Home › Lesbian Books › Sapphic Short Story Collections
Fairy tales, literary horror, romance novellas and erotica, each clearly labeled.
5 books · 3 literary · 1 romance anthology · 1 adults-only erotic collection
The best sapphic short story collections are Kissing the Witch by Emma Donoghue for linked fairy-tale retellings, Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado for speculative stories about bodies and power, and salt slow by Julia Armfield for uncanny transformations. For lesbian short stories with guaranteed happy endings, Opposites Attract collects three butch/femme romance novellas.
Short does not mean light. These books range from literary horror to explicit erotica, so each card labels the form, the mood and who it is for.
One has a full LRR review. The others are researched picks from publisher descriptions.
Sapphic Short Story Collections at a Glance
| Collection | Form | Mood | Audience |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kissing the Witch | Linked fairy-tale retellings | Lyrical, reclaiming | Adult and older teens |
| Her Body and Other Parties | Literary speculative stories | Disturbing, inventive | Adult |
| salt slow | Literary speculative stories | Uncanny, bodily | Adult |
| Opposites Attract: Butch/Femme Romances | Three romance novellas | Warm, butch/femme | Adult romance |
| The Taste of Her | Erotic short stories | Explicit | Adults only |
The Best Sapphic Short Story Collections
Five books, five different reasons to read short fiction.
Kissing the Witch
Emma Donoghue · 1997
Donoghue retells thirteen fairy tales, Cinderella among them, with each narrator handing the story to the next and familiar plots turned toward women loving women.
A classic, by the author of Room. Read it slowly and listen for how one voice passes to another.
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Her Body and Other Parties
Carmen Maria Machado · Graywolf · 2017
Machado moves through horror, fantasy and experiment to write about women’s bodies, desire and the violence done to them. Queer desire runs through the whole collection.
A National Book Award finalist and one of the most talked-about collections of its decade. Not comforting, on purpose.
Find it on AmazonListen on Libro.fmListen with AudibleBuy at Bookshop.org
salt slow
Julia Armfield · 2019
Armfield’s stories use bodily transformation and uncanny situations to explore women’s lives and the strangeness of intimacy.
The natural next step after Our Wives Under the Sea, but with new characters in every story.
Find it on AmazonListen on Libro.fmListen with AudibleBuy at Bookshop.org
Opposites Attract: Butch/Femme Romances
Aurora Rey, Angie Williams and Meghan O’Brien · Bold Strokes Books · 2021
Three standalone butch/femme romance novellas: Follow Her Lead, Just as You Are and An Epiphany in Flannel.
The pick if you want short-form romance with guaranteed happy endings. Nearly every reader loves one of the three; the other two split the room.
Find it on AmazonListen on Libro.fmListen with AudibleBuy at Bookshop.org
The Taste of Her
Jess Lea and Anastasia Watley · 2022
Ten erotic sapphic short stories in one collection.
Choose it when erotic short fiction is exactly what you want. Check the edition, since earlier single volumes use the same title.
Find it on AmazonListen on Libro.fmListen with AudibleBuy at Bookshop.org
Collection, Anthology, Novella or Novel?
A collection gathers stories by one writer. An anthology gathers several writers. A novella is one shorter story. Opposites Attract is three novellas by three authors in one book. Knowing the form helps you choose: one sitting, a story a night or a full relationship to follow.
Using short fiction in a book club
Pick one named story and discuss it rather than the whole book at once. Every story can have a different ending and different content, so a collection is never a safe bet for blanket promises about happy endings or low angst.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best sapphic short story collections?
Kissing the Witch by Emma Donoghue, Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado and salt slow by Julia Armfield.
Are there lesbian short stories with happy endings?
Opposites Attract: Butch/Femme Romances collects three romance novellas, each with a happy ending.
Is there a sapphic erotic short story collection?
The Taste of Her by Jess Lea, ten erotic stories. Adults only.
Is a short story collection the same as a novella?
No. A novella is one shorter story. A collection holds several.
Are these lesbian romance collections?
Only Opposites Attract is a romance collection. The others are literary or erotic fiction.
Related Genres and Guides
For poems instead of prose, see lesbian poetry books. For fear, lesbian horror books. Fairy tales at full length are in sapphic retellings. Or browse every genre in sapphic books.
How We Chose These Books
This selection uses our own full reviews wherever LRR has reviewed a book, plus author and publisher descriptions where a specific trope needs direct support. Every card says why the book fits this exact trope. Cards marked “LRR full review” link to a review where we went through Goodreads, StoryGraph, trade reviews and reader discussion before scoring it. Cards marked “Publisher description” or “Author description” are researched picks that we have not reviewed yet, and we say so rather than pretend otherwise. Ending notes come from our review or from an explicit promise in the book’s own description. Theme notes are not complete content warnings.
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