Since launching in 2008, Tor.com’s short fiction program has been producing touching, funny, and thought-provoking stories, and this year was no different. In 2020, we published 20 original novelettes and 26 short stories, plus 8 flash fiction stories in collaboration with FIYAH Literary Magazine, that ran the gamut from hard science fiction to epic fantasy, from horror to dystopia, from fairy tales to space opera. We’ve rounded them all up below, and you can also find Tordotcom Publishing’s impressive output of novellas and novels here.
We are tremendously proud of our authors, illustrators, and editors for creating such wonderful short fiction this year. We hope that you will nominate your favorites for the Hugos, Nebulas, and other upcoming awards which honor outstanding works of science fiction, fantasy, and horror—but most of all, we hope that you have enjoyed reading these stories as much as we have!
Flash Fiction
Breathe FIYAH is a flash fiction anthology created in collaboration between Tor.com and FIYAH Literary Magazine, co-edited by Brent Lambert and DaVaun Sanders.
These stories stand in testament to the power and vitality of Black voices in the face of centuries of institutionalized oppression. This flash fiction anthology features fantastical and science fictional imaginings of Black characters honoring forebearers and memories of the past, fighting the legacies that underpin the brutalities of the present, and demanding a future that’s freer than today.
In the words of co-editors Brent and DaVaun, “We must always give voice to that rage while refusing to let it destroy us.”
“Sela, Thief” by Zabe Bent
Edited by Brent Lambert and DaVaun Sanders
Illustrated by Eli Minaya
Published on October 19th, 2020
Sela held her power tight, cranked up her headset, and sauntered into the corner market. She needed fixins for a relaxing night in her new apartment.
“Conjurer’s Rites” by Jen Brown
Edited by Brent Lambert and DaVaun Sanders
Illustrated by Eli Minaya
Published on October 19th, 2020
I should know how to spell a Graves family gathering by now.
“The Front Line” by WC Dunlap
Edited by Brent Lambert and DaVaun Sanders
Illustrated by Eli Minaya
Published on October 19th, 2020
My ass sticks to the thick, hot plastic seat of a waiting room chair that is unable to accommodate the spread of my hips. […] I glance around nervously, but no one’s looking. I’m just another big girl whose body has become armor.
“The Friendship Bench” by Yvette Lisa Ndlovu
Edited by Brent Lambert and DaVaun Sanders
Illustrated by Eli Minaya
Published on October 19th, 2020
The young woman is driven to my Healing Hut by a question. She doesn’t need to ask it. Everyone who seeks out my services comes here as a last resort.
“Here Sits His Ignominy” by Tobi Ogundiran
Edited by Brent Lambert and DaVaun Sanders
Illustrated by Eli Minaya
Published on October 19th, 2020
To the king across the Blue Sea, in his Hall of Stone.
Your Insufferable Majesty,
I know this letter did not find you well—it being in the excavated abdomen of your emissary.
“We Come as Gods” by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
Edited by Brent Lambert and DaVaun Sanders
Illustrated by Eli Minaya
Published on October 19th, 2020
First, we come as servants. Who we were before this is not important: not the wars we may have fought in or ran from; not the academies we may have attended or not; not if we were once master or slave. All that matters, in the beginning, is that we are a people’s people…
“teatime” by Zin E. Rocklyn
Edited by Brent Lambert and DaVaun Sanders
Illustrated by Eli Minaya
Published on October 19th, 2020
“A boy followed me home today. Crawled on his hands and knees. He was bloody and torn by the time I got the key in the lock. Poor thing.”
“The Mystical Art of Codeswitching” by Sydnee Thompson
Edited by Brent Lambert and DaVaun Sanders
Illustrated by Eli Minaya
Published on October 19th, 2020
Omar lounged on his sectional, his face and body lit only by the blue glow of his phone’s screen, and pressed the Home icon in the app. […] He shifted to the What’s Trending tab and absorbed the chaos.
Short Stories
“Something Fishy” by Harry Turtledove
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Edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Illustrated by Red Nose Studio
Published on January 8th, 2020
“The Girlfriend’s Guide to Gods” by Maria Dahvana Headley
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Edited by Ruoxi Chen
Illustrated by Wesley Allsbrook
Published on January 23rd, 2020
“The Case of the Somewhat Mythic Sword” by Garth Nix
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Edited by Ellen Datlow
Illustrated by Micah Epstein
Published on January 29th, 2020
“St. Valentine, St. Abigail, St. Brigid” by C. L. Polk
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Edited by Ruoxi Chen
Illustrated by Alyssa Winans
Published on February 5th, 2020
“Manuscript Tradition” by Harry Turtledove
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Edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Illustrated by Scott Bakal
Published on February 19th, 2020
“Sinew and Steel and What They Told” by Carrie Vaughn
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Edited by Ann VanderMeer
Illustrated by Eli Minaya
Published on February 26th, 2020
“Cosmic Crust” by Alex Sherman
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Edited by Ann VanderMeer
Illustrated by Samuel Araya
Published on April 1st, 2020
“Little Free Library” by Naomi Kritzer
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Edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Illustrated by Chris Buzelli
Published on April 8th, 2020
Upon setting up her Little Free Library, Meigan develops an unexpected friendship with a mysterious book borrower.
“An Explorer’s Cartography of Already Settled Lands” by Fran Wilde
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Edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Illustrated by Cinyee Chiu
Published on April 22nd, 2020
“Anything Resembling Love” by S. Qiouyi Lu
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Edited by Jonathan Strahan
Illustrated by Reiko Murakami
Published on April 29th, 2020
Content warning for fictional depictions of sexual assault.
“Benjamin 2073” by Rjurik Davidson
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Edited by Ellen Datlow
Illustrated by Scott Bakal
Published on May 13th, 2020
“Beyond the Dragon’s Gate” by Yoon Ha Lee
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Edited by Jonathan Strahan
Illustrated by Max Loeffler
Published on May 20th, 2020
“The Tourist” by Alex Sherman
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Edited by Ann VanderMeer
Illustrated by Jun Cen
Published on May 27th, 2020
“We’re Here, We’re Here” by K. M. Szpara
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Edited by Carl Engle-Laird
Illustrated by Goñi Montes
Published on June 10th, 2020
“The Night Soil Salvagers” by Gregory Norman Bossert
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Edited by Ann VanderMeer
Illustrated by Red Nose Studio
Published on June 24th, 2020
“Juice Like Wounds” by Seanan McGuire
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Edited by Lee Harris
Illustrated by Rovina Cai
Published on July 13th, 2020
In the course of every great adventure, there are multiple side-quests.
All too often these go unreported—perhaps because the adventurers in question fail to return to the main narrative due to death or other distractions, and sometimes because the chronicler of the events decide to edit out that part of that particular history for reasons of their own (historians are never infallible)—but occasionally we get another window into our heroes’ world. In “Juice Like Wounds” we once again get to meet Lundy, and some of her companions. Lundy’s main adventure is detailed in In an Absent Dream (which is nominated for a Hugo Award, this year!) and you should definitely read that. Before or after this tale is up to you.
Remember: side quests are fun.
For the reader, at least…
“Everything’s Fine” by Matthew Pridham
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Edited by Ann VanderMeer
Illustrated by Samuel Araya
Published on July 15th, 2020
“Flight” by Claire Wrenwood
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Edited by Ann VanderMeer
Illustrated by Reiko Murakami
Published on August 19th, 2020
Content warning for fictional depictions of sexual violence.
“For Every Jack” by R. K. Duncan
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Edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden and Teresa Nielsen Hayden
Illustrated by John Anthony Di Giovanni
Published on August 26th, 2020
“Wait for Night” by Stephen Graham Jones
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Edited by Ellen Datlow
Illustrated by Rebekka Dunlap
Published on September 2nd, 2020
“Hearts in the Hard Ground” by G. V. Anderson
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Edited by Emily Goldman
Illustrated by Audrey Benjaminsen
Published on September 9th, 2020
“Solution” by Brian Evenson
Edited by Ann VanderMeer
Illustrated by Jeffrey Alan Love
Published on September 16th, 2020
“The Ashes of Around Twenty-Three Strangers” by Jeremy Packert Burke
Edited by Ann VanderMeer
Illustrated by Sara Wong
Published on September 30th, 2020
“Placed into Abyss (Mise en Abyse)” by Rachel Swirsky
Edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Illustrated by Keith Negley
Published on October 14th, 2020
Content warning for fictional depictions of verbal, physical, and sexual child abuse.
“Judge Dee and the Limits of the Law” by Lavie Tidhar
Edited by Jonathan Strahan
Illustrated by Red Nose Studio
Published on November 11th, 2020
No vampire is ever innocent…
The wandering Judge Dee serves as judge, jury, and executioner for any vampire who breaks the laws designed to safeguard their kind’s survival. This new case in particular puts his mandate to the test.
“No Period” by Harry Turtledove
Edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Illustrated by Scott Bakal
Published on November 30th, 2020
A man sets out to tell a story of his ex, which in turns becomes a story of the world. If only he could change that story—find the moment where it all began and change the past. But what if he can’t find the beginning—or even the end?
Novelettes
“Always Something New” by Harry Turtledove
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Illustrated by Red Nose Studio
Published on January 8th, 2020
“Tie A Yellow Ribbon” by Harry Turtledove
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Illustrated by Red Nose Studio
Published on January 8th, 2020
A brand-new story from the legendary Harry Turtledove about Governor Bill Williamson, a yeti with a plan.
“How Quini the Squid Misplaced His Klobučar” by Rich Larson
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Edited by Ellen Datlow
Illustrated by John Anthony Di Giovanni
Published on January 15th, 2020
“If You Take My Meaning” by Charlie Jane Anders
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Edited by Miriam Weinberg
Illustrated by Robert Hunt
Published on February 11th, 2020
“The Night Sun” by Zin E. Rocklyn
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Edited by Diana Pho
Illustrated by Xia Gordon
Published on March 11th, 2020
Content warning for fictional depictions of intimate partner violence, including physical assault.
“The Visitor: Kill or Cure” by Mark Lawrence
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Edited by George R. R. Martin
Illustrated by John Picacio
Published on March 18th, 2020
“Go Fish” by Ian Rogers
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Edited by Ellen Datlow
Illustrated by Goñi Montes
Published on April 15th, 2020
“Of Roses and Kings” by Melissa Marr
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Edited by Ellen Datlow
Illustrated by Ashley Mackenzie
Published on April 27th, 2020
“Berlin Is Never Berlin” by Marko Kloos
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Edited by George R. R. Martin
Illustrated by Micah Epstein
Published on May 6th, 2020
For over 25 years, the Wild Cards universe has been entertaining readers with stories of superpowered people in an alternate history.
“Berlin Is Never Berlin” by Marko Kloos draws upon the seedier side of the city, beyond the dance club lights and all-night parties, as one bodyguard with a certain feline distinction goes on the prowl….Khan only had one job: chauffeur and guard an American wealthy socialite and her friends. When his client Natalie Scuderi gets nabbed by the Georgian mafia, this joker-ace has no choice but to go underground and rescue her. “Losing the man’s daughter on the job would be a fatal black mark on his professional resume. Khan had never lost a client, and he wasn’t about to start a habit.
“Two Truths and a Lie” by Sarah Pinsker
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Edited by Ellen Datlow
Illustrated by Chris Buzelli
Published on June 17th, 2020
“The Ones Who Look” by Katharine Duckett
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Edited by Carl Engle-Laird
Illustrated by Esther Goh
Published on July 1st, 2020
“The Necessary Arthur” by Garth Nix
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Edited by Jonathan Strahan
Illustrated by Dion MBD
Published on July 8th, 2020
“Yellow and the Perception of Reality” by Maureen McHugh
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Edited by Ellen Datlow
Illustrated by Mary Haasdyk
Published on July 22nd, 2020
“The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex” by Tamsyn Muir
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Edited by Carl Engle-Laird
Illustrated by Gregory Manchess
Published on July 29th, 2020
Each of the Empire’s houses houses keeps secrets, even from themselves. For the bookish academics of the Sixth, every secret is a mystery, and every mystery is a puzzle to be solved or a paper to be published. Deep in the bowels of their house, one such secret is about to reveal itself. The study of the famed academic Donald Sex, sealed since the moment of his death, is about to open, and archivists are ready to dissect what he left behind. They are not ready for the macabre surprise that awaits. them.
Enter Palamedes Sextus and Camilla Hect, age thirteen.
“Exile’s End” by Carolyn Ives Gilman
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Edited by Jennifer Gunnels
Illustrated by Mary Haasdyk
Published on August 12th, 2020
“Exile’s End” is a complex, sometimes uncomfortable examination of artifact repatriation and cultural appropriation. An artifact of indescribable and irreplaceable beauty created by an “extinct” culture has been the basis of another culture’s origin stories. The race who created the artifact has survived on a distant world and has sent a representative to reclaim it, throwing everything into question.
Inspired by the SF camp in Danzhai, China, which is co-hosted by the Future Administration Authority (FAA) and Wanda Group.
“The Perfection of Theresa Watkins” by Justin C. Key
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Edited by Diana Pho
Illustrated by Eli Minaya
Published on September 23rd, 2020
“City of Red Midnight: A Hikayat” by Usman T. Malik
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Edited by Ellen Datlow
Illustrated by Scott Bakal
Published on October 21st, 2020
“The Little Witch” by M. Rickert
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Edited by Ellen Datlow
Illustrated by Jon Foster
Published on October 28th, 2020
“On Safari in R’lyeh and Carcosa with Gun and Camera” by Elizabeth Bear
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Edited by Ellen Datlow
Illustrated by Eric Nyquist
Published on November 18th, 2020
An academic’s whimsical decision to take a DNA test leads her into uncharted territory, where she discovers some extraordinary truths about herself and new possibilities for her future.
“Hammer and Tongs and a Rusty Nail” by Ian Tregillis
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Edited by George R. R. Martin
Illustrated by Micah Epstein
Published on December 2nd, 2020
For over 25 years, the Wild Cards universe has been entertaining readers with stories of superpowered people in an alternate history.
When a mysterious stranger approaches Wally Gunderson, a.k.a Rustbelt, about running for Jokertown City Council, he doesn’t think twice about it. His first move? Hiring an unlikely campaign manager – Mordecai Albert Jones, the Harlem Hammer. Together they’ll discover the ins and outs of local politics, and whether conspiracy theorist Sparkjob is actually crazy… or just on to something?
