--- title: 5 New Short Stories from Authors Mostly Known for Novels description: Five of writers mainly known for their novels who have this year slimmed down their long-form prose and embraced the short story. canonical: https://time.com/5220107/short-story-collections-from-authors-known-for-novels/ author: Kate Samuelson article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-29T10:46:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T11:33:27.008Z article:section: Ideas og:title: This Season Brings a Crop of Short Story Collections From Authors Known for Novels og:description: Check out these 5 upcoming collections og:url: https://time.com/5220107/short-story-collections-from-authors-known-for-novels/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte8c96969c63d6ce7/69892c49096a945dfe6a1f85/books-short-stories-dewitt-groff-sittenfeld-oneil.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Novelists Go Short og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Season Brings a Crop of Short Story Collections From Authors Known for Novels twitter:description: Check out these 5 upcoming collections twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte8c96969c63d6ce7/69892c49096a945dfe6a1f85/books-short-stories-dewitt-groff-sittenfeld-oneil.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Season Brings a Crop of Short Story Collections From Authors Known for Novels by [Kate Samuelson](https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Mar 29, 2018 10:46 AM UTC  This trend kicks off in April with Shriver's first collection, and continues through June This trend kicks off in April with Shriver's first collection, and continues through JuneErin O'Flynn For Time by [Kate Samuelson](https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Mar 29, 2018 10:46 AM UTC The short story’s “renaissance” is a trope that has been trotted out by booksellers and commentators throughout the 21st century, though in fact the genre’s popularity has remained relatively steady. That said, this season brings a wave of writers who made their name as novelists putting out short-story collections, perhaps attracted to the literary form’s innate opportunity for experimentation and specificity. Here are five writers mainly known for their novels who have this year slimmed down their long-form prose and embraced the short story. ## Lionel Shriver, [_Property_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062697935/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0062697935&linkId=15837bfee664addcc735abaaed737ece) The author known for [_We Need to Talk About Kevin_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062119044/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0062119044&linkId=cc58b2d2179768e9651f2d1964410ad6) (2003) — and for her controversial remarks about the racial politics of fiction — has written her first collection of short stories and novellas. The book probes the power dynamics that surround ownership, of both homes and possessions. Shriver brings the acerbic detail and mordant wit that define her novels to this rumination on the uniting forces of houses and humanity. ## Curtis Sittenfeld, [_You Think It, I’ll Say It_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0525508708/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0525508708&linkId=a372530b0d2be25b5e24a75a5ca2b6dd) This is the first collection of short fiction by the Cincinnati-born author of five novels, including [_Prep_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081297235X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=081297235X&linkId=0ec02c7652d3eff5b246d0e651cfbd65) (2005), [_American Wife_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812975405/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0812975405&linkId=012817126114e8a9657fe65992b8a683) (2008) and [_Eligible_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812980344/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0812980344&linkId=a14c062c0d4878e6bb4c454df9804029) (2016). In 10 stories, Sittenfeld explores gender, schadenfreude and Trump-era politics with sharp insight. Her characters are as relatable as the protagonists in her best sellers. ## Helen DeWitt, [_Some Trick_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0811228932/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0811228932&linkId=69c2ed6a9392095fcacebe04b0cc34fd) The multilingual author, known for her novels [_The Last Samurai_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081122550X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=081122550X&linkId=3a8bd0764b627041013ca7067289e4ae) (2000) and [_Lightning Rods_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0811220346/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0811220346&linkId=4ae59e5c974a36896d80445c554eed49) (2011), demonstrates her intellectual prowess in this thought-provoking debut collection. These 13 tales, which push the boundaries of fiction, center on misunderstood geniuses and manage to combine complex mathematical theories with razor-sharp wit — no easy achievement. ## Lauren Groff, [_Florida_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594634521/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1594634521&linkId=8f654f55528662c4bd00eca026bab224) This dark short-story collection is the second from the New Yorker who is best known for her novel [_Fates and Furies_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594634483/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1594634483&linkId=4ff662c7735710eebc469cd93e2e2df3) (2015), the ambitious dissection of a marriage over 24 years. In _Florida_, Groff sets her sights on the titular Sunshine State, where she boldly explores conflicts and connections between everything from humans and their natural surroundings to pleasure and pain. ## Joseph O’Neill, [_Good Trouble_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075PX6P9Z/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B075PX6P9Z&linkId=aacfb74d5c68281dc6545dc473275c82) The author of the PEN/Faulkner Award–winning novel [_Netherland_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307388778/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0307388778&linkId=6c571b7967c458b1b279a2486b736b9d) (2008) returns his gaze to New York City in his first short-story collection. Through 11 tales, the Irish-Turkish author observes a range of hyperreal, painfully vulnerable characters, from a man who is desperate for someone to write his character reference to a husband who cowers upstairs as his wife confronts a potential intruder. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5220107/short-story-collections-from-authors-known-for-novels/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5220107/short-story-collections-from-authors-known-for-novels/"},"headline":"This Season Brings a Crop of Short Story Collections From Authors Known for Novels","datePublished":"2018-03-29T10:46:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T11:33:27.008Z","description":"Five of writers mainly known for their novels who have this year slimmed down their long-form prose and embraced the short story.","url":"https://time.com/5220107/short-story-collections-from-authors-known-for-novels/","keywords":["Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte8c96969c63d6ce7/69892c49096a945dfe6a1f85/books-short-stories-dewitt-groff-sittenfeld-oneil.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kate Samuelson","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte8c96969c63d6ce7/69892c49096a945dfe6a1f85/books-short-stories-dewitt-groff-sittenfeld-oneil.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Novelists Go Short","caption":"Short Story Fiction O'Neil Sittenfeld DeWitt Groff","creditText":"Erin O'Flynn For Time","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5220107/short-story-collections-from-authors-known-for-novels/","name":"This Season Brings a Crop of Short Story Collections From Authors Known for Novels"}}]}] ```