"Jackalope Wives" is a 2014 fantasy short story by Ursula Vernon, combining the legends of the swan maiden and the jackalope. It was first published in Apex Magazine and has been reprinted in the collection Jackalope Wives and Other Stories. One of the characters, Grandma Harken, is the protagonist of another award-winning story by Vernon, "The Tomato Thief."
Synopsis
When a young man accidentally mutilates a jackalope wife, his Grandma Harken takes charge of her.
Reception
"Jackalope Wives" won the 2014 Nebula Award for Best Short Story, and the 2015 WSFA Small Press Award, and was nominated for the 2015 World Fantasy Award—Short Fiction. As well, an analysis at Io9 indicated that, if not for the Sad Puppies ballot-manipulation campaign, "Jackalope Wives" would have been a finalist for the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Short Story.
Tor.com called it "soulful" and "extraordinary", praising Grandma Harken as a "captivating protagonist". At Locus, Lois Tilton commended Vernon's "(f)ine prose imagery and dialogue, strong characters, (and) neat invented folklore". Strange Horizons noted that, by basing the story on "a piece of inauthentic kitsch", Vernon avoided issues of cultural appropriation.
References
- “Jackalope Wives”, at Science Fiction Writers of America; retrieved May 16, 2018
- WSFA Small Press Award Winner, at Locus Online; published October 2, 2015; retrieved May 16, 2018
- 2015 World Fantasy Convention, at WorldFantasy.org; retrieved May 16, 2018
- This Is What The 2015 Hugo Ballot Should Have Been Archived 2018-08-01 at the Wayback Machine, by Andrew Liptak, at Io9; published August 23, 2015; retrieved May 16, 2018
- Short Fiction Spotlight: The Second Life of the Jackalope Wife, by Niall Alexander, at Tor.com; published February 11, 2014; retrieved May 16, 2018
- Lois Tilton reviews Short Fiction, early January , by Lois Tilton, at Locus; published January 10, 2014; retrieved May 16, 2018
- The New Voices of Fantasy edited by Peter S. Beagle and Jacob Weisman, reviewed by Matt Hilliard, in Strange Horizons; published March 19, 2018; retrieved May 16, 2018
External links
- Text of the story
- Audio version of the story, read by Levar Burton
- Jackalope Wives at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
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