already been, they gather around a table in a bar in a city at the edge of the desert in the middle of nowhere.
This is a standalone short story with well-drawn descriptions and compelling characters. The worldbuilding is also very well done—the story is simply overflowing with crisp, vivid details of its world.
4) “A Tail of Two Worlds: A Little Mermaid Retelling” by Kelsey Josephson
A year after Lyra created what she thought was her own happily-ever-after, she’s not feeling so sure, and doubts are setting in. She hears a rumor that spurs her to revisit her past—until a chance encounter with a charming stranger complicates her choice. Does she really have to choose between land and sea?
This story was the 2nd Place Grand Prize Winner and 3rd Place People’s Choice in Fictionate’s April 2022 Short Fiction Writing Contest. Like “The Red Shoes”, it is a retelling of a Hans Christian Andersen tale—this one of “The Little Mermaid”. This is an inventive retelling that turns tropes on their heads and features some great characters. You can read an interview with the author here.
5) “From Jineria” by J. P. Raison
When silver disks descend from the sky, everything Lyla knows about Jineria, her world, suddenly changes. As this new danger threatens to take all she loves away, she must gather all her strength, courage, and magic to face it.
“From Jineria” won the 3rd Place Grand Prize in our July 2022 Worldbuilding Short Fiction Contest. It has one of the most fascinating and original magic systems I’ve ever seen in a short story. It is rare to find a story with such top-notch worldbuilding that also has a deep emotional core. You can read an interview with the author here.
6) “Something Is In The Air” by SweetChaos
The captain of a team sent to find somewhere to relocate the remnants of their race arrives at a potential planet. He makes contact with one of the female natives of the planet and the two fall in love.
This story is the second one in the short story collection, The Infinity Library. It is a very brief tale told in short captain’s log entries and is perfect for the reader who has very little time on their hands. All the stories in this collection are flash fiction and are therefore perfect bites and science fiction and fantasy for you to enjoy.
7) “Her Little Match Girl” by Amani Carson
On New Year’s Eve, Maria catches sight of a barefoot little girl in the cold and goes racing out after her, only to get lost in the snow herself. Only her matches bring her comfort—each with an accompanying vision of being warm and happy. She is convinced she’s found her daughter Isabelle who disappeared ten years earlier but keeps losing sight of her.
Hans Christian Andersen's stories certainly proved popular during our April 2022 Short Fiction Writing Contest. This one is a retelling of “The Little Match Girl” and is included in our debut anthology, Mirror, Mirror: A Speculative Fairy Tale Anthology. The writing is hauntingly lovely and the story is deeply suspenseful.
8) “The Way Stars Glow” by Hannah Greer
As a Searcher, Roxva’s mission is to find viable planets for her home, the Queen Ship, to consume. The Queen Ship will die if she is unable to consume enough resources and bring the people onboard down with her. But Roxva has a secret. She doesn’t report planets that have large populations of intelligent life. As things grow dire aboard the Queen Ship, Roxva must decide how far she will go to protect outsiders.
“The Way Stars Glow” won the 2nd Place Grand Prize in Fictionate’s July 2022 Worldbuilding Short Fiction Contest. It fuses fantasy and science fiction in a completely fascinating and unique way. The story’s central characters are very well-developed, especially considering the story’s short limit. You can read an interview with the author here.
9) “Mr. Agustin Takes a Lunch Break” by Cyndi Gacosta
It’s just another dull day at Dante Augustin’s dreadful job when he decides to take his lunch break at a new restaurant. As he watches the other patrons dig into their food with gusto, he discovers that the restaurant’s special menu does more than feed hungry customers.
This is the first story in the story collection, Cyndi's Dark Delights (Vol. 1). It is well-written and does a good job drawing the atmosphere of Dante’s office and the restaurant. The collection is full of dark tales and includes Author's Notes on the ideas and writing process behind each story. Access to the whole collection costs $4.99 but you can read “Mr. Agustin Takes a Lunch Break” for free.
10) “A Kiss for Sleeping Beauty” by Kim Riot
The knights of Fairmont must complete four tasks in order to find their slumbering princess. Only one will save her, win her hand, and claim glory. The knights must fight for that chance—even if it means “borrowing” some armor.
This is a retelling of the fairy tale “Sleeping Beauty” which was the 1st Place People’s Choice Winner of our April 2022 Short Fiction Writing Contest. It brings a healthy dose of feminism to the story since the protagonist is a young woman posing as a knight who turns out to be more heroic and intelligent than her male counterparts. You can read an interview with the author here.
If you are eager for more fairy tale retellings to read, don’t forget to check out our anthology of contest winners’ stories! For those who prefer the tactile experience of flipping through pages, stay tuned for updates on the print version coming soon.
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