Magic for Beginners (short story collection)

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Magic for Beginners
Magic for Beginners (anthology) bookcover.jpeg
Author Kelly Link
LanguageEnglish
Genre Fantasy, Horror
Publisher Small Beer Press
Publication date
July 1, 2005
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint
Pages297
ISBN 978-1931520157

Magic for Beginners is a collection of nine works of fantasy and light horror short fiction by American writer Kelly Link, released by Small Beer Press in 2005. The stories were all previously published in other venues from 2002 to 2005.

Contents

The book won the 2006 Locus Award for best short story collection. [1]

The title story, "Magic for Beginners", won the 2006 Nebula Award for Best Novella [2] and 2006 Locus Award for Best Novella, [1] and the 2006 BSFA Award for best short fiction. [3] Another story in the book, "The Faery Handbag", won the 2005 Hugo Award for Best Novelette, [4] the 2006 Nebula Award for Best Novelette, [2] and the 2005 Locus Award for Best Novelette. [5]

Stories

Reception

According to Book Marks, the book received a "positive" consensus, based on four critic reviews: one "rave", two "positive", and one "mixed". [6] On November/December 2005 issue of Bookmarks, the book received a Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg (3.5 out of 5) based on critic reviews with a summary saying, "Link’s collection may defy simple interpretation, but it also challenges readers to decipher for themselves what is real . . . and what is not". [7]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Locus Awards Winners". Locus Magazine. 2006-06-17. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
  2. 1 2 "The Locus Index to SF awards: 2006 Nebula Awards". Locus Magazine. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
  3. "BSFA Awards". British Science Fiction Association. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
  4. "2005 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Awards. Archived from the original on 2011-05-07. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
  5. "Locus Award Winners". Locus Magazine. 2005-07-03. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
  6. "Magic for Beginners". Book Marks. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  7. "Magic for Beginners By Kelly Link". Bookmarks. Archived from the original on 7 Sep 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2023.