The Most Popular New Fiction of 2020

Looking for a good story? Here is a list of the most popular short new fiction that we posted in 2020.

A large bookshelf filled with books
Stefan Holm / Shutterstock

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1. Thanks for Reaching Out

By Michael Barrie

Two men in suits
Daroff advertisement, The Saturday Evening Post, December 6, 1958

“You let life happen to you, Arthur. You never aimed high, took a risk or followed a passion. And who you were is who you still are.”

2. A Knock at the Door

By Daly Walker

A log cabin deep in the woods. A body of water can be seen through the trees in the distance.
(Shutterstock)

The angry knocking woke him at 1:30 in the morning. What did the visitor want?

3. A Man of Few Words

By Cathy Mellett

A man walks across the pages of a large, open book.
(Shutterstock)

Sam’s disability never caused him great problems in the past, but now that it is threatening his relationship with his daughter, can he set his pride aside?

4. All the Souls We Cannot Save

By Matthue Roth

Painting of a brook
The Brook (ca. 1895–1900) by Paul Cézanne, Public Domain

“You can say with certitude, he might have died a hero, and know that could be true. It’s a gift that not many other people have. It’s probably not a gift that you want — it’s not what I would want for my own children — but it’s the gift you are given.”

5. Fifty Million Cents

By Amanda Irene Rush

Soda bottle caps
(Shutterstock)

To us, it’s just a Mello Yello, but to nine-year-old Joey, it is the most important thing in the world. And to his grandmother, it’s an opportunity.

6. All Happy Families

By Jesse Sherwood

Image of a deer with blood on it.
(Shutterstock)

He would never sit around waiting for someone to die, but his three daughters find themselves doing just that, waiting at his deathbed, trying to make sense of his past and their future.

7. Liz

By Rolli

Illustration of a woman wearing a crucifix
(Rolli)

“Friendship is important, but not friends, not really. People throw friends away. Even when they’re like family. They toss them out and find new ones.”

8. The Farmhouse

By W.T. Paterson

Country road in the autumn
The Country Gentleman, October 1939

“The stillness of the land, the eclipsing beauty, it didn’t seem possible.”

9. The Very Last One

By Bryan Starchman

illustration of man in radioactive suit kneeling
(Shutterstock)

Nuclear holocaust is abhorrent, but eating your pets is just depressing.

10 .The Star

By E.C. Messer

Paints
(Shutterstock)

Unintentionally and without his being fully aware of it, Ellert had come to represent the last gasp of a dying breed.

Featured image: Stefan Holm / Shutterstock

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