One family's magical legacy intertwines with the ongoing trauma of slavery in this Reconstruction-set short from the author of The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps. Blades line every moment of "The Devil in America," so sharp that you don't realize you're bleeding until it's far too late. Why "The Devil in America"? In many ways, Wilson's … Continue reading Short Story of the Day #10: “The Devil in America” by Kai Ashante Wilson
I've got another oldie-but-goodie for you today. E. Lily Yu's "The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees" took the 2012 awards season by storm, racking up nominations for the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Awards. This Short Story of the Day pick is just as captivating in 2023, nearly twelve years after it originally … Continue reading Short Story of the Day #9: “The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees” by E. Lily Yu
A lot of these early Short Stories of the Day are Hugo and Nebula winners, and Hao Jingfang's "Folding Beijing" is no exception. Ken Liu's 2015 translation won the Best Novelette Hugo, and the story is so enthralling that non-Chinese speakers will wish they could read the original. Why "Folding Beijing"? Many of us have … Continue reading Short Story of the Day #8: “Folding Beijing” by Hao Jingfang, trans. Ken Liu
If you've read the Short Story of the Day series so far, you know I love stories about monstrous women and girls. I shared Carrie Vaughn's take on Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott" last year. Yesterday's pick, Kelly Sandoval's 'What Sisters Take," follows a teenager with a hidden twin who can only survive … Continue reading Short Story of the Day #7: “Sometimes Boys Don’t Know” by Donyae Coles
Escape to Witch Mountain taught us that everybody has a twin. The One said we'd have to kill our double to achieve primacy. In Kelly Sandoval's "What Sisters Take," supernatural events lead to the births of three hidden twins, each of whom has only one goal: to siphon life from her human sister. Why "What … Continue reading Short Story of the Day #6: “What Sisters Take” by Kelly Sandoval