"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one." – George R. R. Martin
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.
This is sort of a companion piece or response to the classic Ursula K. Le Guin story “The Ones Who Walk Away form Omelas“.
“The Ones Who Stay and Fight” by N.K. Jemisin (2020) — 3,829 words (about 16 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Lightspeed magazine issue #116, January 2020.
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.
The last one! Tomorrow the winners will be announced!
“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.
“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.
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.
My continuation of nominees that can be read online for free.
“Joanna’s Bodies” by Eugenia Triantafyllou (2024) — 11,100 words (about 45 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Psychopomp magazine, 1 July 2024.
“Evan: A Remainder” by Jordan Kurella (2024) — 4,483 words (about 18 minutes for the average reader)
Originally published in Reactor magazine, 31 January 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.
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.