Let's Write a Short Story!

The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories 2011 contains twenty unforgettable stories selected from hundreds of literary magazines. The winning tales take place in such far-flung locales as Madagascar, Nantucket, a Midwestern meth lab, Antarctica, and a post-apocalyptic England, and feature a fascinating array of characters: aging jazzmen, avalanche researchers, a South African wild child, and a mute actor in silent films. Also included are essays from the eminent jurors on their favorite stories, observations from the winners on what inspired them, and an extensive resource list of magazines. Your Fate Hurtles Down at YouJim Shepard Diary of an Interesting YearHelen Simpson MelindaJudy Doenges NightbloomingKenneth Calhoun The Restoration of the Villa Where Tibor Kálmán Once LivedTamas Dobozy IceLily Tuck How to Leave HialeahJennine Capó Crucet The JunctionDavid Means Pole, PoleSusan Minot Alamo PlazaBrad Watson The Black Square Chris Adrian Nothing of ConsequenceJane Delury The Rules Are the RulesAdam Foulds The Vanishing AmericanLeslie Parry CrossingMark Slouka Bed DeathLori Ostlund WindeyeBrian Evenson SunshineLynn Freed Never Come BackElizabeth Tallent Something You Can't Live WithoutMatthew Neill Null For author interviews, photos, and more, go to www.ohenryprizestories.com A portion of the proceeds from this book will go to support the PEN Readers & Writers Literary Outreach Program. From the Trade Paperback edition. Once again, the finest short-form sf offerings of the year have been collected in a single volume. With "Year's Best SF 17, " acclaimed, award-winning editors and anthologists David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer demonstrate the amazing depth and power of contemporary speculative fiction, showcasing astonishing stories from some of the genre's most respected names as well as exciting new writers to watch. Prepare to travel light years from the ordinary into a tomorrow at once breathtaking, frightening, and possible, with tales of wonder from: Elizabeth Bear Gregory Benford Neil Gaiman Nancy Kress Michael Swanwick and others. Contents xi Introduction (Year's Best SF 17) essay by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer 1 The Best Science Fiction of the Year Three (2011) shortfiction by Ken MacLeod 16 Dolly (2011) shortstory by Elizabeth Bear 34 Altogether Elsewhere, Vast Herds of Reindeer (2011) shortstory by Ken Liu 48 Tethered (2011) shortfiction by Mercurio D. Rivera 73 Wahala (2011) shortfiction by Nnedi Okorafor 96 Laika's Ghost (2011) novelette by Karl Schroeder 128 Ragnarok (2011) poem by Paul Park 140 Six Months, Three Days (2011) novelette by Charlie Anders [as by Charlie Jane Anders ] 163 "And Weep Like Alexander" (2011) shortfiction by Neil Gaiman 169 The Middle of Somewhere (2011) shortfiction by Judith Moffett 195 Mercies (2011) novelette by Gregory Benford 220 The Education of Junior Number 12 [Machine Dynasties] (2011) shortfiction by Madeline Ashby 246 Our Candidate (2011) shortstory by Robert Reed 261 Thick Water (2011) shortfiction by Karen Heuler 281 The War Artist (2011) shortstory by Tony Ballantyne 294 The Master of the Aviary (2011) shortfiction by Bruce Sterling 323 Home Sweet Bi'ome (2011) novelette by Pat MacEwen 346 For I Have Lain Me Down on the Stone of Loneliness and I'll Not Be Back Again (2011) shortstory by Michael Swanwick 364 The Ki-anna (2011) novelette by Gwyneth Jones 388 Eliot Wrote (2011) shortstory by Nancy Kress 403 The Nearest Thing (2011) novelette by Genevieve Valentine 430 A Vector Alphabet of Interstellar Travel (2011) shortstory by Yoon Ha Lee 438 The Ice Owl (2011) novella by Carolyn Ives Gilman The science fiction and fantasy fields continue to evolve, setting new marks with each passing year. For the sixth year in a row, master anthologist Jonathan Strahan has collected stories to captivate, entertain, and showcase the very best the genre has to offer. Critically acclaimed, and with a reputation for including award-winning speculative fiction, The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year is the only major best of anthology to collect both fantasy and science fiction under one cover. Jonathan Strahan has edited more than thirty anthologies and collections, including The Locus Awards (with Charles N. Brown), The New Space Opera (with Gardner Dozois), and Swords and Dark Magic: The New Sword and Sorcery. Content "The Case of Death and Honey" by Neil Gaiman "The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees" by E. Lily Yu "Tidal Forces" by Caitln R Kiernan "Younger Women" by Karen Joy Fowler "White Lines on a Green Field" by Catherynne M. Valente "All That Touches The Air" by An Owomoyela "What We Found" by Geoff Ryman "The Server and the Dragon" by Hannu Rajaniemi "The Choice" by Paul McAuley "Malak" by Peter Watts "Old Habits" by Nalo Hopkinson "A Small Price to Pay for Birdsong" by K. J. Parker "Valley of the Girls" by Kelly Link "Brave Little Toaster" by Cory Doctorow "The Dala Horse" by Michael Swanwick "The Corpse Painters Masterpiece" by M Rickert "The Paper Menagerie" by Ken Liu "Steam Girl" by Dylan Horrocks "After the Apocalypse" by Maureen F. McHugh "Underbridge" by Peter S. Beagle "Relic" by Jeffrey Ford "The Invasion of Venus" by Stephen Baxter "Woman Leaves Room" by Robert Reed "Restoration" by Robert Shearman "The Onset of a Paranormal Romance" by Bruce Sterling "Catastrophic Disruption of the Head" by Margo Lanagan "The Last Ride of the Glory Girls" by Libba Bray "The Book of Phoenix" by Nnedi Okorafor "Digging" by Ian McDonald "The Man Who Bridged the Mist" by Kij Johnson "Goodnight Moons" by Ellen Klages Twenty of the best American short stories of 2011, chosen by the New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Chord. The twenty tightly crafted stories collected here by Pulitzer Prize–winning author Geraldine Brooks are full of deftly drawn characters, universal truths, and often surprising humor. Richard Powers's “To the Measures Fall” is a comic meditation on the uses of literature in the course of a life. In the satirical “The Sleep,” Caitlin Horrocks puts her fictional prairie town to bed—the inhabitants hibernate through the long winter as a form of escape—while in Steve Millhauser's imagined town, the citizens are visited by ghostlike apparitions in “Phantoms.” Allegra Goodman's spare but beautiful “La Vita Nuova” finds a jilted fiancée letting her art class paint all over her wedding dress as a poignant act of release. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wryly captures the social change in the air in Lagos, Nigeria, in “Ceiling,” her story of a wealthy young man who is not entirely at ease with what his life has become. As Brooks perused these richly imagined and varied landscapes, she found that it was like walking into the best kind of party, where you can hole up in a corner with old friends for a while, then launch out among interesting strangers.The Best American Short Stories 2011 also includes contributions from: Megan Mayhew Bergman · Tom Bissell • Jennifer Egan • Nathan Englander • Ehud Havazelet • Bret Anthony Johnston • Claire Keegan • Sam Lipsyte • Rebecca Makkai • Elizabeth McCracken • Ricardo Nuila • Joyce Carol Oates • Jess Row • George Saunders • Mark Slouka Once again, the finest short-form sf offerings of the year have been collected in a single volume. With Year's Best SF 17, acclaimed, award-winning editors and anthologists David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer demonstrate the amazing depth and power of contemporary speculative fiction, showcasing astonishing stories from some of the genre's most respected names as well as exciting new writers to watch. Prepare to travel light years from the ordinary into a tomorrow at once breathtaking, frightening, and possible, with tales of wonder. Contents: Introduction (Year's Best SF 17) • essay by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer; The Best Science Fiction of the Year Three / Ken MacLeod; Dolly / Elizabeth Bear; Altogether Elsewhere, Vast Herds of Reindeer / Ken Liu; Tethered / Mercurio D. Rivera; Wahala / Nnedi Okorafor; Laika's Ghost / Karl Schroeder; Ragnarok / Paul Park; Six Months, Three Days / Charlie Anders [as by Charlie Jane Anders]; And Weep Like Alexander / Neil Gaiman; The Middle of Somewhere / Judith Moffett; Mercies / Gregory Benford; The Education of Junior Number 12 / Madeline Ashby; Our Candidate / Robert Reed; Thick Water / Karen Heuler; The War Artist / Tony Ballantyne; The Master of the Aviary / Bruce Sterling; Home Sweet Bi'ome / Pat MacEwen; For I Have Lain Me Down on the Stone of Loneliness and I'll Not Be Back Again / Michael Swanwick; The Ki-anna / Gwyneth Jones; Eliot Wrote / Nancy Kress; The Nearest Thing / Genevieve Valentine; A Vector Alphabet of Interstellar Travel / Yoon Ha Lee; The Ice Owl / Carolyn Ives Gilman. Cover art by John Harris. The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories 2011 contains twenty unforgettable stories selected from hundreds of literary magazines. The winning tales take place in such far-flung locales as Madagascar, Nantucket, a Midwestern meth lab, Antarctica, and a post-apocalyptic England, and feature a fascinating array of aging jazzmen, avalanche researchers, a South African wild child, and a mute actor in silent films. Also included are essays from the eminent jurors on their favorite stories, observations from the winners on what inspired them, and an extensive resource list of magazines. Your Fate Hurtles Down at You Jim Shepard Diary of an Interesting Year Helen Simpson Melinda Judy Doenges Nightblooming Kenneth Calhoun The Restoration of the Villa Where Tibor Klmn Once Lived Tamas Dobozy Ice Lily Tuck How to Leave Hialeah Jennine Cap Crucet The Junction David Means Pole, Pole Susan Minot Alamo Plaza Brad Watson The Black Square Chris Adrian Nothing of Consequence Jane Delury The Rules Are the Rules Adam Foulds The Vanishing American Leslie Parry Crossing Mark Slouka Bed Death Lori Ostlund Windeye Brian Evenson Sunshine Lynn Freed Never Come Back Elizabeth Tallent Something You Cant Live Without Matthew Neill Null For author interviews, photos, and more, go to (http://www.ohenryprizestories.com) www.ohenryprizestories.com A portion of the proceeds from this book will go to support the PEN Readers & Writers Literary Outreach Program. An ancient society of cartographer wasps create delicately inscribed maps; a bodyjacking parasite is faced with imminent extinction; an AI makes a desperate gambit to protect its child from a ravenous dragon; a professor of music struggles with the knowledge that murder is not too high a price for fame; living origami carries a mother's last words to her child; a steam girl conquers the realm of imagination; Aliens attack Venus, ignoring an incredulous earth; a child is born on Mars...
The science fiction and fantasy fiction fields continue to evolve, setting new marks with each passing year. For the sixth year in a row, master anthologist Jonathan Strahan has collected stories that captivate, entertain, and showcase the very best the genre has to offer. Critically acclaimed, and with a reputation for including award-winning speculative fiction, The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year is the only major "best of" anthology to collect both fantasy and science fiction under one cover.
Jonathan Strahan has edited more than twenty anthologies and collections, including The Locus Awards (with Charles N. Brown), The New Space Opera (with Gardner Dozois), and The Starry Rift. He has won the Ditmar, William J. Atheling Jr., and Peter McNamara awards for his work as an anthologist and reviewer, and was nominated for a Hugo Award for his editorial work. Strahan is currently the reviews editor for Locus.
29 Gardner Dozois Acknowledgments: 2011 Gardner Dozois Summation: 2011 Paul McAuley The Choice Catherynne M. Valente Silently and Very Fast Kij Johnson The Man Who Bridged the Mist Robert Reed The Ants of Flanders David Moles A Soldier of the City Stephen Baxter The Invasion of Venus Karl Schroeder Laika's Ghost Damien Broderick The Beancounter's Cat Gwyneth Jones The Vicar of Mars Elizabeth Bear Dolly John Barnes Martian Heart Alastair Reynolds Ascension Day Lavie Tidhar The Smell of Orange Groves Maureen McHugh After the Apocalypse Jay Lake A Long Way Home Geoff Ryman What We Found Dave Hutchinson The Incredible Exploding Man Paul Cornell The Copenhagen Interpretation Peter S. Beagle The Way It Works Out and All Michael Swanwick The Dala Horse Ken MacLeod Earth Hour Carolyn Ives Gilman The Ice Owl Jim Hawkins Digital Rites Pat Cadigan Cody Yoon Ha Lee Ghostweight Tom Purdom A Response from EST17 Ian McDonald Digging David Klecha & Tobias S. Buckell A Militant Peace Michael Swanwick For I Have Lain Me Down on the Stone of Loneliness and I'll Not Be Back Again Michael Flynn The Iron Shirts Alec Nevala-Lee The Boneless One Chris Lawson Canterbury Hollow Ian R. MacLeod The Cold Step Beyond Ken MacLeod The Vorkuta Event Peter M. Ball Dying Young Gardner Dozois Honorable Mentions: 2011 "An ancient society of cartographer wasps create delicately inscribed maps; a body jacking parasite is faced with imminent extinction; an Al makes a desperate gambit to protect its child from a ravenous dragon; a professor of music struggles with the knowledge that murder is not too high a price for fame; living origami carries a mother's last words to her child; a steam girl conquers the realm of imagination; aliens attack Venus, ignoring an incredulous earth; a child is born on Mars ... The science fiction and fantasy fields continue to evolve, setting new marks with each passing year. For the sixth year in a row, master anthologist Jonathan Strahan has collected stories that captivate, entertain, and showcase the very best the genre has to offer. Critically acclaimed, and with a reputation for including award-winning speculative fiction, The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year is the only major 'best of' anthology to collect both fantasy and science fiction under one cover."--Page 4 of cover

In the new millennium, what secrets lay beyond the far reaches of the universe? What mysteries belie the truths we once held to be self evident? The world of science fiction has long been a porthole into the realities of tomorrow, blurring the line between life and art. Now, in The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Ninth Annual Collection the very best SF authors explore ideas of a new world. This venerable collection brings together short stories from award winning authors and masters of the field such as Robert Reed, Alastair Reynolds, Damien Broderick, Elizabeth Bear, Paul McAuley and John Barnes. And with an extensive recommended reading guide and a summation of the year in science fiction, this annual compilation has become the definitive must-read anthology for all science fiction fans and readers interested in breaking into the genre.

The Best American Series®
First, Best, and Best-Selling

The Best American series is the premier annual showcase for the country’s finest short fiction and nonfiction. Each volume’s series editor selects notable works from hundreds of magazines, journals, and websites. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected — and most popular — of its kind.
The Best American Short Stories 2011 includes

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Megan Mayhew Bergman, Jennifer Egan,
Nathan Englander, Allegra Goodman,
Ehud Havazelet, Rebecca Makkai, Steven Millhauser,
George Saunders, Mark Slouka, and others

The world of science fiction has long been a porthole into the realities of tomorrow, blurring the line between life and art. Now, in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Ninth Annual Collection the very best SF authors explore ideas of a new world. This venerable collection brings together short stories from award winning authors and masters of the field such as Robert Reed, Alastair Reynolds, Damien Broderick, Elizabeth Bear, Paul McAuley and John Barnes. And with an extensive recommended reading guide and a summation of the year in science fiction, this annual compilation has become the definitive must-read anthology for all science fiction fans and readers interested in breaking into the genre

Once again, the finest short-form sf offerings of the year have been collected in a single volume. With Year's Best SF 17, acclaimed, award-winning editors and anthologists David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer demonstrate the amazing depth and power of contemporary speculative fiction, showcasing astonishing stories from some of the genre's most respected names as well as exciting new writers to watch. Prepare to travel light years from the ordinary into a tomorrow at once breathtaking, frightening, and possible, with tales of wonder from:

Elizabeth Bear Gregory Benford Neil Gaiman Nancy Kress Michael Swanwick and others.

In the new millennium, what secrets lay beyond the far reaches of the universe? What mysteries belie the truths we once held to be self evident? The world of science fiction has long been a porthole into the realities of tomorrow, blurring the line between life and art. This book features science fiction authors who explore ideas of a new world. Presents a collection of short stories judged to be the best in America and Canada for 2010, along with essays by three distinguished writers on their favorite pieces, and commentary from the twenty prize winners An anthology of the finest science fiction stories of 2011 features the work of both new and established writers, including contributions by Elizabeth Bear, Neil Gaiman, and Michael Swanwick Suitable for the science fiction fan, this title includes stories with visions of tomorrow and yesterday, of the strange and the familiar, of the unknown and the unknowable. Gathers stories by such writers as Neil Gaiman, Peter S. Beagle, Cory Doctorow, Jeffrey Ford, Walter Jon Williams, Tim Powers, Gene Wolfe, Connie Willis, and Robert Reed A collection edited by the best-selling author of March and People of the Book includes stories by top authors and new talents Presents twenty of the best works of short fiction of the past year from a variety of acclaimed sources. A collection of short stories, essays, and poems, culled from small presses and literary journals