Fiction That Forces You to Think

One ethics story every Thursday curated by attorney and educator Kolby Granville. (New? Start here.)

Short Stories For Long Discussions

At its heart, After Dinner Conversation is a space for stories that make you think.

Hello, and welcome! I’m Kolby Granville, Editor-in-Chief of After Dinner Conversation. I’m glad you’re here.

Each week, we publish short fiction with an ethical or philosophical question at its center. The goal isn’t just to entertain, it’s to spark conversation. We want readers to walk away with a story stuck in their head, one they’re still thinking about the next day, one they might bring up at the dinner table with friends or family.

Don’t want to read our welcome, head to our Main Substack Page.

What You’ll Find Here

• Weekly Stories: Every Thursday morning you’ll get a new story in your inbox. Some are free, and some are for paid subscribers. Each one comes with discussion questions to help deepen reflection.

• The Magazine: In addition to Substack, we also publish a monthly magazine—available in digital and print. The magazine collects that month’s stories and makes them easy to read and share. You can purchase single copies of our magazine from our website, as well as on Amazon, Apple, Kobo, and wherever books are sold.

  • This is probably a good place to mention each subscription is unique. A subscription to the Substack gets you access to the Substack, and a subscription to the magazine gets you access to the magazine. But, no worries, it’s the same stories, just a different way to deliver them (email vs magazine)(Comparison Chart)

• Anthologies and Extras: Over the years we’ve also put together themed anthologies, “Best Of” books, lesson plans for teachers, and special projects that expand on the stories we tell.

👉 Subscribe here for free weekly stories.

Why We Do This

The big idea is simple: stories are a powerful way to explore truth, morality, and human choices. Fiction lets us live through dilemmas we might never face in real life, and reflect on them in a safe way. Our mission is to foster meaningful discussion, whether that’s in classrooms, book clubs, or just around your dinner table. You can also join our virtual meetup group to discuss the stories. If you are a writer, you can submit stories via our website, but we also encourage you to take a look at our sister Substack, Revisions & Revelations for writing tips!

How You Can Join In

• If you’re a free subscriber, you’ll get access to about half of our weekly stories.

• If you become a paid subscriber, you’ll get access to everything, plus you’ll be directly supporting our writers and helping us continue this work.

• And whether free or paid, you’re always welcome to comment, share your thoughts, and bring others into the conversation.

Thank you for joining us. I hope these stories give you something to think about, and more importantly, something to talk about.

—Kolby Granville
Editor-in-Chief, After Dinner Conversation