Fantasy short stories are often written by authors who haven’t yet been able to get a novel-length book published, but not always. Many short stories are published annually by well-known authors, or those who want to explore a different universe or genre from their own novels or series. Most are written with a single specific theme or goal in mind, and although brief, the very best will stick with you for a long time.
Fantasy Novellas Online
The Internet is rich with burgeoning fantasy authors, and though you may have to sift through some mediocre texts, there is a surprising amount of quality fantasy short stories available online for free or very inexpensively.
- Tor.com, a preeminent fantasy and sci-fi publishing house, has a section on their website devoted entirely to SFF short stories, though the genres are not further separated and you may have to sift through several science fiction pieces before you find a fantasy short story. Many of these have been or will be published, and have been written and edited by professionals.
- FictionPress.com is an amateur and hobby writers’ community and story database that has excellent stories mixed in with the amateurish. Most stories are under 50,000 words, but you will find some epic-length stories here, as well, and can sort them based on sub-genre, length, and adult material rating. If you are willing to work to uncover some excellent narratives, as well as leave reviews that the authors will cherish, visit the FictionPress fantasy section.
Fantasy Short Stories in Print
One of the most well-known fantasy anthologies, Legends: Stories by the Masters of Modern Fantasy, features 11 stories written by best-selling fantasy authors in the universe of the fantasy series they are most well-known for. This includes a Wheel of Time prequel from Robert Jordan, a Sword of Truth story from earlier on than the main books, as well as tales set in the Pern, Song of Ice and Fire, Earthsea, and other popular fantasy universes. These are longer than most anthology short stories, around 70 pages each.- Many publishers produce annual compilations that combine fantasy and science fiction stories together in one collection. Some of the more well-known anthologies are Jonathan Strahan’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year and Rich Horton’s Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy.
Other, less well-known collections feature only fantasy fiction, and may be a bit more difficult for you to track down. Tor publishes a Year’s Best Fantasy compilation annually, and Rich Horton produces an annual fantasy-only collection as well, titled Fantasy: The Best of the Year.