31 Days of Stories 2026, Day 21: “The Qilin” by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki; Bryan Karetnyk, trans.
Unlike much of Tanizaki's fiction, "The Qilin" does not take place in Japan, but in China.
31 Days of Stories 2026, Day 20: “Schalken the Painter” by Sheridan Le Fanu
The story anticipates Stoker's novel and an entire library of supernatural fiction that follows it.
31 Days of Stories 2026, Day 19: Stories by Helen Garner
This is perhaps Garner's secret weapon as a fiction writer: her resolute refusal to explain.
31 Days of Stories 2026, Day 18: “A Sum of Money” by Colm Tóibín
It is true that Dan has repeatedly violated the eight commandment; it is equally true that the commandment does not put a dollar value on theft.
31 Days of Stories 2026, Day 17: “Penetrating Wind Over Open Lake” by Elise Levine
There is a tension between the free-floating style and structure of Levine's story and Paisley's notions regarding claustrophobia and confinement.
31 Days of Stories 2026, Day 16: “The Mouse and the Woman” by Dylan Thomas
First published in 1936, "The Mouse and the Woman" is one of Thomas's oddest and most elliptical pieces.
31 Days of Stories 2026, Day 15: “Needlework” by Ch’ǒn Unyǒng; Na-Young Bae and Bruce Fulton, trans.
Pak uses her artistry as a means of control, both over her clients and herself.
31 Days of Stories 2026, Day 14: “Roxanne (After Edmond Rostand)” by Catherine Bush
Bush maintains the characters' original gender roles but switches the focus from the play's title character to that of the romantic interest.
31 Days of Stories 2026, Day 13: “How to Be an Other Woman” by Lorrie Moore
The power dynamics at work in the relationship are drawn out teasingly, through language and the specifics of the characters as Moore has crafted them.
31 Days of Stories 2026, Day 12: As the Earth Dreams: Black Canadian Speculative Stories
Pierre has done a good job bringing together pieces that cover a range of styles and subjects.