"Bears Discover Fire" is a science fiction short story by American

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

author Terry Bisson.LOCUS Index to SF Awards
It concerns aging and evolution in the US South, the dream of wilderness, and community. The premise is that

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

s have discovered

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

, and are having campfires on highway medians. It was originally published in '' Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine'' in August 1990.

Reception

"Bears Discover Fire" won the

Hugo Award for Best Short Story The Hugo Award for Best Short Story is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The short story award is available for works of fiction of ...

and the

Nebula Award for Best Short Story The Nebula Award for Best Short Story is a literary award assigned each year by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy short stories. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a short sto ...

. It was the inspiration for Michael Bishop's 2005 story "Bears Discover Smut".Bears Discover Smut
by Michael Bishop, at SciFi.com, via archive.org; retrieved February 6, 2017

In popular culture

"Bears Discover Fire" has been adapted into a Columbia University MF
thesis film
directed by Ben Leonberg and produced by Scott Riehs.

Awards

* 1991

* 1990

* 1991 Asimov's Reader's Award * 1991 The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award * 1991

Locus Award for Best Short Story The Locus Award for Best Short Story is one of a series of Locus Awards given every year by ''Locus Magazine''. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year. Originally known as the Locus Award for Best Sho ...

* 1991 SF Chronicle Award

References

External links

Full text
at '' Lightspeed Magazine'' * * Movie short: http://www.bearsdiscoverfire.com/ 1990 short stories Short stories by Terry Bisson Hugo Award for Best Short Story–winning works Works originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction Nebula Award for Best Short Story–winning works Theodore Sturgeon Award–winning works Locus Award–winning works {{1990s-sf-story-stub