Funny Fiction Short Stories

At Hopton Elementary, every day is an adventure! From unexpected science experiments to wild classroom challenges, nothing ever goes as planned—but that’s what makes it so much fun. Follow a group of third graders as they experience hilarious mishaps, surprising lessons, and the occasional total disaster. Whether it’s a school-wide balloon race, a messy art project, or a game of magnetic fishing gone wrong, one thing’s for sure—things will get out of control.

Death. It’s a part of life and something we all must accept. Whether it be our own demise or losing a loved one, the experience of death is both sobering and surreal. My Dad Is Dead is a group of related short stories that explore that dichotomy through the eyes of a kid. In George Verongos’ second book, he turns childhood memories into “fictionally enhanced” tales (he made us say that, he’s trying to make it a thing).

Last Evenings on Earth by Roberto Bolaño is a forthcoming title from Farrar, Straus and Giroux...

This collection of the best crime and mystery short fiction of 1999, gathered from around the globe and including more award-winners and stories than any other comparable volume, fills the void for those with a hunger for the best international mystery and suspense stories.

These are funny stories, seriously. Four short stories set in Oregon. Three in Eastern Oregon. One is about a scalawag who becomes a moonshiner. Another is about a scalawag who builds a mansion in the desert and becomes convinced that a pumpkin is an egg.

Welcome to these paranormal worlds of randy vampires, naughty necromancers, and zombies who might eat your brains after they succeed at seducing you. This quirky collection gathers the funniest fantasy, weirdest paranormal, and most hilarious horror written by award winning author, Sarina Dorie. In all, there are 17 tales to transport you to another world and tickle your funny bone.

Classic Cat Stories is an anthology that includes fairy tales and fables from the likes of Rudyard Kipling and Charles Perrault as well as comic tales from Saki and E. F. Benson. Cats, of course, have always had a dark and mysterious side, which is explored to chilling effect by the likes of Edgar Allan Poe in 'The Black Cat'. But above all, we love them, and you’ll find here stories about all kinds of cats that tug at the heartstrings like 'The Man of the House' by Ethel Colburn Mayne and other stories that celebrate their curious ways.

Аркадий Аверченко ― русский писатель, драматург, театральный критик, выдающийся мастер короткой юмористической прозы двадцатых годов прошлого века. Среди тем, которые интересовали А. Т. Аверченко, были общественно-политические события начала XX столетия, влияние искусства на повседневную жизнь, взаимоотношения между людьми, радости и печали детей и многое другое.

Save 10 lives with a paperclip, discover how a big banana can ruin your sister's holiday, make a new friend with a garbage bin, develop a taste for sheep's spleen and chips, bounce on a vampire's bed, rescue your dad from a dog and a spider, use a toilet roll to get justice, upset the neighbours with a pickaxe, eat a pizza that makes you fearless and imagine a world where teachers earn more money than a rock star.

A hopeful, speculative short story collection about how humanity grapples in a world transformed by climate change. “Climate fiction does not owe readers hope, but through humor and humanity Hyde manages to present a harsh reality without descending into despair, offering a space for mourning...

A new collection of short stories examining the extraordinary shades of ordinary life, from the prize-winning fiction writer Richard Bausch (“A master of the short story" —The New York Times Book Review) In these twelve new stories, Richard Bausch explores the passions of men and women...

“These gripping, magical tales span time travel, portals, menacing butterflies, and more. A can’t-miss meditation on families and survival.” —People “A gorgeous book that also serves as a series of unanswerable, probing questions: How did we get here? How will we move forward? Can we...

A virtuosic, laugh-out-loud collection of stories that explore the fraught and fantastic nature of human connection—featuring women, men, various couples, and one terribly precocious baby enmeshed in tangled romances of all shapes and sizes. The wide-ranging and inventive stories that make up...

The acclaimed, award-winning author of The Resisters takes measure of the fifty years since the opening of China and its unexpected effects on the lives of ordinary people. It is a unique book that only Jen could write—a story collection accruing the power of a novel as it proceeds—a work...

Seal Island is home to a moonshine-making billionaire, a pot-growing fisherman, a celebrity flower child, a handsome romance writer, a sex-addicted realtor, a womanizing pub owner, a cop, a pot-bellied pig…and a serial killer. The island is serene and remote. It is only accessible by boat. The residents like it that way, until those with the deepest and darkest of secrets start dying in the most bizarre of ways.

The Unidentified Funny Objects series serves an annual dose of funny, zany, and unusual science fiction and fantasy stories. All-new fiction from the genre's top voices! Our sixth volume features a Mad Amos story by Alan Dean Foster, a Harry the Book tale by Mike Resnick, and an Alexander Outland short by Gini Koch.

The stories are short enough to keep kids focused on the story and to not seem overwhelming. Each story is followed by four optional multiple choice questions designed to assess basic reading comprehension and reasoning skills. After a moment, the correct answer is given: Please press the pause button if you wish to think about the question before hearing the answer.

Have you ever wondered what a UFO abduction is like from the alien’s viewpoint? Can a machine provide comfort to a dying woman? What would it be like to fall into the hands of a get-rich-quick scheming extraterrestrial? All these questions and more are answered in this book of wonderfully crafted short stories by breakout author J.J. Harlan.

In the South, we believe in being polite, even if it kills us. So, when we just can't fight the urge to say something nasty, we follow it up with a "bless her heart" just to make us feel better. "Look at that poor woman trying to jog around that track. Her rear-end is dragging a trail, bless her heart." Youngblood and Poole talk about the ins and outs of nosy neighbors, sibling rivalry, and why every Southerner worth her salt feels the need to offer advice.

Are you ready to get swept away into a world of fantastic adventure and new discoveries? The Funny Things I Heard at the Bus Stop series of short stories for kids is the perfect book for bedtime reading, a quick after-school adventure, or any time that you want to get taken to a magical, funtabulous, amazing world of imagination that is perfect for kids aged three to one hundred and three!