"San Diego Lightfoot Sue" is a 1975

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, ...

short story by American writer

Tom Reamy Tom Reamy (January 23, 1935 – November 4, 1977) was an American science fiction and fantasy author, and a key figure in 1960s and 1970s science fiction fandom. He died at age 42 prior to the publication of his first novel; his work is prim ...

. 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 ...

''.

Plot summary

In the early 1960s, a naive teenager from Kansas moves to Los Angeles, where he falls in love with a former prostitute.

Reception

"San Diego Lightfoot Sue" won the

Nebula Award for Best Novelette The Nebula Award for Best Novelette is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) to a science fiction or fantasy novelette. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a novelette if it is between 7,5 ...

of 1975,San Diego Lightfoot Sue
at

Science Fiction Writers of America The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association and commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. Whi ...

; retrieved June 4, 2018 and was a finalist for the 1976

Hugo Award for Best Novelette The Hugo Award for Best Novelette 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 novelette award is available for works of fiction of ...

.1976 Hugo Awards
at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved June 4, 2018 ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' called it "smooth".Publishers Weekly
volume 210; 1976 The story has been cited as an example of the idea that magic can be dangerous to the wielder if incorrectly performed (when the prostitute casts a spell to rejuvenate herself so that the teenager can see what she looked like when she was his age, she is "consumed by green fire"),The Writer's Digest Guide to Science Fiction & Fantasy
edited by

Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. , he is the only person to have won a Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo Award and a Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula Award in List of joint ...

; chapter 3, 'Magic', by Allan Maurer and Renee Wright; published 2010 by

Writer's Digest ''Writer's Digest'' is an American magazine aimed at beginning and established writers. It contains interviews, market listings, calls for manuscripts, and how-to articles. History ''Writer's Digest'' was first published in December 1920 und ...

Books and as evidence that Reamy was, if not gay himself, then "remarkably familiar with the gay idiom of the time".Queer Universes: Sexualities in Science Fiction
by Wendy Gay Pearson, Veronica Hollinger, and Joan Gordon; published 2010 by

Liverpool University Press Liverpool University Press (LUP), founded in 1899, is the third oldest university press in England after Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press. As the press of the University of Liverpool, it specialises in modern languages, lit ...

References

External links

"San Diego Lightfoot Sue"
at the

Internet Speculative Fiction Database The Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB) is a database of bibliographic information on genres considered speculative fiction, including science fiction and related genres such as fantasy, alternate history, and horror fiction. The ISFDB ...

1975 short stories Works originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction Nebula Award for Best Novelette–winning works {{1970s-fantasy-story-stub