A type of Prose Fiction which is essentially a short novel which is longer than the novelette. Described by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America as any work between 17,500 and 40,000 words in length. Depending on the definition, they can also be described as a Short Story.
Novellas are relatively uncommon in modern English language publishing due to there being little market for them; they are too short to justify charging the price of a novel-sized book and also too long to fit comfortably in a modern literary magazine. However, there are notable exceptions. Novellas were popular in digest-sized magazines since they could be marketed as "containing a complete novel". E-publishing has also meant a resurgence of the format.
Quite a few video games in the 1980s came with novellas, which acted to provide Backstory that wasn't possible to squeeze into the games themselves.
Novellas tend to have simpler plots than novels, but these plots necessitate more complexity than in a novelette due to the added length.
Compare: Novel, Novelette, Short Story, Light Novels.
Examples:
- Alpha's Tale, a tie-in to Survivor Dogs by Erin Hunter
- The Ambassadors Voice by Xeomun Dholaka
- "And Us, Too, I Guess", by George Alec Effiger (1973)
- Animal Farm by George Orwell
- Anthem by Ayn Rand
- At the Mountains of Madness, by H. P. Lovecraft
- The Ballad of Black Tom, by Victor LaValle
- The Basement by Stephen Leather
- The Boy with Blue Eyes, by Travis Lee
- The Bridge of San Luis Rey, by Thornton Wilder
- "By His Bootstraps", by Robert A. Heinlein
- Carmilla, by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
- "Chains Of The Sea", by Gardner Dozois (1973)
- The Children of Húrin, by J. R. R. Tolkien
- The Circus of Doctor Lao, by Charles G Finney
- "Common Sense", by Robert A. Heinlein
- Como agua para chocolate (Or, Like Water for Chocolate) by Laura Esquivel
- Coraline, by Neil Gaiman
- Daisy Miller, by Henry James
- Future History, by Aaron Wall
- "The Fifth Head Of Cerberus", by Gene Wolfe (1972)
- "The General (Foundation)", by Isaac Asimov
- "The Gold At The Starbows End", by Frederik Pohl (1972)
- The Great God Pan, by Arthur Machen
- Stephen King: Mr King's novellas have been published as stand-alone books as well as in Anthology collections:
- "The Last Hope", by Don Evans
- "The Lineman", by Walter M Miller Jr (1957)'
- MARiiMO, by Tyrel Pinnegar
- The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka
- The Monster Of Elendhaven, by Jennifer Giesbrecht
- "The Mule", by Isaac Asimov
- Nightshade Trilogy, by Andrea Cremer, includes a few Novellas:
- Aftermath
- Treachery
- Shadow Days
- Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
- The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway
- "The Originist", by Orson Scott Card
- Chapter 22 of The Pale King
- Pharmakembru series, by Monos D.O.A
- "Profession", by Isaac Asimov
- "The Push Of A Finger", by Alfred Bester
- "Search by the Foundation", by Isaac Asimov
- "Search by the Mule", by Isaac Asimov
- Sherlock Holmes had four associated novellas:
- "The Shrine Of Sebastian", by Gordon Eklund (1973)
- Sula, by Toni Morrison
- "The Tentacles From Below", by Anthony Gilmore (Pen Name for Harry Bates and DW Hall)
- This Other World, by AC Buchanan
- To Be Taught If Fortunate, by Becky Chambers
- True Names, by Vernor Vinge
- "Two Dooms", by CM Kornbluth (1958)
- Unstrung, a tie-in to the Unwind trilogy, by Neal Shusterman
- Viy, by Nikolai Gogol
- A. E. van Vogt's
- Warrior Cats tie-in novellas by Erin Hunter:
- Hollyleaf's Story
- Mistystar's Omen
- Cloudstar's Journey
- Tigerclaw's Fury
- Leafpool's Wish
- Dovewing's Silence
- Mapleshade's Vengeance
- Goosefeather's Curse
- Ravenpaw's Farewell
- Pinestar's Choice
- Spottedleaf's Heart
- Thunder's Echo
- "The Way To Amalteia", by Boris Strugatsky and Arkady Strugatsky (1960)
- Who Goes There?
- Wildflower Ranch
