Magic for Beginners (short story collection)

Magic for Beginners is a collection of nine works of fantasy and light horror short fiction by American writer Kelly Link, released by Small Beer Press in 2005. The stories were all previously published in other venues from 2002 to 2005.

Magic for Beginners

Author	Kelly Link
Language	English
Genre	Fantasy, Horror
Publisher	Small Beer Press
Publication date	July 1, 2005
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print
Pages	297
ISBN	978-1931520157

The book won the 2006 Locus Award for best short story collection.^[1]

The title story, "Magic for Beginners", won the 2006 Nebula Award for Best Novella^[2] and 2006 Locus Award for Best Novella,^[1] and the 2006 BSFA Award for best short fiction.^[3] Another story in the book, "The Faery Handbag", won the 2005 Hugo Award for Best Novelette,^[4] the 2006 Nebula Award for Best Novelette,^[2] and the 2005 Locus Award for Best Novelette.^[5]

Stories

• "The Faery Handbag"
• "The Hortlak"
• "The Cannon"
• "Stone Animals"
• "Catskin"
• "Some Zombie Contingency Plans"
• "The Great Divorce"
• "Magic for Beginners"
• "Lull"

Reception

According to Book Marks, the book received a "positive" consensus, based on four critic reviews: one "rave", two "positive", and one "mixed".^[6] On November/December 2005 issue of Bookmarks, the book was scored three and a half out of five stars. The magazine's critical summary reads: "Link’s collection may defy simple interpretation, but it also challenges readers to decipher for themselves what is real . . . and what is not".^[7]