Discover weekly, the best short stories

Looking for a steady supply of fantasy short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

14160+ Fantasy Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Though fantasy is well known for its epically long sagas, fantasy short stories can deliver all the genre’s best attractions with one punch — or, shall we say, in one fiery dragon breath?

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The Best New Fantasy Short Stories

We typically associate fantasy with world-building, expansive imaginary realms stretching the bounds of our imagination, and hefty paperbacks of a thousand pages. In one sense, fantasy seems to be defined by the fact that it usually reaches us in large doses: trilogies, series, universes that keep on giving. But fantasy short stories can be just as effective in honouring the scope and ambition of the genre — here, every word matters. 

Fantasy short stories pack in a lot in just a few minutes’ worth of reading time, so pay close attention, and you’ll soon find yourself transported to another world. There, you’ll be hit by the vividness of this new reality in a flash. It’ll be a truly magical experience (with some actual magic involved in the story as well).

Read fantasy short stories for free

This page features the best fantasy short stories submitted to Reedsy’s weekly writing contest. You’ll find the stories that impressed our judges the most at the top of the page, so that’s definitely a great place to start! If you like a writer’s work, why not visit their profile and click ‘Follow’, so you never miss their new uploads? There’s extraordinary talent here, and you could discover your new favorites today.

 And if you'd like to read the best of the best entries from across 40+ genres, be sure to check out Prompted, our new literary magazine — there's a free copy waiting for you!

RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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