Week one of Short Story Month 2025

Literary Hub, upon learning that May is Short Story Month, decided to mark the occasion by sharing a tale each weekday.

Here are the free-to-read-online short stories from the first week of the month.

• “In the Penal Colony” by Franz Kafka 

• “Sundown at the Eternal Staircase” by GennaRose Nethercott

Lit Hub also shared "The Day the Children Left" by Clea Young, not in honor of Short Story Month but to mark the upcoming release of the collection it appears in, Welcome to the Neighborhood.