This Is Not a Wardrobe Door by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor

A wonderful story of empowerment!

“This Is Not a Wardrobe Door” by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor (2023) — 1,772 words (about 14 minutes to listen to)

Listened to on PodCastle podcast, 4 July 2023.

In the Stacks by Scott Lynch

Magic students run their fifth-year exams by returning books to the magical library which is alive and dangerous and, as it turns out, a deadly tempation.

“In the Stacks” by Scott Lynch (2023) — 13,500 words (about 2 hours listening)

I first heard this on the PodCastle podcast, published 20 June 2023.

And All the Fields Below by Sarah Grey

The love and loyalty of dogs never end.

“And All the Fields Below” by Sarah Grey (2023) — 2,625 words (about 11 minutes for the average reader)

Published in Lightspeed magazine issue #157, June 2023.

(emet) by Lauren Ring

A female programmer who can create golems uses them to thwart the very software she develops at work.

(emet) by Lauren Ring (2023) — 7,470 words (about 30 minutes for the average reader)

I first heard it on PodCastle, published 30 May 2023.

The Belfry Keeper by S.L. Harris

An automaton cares for an abandoned library even as the books decay.

“The Belfry Keeper” by S.L. Harris (2023) — 845 words (about 4 minutes for the average reader)

Originally published in Lightspeed magazine issue #156, May 2023.

Braid Me a Howling Tongue by Maria Dong

This feels appropriate on this day of standing up to oppression.

“Braid Me a Howling Tongue” by Maria Dong (2023) — 9,099 words (about 37 minutes for the average reader)

Originally published in Lightspeed magazine issue #152, January 2023.

A Man Walks Into a Bar; or, In Which More Than Four Decades After My Father’s Reluctant Night of Darts on West 54th Street, I Finally Understand What Needs to Be Done by Scott Edelman

A short story with a long title.

“A Man Walks Into a Bar; or, In Which More Than Four Decades After My Father’s Reluctant Night of Darts on West 54th Street, I Finally Understand What Needs to Be Done” by Scott Edelman (2023) — 5,977 words (about 24 minutes for the average reader)

Originally published in Lightspeed magazine issue #152, January 2023.

Cold Relations by Mary Robinette Kowal

A story of siblings and magic.

“Cold Relations” by Mary Robinette Kowal (2023) — 8,256 words (about 3 minutes for the average reader)

Originally published in Uncanny magazine issue #50, January/Februaty 2023.

Nebula Award Nominees for Short Fiction, Part 6 of 6

The last one! Tomorrow the winners will be announced!

Nominee for Best Novelette

“Katya Vasilievna and the Second Drowning of Baba Rechka” by Christine Hanolsy (2024) — 9,884 words (about 40 minutes for the average reader)

Originally published in Beneath Ceaseless Skies magazine issue #405, 18 April 2024.

Nominee for Best Short Story

“We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read” by Caroline M. Yoachim (2024) — 2,832 words (about 12 minutes for the average reader)

Originally published in Lightspeed magazine issue #168, May 2024.

Nebula Award Nominees for Short Fiction, Part 5 of 6

Almost there!

Nominee for Best Novelette

“The Brotherhood of Montague St. Video” by Thomas Ha (2024) — 8,370 words (about 34 minutes for the average reader)

Originally published in Clarkesworld magazine issue #212, May 2024.

Nominee for Best Short Story

“V*mpire” by P.H. Lee (2024) — 5,320 words (about 22 minutes for the average reader)

Originally published in Reactor magazine, 23 October 2024.