short story

a piece of prose fiction, usually under 10,000 words.

Origin of short story

First recorded in 1885–90

short-sto·ry, adjective

Pynchon is the author of several novels and one short-story collection.

The National Book Awards Longlist for Fiction | |September 19, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
His short-story collection This Is How You Lose Her was a finalist for the National Book Award.

The Books Everyone Must Read Before Graduating From College | |June 4, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
A short-story writer (his “The Evils of Spain” could be read along with this book), Pritchett was a master of compression.

Book Bag: Paul Theroux’s Favorite Inner-Journey Travel Books |Paul Theroux |May 14, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
She picks five short-story collections that have inspired her.

Joyce Carol Oates’s Book Bag: 5 Short Story Collections |Joyce Carol Oates |September 11, 2012 |DAILY BEAST

The tales in Hot Pink also show the influence of short-story wizards George Saunders and Steven Millhauser.

Must Read New Fiction: ‘Arcadia,’ ‘Men in Space,’ ‘The O’Briens,’ ‘Hot Pink’ |Chloë Schama, Jacob Silverman, Wendy Smith, Daniel Roberts |March 23, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
A short-story is not a condensed novel any more than a one-act play is a condensed full-length play.

One-Act Plays |Various
The short-story is certainly Miss Goodloe's greatest gift, and in that field she should go far.

Kentucky in American Letters, v. 2 of 2 |John Wilson Townsend
The Scribblers' Club, which consisted of short-story writers, is dead—there were not enough short-story writers to support it.

Literature in the Making |Various
But, in the structure of the short-story, the emphasis of the terminal position is an even more important matter.

Materials and Methods of Fiction |Clayton Hamilton
Distinguish between the novel, the novelette, and the short-story.

A Manual of the Art of Fiction |Clayton Hamilton

short story

a prose narrative of shorter length than the novel, esp one that concentrates on a single theme