The Best Short Stories 2024: The O. Henry Prize Winners

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 Amor Towles 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 Towles, observations from the winning writers on what inspired them, and an extensive resource list of magazines that publish short fiction.

THE WINNING STORIES

"Roy," Emma Binder
"The Soccer Balls of Mr. Kurz," Michele Mari (translated from the Italian by Brian Robert Moore)
"Orphans," Brad Felver
"The Home Visit," Morris Collins
"The Import," Jai Chakrabarti
"Didi," Amber Caron
"Serranos," Francisco Gonzlez
"Hiding Spot," Caroline Kim
"Junior," Katherine D. Stutzman
"My Good Friend," Juliana Leite (translated from the Portuguese by Zo Perry)
"The Castle of Rose Tellin," Kate DiCamillo
"Rain," Colin Barrett
"Marital Problems," Robin Romm
"The Last Grownup," Allegra Goodman
"The Honor of Your Presence," Dave Eggers
"The Paper Artist," E. K. Ota
"The Room-Service Waiter," Tom Crewe
"Seeing Through Maps," Madeline ffitch
"The Dark," Jess Walter
"Mobilization," Allegra Hyde