"Out of All Them Bright Stars" is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

short story by

Nancy Kress Nancy Anne Kress (born January 20, 1948) is an American science fiction writer. She began writing in 1976 but has achieved her greatest notice since the publication of her Hugo- and Nebula-winning 1991 novella ''Beggars in Spain'', which became a ...

. It was first published in ''

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

'', in 1985.

Synopsis

Sally Gourley is a waitress at a diner who watches as an alien tries to order a meal, only to have events spin out of control.

Reception

"Out of All Them Bright Stars" won the 1986

Nebula Award for Best Short Story The Nebula Award for Best Short Story is a literary award assigned each year by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy short stories. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a short stor ...

.Out of All Them Bright Stars
at ''

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

''; retrieved June 4, 2019 Kress has observed that Gourley is "powerless because of her class, not her gender."Interview: Nancy Kress
by the ''

Geek's Guide to the Galaxy ''Geek's Guide to the Galaxy'' is a science fiction book podcast. History The show is produced for Wired.com and hosted by author David Barr Kirtley. It was created by Kirtley and John Joseph Adams, who served as co-host for the first hundre ...

'', in '' Lightspeed''; published December 2016 (issue 79); retrieved June 4, 2019

References

External links

Nebula Award for Best Short Story-winning works Works originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction {{1980s-sf-novel-stub