In preparation for the Hugo nominations, I have been reading short fiction. Here follows a list (continually updated) of stories that struck me as above average; bold indicates award-worthy.

 

SHORT STORY

“And We, Spectators Always, Everywhere” - Kirsten Kaschock; Dead Letters [Titan Books, April]

“The English Translation of the Story of the Hero Who Named Many Places” - Will Kaufman; 20 Tall Tales [Fiction Attic Press, October] (link)

“How High Your Gods Can Count” - Tegan Moore; Strange Horizons, May 2 (link)

“Lullaby for a Lost World” - Aliette de Bodard; Tor.com, June 8 (link)

“Meltwater” - Benjamin C. Kinney; Strange Horizons, March 14 (link)

“The Men from Narrow Houses” - A. C. Wise; Liminal Stories, Spring/Summer (link)

“The Mountains His Crown” - Sarah Pinsker; Beneath Ceaseless Skies, March 17 (link)

“The Name of the Forest” - Margaret Killjoy; Strange Horizons, March 21 (link)

“No Better Armor, No Heavier Burden” - Wunji Lau; Women in Practical Armor [Evil Girlfriend Media, August]

“Postcards from Natalie” - Carrie Laben; The Dark, July (link)

“Sea of Dreams” - Alter S. Reiss; Beneath Ceaseless Skies, March 31 (link)

“Sweet Marrow” - Vajra Chandrasekera; Strange Horizons, July 4 (link)

“Three Points Masculine” - An Owomoyela; Lightspeed, May (link)

“You’ll Surely Drown Here If You Stay” - Alyssa Wong; Uncanny, May/June (link)

 

NOVELETTE

“The Art of Space Travel” - Nina Allan; Tor.com, July 27 (link)

“Astray” - Nina Allan; Dead Letters [Titan Books, April]

“Breaking Water” - Indrapramit Das; Tor.com, February 10 (link)

“Is Your Blood as Red as This?” - Helen Oyeyemi; What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours [Riverhead Books, March]

“Love Is Never Still” - Rachel Swirsky; Uncanny, March/April (link)

“Foxfire, Foxfire” - Yoon Ha Lee; Beneath Ceaseless Skies, March 3 (link)

“Polyglossia” - Tamara Vardomskaya; GigaNotoSaurus, March (link)

 

NOVELLA

Every Heart a Doorway - Seanan McGuire [Tor.com, April]

This Census-Taker - China Miéville [Subterranean Press, January]