'' Starlight '' 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 unive ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

series edited by

Patrick Nielsen Hayden Patrick James Nielsen Hayden (born Patrick James Hayden January 2, 1959), is an American science fiction editor, fan, fanzine publisher, essayist, reviewer, anthologist, teacher and blogger. He is a World Fantasy Award and Hugo Award winner ...

and published by

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese scien ...

Volumes

* ''Starlight 1'' (Tor, 1996) * ''Starlight 2'' (Tor, 1998) * ''Starlight 3'' (Tor, 2001)

''Starlight 1''

Volume 1, published in 1996. Contents: * "Introduction (''Starlight 1'')", essay by Patrick Nielsen Hayden * " The Dead", short story by

Michael Swanwick Michael Swanwick (born 18 November 1950) is an American fantasy and science fiction author who began publishing in the early 1980s. Writing career Swanwick's fiction writing began with short stories, starting in 1980 when he published "Ginungagap ...

* "Liza and the Crazy Water Man", novelette by Andy Duncan * "Sister Emily's Lightship", short story by

Jane Yolen Jane Hyatt Yolen (born February 11, 1939) is an American writer of fantasy, science fiction, and children's books. She is the author or editor of more than 350 books, of which the best known is '' The Devil's Arithmetic'', a Holocaust novella. H ...

* "The Weighing of Ayre", novelette by

Gregory Feeley Gregory Patrick Feeley is an American teacher, critic, essayist and author of speculative fiction, active in the field since 1972. He writes as Gregory Feeley, with some of his early works appearing under the name Greg Feeley. Biography Feeley res ...

* "Killing the Morrow", short story by

Robert Reed Robert Reed (born John Robert Rietz Jr.; October 19, 1932 – May 12, 1992) was an American actor. He played Kenneth Preston on the legal drama '' The Defenders'' from 1961 to 1965 alongside E. G. Marshall, and is best known for his role as the ...

* " The Ladies of Grace Adieu", novelette by

Susanna Clarke Susanna Mary Clarke (born 1 November 1959) is an English author known for her debut novel ''Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell'' (2004), a Hugo Award-winning alternative history. Clarke began ''Jonathan Strange'' in 1993 and worked on it during her ...

* "GI Jesus", short story by

Susan Palwick Susan Palwick (born 1960 in New York City) is an American writer and associate professor emerita of English at the University of Nevada, Reno. She began her professional career by publishing "The Woman Who Saved the World" for ''Isaac Asimov's Sc ...

* "Waking Beauty", short story by

Martha Soukup Martha Soukup (born 20 July 1959 in Aurora, Illinois) is a science fiction author and playwright for thMonday Night PlayGroundemerging playwrights group. In 2003, she won their annuaJune Anne Baker Prizecommission. The 1994 short film Override, ...

* "Mengele's Jew", short story by

Carter Scholz Carter Scholz (né Robert Carter Scholz; born 1953) is an American speculative fiction author and composer of music. He lives in California. Biography Scholz grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey and graduated from Tenafly High School in 1971. He also ...

* "Erase/Record/Play: A Drama for Print", novelette by

John M. Ford John Milo "Mike" Ford (April 10, 1957 – September 25, 2006) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer, game designer, and poet. A contributor to several online discussions, Ford composed poems, often improvised, in both complicated ...

* "I Remember Angels", short story by Mark Kreighbaum * "The Cost to Be Wise", novelette by

Maureen F. McHugh Maureen F. McHugh (born February 13, 1959) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. Career McHugh's first published story was published as a ''Twilight Zone'' under a male pseudonym in 1988. It was followed by a pair of publication ...

* "About the Authors", uncredited essay

''Starlight 2''

Volume 2, published in 1998. Contents: * "Introduction", essay by Patrick Nielsen Hayden * "Divided by Infinity", novelette by

Robert Charles Wilson Robert Charles Wilson (born December 15, 1953 ) is an American-Canadian science fiction author. Career Wilson was born in the United States in California, but grew up near Toronto, Ontario. Apart from another short period in the early 1970s ...

* "Mrs Mabb", novelette by

* "Lock Down", short story by M. Shayne Bell * " Congenital Agenesis of Gender Ideation", short story by

Raphael Carter Raphael Carter is an American science fiction author who moved from Phoenix, Arizona, to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1995. Work Carter's first novel is the postcyberpunk '' The Fortunate Fall'' (1996). Acclaimed as "a superb example of speculative ...

* "The House of Expectations", short fiction by

* "A Game of Consequences", short story by

David Langford David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'', and holds the all-time record for most ...

* "The Amount to Carry", novelette by

* "The Death of the Duke", short story by

Ellen Kushner Ellen Kushner (born October 6, 1955) is an American writer of fantasy novels. From 1996 until 2010, she was the host of the radio program '' Sound & Spirit'', produced by WGBH in Boston and distributed by Public Radio International. Backgroun ...

* "Brown Dust", short fiction by

Esther M. Friesner Esther Mona Friesner-Stutzman, née Friesner (born July 16, 1951) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. She is also a poet and playwright. She is best known for her humorous style of writing, both in the titles and the works themsel ...

* "Access Fantasy", short story by

Jonathan Lethem Jonathan Allen Lethem (; born February 19, 1964) is an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. His first novel, ''Gun, with Occasional Music'', a genre work that mixed elements of science fiction and detective fiction, was publishe ...

* "The End of a Dynasty", novelette by

Angélica Gorodischer Angélica Gorodischer (28 July 1928 – 5 February 2022) was an Argentine writer who was known for her short stories, which belong to a wide variety of genres, including science-fiction, fantasy, crime and stories with a feminist perspective. ...

* "Snow", short story by Geoffrey A. Landis * "

Story of Your Life "Story of Your Life" is a science fiction novella by American writer Ted Chiang, first published in '' Starlight 2'' in 1998, and in 2002 in Chiang's collection of short stories, ''Stories of Your Life and Others''. Its major themes are languag ...

", novella by

Ted Chiang Ted Chiang (born 1967) is an American science fiction writer. His work has won four Nebula awards, four Hugo awards, the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and six Locus awards. His short story "Story of Your Life" was the basis of the ...

* "About the Authors" essay by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

''Starlight 3''

Volume 3, published in 2001. Contents: * "Introduction", essay by Patrick Nielsen Hayden * "

Hell Is the Absence of God "Hell Is the Absence of God" is a 2001 fantasy novelette by American writer Ted Chiang, first published in , and subsequently reprinted in ''Year's Best Fantasy 2'', and in ''Fantasy: The Best of 2001'', as well as in Chiang's 2002 anthology, ' ...

", novelette by

* "Sun-Cloud", short story by Stephen Baxter * "Interview: On Any Given Day", short story by

* "Wings", short story by

Colin Greenland Colin Greenland (born 17 May 1954 in Dover, Kent, England) is a British science fiction writer, whose first story won the second prize in a 1982 Faber & Faber competition. His best-known novel is ''Take Back Plenty'' (1990), winner of both majo ...

* "Gestella", novelette by

* "The Barbarian and the Queen: Thirteen Views", short story by

* "Wolves Till the World Goes Down", short story by

Greg van Eekhout Greg van Eekhout is a science fiction and fantasy writer. His "In the Late December" (2003) was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Short Story, and his middle-grade fantasy novel ''The Boy at the End of the World'' was nominated for the 2012 ...

* "The Secret Egg of the Clouds", short story by Geoffrey A. Landis * "Home Is the Sailor", short story by Brenda W. Clough * "Tom Brightwind, or, How the Fairy Bridge Was Built at Thoresby", novelette by

* "La Vie en Ronde", short story by Madeleine E. Robins * "In Which Avu Giddy Tries to Stop Dancing", short story by

D. G. Compton David Guy Compton (born August 19, 1930) is a British author who writes science fiction under the name D. G. Compton. He used the name Guy Compton for his earlier crime novels and the pseudonym Frances Lynch for his Gothic novels. He has also writ ...

* "Power Punctuation!", novelette by

Cory Doctorow Cory Efram Doctorow (; born July 17, 1971) is a Canadian-British blogger, journalist, and science fiction author who served as co-editor of the blog ''Boing Boing''. He is an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of ...

* "The Sea Wind Offers Little Relief", novelette by Alex Irvine * "Senator Bilbo", short story by Andy Duncan * "The Old Rugged Cross", novelette by

Terry Bisson Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence or Terrier (masculine). People Male * Terry Albritton (1955–2005), Am ...

* "About the Authors", essay by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

Awards

''Starlight 1'' won the

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy literature, fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year a ...

for best anthology in 1997. ''Starlight 2'' was nominated for the World Fantasy Award for best anthology in 1999. "The Death of the Duke" by

, first published in ''Starlight 2'', was nominated for the World Fantasy Award for best short fiction that year also.

References

World Fantasy Awards List
{{Sf-book-stub Science fiction anthology series Fantasy anthology series Tor Books books