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“The Best Friendship Short Stories
Elaborate inside jokes, tested loyalties, bonds deeper than any romance: these are just a few key tenets of friendship stories, a subgenre as nuanced as the phenomenon of friendship itself. From classics like Don Quixote and Of Mice and Men to modern tales like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, these stories depict profound, joyous, and sometimes difficult friendships in ways to which we can all relate.
Indeed, friendship manifests in many different ways among these stories. Sometimes it serves as a grounding backdrop for other events, as in Ann M. Martin’s iconic middle-grade series The Baby-Sitters Club. Other times the friendship starts out strong but sours over time, as in John Knowles’ sobering coming-of-age novel A Separate Peace. In the most heartbreaking iterations of the genre, a pure friendship is compromised or cut short by forces outside the characters’ control (Bridge to Terabithia, The Fox and the Hound). But even when these stories make us tear up, we come back to them again and again — in the knowledge that, though friendships can be painful to navigate, the joy they bring us is almost always worth it.
Meet your new best friend: this short story page
Looking for even more friendship stories? You’ve come to the right place. This page hosts all sorts of stories about friendship submitted to the Reedsy short story contest over the years. You’ll find winners and shortlisted stories at the top, though we’d absolutely encourage you to scroll through to the end — you might find something you like even more.
If you’re feeling extra friendly, why not leave a like or comment on some of your favorite entries? You can also “follow” specific authors to get a notification when they post new content. And finally, if any of these friendship stories inspires you to write one of your own, consider submitting it to our weekly contest! If your story wins, you’ll walk away with a sweet $250 prize — and the chance to be published in Prompted, our new literary magazine.
