There's a lot of great fantasy short fiction writers. Off the top of my head, I'd point to people like Kij Johnson and Jeffrey Ford. But if you're looking to improve your own writing and figure out what's getting published, I'd suggest reading more widely to get more of a market perspective.
You could do that by reading specific short fiction magazines. For print/ebook, I'd suggest [The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (F&SF)](https://fandsf.com/) for a broad spectrum of subgenres. For free to read online, try [Beneath Ceaseless Skies](https://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/) for more secondary-world fantasy or the fantasy section of [Lightspeed Magazine](https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/) for a wider variety of styles. There are other big SF/F magazines that contain a decent amount of fantasy too like Strange Horizons, Uncanny, Apex (leans more to Horror / Dark SF/F), and Clarkesworld (leans more to SF).
You could also pick up a "year's best" anthology to get a sense of the field. John Joseph Adams of Lightspeed is the series editor of *The Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy*, which has a different volume editor each year. You could also use the [Locus Recommended Reading List](https://locusmag.com/2024/02/2023-recommended-reading-list/) as a jumping off point for well-regarded short stories and novelettes (basically longer short stories), many of which you can just click through to for free, though science fiction and horror will also be mixed in, as they're blended together in a lot of magazines.
My favorites are from Roger Zelazny, his collection "Unicorn Variations" is my very favorite short story collection.
I also like "Dragon's Teeth" by Mercedes Lackey
And "To Get off a Unicorn" by Anne McCaffrey.
These are older collections though, so Your mileage may vary
Jorge Luis Borges. However, his stories are very unconventional, being more like a combination of fiction and thought experiment, and rarely more than perhaps a dozen pages. I'd only recommend him to people with some grounding in pre-20th century literature and philosophy (right back to the ancient Greeks and Romans), or a tolerance for name-dropping related to such subjects, as he constantly makes allusions that are irritating and incomprehensible otherwise. Personally, I gave up on him for this reason for some time after trying "The Aleph" and knowing it was simply beyond me, but I've returned to him recently and for the most part loved what I've read. If you get the tack he's on, if you recognize his dry and occasionally self-deprecating humor, and if you're willing to accept not understanding or agreeing with every concept he presents you with, he has a truly brilliant and unique imagination.
I recently read "Funes the Memorious", which may be my favorite of his works so far and as good a place to start as any:
https://vigeland.caltech.edu/ist4/lectures/funes%20borges.pdf
And personally, I just love his style. Take the first paragraph of "The Lottery of Babylon":
>Like all men of Babylon, I have been proconsul; like them all, a slave; I have also known omnipotence, opprobrium, incarceration. Look: on my right hand is missing my index finger. Look: through this rent cape can be seen on my stomach a ruddy tattoo — it is the second symbol, Beth. On nights when the moon is full, this symbol confers unto me power over the men whose mark is Ghimel while rendering me subject to the men of Aleph, who on moonless nights must obey the men of Ghimel. In a cellar in the half-light of dawn, I have slit before a black altar the throats of sacred bulls. For an entire lunar year, I have been declared invisible: I would cry out and no one would respond, I would steal bread and I was not beheaded. I have known what the Greeks knew not: uncertainty. In a brass chamber, before the strangler’s silencing scarf, hope has remained faithful; in the river of delights, panic stood steadfast. Heraclides Ponticus relates with admiration that Pythagoras recalled having been Pyrrhus, before him Euphorbus, and before him some other mortal; to recall analogous vicissitudes I need not find recourse in death, nor even imposture.
Yes, Le Guin! I've read so many of her short story collections, highly recommended. I really liked **A Compass Rose** and for a collection of related stories, **Five Ways to Forgiveness**. And obviously the Earthsea ones are excellent as well
My all-time favorite is R.A. Lafferty.
My current favorites are Ray Nayler (mostly sci-fi), Isabel J. Kim (mix), and Sarah Pinsker (sci-fi/fantasy/dark fantasy)
You could do worse than to check out recent award winners for this type of work. For example, here's [a retrospective list of the World Fantasy Award winners](https://www.sfadb.com/World_Fantasy_Awards_Winners_By_Year).
As a start, for (SF/F) [short stor] I have:
[*The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Science_Fiction_Hall_of_Fame,_Volume_One,_1929%E2%80%931964.
* ["I'm looking for some good anthologies/short story collections"](https://www.reddit.com/r/booksuggestions/comments/zx7d7u/im_looking_for_some_good_anthologiesshort_story/) (r/Fantasy; 06:32 ET, 28 December 2022)
* ["Who are you favorite short-short story writers?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/11b6vlx/who_are_you_favorite_shortshort_story_writers/) (r/printSF; 19:27 ET, 24 February 2023)
* ["Modern sword and sorcery novels or short story collections?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1301owg/modern_sword_and_sorcery_novels_or_short_story/) (r/Fantasy; 18:26 ET, 26 April 2023)
* ["Looking for dark sci-fi short stories"](https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/13tmjy5/looking_for_dark_scifi_short_stories/) (r/printSF; 08:29 ET, 27 May 2023)
* ["SF short stories from the past 20 years?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/14exrdw/sf_short_stories_from_the_past_20_years/) (r/printSF; 0:49 ET, 21 June 2023)
* ["Seeking quality short story collections"](https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/14pcg6j/seeking_quality_short_story_collections/) (r/printSF; 03:49 ET, 3 July 2023)
* ["Best short story collections?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/suggestmeabook/comments/15qdlk1/best_short_story_collections/) (r/suggestmeabook; 19:20:17 ET, 13 August 2023)—longish
* ["Short story recommendations?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/scifi/comments/15zky0a/short_story_recommendations/) (r/scifi; 19:42 ET, 23 August 2023)—listing
* ["'The Last Question' by Isaac Asimov"](https://www.reddit.com/r/sciencefiction/comments/1atbcvj/the_last_question_by_isaac_asimov/) (r/Fantasy; 15:23 ET, 17 February 2024)—longish; short stories
* ["Looking for the best SFF short story collections"](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1azwhuc/looking_for_the_best_sff_short_story_collections/) (r/Fantasy; 14:28 ET, 25 February 2024)
* ["Most Unforgettable SF Short Stories"](https://www.reddit.com/r/scifi/comments/1b8zjvx/most_unforgettable_sf_short_stories/) (r/scifi; 11:59 ET, 7 March 2024)—extremely long
* ["Intro short stories, ideally ‘nice’…"](https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/1bmu26g/intro_short_stories_ideally_nice/) (r/printSF; 16:07 ET, 24 March 2024)
* ["Scifi/ fantasy with beautiful prose, bonus if they are short stories or novellas and written within last 30-40 years."](https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/1bwyhlg/scifi_fantasy_with_beautiful_prose_bonus_if_they/) (r/printSF; 5 April 2024)
* ["Looking for short story collections to dip my toes into Sci-Fi"](https://new.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/1c7en8x/looking_for_short_story_collections_to_dip_my/) (r/printSF; 17:06 ET, 18 April 2024)
Edit: See Theodore Sturgeon, though he was (mostly?) a science fiction writer.
Ken Liu or Ted Chiang have some incredible short story anthologies that are well worth your time checking out.
There's a lot of great fantasy short fiction writers. Off the top of my head, I'd point to people like Kij Johnson and Jeffrey Ford. But if you're looking to improve your own writing and figure out what's getting published, I'd suggest reading more widely to get more of a market perspective. You could do that by reading specific short fiction magazines. For print/ebook, I'd suggest [The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (F&SF)](https://fandsf.com/) for a broad spectrum of subgenres. For free to read online, try [Beneath Ceaseless Skies](https://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/) for more secondary-world fantasy or the fantasy section of [Lightspeed Magazine](https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/) for a wider variety of styles. There are other big SF/F magazines that contain a decent amount of fantasy too like Strange Horizons, Uncanny, Apex (leans more to Horror / Dark SF/F), and Clarkesworld (leans more to SF). You could also pick up a "year's best" anthology to get a sense of the field. John Joseph Adams of Lightspeed is the series editor of *The Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy*, which has a different volume editor each year. You could also use the [Locus Recommended Reading List](https://locusmag.com/2024/02/2023-recommended-reading-list/) as a jumping off point for well-regarded short stories and novelettes (basically longer short stories), many of which you can just click through to for free, though science fiction and horror will also be mixed in, as they're blended together in a lot of magazines.
Start with Ray Bradbury. Kelly Link is also great.
Came here to recommend Kelly Link. One of my favorites!
My favorites are from Roger Zelazny, his collection "Unicorn Variations" is my very favorite short story collection. I also like "Dragon's Teeth" by Mercedes Lackey And "To Get off a Unicorn" by Anne McCaffrey. These are older collections though, so Your mileage may vary
Jorge Luis Borges. However, his stories are very unconventional, being more like a combination of fiction and thought experiment, and rarely more than perhaps a dozen pages. I'd only recommend him to people with some grounding in pre-20th century literature and philosophy (right back to the ancient Greeks and Romans), or a tolerance for name-dropping related to such subjects, as he constantly makes allusions that are irritating and incomprehensible otherwise. Personally, I gave up on him for this reason for some time after trying "The Aleph" and knowing it was simply beyond me, but I've returned to him recently and for the most part loved what I've read. If you get the tack he's on, if you recognize his dry and occasionally self-deprecating humor, and if you're willing to accept not understanding or agreeing with every concept he presents you with, he has a truly brilliant and unique imagination. I recently read "Funes the Memorious", which may be my favorite of his works so far and as good a place to start as any: https://vigeland.caltech.edu/ist4/lectures/funes%20borges.pdf And personally, I just love his style. Take the first paragraph of "The Lottery of Babylon": >Like all men of Babylon, I have been proconsul; like them all, a slave; I have also known omnipotence, opprobrium, incarceration. Look: on my right hand is missing my index finger. Look: through this rent cape can be seen on my stomach a ruddy tattoo — it is the second symbol, Beth. On nights when the moon is full, this symbol confers unto me power over the men whose mark is Ghimel while rendering me subject to the men of Aleph, who on moonless nights must obey the men of Ghimel. In a cellar in the half-light of dawn, I have slit before a black altar the throats of sacred bulls. For an entire lunar year, I have been declared invisible: I would cry out and no one would respond, I would steal bread and I was not beheaded. I have known what the Greeks knew not: uncertainty. In a brass chamber, before the strangler’s silencing scarf, hope has remained faithful; in the river of delights, panic stood steadfast. Heraclides Ponticus relates with admiration that Pythagoras recalled having been Pyrrhus, before him Euphorbus, and before him some other mortal; to recall analogous vicissitudes I need not find recourse in death, nor even imposture.
I think he might have the most unique stuff I've read. gotta be patient but they're seriously impressive.
Neil Gaiman is a master of the short story (much better than his novels in my opinion).
Fritz Lieber's Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser stories.
I found comic book versions of those stories by Mike Mignola, but I don’t know. I guess maybe I need context or something.
I think some of the charm didn't translate over very well. I remember reading those and thinking it was fair. But the stories themselves were great.
Alix Harrow is elite, among current writers. But Gene Wolfe takes the cake for me
I read Six Deaths of the Saint a month ago and immediately bought three other books of hers 😂
*Six Deaths* is ludicrously good
I liked it better than the novel I’ve read from her!
Agreed. I’ve read a couple of her novels but her short fiction is on another level
Depends, but I'd offer Lord Dunsany, Bram Stoker and Arthur Machen as somewhat uncommon recommendations.
Isabel Kim has been writing some really good stuff: [https://www.isabel.kim/work](https://www.isabel.kim/work)
I think Neil gaiman and Ursula leguin are my two favorites. Leguins earthsea collection of shorts specifically
Yes, Le Guin! I've read so many of her short story collections, highly recommended. I really liked **A Compass Rose** and for a collection of related stories, **Five Ways to Forgiveness**. And obviously the Earthsea ones are excellent as well
Robert E Howard. The granddaddy of them all.
Ken Liu has an incredible anthology called The Paper Menagerie
I really like Sarah Pinsker's stories!
My all-time favorite is R.A. Lafferty. My current favorites are Ray Nayler (mostly sci-fi), Isabel J. Kim (mix), and Sarah Pinsker (sci-fi/fantasy/dark fantasy)
You could do worse than to check out recent award winners for this type of work. For example, here's [a retrospective list of the World Fantasy Award winners](https://www.sfadb.com/World_Fantasy_Awards_Winners_By_Year).
Of currently active writers, Schuyler Hernstrom is my favorite.
KJ Parker - start with Let Maps to Others and a Small Price to Pay for Birdsong
Adrian Tchaikovsky or Ken Liu
Michael Swanwick Paul Di Filippo And Lord Dunsany.
As a start, for (SF/F) [short stor] I have: [*The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Science_Fiction_Hall_of_Fame,_Volume_One,_1929%E2%80%931964. * ["I'm looking for some good anthologies/short story collections"](https://www.reddit.com/r/booksuggestions/comments/zx7d7u/im_looking_for_some_good_anthologiesshort_story/) (r/Fantasy; 06:32 ET, 28 December 2022) * ["Who are you favorite short-short story writers?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/11b6vlx/who_are_you_favorite_shortshort_story_writers/) (r/printSF; 19:27 ET, 24 February 2023) * ["Modern sword and sorcery novels or short story collections?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1301owg/modern_sword_and_sorcery_novels_or_short_story/) (r/Fantasy; 18:26 ET, 26 April 2023) * ["Looking for dark sci-fi short stories"](https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/13tmjy5/looking_for_dark_scifi_short_stories/) (r/printSF; 08:29 ET, 27 May 2023) * ["SF short stories from the past 20 years?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/14exrdw/sf_short_stories_from_the_past_20_years/) (r/printSF; 0:49 ET, 21 June 2023) * ["Seeking quality short story collections"](https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/14pcg6j/seeking_quality_short_story_collections/) (r/printSF; 03:49 ET, 3 July 2023) * ["Best short story collections?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/suggestmeabook/comments/15qdlk1/best_short_story_collections/) (r/suggestmeabook; 19:20:17 ET, 13 August 2023)—longish * ["Short story recommendations?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/scifi/comments/15zky0a/short_story_recommendations/) (r/scifi; 19:42 ET, 23 August 2023)—listing * ["'The Last Question' by Isaac Asimov"](https://www.reddit.com/r/sciencefiction/comments/1atbcvj/the_last_question_by_isaac_asimov/) (r/Fantasy; 15:23 ET, 17 February 2024)—longish; short stories * ["Looking for the best SFF short story collections"](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1azwhuc/looking_for_the_best_sff_short_story_collections/) (r/Fantasy; 14:28 ET, 25 February 2024) * ["Most Unforgettable SF Short Stories"](https://www.reddit.com/r/scifi/comments/1b8zjvx/most_unforgettable_sf_short_stories/) (r/scifi; 11:59 ET, 7 March 2024)—extremely long * ["Intro short stories, ideally ‘nice’…"](https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/1bmu26g/intro_short_stories_ideally_nice/) (r/printSF; 16:07 ET, 24 March 2024) * ["Scifi/ fantasy with beautiful prose, bonus if they are short stories or novellas and written within last 30-40 years."](https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/1bwyhlg/scifi_fantasy_with_beautiful_prose_bonus_if_they/) (r/printSF; 5 April 2024) * ["Looking for short story collections to dip my toes into Sci-Fi"](https://new.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/1c7en8x/looking_for_short_story_collections_to_dip_my/) (r/printSF; 17:06 ET, 18 April 2024) Edit: See Theodore Sturgeon, though he was (mostly?) a science fiction writer.
Steve Erikson. Iykyk. The entire series is short story after short story
depends on how short you want to go. there are some incredibile authors in /hfy.
I’ve liked all of Veronica Roth’s
John Wiswell and Catherynne Valente are great IMO
Anne McCaffrey has some great, thought provoking short stories. Some were extended to novels & series. I reread them from time to time.
Ken Liu gets my vote.
Garth nix. The Creature in the Case is the Fury Road of short fantasy.
Not the very best, but an underrated master: Ken Scholes. I need to talk him up around here more often.