"A good short story is a magic trick, and it's close-up magic. . .  If a story touches you, it will stay with you, haunting the places in your mind that you rarely ever visit." - Neil Gaiman

This is our pick of the most magical short story collections of the season (March 23 - June 21, 2021) .

• Includes new paperback editions of books published last year in hardcover.

For short story collections published after June 21, 2021, check out our linked lists at the bottom of this page.

Our pick of short fiction collections published after June 21, 2021:

• Best Short Story Collections by a Single Author: Summer, 2022
• Best Short Story Collections by a Single Author: Spring, 2022
• Best Short Story Collections by a Single Author: Winter, 2022
• Best Short Story Collections by a Single Author: Fall, 2021
• Best Short Story Collections by a Single Author: Summer, 2021

Also browse our list of short fiction collections published earlier in 2021:

• Best Short Story Collections by a Single Author: Winter, 2021

Don't forget to check out our 2020 list: 

• Best Short Fiction Collections of 2020 by a Single Author