← Back

Seventy-Two Letters

Ted Chiang

First published June 2000
Type Short Fiction
Length Novella

Synopsis

In a parallel universe where applied technology creates specialized golems for various tasks, animated by associating them with their True Names, a talented researcher into discovering these names is asked to help dispel the imminent extinction of humanity.

Notes

First published in Vanishing Acts, ed. Ellen Datlow, Tor, 2000.

Awards

YearAwardCategoryStatus
2000 Sidewise Awards for Alternate History Best Short Form Alternate History Winner
2001 Hugo Award Best Novella Nominee/Finalist
2001 Locus Poll Award Best Novella Nominee/Finalist
2001 Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award Best Short Science Fiction Nominee/Finalist
2001 World Fantasy Award Best Novella Nominee/Finalist
2012 Locus Online 20th Century Novella Nominee/Finalist

Publications (27)

Date Publication Publisher Type Page
June 2000 Vanishing Acts Tor Anthology 321
June 2001 Year's Best SF 6 Eos / HarperCollins Anthology 445
July 2001 Vanishing Acts Tor Anthology 321
July 2001 Year's Best SF 6 Eos / HarperCollins / SFBC Anthology 445
July 2002 Stories of Your Life and Others Tor Collection 179
August 2002 Stories of Your Life and Others St. Martin's Press Collection
July 2003 Stories of Your Life and Others Orb Collection 179
February 2004 Stories of Your Life and Others Tor / Pan Macmillan UK Collection
January 2005 Stories of Your Life and Others Tor / Pan Macmillan UK Collection
May 2008 Steampunk Tachyon Publications Anthology 165
October 2009 Year's Best SF 6 HarperCollins e-books Anthology
October 2010 Stories of Your Life and Others Small Beer Press Collection 147
October 2010 Stories of Your Life and Others Small Beer Press Collection
February 2014 Stories of Your Life and Others Tantor Audio Collection |179
May 2015 Stories of Your Life and Others Picador Collection 173
June 2016 Stories of Your Life and Others Vintage Books Collection 147
June 2016 Stories of Your Life and Others Vintage Books Collection 147
November 2016 Arrival Vintage Books Collection
November 2016 Arrival Picador Collection 173
November 2016 Arrival Picador Collection 173
November 2016 Arrival Picador Collection |50
April 2018 Stories of Your Life and Others Subterranean Press Collection 189
June 2020 Stories of Your Life and Others Picador Collection 173
September 2020 Edited by Subterranean Press Anthology 557
September 2020 Edited by Subterranean Press Anthology 557
January 2023 Vanishing Acts Open Road Integrated Media Anthology |321
March 2024 Stories of Your Life and Others Picador Collection