"We Will Teach You How to Read" (stylized as "We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read") is a science fiction short story by Caroline M. Yoachim. It was first published in Lightspeed , in May 2024.
Rather than being a standard narrative, "We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read" is presented as a message from an alien intelligence whose thought processes involve a significantly greater degree of parallel processing than those of humans, and whose lifespan is orders of magnitude less than that of humans; thus, as an essential part of communication, the alien intelligence must teach humans to read in a new way.
"We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read" was a finalist for the Nebula Award for Best Short Story in 2024 [1] and the 2025 Hugo Award for Best Short Story [2] , and is a finalist for the 2025 Eugie Award. [3]
Locus described it as "well worth spending some time with". [4]