The 2024 Short Story Advent Calendar

The Short Story Advent Calendar

by Michael Hingston (Editor)

This is the special edition slipcase of the calendar. For the standard edition slipcase please go here.

The 2024 Short Story Advent Calendar is a deluxe box set of individual short stories from some of the best writers in North America and beyond.

When the first Short Story Advent Calendar launched, in 2015, we frankly had no clue we’d still be sitting here today, continuing to offer up batches of tasty stories fresh from the oven. To celebrate this milestone, we’ve packed the 10th SSAC with a mix of new and familiar names—ideal company for those chilly winter nights ahead.

Contributors to the 2024 Short Story Advent Calendar include:

- Jennifer Croft (The Extinction of Irena Rey)
- Carmen Maria Machado (In the Dream House)
- Ed Park (Same Bed Different Dreams)
- Casey Plett (On Community)
- Robin Sloan (Moonbound)

and 20 more!

(This is a collection of literary, non-religious short stories for adults.)

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories

352 pages, Chapbooks in slipcase

Published October 1, 2024

About the author

Michael Hingston is the author of Try Not to Be Strange, Let's Go Exploring, and The Dilettantes, and co-publisher of Hingston & Olsen Publishing. His journalism has appeared in Wired, National Geographic, the Washington Post, and The Guardian. Hingston lives with his family in Edmonton, Alberta.

Reviews

[Barbara McVeigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

5+ stars
The SSAC gets better and better every year. So many great stories in this year’s 10th anniversary edition. Stellar design, too.

Here are my top nine stories in order of appearance in the collection:
Day 1: “In the Stacks” by Robin Sloan - who can resist a story about a library?
Day 4: “Vandring” by J. Robert Lennon - gutsy story that the author describes as a “pandemic tale about aging and political resignation.”
Day 7: “The Renovation” by Keenan Orhan - magical realism, family drama and Turkish politics.
Day 8: “Ham” by John Jodzio - That. Opening. Line. And the story keeps on giving.
Day 14: “The Lottery” by Adam O’Fallon Price - Do you really want to win the lottery? Snappy writing.
Day 16: “Conversation Over the Holidays” by Jessica Westhead - Westhead eavesdrops on your thoughts and holiday parties.
Day 17: “You Again” by Seth Fried - If this is the afterlife…probably my favourite story from this year’s ssac.
Day 19: “Chris Cornell” by Damian Tarnopolsky - not one of the faves on its own, but because of the conversation it generated.
Day 20; “The Things Eric Eats Before He Eats Himself” by Carmen Maria Machado - body horror meets American politics. Biting indeed.

[cardulelia carduelis · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's the 10 year anniversay of the SSAC!

Once again, Hingston edited the collection himself. I feel like this year he perfected the balance of new and old, genre and literary. Some of it was to my taste and some of it wasn't but it was an overall excellent anthology!
I think there was an overarching theme of cross-generational relationships this year, but perhaps that's just what I found in the stories.

The top 3 for 2024 were:
(1) My Smell Journey by Katya Apekina
(2) Ham by John Jodzio, and
(3) The Exhibition by Alexandra Wuest
(Runner up) Shopping Cart by Christoper Boucher

Like the 2020 calendar this year there were a lot of experimental pieces and bizarre metaphors - exactly my sort of thing.
I hope they never stop doing these!

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Individual spoilery reviews:
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1. In the Stacks by Robin Sloan is an enchanting story about lifelong learning, passion that cuts across generations, and - unexpectedly - EDM.
In it we follow the creation of a hit piece of production through the eyes of a librarian, who manages access to the analog synthesizer on which it's crafted. The artist: an eighty-three year old former classics professor. The story is beautifully plotted and I was moved several times. An impressive feat for 14 pages and a great start to the 10 year anniversary!
First line: “I'm a librarian, so of course I was picking melted plastic out of the 3D printer when I heard the news that Maisie Martin had died. ” (2023) 5/5

2. The Hookup by Katherine Heiny follows Bodi, a young American of Hungarian parents as he tries to date and plan for college from his grandmother's upholstered, sinister drawing room. All is going ok, till the FBI come looking for his father. I really enjoyed this. There's a bunch of contrast between Bodi and his A-star all-American girlfriend, but also between Bodi and his immigrant parents. It has a lot of parallels to the first story, although there - where a joint love of sound engineering bridges ages: here it is familial and cultural obligation.
First line: “Anyone who looks closely can see the Hungarian in Bodi.” (2018) 4/5

3. What if you want read the same story twice? We all know that's impossible. If the story doesn't change, the person does. But in Eat Pray Click by Ed Park we get a fun little tale about just that: allowing the story to change. This ill-fated attempt to bring novelty to the novel, or more specifically the Kindle is a fun mix of silicon valley and the classics told again through the lens of the second person perspective. Now that I think about it, that's 3 stories in a row!
First line: “Many would hack the Kindle after Rolph of course, but to frivolous ends." (2024) 4/5

4. Vandring by J. Robert Lennon has some of my favourite writing in the collection so far. It's a post-pandemic story where a grandfather and granddaughter bond over an immersive open-world video game. The granddaughter is lost after the pandemic, the grandfather stepping in to parent as his daughter becomes a distant and pragmatic caring figure. This is a snapshot of a family at a small moment in time but the writing is what really stands out as well as the wintery landscape both in-game and out.
First line: “My daughter said, 'Dad, I know what's going on.'” (2024) 5/5

5. My Smell Journal by Katya Apekina is somehow even better than the last story, The narrator decides to use an inherited smell-o-matic to supplement her journal entries of her trip to NYC as her husband, a struggling children's book author, attempts to get a book deal. The writing is excellent. I love how descriptive and introspective each little morsel of this is. I could read a whole book of it.
First line: “Two years ago, when we inherited my uncle's house, I discovered a prototype for one of his inventions in the attic - a metal box the size of a small barrel organ with a strap and a button.” (2012) 5/5

6. For John by Kim Fu: why is art so achingly personal? I've had the experience John has, of secretly treasuring a piece of art abhorrent to my loved ones. Another fantastic story about the trappings of marriage and the self. Perfect length.
First line: “One of their earliest dates was at a small gallery near John's apartment.” (2024) 4/5

7. The Renovation by Kenan Orhan I'm not sure why but I really didn't like this one. I have my reasons of course (too many themes, a protagonist whose logic I couldn't follow, overly long) but I think those could all be applied to some of the other stories too - so this one is just not for me.
This story follows a Turkish woman who has escaped the war by moving to Italy. She's brought along her husband and father, who is suffering from Alzheimers. The inciting incident is that contractors, meant to renovate her bathroom, have instead turned it into a portal to a Turkish prison. And so we see her life progress in Italy, her father's illness remove him from himself, and her countrymen fill up the prison as she mourns the loss of her culture. It's strange, what is it really saying? That even in prison she'd rather keep her tenuous link to memories of a country that no longer wants her? But if so, why is her father part of the story? That theme is strong on its own - I think that is my problem with this, that it's trying too much. First line: “I didn't know by what accident the builders had managed it, but instead of a remodeled bathroom attached to my bedroom, they have installed Silivri Prison.” (2023) 2/5

8. Ham by John Jodzio has the best opening sentence of the collection so far. It follows Tommy, who following close-to a decade in prison for some burglary becomes head of security at a local meat plant. But it's so much more than that. It's about a little community centred around yet another enterprising crook and is a broken metaphor for the American dream in the form of meat-bombing bald eagles. Great story.
First line: “Lucy and I are having car sex when a bald eagle drops a honey ham near us.” (2023) 5/5

9. What to Call You by Casey Plett is a reminder that this time of year can be pretty lonely for people. It's a dreary afternoon with Molly (or is it Rachel?) who is on-tour: looking for work in Niagara since it dried up in her usual haunts. She's just broken up with her provocative girlfriend Lish and is struggling to find her way out of the hole, especially since she's not drawing the attention she is used to. A lonely moment in a woman's life as she stands on the brink of the next stage.
First line: “I once met a tiny woman at a party.” (2017) 3/5

10. Tardy Suit by Thomas Pierce. I was hoping for some scifi in this year's collection and here we have it! This is a crisp snapshot of the next stage in contracted slavery: a man integrated into his fire/flood/chemical-retardant suit. The suit in service of those who are insured to evacuate their belongings. But not people, never people. I loved the narrative voice in this story. The quick, plain writing really added to the horror of the situation. It also reminded me a bit of Farenheit 451.
First line: “Don't panic, I am a person.” (2018) 5/5

11. Children of a Careless God by Elizabeth Gonzalez James was SO depressing. Woman dies alone in her apartment. Her 4 cats eat her. Jesus. Concept aside it was depressing because of how quickly the cats returned to their base instincts, which is clearly a metaphor for humans in trouble. What can we say of this? People suck?
First line: “They were all asleep when the thud rattled the apartment and shook the wine glasses in the cupboard.” (2020) 2/5

12. Shopping Cart by Christoper Boucher is about a man who's taken a little break from his family to find himself perhaps. And whilst doing that he encounters a shopping cart. Who does it belong to? It doesn't know the carts at Kelly's nor the Why. This is less a story about a shopping cart and more a sad story about a man who has stepped away from his responsibilities - but I have no idea what the point of the cart was: a distraction? A metaphor for his freedom? I loved the absurdity and plotting of this story.
First line: “I was walking on the bike path one day that fall when I found a shopping cart stuck in the mud.” (2024) 4/5

13. The Crown Derby Plate by Marjorie Bowen is a quaint little ghost story in a spooky marsh. It's got a note of sadness to it in that old loneliness of the ghost but it's a decent story and breaks up this very contemporary collection well.
First line: “Martha Pym said that she had never seen a ghost and that she would very much like to do so." (1931) 3.5/5

14. The Lottery by Adam O'Fallon Price. So you're recently married, starting to realise that that marriage may not be the best fit and you win the lottery. This is short realism and depressing af. It was written well enough but I didn't care for the premise and the way it played out was a bummer.
First line: “After the third time reading through the numbers together very slowly, one by one, ending on that improbable 10 in the little red circle, my wife stood and screamed and coeverd her mouth , while I mulishly read them yet again.” (2024) 2/5

15. Down Burned Road by Jacqueline Baker is about a woman who married a bear-man. And maybe she's started to realise she's compromised too much, gotten too friendly with the wild beast and needs to step back. Strangely this reminds me of a novel I read a few days ago in which an unhappy housewife is similarly starting to act out and question her husband because she's ultimately unhappy with her choices. In both stories the men were an accessory - it was the women struggling to figure out that they were unhappy that was the main driver. This was interesting and well written but didn't stick out to me. I kept wanting it to be more brutal or creepy than it was.
First line: “You wouldn't know the house was there at all, if you didn't know where to look.” (2022) 4/5

16. Conversation Over the Holidays is too real. It's a snapshot of middle-class modern life where everything feels just on the brink of disaster and that there is everything to lose. Some millenial couples get together and share some appetizers, until one of them makes a slightly off-kilter remark about the Uber driver they had on the way over which leads all of them into a spiral of guilt and class and how close they are to being in that person's situation. If you're already an anxious person you may find flavors of your own thoughts echoed in these pages. Did our parents have the same conversations?
First line: “At a certain point the joke was told and they all laughed.” (2024) 3/5

17. You Again by Seth Fried is a sweet story about reliving your life and love. How if you went back and did it over, some things might be made better and some might not. This toes the line of being saccharine but comes out all right in the end.
First line: “After his death, Felix was surprised to find himself at the party where four decades earlier he'd met his wife." (2021) 3/5

18. The Exhibition by Alexandra Wuest is about a couple attending a gallery show. Sarah is an assistant to the artist, which means she paints the pieces, and Iris is trying to be patient but would rather be eating a nasturtium coated sourdough pizza right now. Then tragedy strikes. Really loved this, loved the writing and the characterization. It's the sort of writing you want to settle in for and can relax into.
First line: “Iris watches as Sarah set a record for the world's slowest lap around the room.” (2023) 4.5/5

19. Chris Cornell is possibly an autofiction about coming of age as someone else comes into their reality. An aspiring writer doing an apprenticeship with the gardener of a very wealthy man and his attractive wife starts to do some editing work for the wife. It wasn't really my cup of tea and dragged on.
First line: “This happened during my year off between my universities, when I was trying to figure myself out, trying to figure out what I am for - and no, I haven't yet.” (2024) 2.5/5

20. Just like last year day 20 has a touch of horror - very welcome! The Things Eric Eats Before He Eats Himself by Carmen Maria Machado is the portrait of a man meeting his comeuppance. It's about greed ultimately as well as the occult and I loved it. Creepy, unexpected, delicious.
First line: “At first: a lot of rye, two pheasants, half a goat.” (2024) 5/5

21. Wars and Winters by Hannah Pittard is a slim story about a young woman involved with a married colleague. He's a manipulative sod. I couldn't figure out what war they were talking about - there's a few going on right now. I thought this was well written but I didn't care for any of the characters nor their outcomes.
First line: "We were together three winters.” (2009) 3.5/5

22. The One With the Multiverse by Josh Reidel is another sci-fi - this one about the multiverse. Sick of making buzzfeed quizzes for New Scientist (or the like), Mark goes to his hometown to write a piece about Kipper; his childhood friend who has recently started skipping dimensions. Behind the old Burger King, where they used to ride bikes as kids, Dimension Skip sold the experience to open your experience up to the multiverse but some of that power has started to bleed into the surrounds - if you believe Kip that is. Great story and I loved the framing of reality skips with Friends in the background.
First line: “'Mark wasn't thrilled to return to Webster, the copy-and-paste town west of St. Louis where he'd grown up.” (2023) 4.5/5

23. Anaheim by Jennifer Croft is very similar to the Lottery: unexpected riches but.. just when you gave up on wanting them. It's a nice story in the end but I kind of wish Croft had just embraced My Year of rest and relaxation and let the protagonist rot.
First line: “Whenever an artist won the prize, they always told the same story: that shortly before their victory they had contemplated giving up on acting or singing or photographing rare pelagic birds from rustic, windswept vessels or, in rare cases, had even decided to do so.” (2022) 2.5/5

24. The Thieves who couldn't help sneezing by Thomas Hardy is a cheerful classic tale where all becomes right in the world! I liked that initially our disgruntled victim is happy to eat at the feast and let his hosts suffer as punishment for their uncouth remarks. Very fun. Interesting that on the 24th last year we also had a tale from the 1800's - glad this one is so much more cheery!
First line: “Many years ago, when oak-trees now past their primes were about as large as elederly gentlemen's walking sticks, there lived in Wessex a yeoman's son, whose name was Hubert.” (1877) 4/5

25. The Leaf-Sweeper by Muriel Spark was a really fun way to end the calendar for Christmas. It turns out that denying the magic of the holiday might turn you mad! Beautifully written story.
First line: “Behind the town hall there is a wooded parkland which, towards the end of November, begins to draw a thin blue cloud right into itself; and as a rule the park floats in this haze until mid-February.” (1985) 4/5

[Carolyn Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy the Hingston and Olsen short story advent calendar. I thought the beginning and ending of this calendar was especially strong with a December 1 story about the power of libraries and lifelong learning and two little known classic Christmas stories at the end by Thomas Hardy and Muriel Spark that I enjoyed reading. While there is some humor in the 2024 short story advent calendar, there are a lot of serious themes in the stories including the aftermath of the covid-19 pandemic, inequality in American society, political strife, unhappy marriages and cautionary tales (as well as more positive takes) on technology. Some of the sad stories will stay with me the longest, especially Children of a Careless God, about four indoor cats trapped in a small apartment after the sudden death of the woman who cares for them and Anaheim, with its tragic backstory of a little boy with leukemia who just wanted to go to Disneyland while his parents wanted to go to Costa Rica. I look forward to reading next year's advent calendar.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My new favorite Christmas tradition is the short story calendar. This year was a good mix of the classic and modern literature, which some weirdness thrown in to balance it all out. I hope this will return in 2025!

[Jason Laipply · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another triumph for this year's edition, and yet again, my favorite December tradition. This year's edition was exceptionally strong, and for me, pulled in the highest average rating across all of the stories. Favorites included :

1. In The Stacks - Robin Sloan
4. Vandrig - J. Robert Lennon
6. For John - Kim Fu
7. The Renovation - Kenan Orham
9. What To Call You - Casey Plett
16. Conversation Over the Holiday - Jessica Westhead
17. You Again - Seth Fried (My favorite story this year)
23. Anaheim - Jennifer Croft (My second favorite this year)

[Dessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good showing. My fave probably the one about the mountaineering video game.

[Shannon Theroux · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fell behind on this year’s advent calendar but it was worth completing a couple days later! Some really exceptional stories, and many from authors unknown to me. Stand outs include: In the Stacks by Robin Sloan, My Smell Journal by Katya Apekina, The Renovation by Kenan Orhan, Ham by John Jodzio, Children of a Careless God by Elizabeth Gonzalez James and You Again by Seth Fried.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first short story Adventure Calendar! I read about it in the Washington Post book newsletter. Only a few of the stories are set around Christmas. A few are from deceased authors. I liked most of them.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beginning of this review will sound very similar to my review of last year’s calendar, and that’s because the quality of all the stories is not only consistent, but perhaps this year it even surpasses its own high bar.

So, first, a paraphrase of my 2023 calendar review:

Another wonderful Short Story Advent Calendar, maybe the best. I don’t remember any of the previous calendars having so many original stories, that is, stories copyrighted 2024 and not found elsewhere, and that’s likely in honor of the calendar’s tenth year. What a wonderful job by Hingston & Olsen.

And now just a few standouts:

My favorite story was probably Day 17’s “You Again” by Seth Fried, a sweet and tender story of 'afterlife' and (not) doing things differently; it also kind of 'explains' déjà vu.

Day 15’s "Down Burned Road" by Jacqueline Baker gave me a lot to think about, including that it’s possibly (at least partially) a take on one of my favorite Grimm tales. I'd like to read more by Baker.

Day 23’s "Anaheim" by Jennifer Croft is layered, and I feel I found even more in it because of having read her 'memoir' Homesick.

As in previous years, on December 26, I forgot for a second that I didn’t have a story to take out of the box and I missed that.

[Georgina Bawden · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fresh story, approached completely blind, every day in the run up to Christmas. Such an absolute joy. This year I found that I enjoyed all the stories - no duds in my opinion - although also no super duper mind blowing bangers either. But all in all a brilliant collection of excellent stories.

Only downside is that this year, like last year, the colours used for the patterns on the individual story pamphlets strobed and clashed so horribly that I could feel the start of a migraine every time I looked at them. It makes it so much harder to read and enjoy! I genuinely have to cover them to avoid triggering migraines. Whoever does the cover designs needs to consider their colour choices better, please!

[Neil Haave · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun advent project: reading one short story each day from Dec 1 to Dec 25. The first story was the best but there are others that made me laugh or shed a tear and sometimes both at the same time. And there are a variety of writing styles and story telling. My household and I will likely pick up the 2025 edition next year and do it again.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps my favorite year of this always excellent annual short story collection.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t love all the stories, but I still LOVED the fact of it: each day wondering what was in store!

[Ben Donovan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a deeply pleasant experience

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely one of the best collections in recent years! Beautifully designed and great collection of stories.

[Claire (find me on Storygraph) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always a delight, with some lovely ones this year!

[Josh reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing Advent calendar by Hingston and Olsen, I’m so grateful for this yearly treat, I can’t wait to see what the 2025 edition has in store!

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I look forward to this every year, and this year, it didn't disappoint. Well done Hingston & Olsen. Thank you.

[Lorraine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t enjoy 2024 as much as previous years.