"Magic for Beginners" is a

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

by American writer

Kelly Link Kelly Link (born July 19, 1969) is an American editor and writer. Mainly known as an author of short stories, she published her first novel, ''The Book of Love'' in 2024. While some of her fiction falls more clearly within genre categories, many ...

. It was first published in ''

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy fiction magazine, fantasy and science-fiction magazine, first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence E. Spivak, Lawrence Spiv ...

'' in September 2005. It was subsequently published in Link's collection of the same name, as well as in her collection ''Pretty Monsters'', in the 2007 ''Nebula Award Showcase'', and in the

John Joseph Adams John Joseph Adams (born July 31, 1976) is an American science fiction and fantasy editor, critic, and publisher. Career Editor Adams worked as Assistant Editor at ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' from May 2001 to December 2009. In ...

-edited anthology ''Other Worlds Than These''.

Setting

Jeremy Mars is a young teenager who (like many of his friends) is a fan of — and also a character in — a mysterious television program called ''The Library''. The story follows his life, and those of his friends and family, as various episodes of ''The Library'' are broadcast at irregular intervals.

Reception

"Magic for Beginners" won the 2006

Nebula Award for Best Novella The Nebula Award for Best Novella is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy novellas. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a novella if it is between 17,500 and 4 ...

, the 2005

BSFA Award The BSFA Awards are literary awards presented annually since 1970 by the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) to honour works in the genre of science fiction. Nominees and winners are chosen based on a vote of BSFA members. More recently, m ...

for Short Fiction, and the 2006

Locus Award for Best Novella The Locus Award for Best Novella is one of a number of Locus Awards given out each year by '' Locus'' magazine. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year. The first award in this category was presented i ...

, and was nominated for the 2006

Hugo Award for Best Novella The Hugo Award for Best Novella 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 novella award is available for works of fiction of between ...

, the 2006

World Fantasy Award—Novella The World Fantasy Awards are given each year by the World Fantasy Convention for the best fantasy fiction published in English during the previous calendar year. The awards have been described by book critics such as ''The Guardian'' as a "presti ...

, and the 2006

Theodore Sturgeon Award The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award is an annual literary award presented by the Theodore Sturgeon Literary Trust and the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas to the author of the best short science fiction story ...

Nancy Pearl Nancy Pearl (born January 12, 1945) is an American librarian, best-selling author, literary critic and the former executive director of the Washington Center for the Book at Seattle Public Library.Rebekah DennNancy Pearl trading the quiet confin ...

compared "Magic for Beginners" to

M. C. Escher Maurits Cornelis Escher (; ; 17 June 1898 – 27 March 1972) was a Dutch graphic artist who made woodcuts, lithography, lithographs, and mezzotints, many of which were Mathematics and art, inspired by mathematics. Despite wide popular int ...

's ''

Drawing Hands ''Drawing Hands'' is a lithograph by the Dutch artist M. C. Escher first printed in January 1948. It depicts a sheet of paper, out of which two hands rise, in the paradoxical act of drawing one another into existence. This is one of the most o ...

'', saying that it is "intricate, wildly imaginative and totally wonderful".

Cory Doctorow Cory Efram Doctorow (; born 17 July 1971) is a Canadian-British blogger, journalist, and science fiction author who served as co-editor of the blog ''Boing Boing''. He is an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of th ...

called it the "standout" story in Link's 2006 eponymous collection, describing it as " absurdist

magic realism Magical realism, magic realism, or marvelous realism is a style or genre of fiction and art that presents a realistic view of the world while incorporating magical elements, often blurring the lines between speculation and reality. ''Magical re ...

, like

Douglas Coupland Douglas Coupland (born 30 December 1961) is a Canadian novelist, designer and visual artist. His first novel, the 1991 international bestseller '' Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture'', popularized the terms Generation X and McJob. He ...

wandering through a

Márquez Márquez or Marquez is a surname of Spanish origin, meaning "son of Marcos or Marcus". Its Portuguese equivalent is Marques. It should not be confused with the surname Marqués, also of Spanish origin. People * Adrian Garcia Marquez, American ...

novel".

Niall Harrison Niall Sidney Harrison is a British medical writer and science fiction editor, critic and publisher. He was a judge of the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2006 and 2007 and Guest of Honour at Eastercon 2023. Biography Harrison read biochemistry at Ma ...

described it as being about "how stories differ from real life" and "what it feels like to love stories.""''Magic for Beginners'', by Kelly Link", reviewed by

, in ''

Vector Vector most often refers to: * Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction * Disease vector, an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematics a ...

'' #243 (September/October 2005); archived in ''All These Worlds: Reviews and Essays'' (p. 33); published 2023 by Briardene Books At the ''

SF Site ''SF Site'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine edited by Rodger Turner. It is among the oldest of websites dedicated to science fiction and primarily publishes book reviews. It has won the Locus Award and received nominations for ...

'', Rich Horton stated that "Magic for Beginners" was "one of isfavorite stories of this decade", and "a delight",Featured Review: Pretty Monsters
by Rich Horton, at the

; published 2009; retrieved May 15, 2014 while at '' Subterranean Press Magazine'', Dorman T. Shindler compared it to being mildly intoxicated.Review: Nebula Awards Showcase 2007 edited by Mike Resnick
by Dorman T. Shindler, at

Subterranean Press Subterranean Press is a small press publisher in Burton, Michigan. Subterranean is best known for publishing genre fiction, primarily Horror fiction, horror, suspense and dark mystery, fantasy, and science fiction. In addition to publishing novel ...

; published Spring 2007; retrieved May 15, 2014; "“Magic For Beginners” is a bemused, slightly distant narrative (in an I got a great buzz from that beer/joint or whatever way)"

References

{{Nebula Award Best Novella 2001–2020 Nebula Award for Best Novella–winning works Works originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction Fiction set in 2005 Locus Award–winning works