Amongst lesbian books and lesbian poems, lesbian short stories also deserve a seat at the table (or spot on the bookshelf). I turn to short lesbian stories when a book is a little too much commitment.
Of course, many of the best lesbian short stories come from short story collections. It’s a bit like not committing to watching a 2-hour lesbian movie but being okay with watching three seasons of lesbian TV. (Guilty as charged.)
This list of the best lesbian short stories encompasses an array of genres, characters, standalone stories, and collections. And while the bulk of this list features lesbian characters, some characters have more umbrella identities, like queer or sapphic.
But fear not. All short stories are definitely, 100% gay.
Sidenote: Unless stated otherwise, you can easily find all the lesbian short stories, anthologies, or collections on Goodreads.
Enjoy reading these best lesbian stories!
Lesbian Story Books
Every girl (and those of us who grew up as girls and are no longer) remembers our storybooks.
Whether that’s because we subscribed to those fairy tale stories as kids or because we got hooked on the will-they-or-won’t-they of SwanQueen in Once Upon a Time, fairy tale stories remain a staple.
That’s why lesbian story books of fairy tales land so well for us.
- Seven by Elora Bishop and Jennifer Diemer (Sappho’s Fables)
Seven kicks off as the first novella in the lesbian story book, Sappho Fables, a book of sapphic tales. It queers the classic tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
In this retelling, our “Snow White” is a witchy-type girl named Neve. And her evil father’s new, youthful bride, actually falls for her instead.
- Braided by Elora Bishop and Jennifer Diemer (Sappho’s Fables)
This lesbian novella retells Rapunzel as a lesbian named Zelda. It has all the usual pieces of the Rapunzel story–a curse, a tower, and really, really long hair.
Except this time, it isn’t the witch’s daughter who is cursed. Though that very daughter may or may not be in love with Zelda.
- Crumbs by Elora Bishop and Jennifer Diemer (Sappho’s Fables)
Sappho’s Fables’ final novella uses the skeleton of Hansel and Gretel to create a post-apocalyptic, dystopian landscape.
Though still a lesbian story book retelling, Crumbs focuses a little more on Greta and her brother, Han, as they navigate their desperate world.
Short Lesbian Romance Story
As a lover of love, my largest compilation of the best lesbian short stories is none other than the lesbian love stories category.
Blessed with a mix of aching slow burns and hotness, these lesbian romance stories kept my heart racing.
- Hooper Street: Finding Love — A Girl Next Door Lesbian Romance
This short lesbian romance story’s cover has the tagline “a joyful tale,” and for good reason.
I’ve read a lot of lesbian romance at this point of my life now (I’m nearly 30), and this little lesbian love story really touched my heart.
With a grumpy/sunshine trope, Hooper Street is the perfect bite-sized lesbian romance.
- Spread the Love edited by Astrid Ohletz
Spread the Love packs in seven lesbian romance stories with varying plots.
One story has a hurt/comfort trope, one has a medical plot, another uses a (fitness) teacher/student dynamic, one couple has a girl-next-door love story, and some are just good ol’ hotness.
The common thread? Classic lesbian romance.
Watch these lesbian romance movies for the best lesbian date night! And make sure to also read about these other lesbian date ideas.
- Love’s Perfect Vintage by Elizabeth Andre
Looking for a short lesbian romance with hotness? Love’s Perfect Vintage is a great place to start.
Our protagonist, Aisha, gets set up on a blind date situation by her mom. The date in question? Someone she used to go to high school with, now grown and super hot.
- The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories by Alisa Surkis and Monica Nolan
This collection of short lesbian romance stories is the perfect read for lesbian horse girls.
Expect horses, saddles, and a lot of passion packed into these pulp-fiction reads.
- My Last Season With You by S.V.C. Ricketts
My Last Season with You is a lesbian novella that finds our main character, Reggie, in the last year of her life following a terminal diagnosis.
She plans on telling her childhood best friend when she returns home to tie up loose ends, and that friend kisses her. Talk about complicated.
This heart-wrenching lesbian love story is sensual but not explicit.
- The World’s On Fire by Dean Linn
The World’s on Fire is a lesbian romance story that reveals the unwavering bond between the protagonist and her lover as she battles illness and dances to Alicia Keys.
(Yes, another medical plot. I’m a hurt/comfort trope fanatic, okay?)
A play on the lesfic tropes, this is one of the most humorous lesbian stories on the list.
A new writer receives a secret invitation from a mysterious woman. Romantic, hilarious, and mysterious, this lesbian short story checks every box.
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Lesbian Literature Short Stories
To balance out the trope-heavy (yet still entertaining) lesbian romance, I’ve added a solid selection of lesbian literature short stories.
- Chloe Plus Olivia: An Anthology of Lesbian Literature from the Seventeenth Century to the Present
This anthology of short stories examines the depiction of lesbian and sapphic characters over four centuries.
Of course, given the historical context, these stories don’t always cast lesbians in the best light or give them the best conclusions. (The “Bury your Gays” trope had to start somewhere.)
Regardless, this anthology offers invaluable context for lesbian literature short stories.
- Couldn’t Hear You Talk Anymore by Casey Plett
Couldn’t Hear You Talk Anymore is a short lesbian story from the collection A Dream of a Woman by the same author. The entire collection highlights tales about transgender women of varying identities.
This particular short story includes a sapphic romance, though all short stories in this literary collection are worth the read.
- Take the Way Home That Leads Back to Sullivan Street by Chavisa Woods
This lesbian literature short story comes from a queer short story collection called Things to Do When You’re Goth in the Country: and Other Stories, all by the same author.
Take the Way Home That Leads Back depicts a lesbian couple–one with schizophrenia–repairing their relationship by taking acid. Basically the same as therapy, right?
- Yellow Rose by Yoshiya Nobuko
Originally published in 1923, Yellow Rose is a Japanese novella of lesbian fiction. The lesbian novella created a genre “shōjo fiction” which were stories for young women and girls.
At this time in Japan, lesbian relationships were considered normal practice for “the real thing,” letting this lesbian love story fly under the radar and, in fact, embraced.
True Lesbian Short Stories
Many of the true lesbian short stories in this list come from sapphic and lesbian writers I’ve known personally.
I spent some time working with a group called Sapphic Writers, and we used to publish zines filled with lesbian poetry and short nonfiction stories.
Sadly, the group is no longer active, but sapphic writers from all over the world still share ideas via the Facebook group.
- Challah If You Queer Me by Allison Fradkin
In Challah If You Queer Me, part of the “Closeness” zine by Sapphic Writers, Fradkin tells the story of her coming out.
Packed with puns, the speaker comes out to her family the night before her sixteenth Hanukkah.
- First Time Home by Jess Magnan
First Time Home is a true lesbian short story (by yours truly!) that recounts the first time I met my long-distance partner in person after dating for over a year without meeting face-to-face.
This true lesbian love story condenses a portion of a larger series about how I met and married my long-distance wife.
I’ve pinpointed some of my best tips and advice to turn any lesbian LDR into lesbian long-distance relationship goals. Read about my tips here!
- We Don’t Have to Sing It Out by Rachael Llewellyn
In We Don’t Have to Sing It Out, the speaker reads an “Am I the A*shole” Reddit post about a woman who did not invite her bi-sister to her baby shower.
The author realizes the anonymous Reddit post is about her.
- It Came from the Closet edited by Joe Vallese
This essay collection showcases queer writers’ reflections on queerness in horror films and beyond–identifying and considering the queer villains and other queer depictions.
You won’t want to miss Carmen Maria Machado’s essay on the lesbian horror classic, Jennifer’s Body.
- Mouths of Rain edited by Briona Simone Jones
The Mouths of Rain anthology of Black lesbian voices straddles the line between essay, prose, and poetry.
These works taste like Audre Lorde, and work to illuminate the intersection of womanhood, lesbianism, and blackness.
- This Arab Is Queer edited by Elias Jahshan
The short memoir works of this anthology give voice to queer Arab writers.
While not all essays in the collection feature lesbian authors, the book showcases a few true lesbian short stories.
- A Day to Remember by Kelly Wilk
In a heart-wrenching lesbian marriage story, A Day to Remember describes the loss of the speaker’s wife. Spanning the years of their marriage, Wilk recounts their decision to have a child and their life as a family before her wife’s passing.
A Day to Remember is the most emotional lesbian story published in any Sapphic Writers’ collection.
Fantasy/Science Fiction Lesbian Short Stories
A “best of” lesbian short story collection without fantasy and science fiction shorts would be incomplete. These stories combine futuristic settings with speculative works.
- Two Moons: Stories by Krystal A. Smith
This lesbian short story collection of speculative fiction encompasses a range of difficult topics, and all of the stories center Black lesbian characters.
Some themes in these stories include addiction, infertility, terminal illness, and, of course, the lesbian favorite theme of all time, accidentally falling in love with the moon.
- We Won’t Be Here Tomorrow by Margaret KiIIjoy
We Won’t Be Here Tomorrow is a short story collection encompassing lesbians, alongside other queer and trans characters.
Verging on the overlaps between science-fiction, fantasy, and horror, Margaret’s haunted tales often find frameworks in post-apocalyptic settings.
- The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monae
Janelle Monae, as you likely know, is a talented queer artist with a couple of extremely queer albums under their belt.
Their short story collection expands on the world created in Monae’s concept album, Dirty Computer. Set in a totalitarian, futuristic setting, queer characters across several short stories find means of breaking free.
Crime/Thriller Lesbian Stories
After watching the lesbian show KiIIing Eve, I was on the hunt for some lesbian thriller and crime short stories.
Though these short stories didn’t necessarily fill the gaping hole left by the series finale, they did entertain me.
- Bow and Arrow by Carsen Taite
Bow and Arrow is one of three short stories published in Girls With G*ns.
In this short lesbian story, a bounty hunter, Luca, finds herself living with a cop and trying her best to keep in line. But historically, she doesn’t play by the rules.
Did I mention the cop is another woman?
- Hammersmith by Michelle Grubb
Girls With G*ns’ second lesbian short story features Officer Bel, tasked with spotting bad people on the London Underground in this realistic thriller.
Nights with her girlfriend make the boring days on the job more entertaining. But through the twists and turns of the unfolding plot, Bel (and readers) are in for a shock.
- Hell Fire by Ali Vali
In the final story of the lesbian book, Girls With G*ns, an FBI agent, Finley, works to uncover a ring of human trafficking, where her paths cross with a recent widow, Abigail.
Finley and Abigail become close in Finley’s attempt to save the woman’s life.
Contemporary Lesbian Short Stories
Finishing off with contemporary reads, most of these short lesbian stories can be read right from Reedsy.
- Desperate Remedies by Melissa Van Rensburg
A bird drives our protagonist crazy (literally), and her girlfriend breaks up with her.
With the fallout, Tracy attempts therapy and combatting her mental health issues for the first time in her life. (Lesbians, take note!)
- Pride’s Pioneers by Leah Haberman
A lesbian marriage story begins with a couple and their child moving into a new home. The neighbors aren’t sure what to make of their new lesbian neighbors.
Cleverly narrated, this lesbian short story tackles stereotypes and discrimination through literary means.
- Choices by Marisa Billions
In the lesbian short story, our mess of a protagonist wakes up late to a job interview and catches the number of Mel, a person she partied all night and passed out with.
Like many of us lesbians, Mel uses they/them pronouns.
- She Wears the Midnight Crown edited by Nina Waters
This anthology of sapphic love stories encompasses a variety of genres throughout 17 lesbian short stories.
The anthology hits lesbian historical fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, and more, covering not only romance but also the bond of platonic queer relationships.
Enjoy reading these lesbian stories!
What’s your favorite lesbian short story? Are there any lesbian short stories we should add? We would love to know! Let us know in the comments.
And don’t forget to share these lesbian short stories with all your (queer) friends.
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