The Best Short Stories 2026

The prestigious annual anthology features prize-winning stories by an international array of talented writers, including Weike Wang, Colm Tóibín, Louise Erdrich, Samanta Schweblin, Jenny Xie, Kevin Wilson, Brandon Taylor, and Catherine Lacey. 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 Tommy Orange has brought his own refreshing perspective to the prize, selecting stories by an engaging mix of celebrated names and emerging voices. The winning stories are accompanied by an introduction by Orange, observations from the winning writers on what inspired them, and an extensive resource list of magazines that publish short fiction. THE WINNING STORIES "Five Bridges," Colm Tóibín "Flowers and Their Meanings," Marie-Helene Bertino "American Realism," Brandon Taylor "The Hare," Ismael Ramos, translated from the Galician by Jacob Rogers "Where Are You and Where Is My Money," Ucheoma Onwutuebe "Love of My Days," Louise Erdrich "Stick Season," Jenny Xie "She-Bear," Evgenia Nekrasova, translated from the Russian by Marianna Suleymanova "This Time and the Next," Noel Quiñones "Pretend," Mary Williams "Case Study," Weike Wang "Inês," João Pedro Vala "Tender," Sarah LaBrie "Earshot," Guka Han, translated from the French by Katie Shireen Assef "The Masterclass," William Pei Shih 'Welcome to the Club," Samanta Schweblin, translated from the Spanish by Megan McDowell "Waiting, a Quintet," Kimberly Blaeser "Muscle to Muscle, Toe to Toe," Kim Samek "All Stories," Kevin Wilson "The Ghost Coat," Catherine Lacey

Edited by Tommy Orange; Jenny Minton Quigley, Series Editor

Foreword by Jenny Minton Quigley Introduction by Tommy Orange "Five Bridges," Colm Tóibín, The New Yorker "Flowers and Their Meanings," Marie-Helene Bertino, The Baffler "American Realism," Brandon Taylor, The Atlantic "The Hare," Ismael Ramos, translated from the Galician by Jacob Rogers, The Common "Where Are You and Where Is My Money," Ucheoma Onwutuebe, A Public Space "Love of My Days," Louise Erdrich, The New Yorker "Stick Season," Jenny Xie, The Sewanee Review "She-Bear," Evgenia Nekrasova, translated from the Russian by Marianna Suleymanova, The Kenyon Review "This Time and the Next," Noel Quiñones, Michigan Quarterly Review "Pretend," Mary Williams, CRAFT "Case Study," Weike Wang, The Atlantic "Inês," João Pedro Vala, The Common "Tender," Sarah LaBrie, Electric Literature "Earshot," Guka Han, translated from the French by Katie Shireen Assef, The Dial "The Masterclass," William Pei Shih, The Los Angeles Review 'Welcome to the Club," Samanta Schweblin, translated from the Spanish by Megan McDowell, The Yale Review "Waiting, a Quintet," Kimberly Blaeser, The Kenyon Review "Muscle to Muscle, Toe to Toe," Kim Samek, Zyzzyva "All Stories," Kevin Wilson, Michigan Quarterly Review "The Ghost Coat," Catherine Lacey, Granta The O. Henry Prize Winners 2026: The Writers on Their Work Publisher’s Note: A Brief History of the O. Henry Prize How the Stories Are Chosen Acknowledgments Publications Submitted Permissions