Secret
ByIn Cay Kim’s “Secret,” a Korean girl, with the help of her grandmother, enters a national singing competition show and finds herself steeped in a rivalrous phenomenon that is tied to both her country’s identity and its history.
ONE STORY publishes one great short story at a time. We bring people together through reading, writing, and learning about short fiction.
In Cay Kim’s “Secret,” a Korean girl, with the help of her grandmother, enters a national singing competition show and finds herself steeped in a rivalrous phenomenon that is tied to both her country’s identity and its history.
In Maria Kuznetsova’s “Hold Me Looser, Tiny Dancer,” a mother hoping to earn an extra payday uses an inexplicable science-fictional contraption to offer other mothers in her neighborhood a chance to revisit their long-gone pasts, begging the question: What will we do to make ourselves feel loved again?
In this six-week open-registration workshop, each participant will workshop a short story or novel excerpt.
Workshop
Wednesdays, May 6–June 10
This four-week class led by One Story author Rita Chang-Eppig explores navigating research, authenticity, and legibility in writing historical fiction.
Thursdays, May 14–June 4
On April 24th at our Literary Debutante Ball, One Story will honor a past One Story author who has gone on to make a significant contribution to literature. This week, read an interview with our 2026 Distinguished Alum.
A year of lectures on the craft of fiction from eight One Story authors.
The next lecture in our 2026 Lecture Series takes place Saturday, April 18, from 4-5:15pm ET. Chris Vanjonack discusses how to construct a compelling and satisfying narrative within the length restrictions of flash fiction.
Lecture Series
February–November 2026
Give One Story at our 2002 rate to the readers in your life.
They’ll get a new story each month. You’ll get year-round gratitude.
Includes a gift card or
a custom ecard
The next lecture in our 2026 Lecture Series discusses how iconic films construct their strong sense of place.
Online Lecture
Saturday, May 16
4–5:15pm ET
Learn tips and techniques for revising in this self-guided class. You’ll get five in-depth revision techniques to sharpen your work. By the end of the course you’ll have new skills, a helpful to-do list, and pages of new material to move your revision in the right direction.
Self-Guided Class
One Story arrives in your mailbox in an envelope like a letter from a friend. Each chapbook-sized story introduces you to a new author. No ads, no images—just a great read.
One great short story
in the mail every month
What do you do when your best friend is about to leave for college and it feels like the world is ending? Take a road trip together to a place called The End of the World, of course!
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One Story has been publishing since 2002. We never publish an author twice. Browse our back issues to see who we published when.
One Story provides a free, open-source submission management system to other publishers at no cost.
Led by Lena Valencia, this group will meet online once a month to silently read a chosen story from One Story’s archives together, followed by a visit from the author or editor of the issue and a group discussion.
Reading Group
January–June 2026
They will re-open in the spring. Please read our guidelines before sending us your work.