Short Story Social

For our first Short Story Social, we’re reading Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery.” A deceptively simple story about tradition and conformity that takes a dark and unsettling turn.

First published in The New Yorker in 1948, it’s a quick read and one of those stories that gives us plenty to talk about. Read it before we meet, then come ready to discuss, disagree, overanalyze, or just hear what everyone else thought.

Read the story free online: https://fullreads.com/literature/the-lottery/

No literary expertise or preparation beyond reading the story required. Come on your own or bring a friend.

For this Short Story Social, we’re reading “Wild Boys” by Olivia Crandall.

Published in 2026 by The Masters Review, “Wild Boys” follows a woman returning to work after maternity leave when an encounter with a coyote—and the unexpected reappearance of someone from her past—unsettles the life she’s carefully built.

It’s contemporary, a little strange, sometimes funny, and gives us plenty to talk about around the lives we choose and the ones we leave behind.

Read the story free online: https://mastersreview.com/new-voices-wild-boys-by-olivia-crandall/

Read it beforehand and come ready to discuss, disagree, overanalyze, or just listen. No literary expertise required.

For this Short Story Social, we’re reading “Three-Ten to Yuma” by Elmore Leonard.

Originally published in 1953, the story follows a deputy tasked with getting a convicted outlaw onto the 3:10 train to Yuma. What begins as a straightforward assignment turns into a tense battle of nerves.

Even if Westerns aren’t usually your thing, give this one a shot- it’s lean, fast-moving, and much more about the two men in a room than cowboys riding across the desert.

Read the story free here: https://loa-shared.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/static/pdf/Leonard_Three-Ten_Yuma.pdf

Read it beforehand and come ready to discuss, disagree, overanalyze, or just listen. No literary expertise required.

For this Short Story Social, we’re reading “When It Changed” by Joanna Russ.

Originally published in 1972, the story takes place on Whileaway, a world where women have lived without men for generations—until visitors from Earth arrive and announce that things are about to change.

Short, sharp, and provocative, it won the Nebula Award and gives us plenty to discuss about gender, power, autonomy, and who gets to decide what counts as progress.

Read the story free online: https://loa-shared.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/static/pdf/Russ_When_It_Changed.pdf

Read it beforehand and come ready to discuss, disagree, overanalyze, or just listen. No literary expertise required.