I decided to try something new for 2026: when I’m aware of an author’s birthday, I want to celebrate it by reading a short story or two by that author, preferably (although not always practicably) on their actual birthday. Here’s who I’ve celebrated this way so far in January:
Image of Frosty the Snowman, with his top hat and corn-cob pipe, from the classic cartoon, with the banner HAPPY BIRTHDAY
January 4:
Chaz Brenchley -- “The Astrakhan, the Homburg, and the Red Red Coal” from his collection Everything in All The Wrong Order
January 5:
Seanan McGuire -- “The Invisible Event” from the Author’s Patreon page and “Persephone” from the anthology Nevertheless She Persisted: Flash Fiction Project
Tananarive Due -- “Incident at Bear Creek Lodge” from her collection The Wishing Pool and Other Stories
January 8:
Richard Bowes -- “So Many Miles to the Heart of a Child” from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction #561 (April 1998)
January 12:
Jack London -- “The Red One” from the anthology Voices From the Radium Age.
January 13:
Ken Scholes -- “First Bar at the End of the Day” and “Making My Entrance Again With My Usual Flair” from his collection Better Dreams, Fallen Seeds and Other Handfuls of Hope
Horatio Alger -- “John Stevenson's Good Fortune” from the Horatio Alger Society Website
Clark Ashton Smith -- “The End of the Story” from the anthology Vampire Tales: The Big Collection
Ron Goulart -- “The Adventure of the Clockwork Men” from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction #721
Beth Cato (Not sure if this is her actual birthday as only one site mentions it) -- “Minor Hockey Gods of Barstow Station” from her collection Red Dust and Dancing Horses and Other Stories
January 14:
Carlos Hernandez -- “The Assimilated Cuban's Guide to Quantum Santeria” from his collection The Assimilated Cuban's Guide to Quantum Santeria
January 15:
Robert Silverberg -- “A Tip on a Turtle” from the anthology Playing Games
January 18:
Daniel Jose Older -- “The Collector” from his collection Salsa Nocturna: Stories
January 19:
Edgar Allan Poe -- “The Purloined Letter” from the Library of America volume Edgar Allan Poe: Poetry and Tales
January 22:
Stephen Graham Jones -- “Hell on the Homefront Too” from the anthology Giving The Devil His Due: Special Edition
Robert E. Howard -- “The Hills of the Dead” from the anthology Vampire Tales: The Big Collection
January 25:
William Meikle -- “The Fortingall Yew” from the anthology A Winter’s Tale: Horror Stories For The Yuletide
January 26:
Philip Jose Farmer -- “J.C. on the Dude Ranch” from his collection Riverworld and Other Stories
January 28:
Carrie Vaughn -- “Alchemy” from the anthology Nevertheless She Persisted: Flash Fiction Project
Even with that many authors identified and read, I’m sure I missed some. So, reader — tell me who! With the caveat that the authors you name have to have written at least one short story. I don’t have the capacity right now to read full novels by authors in honor of their birthdays, and I’m not currently planning on including non-fiction (articles or essays) in this project.
I love short fiction in all its forms: from novellas to novelettes, short stories, flash fiction, and drabbles. Sunday Shorts is the feature where I get to blog about it.