The novella has been considered the bastard stepchild of the publishing world for decades, but it’s finally getting its place in the sun again. Thank God, because the modern world is just two damned busy for novels these days.
To be clear, the novella has always been around. A great many classics are novellas, including Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, and Joseph Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness were all published as novellas.
The practice fell out of favor in the latter half of the Twentieth Century. A few publishers like Hutchinson in the United Kingdom published novellas by popular authors like Brian Aldiss, Ruth Rendell, and J.G. Ballard, but they were never as big as novels. When novellas were hits, they were usually in collection by Stephen King.
That all started to change with Tor.com in 2016. They launched a dedicated novella publishing program that did the impossible and put novellas back on store shelves. Martha Wells’s hit series The Murderbot Diaries reinvigorated the medium. One of the best horror books of 2021, Cassandra Khaw’s Nothing But Blackened Teeth, was a Tor.com release.
“Unlike novels, novellas can usually be read in one sitting, yet are meatier than a short story,” says Ellen Datlow, who acquires novellas for Tor.com.
A standout horror story from 2023 is Bone Light by Houston’s own Holly Lyn Walrath. It’s a short tale told in the form of a logbook about two women who fall in love while tending a lighthouse full of ghosts. The fact that the building is literally made partially with the bones of people who have died on the island is a fantastically macabre twist. It’s a short, gloomy work that wonderfully fills an afternoon.
“I think there are some stories that just seem to live better in a shorter format,” says Walrath. “[Bone Light] is told in a weird structure that just won’t hold up for a whole novel. There is more room to play with more experiment structures, things that I wouldn’t be able to pull off in a novel.”
Bone Light is published by Tenebrous, one of many indie outfits that have started specializing in the novella format. Neon Hemlock and Walrath’s own Interstellar Flight are a couple of other publishers that have found success on the shorter side.
“People love them when we sell at events,” says Walrath. “They are just really into novella-length these days.”
Part of the reason for the novella’s rise to modern prominence is the effect of the modern world on our attention spans. Experts say that the average attention span has dwindled significantly since 2002, and the constant demands of our various notifications is largely to blame. It’s common to hear people say they can no longer focus on an entire novel.
The novella allows greater experimentation and shorter narratives that are perfect for the busy modern world. It’s gotten to the point that major publishers and booksellers are actually bragging about short lengths of releases. While it’s probably not good that modernity is eating our ability to focus, at least it’s brought an entire style of writing back to life.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
