Short story collections for teenagers
We love short stories!
Whether you’re looking for an anthology you can dip in and out of, something to read in one sitting, or stories to kick-start the writing of your own, these are some of our favourite YA collections: inspiring, intriguing and surprising.
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Smoke and Mirrors
Author: Neil Gaiman
Interest level: 14+
Reading age: 14+
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Smoke and Mirrors
Author: Neil Gaiman
Interest level: 14+
Reading age: 14+
A collection of short stories: an elderly widow finds the Holy Grail beneath an old fur coat; a stray cat fights and refights a te…
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Counting Stars
Author: David Almond
Interest level: 11+
Reading age: 11+
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Counting Stars
Author: David Almond
Interest level: 11+
Reading age: 11+
This evocative collection of short stories gives a clear insight into the experiences which lie behind David Almond's novels.
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Tales From Outer Suburbia
Author: Shaun Tan
Interest level: 11+
Reading age: 10+
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Tales From Outer Suburbia
Author: Shaun Tan
Interest level: 11+
Reading age: 10+
These often thought-provoking stories look at the reactions ordinary people have to the unusual situations they find themselves in…
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Pretty Monsters
Author: Kelly Link
Interest level: 13+
Reading age: 10+
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Pretty Monsters
Author: Kelly Link
Interest level: 13+
Reading age: 10+
It's a mistake anyone could make - digging up the body from the wrong grave. How could you possibly know the corpse would follow y…
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Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange...
Author: Editor: Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant
Interest level: 13+
Reading age: 13+
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Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange...
Author: Editor: Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant
Interest level: 13+
Reading age: 13+
A hugely varied anthology of thrilling and inventive short stories
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Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron
Author: Various Editor: Jonathan Strahan
Interest level: 14+
Reading age: 14+
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Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron
Author: Various Editor: Jonathan Strahan
Interest level: 14+
Reading age: 14+
What makes a witch? Despite the title, the stories in this imaginative collection suggest you might need more than just a pointy h…
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Hikayat: Short Stories by Lebanese Women
Author: Editor: Roseanne Saad Khalaf
Interest level: 15+
Reading age: 15+
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Hikayat: Short Stories by Lebanese Women
Author: Editor: Roseanne Saad Khalaf
Interest level: 15+
Reading age: 15+
They explore themes of war, romance and emigration in Lebanon's rich yet complex society.
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My True Love Gave to Me
Author: Various Editor: Stephanie Perkins
Interest level: 12+
Reading age: 9+
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My True Love Gave to Me
Author: Various Editor: Stephanie Perkins
Interest level: 12+
Reading age: 9+
A collection of Christmas-themed romantic short stories, one for each of the 'twelve days', by some of the best known American YA …
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How They Met and Other Stories
Author: David Levithan
Interest level: 14+
Reading age: 14+
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How They Met and Other Stories
Author: David Levithan
Interest level: 14+
Reading age: 14+
This collection of stories from bestselling YA author David Levithan shows the many sides of love - complicated, addictive, v…
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The Thing Around Your Neck
Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Interest level: 15+
Reading age: 15+
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The Thing Around Your Neck
Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Interest level: 15+
Reading age: 15+
These beautifully written short stories from former Orange Prize winner, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, feature a range of compelling c…
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Here I Stand
Author: Various Illustrator: Chris Riddell
Interest level: 12+
Reading age: 12+
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Here I Stand
Author: Various Illustrator: Chris Riddell
Interest level: 12+
Reading age: 12+
These short stories by writers such as Sita Brahmachari, Matt Haig and Frances Harding, with illustration by Chris Riddell, put cu…
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Love Hurts
Author: Various Editor: Malorie Blackman
Interest level: 13+
Reading age: 13+
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Love Hurts
Author: Various Editor: Malorie Blackman
Interest level: 13+
Reading age: 13+
This anthology depicts a very wide range of romantic relationships, and a diverse set of characters, showing love in all its forms…
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The Ghosts of Heaven
Author: Marcus Sedgwick
Interest level: 13+
Reading age: 12+
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The Ghosts of Heaven
Author: Marcus Sedgwick
Interest level: 13+
Reading age: 12+
The Ghosts of Heaven is an excellent book that will open up new avenues of thought and future reading and introduces teenage reade…
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Don't Look Now and Other Stories
Author: Dahpne du Maurier
Interest level: 15+
Reading age: 15+
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Don't Look Now and Other Stories
Author: Dahpne du Maurier
Interest level: 15+
Reading age: 15+
Don't Look Now, Daphne du Maurier's terrifying tale set in Venice, was memorably filmed by Nicolas Roeg
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Stories
Author: Various Editors: Neil Gaiman & Al Sarrantonio
Interest level: 14+
Reading age: 14+
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Stories
Author: Various Editors: Neil Gaiman & Al Sarrantonio
Interest level: 14+
Reading age: 14+
This is a short story collection not short on ideas. It’s one huge book of great, exciting stories which will become a uniti…
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Jamilti and Other Stories
Author: Rutu Modan
Interest level: 15+
Reading age: 15+
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Jamilti and Other Stories
Author: Rutu Modan
Interest level: 15+
Reading age: 15+
Stories that range from darkly fantastical and unsettling to surprising discoveries that shape personal identity.
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Complete Short Fiction
Author: Oscar Wilde
Interest level: 14+
Reading age: 15+
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Complete Short Fiction
Author: Oscar Wilde
Interest level: 14+
Reading age: 15+
Fairy tales, ghost stories, detective fiction and comedies of manners; the stories collected in this volume made Oscar Wilde's nam…
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