Annotated 2024 Locus Reading List for Short Fiction

Update 8/16/25: Tagged 3 🏆Hugo Award (short fiction) winners (click link to highlight).
Update 7/7/25: Tagged 7 of 10 🏆World Fantasy Award finalists for short fiction (click link to highlight).
Update 6/24/25: Tagged 3 of 9 🏆British Fantasy Award finalists for short fiction (click link to highlight).
Update 6/23/25: Tagged 5 🏆Eugie Award finalists (click link to highlight).
Update 6/21/25: Tagged 3 🏆Locus Award (short fiction) winners (click link to highlight).
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Update 6/9/25: Tagged 2 of 16 🏆Shirley Jackson Award (short fiction) finalists (click link to highlight).
Update 6/7/25: Tagged 3 🏆Nebula Award (short fiction) winners (click link to highlight).
Update 5/21/25: Tagged 10 🏆Sturgeon Award finalists (click link to highlight).
Update 5/15/25: Tagged 20 TOC and 60 notable stories from 📙John Joseph Adam's Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy anthology (click link to highlight).
Update 5/6/25: Tagged 1 of 9 🏆Otherwise Award finalists and winners (click link to highlight).
Update 5/2/25: Tagged 30 🏆Locus Award (short fiction) finalists (click link to highlight).
Update 4/21/25: Tagged 1 of 2 🏆BSFA Award (short fiction) winners (click link to highlight).
Update 4/9/25: Tagged 2 of 23 stories from 📙Ellen Datlow's year's best horror anthology (click link to highlight).
Update 4/6/25: Tagged 18 🏆Hugo Award (short fiction) finalists (click link to highlight).
Update 3/29/25: Tagged 15 🏆Asimov's Readers' Award finalists (click link to highlight).
Update 3/29/25: Tagged 14 🏆Analog Readers' Award finalists (click link to highlight).
Update 3/18/25: Tagged 2 of 8 🏆BSFA Award (short fiction) finalists (click link to highlight).
Update 3/12/25: Tagged 19 🏆Nebula Award (short fiction) finalists (click link to highlight).
Update 3/1/25: Tagged 2 🏆Clarkesworld Reader's Poll winners (click link to highlight).
Update 2/24/25: Tagged 5 🏆Uncanny Reader's Poll winners and finalists (click link to highlight).
Update 2/23/25: Tagged 1 of 10 🏆Bram Stoker Award (short fiction) finalists (click link to highlight).
Update 2/17/25: Tagged 2 🏆Apex Reader's Choice winners (click link to highlight).
Update 2/1/25: Tagged 12 🏆Clarkesworld Reader's Poll finalists (click link to highlight).

Here is the annotated 2024 Locus Recommended Reading List for short fiction, merged with RSR's 2024 Best SF/F list (aka our aggregated list of "outstanding" stories from 2024 that score 2 or more based on 👍reviewers, 🏆awards, and year's best 📙anthologies). All the stories are grouped by length and score, with stories from the Locus list highlighted in red.

The merge lets us analyze the Locus list to see which stories that were broadly recognized as outstanding were left out, which publications stood out, which authors did particularly well (or not), how many were eligible for the Astounding Award, and how RSR's own recommendations stack up with Locus reviewers in general.

As with every RSR annotated list, there are links galore to the stories, their authors, the magazines, any award nominations/wins or "year's best" anthology inclusions, and search-links to find other reviews.

Anyone can vote for the Locus Awards at this link. Due date is Thursday April 15, 2025.

If you want to skip the analysis and just start reading, click here (free stories highlighted).