"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one." – George R. R. Martin
Almost there!
“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.
“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.
Here are the next two nominees that can be read online for free.
“Negative Scholarship on the Fifth State of Being” by A.W. Prihandita (2024) — 8,730 words (about 35 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Clarkesworld magazine issue #218, November 2024.
“Five Views of the Planet Tartarus” by Rachel K. Jones (2024) — 549 words (about 3 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Lightspeed magazine issue #164, January 2024.
Two more nominees that can be read online for free.
“What Any Dead Thing Wants” by Aimee Ogden (2024) — 16,300words (about 66 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Psychopomp magazine online, February 2024.
“The Witch Trap” by Jennifer Hudak (2024) — 3,080 words (about 13 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet magazine issue #48, September 2024.
The Nebula Conference starts this week on June 5. The awards ceremony is on Saturday, June 7. The Nebula Awards® are voted on and presented by full, senior, and associate members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association. There are two short fiction categories that are less than book length. These are the awards for best novelette (at least 7,500 words but less than 17,500 words) and best short story (less than 7,500 words).
In the run up to the awards ceremony on Saturday, I will be publishing links to the six stories in each category, one story in each of these categories each day for a week! Happy reading!
“Loneliness Universe” by Eugenia Triantafyllou (2024) — 8,173 words (about 33 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Uncanny magazine issue #58, May/June 2024.
“Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole”by Isabel J. Kim (2024) — 3,190 words (about 13 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Clarkesworld magazine issue 209, February 2024.
My book club reads books in translation in May. This was our pick this year. It was originally published in Swedish. It is also the basis for the HBO series of the same name.
The book tells the story of a small rural town in Sweden called Beartown. It is known for only one thing: hockey. The town is small and in the forest. No one goes there by mistake and lots of folks look to get out. One man who made it big in hockey moves back with his family after a brief career in the NHL, becoming the general manager of the local club. The town revolves around this club. Everyone is involved in some way: player, spectator, sponsor. The junior team is on the verge of making the finals for the first time in decades. But something happens after the semi-final that sets the town at odds with itself.
This book is exactly the kind of fiction I love to read. It deals with fundamental aspects of what if means to be human and be in relationship with others. What do we owe one another? What do we owe to ourselves? How do manage both at the same time? There are deep and meaningful relationships of all sorts: player-coach, couples, father-son, mother-daughter, neighbors. All of them are real and complicated with no easy answers. And the writing is so compelling and compassionate. I highly recommend this book.
My rating: 5/5
What would you do to get back to your own time?
Waystation City by A.T. Greenblatt (2023) — 4,274 words (about 17 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Uncanny magazine issue #50, January/February 2023.
If you enjoy Black Mirror on Netflix, this one scratches that itch.
Tigers for Sale by Risa Wolf (2023) — 6,560 words (about 27 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Clarkesworld magazine issue #202, July 2023.
A daughter agrees to a terrible bargain to avenge her lover’s death
Saturday’s Song by Wole Talabi (2023) — 8,677 words (about 35 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Lightspeed magazine issue 156, May 2023.
An interesting exploration of what speeding up in the name of productivity can do to people and society.
A Record of Lost Time by Rebecca Kuang (2023) — 7,953 words (about 32 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Lightspeed magazine issue #162, November 2023.
A great story with lots of metaphor, subtle and not too in your face.
The Curing by Kristina Ten (2023) — 8,049 words (about 33 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Uncanny magazine issue #54, September/October 2023.