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If You Take My Meaning

Charlie Jane Anders

First published February 2020
Type Short Fiction
Length Novelette

Synopsis

As an ex-smuggler and two-time reluctant revolutionary, Alyssa is used to staring into the razor-sharp jaws of death. But now she's embarking on the most terrifying adventure of her life—journeying into the darkness to become a new type of being, one who can help humanity to survive. And deep at the heart of the city in the middle of the night, the price of transformation could be higher, and more terrible, than Alyssa ever expected.

Notes

8,540 words

External Links

Awards

YearAwardCategoryStatus
2021 Hugo Award Best Novelette Nominee/Finalist
2021 Locus Poll Award Best Novelette Nominee/Finalist
2021 Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award Best Short Science Fiction Nominee/Finalist

Publications (16)

Date Publication Publisher Type Page
February 2020 Tor.com, February 11 2020 Tor.com MAGAZINE |1
February 2020 If You Take My Meaning Tor Chapbook
January 2021 Some of the Best from Tor.com: 2020 Edition Tor.com Anthology |8
August 2021 We're Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2020 Neon Hemlock Press Anthology 73
August 2021 We're Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2020 Neon Hemlock Press Anthology |5
September 2021 The Year's Best Science Fiction: Volume 2 Saga Press Anthology 465
September 2021 The Year's Best Science Fiction: Volume 2 Saga Press Anthology |465
November 2021 Even Greater Mistakes Titan Books Collection |4
November 2021 Even Greater Mistakes Titan Books Collection |4
November 2021 Even Greater Mistakes Tor Collection 28
November 2021 Even Greater Mistakes Tor Collection |28
November 2021 Even Greater Mistakes Recorded Books Collection
June 2022 The Long List Anthology: Volume 7 Diabolical Plots Anthology 279
July 2022 The Long List Anthology: Volume 7 Diabolical Plots Anthology 279
November 2022 Even Greater Mistakes Tor Collection 28
July 2025 We're Here: 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 Neon Hemlock Press Omnibus |1.08