Selected Shorts: The Best American Short Stories 2025 at Symphony Space

Actors Ivan Hernandez (And Just Like That...), Richard Masur (The Girls on the Bus), and Cynthia Nixon (The Gilded Age) honor the 2025 Best American Short Stories, curated and edited by bestselling author Celeste Ng. This evening of literature in performance will take you on a literary journey brought to you by the brilliant minds of new and established authors, with readings from one of the most esteemed anthologies of contemporary American fiction.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Celeste Ng will no longer be appearing at this event.

Actors subject to change. Casting and special guests will be announced on our website. Please check back for up-to-date information.

Real-time captioning (CART) will be available in our theater for patrons with hearing loss, deafness, different language and learning needs, and anyone whose experience will be enhanced by CART. To access CART on your individual smartphone or tablet, please visit bit.ly/SymphonySpace_Captions.

Take great stories by well-known and emerging writers, add captivating actors of stage and screen, and you have Selected Shorts—unforgettable nights of literature in performance.

Did you know that Selected Shorts is also recorded for national public radio? As an audience member, you will be part of what makes Selected Shorts broadcasts and podcasts so special. And you can listen to your favorite stories again on your local public radio station or on the Selected Shorts podcast. To find out more, visit SelectedShorts.org.

There will not be an intermission at this event.

Group discounts are available for groups of fifteen people or more. Please contact the Box Office.

Recent Selected Shorts readers include Ellen Burstyn, Kate Walsh, Bebe Neuwirth, Claire Danes, Michael Shannon, Kyle Maclachlan, LeVar Burton, Jane Curtin, Danielle Brooks, Cynthia Nixon, Rainn Wilson, Holly Hunter, Hugh Dancy, Joan Allen, Josh Radnor, Tony Shalhoub, Maggie Gyllenhaal, BD Wong and more.