Connie Willis

Few authors have had careers as successful as that of Connie Willis. Inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame and recently awarded the title of Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Willis is still going strong. Her smart, heartfelt fiction runs the gamut from screwball comedy to profound tragedy, combining dazzling plot twists, cutting-edge science, and unforgettable characters. From a near future mourning the extinction of dogs to an alternate history in which invading aliens were defeated by none other than Emily Dickinson; from a madcap convention of bumbling quantum physicists in Hollywood to a London whose Underground has become a storehouse of intangible memories both foul and fair--here are the greatest stories of one of the greatest writers working in any genre today. All ten of the stories gathered here are Hugo or Nebula award winners--some even have the distinction of winning both. With a new Introduction by the author and personal afterwords to each story--plus a special look at three of Willis's unique public speeches--this is unquestionably the collection of the season, a book that every Connie Willis fan will treasure, and, to those unfamiliar with her work, the perfect introduction to one of the most accomplished and best-loved writers of our time. Praise for The Best of Connie Willis "Filled with warmth and sadness, great drama, witty dialogue, characters you will care about and moments that you will remember for a long time."--SFF World "If anyone can be named 'best science fiction writer of the age, ' it's Connie Willis, and these stories are the best of her best. Truly."--Analog "Ranging from the hilarious to the profound, these stories show the full range of Connie] Willis's talent for taut, dazzling plots, real science, memorable characters, penetrating dialogue and blistering drama."--Kirkus Reviews "Thank goodness for] Connie Willis, who says many things that desperately need saying in more than one delightful way."--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "The Best of Connie Willis? Isn't that like sorting through diamonds?"--Lytherus

Connie Willis is one of science fiction's most decorated authors, with a staggering eleven HUGOs and seven NEBULA AWARDs to her name. She is best known for her sequence of time-travel stories including SF Masterworks DOOMSDAY BOOK and TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG and the HUGO AWARD-winning diptych BLACKOUT and ALL CLEAR. This omnibus collects her solo debut, LINCOLN'S DREAMS, which won the JOHN W. CAMPBELL MEMORIAL AWARD and PASSAGE, shortlisted for the HUGO, NEBULA JOHN W. CAMPBELL and ARTHUR C. CLARKE AWARDs.

The fascination with time travel and its consistent popularity within the science fiction genre is deeply rooted in science fiction writers’ and readers’ passion for history and, by extension, for libraries and other kinds of archives. However, time travel, archives, and history intersect in the public imagination in ways that don’t always match up with the reality of archival work. This book engages archivists and devotees of science fiction alike by exploring common tropes within the genre—and common assumptions in the archival profession—and providing context. Presenting a book that can serve as a teaching text, readers’ advisory guide, and thought-provoking page turner, the authors explore dozens of novels, short stories, movies, and TV series (particularly Doctor Who), spotlighting different science fictional approaches to writing about time travel while pointing out how archives and archivists are represented in different time travel stories; examine how various cultures and societies view and understand time differently, using works such as Octavia Butler’s Kindred, Toshikazo Kawaguchi’s Before the Coffee Gets Cold, and Rivers Solomon’s An Unkindness of Ghosts to show how differences in temporal perception affect the presentation of time travel in their works; look at stereotypes, outdated views, and biases depicted within time travel depictions of archives, comparing these portrayals with real-world archives and historical records; discuss ways in which understanding time travel fiction can help archivists improve their relationships with the public and encourage more accurate fictional depictions of their work; and connect the concepts in their book to cultural heritage practices that encourage critical thinking about archivists' roles in documenting our times.

Francie is a reluctant Maid of Honor, for several reasons. The first is that her friend Serena has terrible taste in men. Previous fiancés have included a storm-chaser, a shaman and a kamikaze base-jumper. This is the closest a wedding has come to happening, and it's to a UFO-chaser. The second is that, as a result, the wedding is being held in New Mexico. In Roswell. During the UFO festival. After a series of travel disasters that end with her car sharing with another wedding guest - who also happens to be an FBI agent - a wedding due to take place in the UFO Museum, conducted by a high priest from the Church of Galactic Truth, and a frankly repellent bridesmaid dress, the alien abduction is actually a high point of Francie's day. Bundled by an alien into an SUV, which she is forced to drive, what follows is a chaotic road trip, picking up other waifs and strays, hotwiring an RV, and desperately trying to work out what their alien captor actually wants. This chaotic road trip of a story is delightful fun, perfect for fans of PAUL, GALAXY QUEST and THE ORVILLE. It's a stand-alone entry point into the world of multi-award-winner Connie Willis.

Francie is a reluctant Maid of Honor, for several reasons. The first is that her friend Serena has terrible taste in men. Previous fiancés have included a storm-chaser, a shaman and a kamikaze base-jumper. This is the closest a wedding has come to happening, and it's to a UFO-chaser. The second is that, as a result, the wedding is being held in New Mexico. In Roswell. During the UFO festival. After a series of travel disasters that end with her car sharing with another wedding guest - who also happens to be an FBI agent - a wedding due to take place in the UFO Museum, conducted by a high priest from the Church of Galactic Truth, and a frankly repellent bridesmaid dress, the alien abduction is actually a high point of Francie's day. Bundled by an alien into an SUV, which she is forced to drive, what follows is a chaotic road trip, picking up other waifs and strays, hotwiring an RV, and desperately trying to work out what their alien captor actually wants. This chaotic road trip of a story is delightful fun, perfect for fans of PAUL, GALAXY QUEST and THE ORVILLE. It's a stand-alone entry point into the world of multi-award-winner Connie Willis.

A delightful novel about alien invasions, conspiracies, and the incredibly silly things people are willing to believe--some of which may actually be true--from the Nebula and Hugo award-winning author of Blackout and All Clear "An absolute blast with abundant humor, copious references to old westerns, and . . . a delightful, intergalactic twist on the romantic comedy."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)A WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR - LOCUS AWARD FINALIST When level-headed Francie arrives in Roswell, New Mexico, for her college roommate's UFO-themed wedding--complete with a true-believer bridegroom--she can't help but roll her eyes at all the wide-eyed talk of aliens, which obviously don't exist. Imagine her surprise, then, when she is abducted by one. Odder still, her abductor is far from what the popular media have led her to expect, with a body like a tumbleweed and a mass of lightning-fast tentacles. Nor is Francie the only victim of the alien's abduction spree. Before long, he has acquired a charming con man named Wade, a sweet little old lady with a casino addiction, a retiree with a huge RV and a love for old Westerns, and a UFO-chasing nutjob who is thoroughly convinced the alien intends to probe them and/or take over the planet. But the more Francie gets to know the alien, the more convinced she becomes that he's not an invader. That he's in trouble and she has to help him. Only she doesn't know how--or even what the trouble is. Part alien-abduction adventure, part road trip saga, part romantic comedy, The Road to Roswell is packed full of Men in Black, Elvis impersonators, tourist traps, rattlesnakes, chemtrails, and Close Encounters of the Third, Fourth, and Fifth kind. Can Francie, stuck in a neon green bridesmaid's dress, save the world--and still make it back for the wedding?

"Willis effortlessly juggles comedy of manners, chaos theory and a wide range of literary allusions with a] near flawlessness of plot, character and prose."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) From Connie Willis, winner of multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards, comes a comedic romp through an unpredictable world of mystery, love, and time travel. Ned Henry is badly in need of a rest. He's been shuttling between the twenty-first century and the 1940s in search of a hideous Victorian vase called "the bishop's bird stump" as part of a project to restore the famed Coventry Cathedral, destroyed in a Nazi air raid. But then Verity Kindle, a fellow time traveler, inadvertently brings back something from the past. Now Ned must jump to the Victorian era to help Verity put things right--not only to save the project but also to prevent altering history itself.

Connie Willis draws upon her understanding of the universalities of human nature to explore the ageless issues of evil, suffering, and the indomitable will of the human spirit." A tour de force."--The New York Times Book Review For Kivrin, preparing to travel back in time to study one of the deadliest eras in humanity's history was as simple as receiving inoculations against the diseases of the fourteenth century and inventing an alibi for a woman traveling alone. For her instructors in the twenty-first century, it meant painstaking calculations and careful monitoring of the rendezvous location where Kivrin would be received. But a crisis strangely linking past and future strands Kivrin in a bygone age as her fellows try desperately to rescue her. In a time of superstition and fear, Kivrin--barely of age herself--finds she has become an unlikely angel of hope during one of history's darkest hours.

Ned Henry is a time-travelling historian who specialises in the mid-20th century - currently engaged in researching the bombed-out Coventry Cathedral. He's also made so many drops into the past that he's suffering from a dangerously advanced case of 'time-lag'. Unfortunately for Ned, an emergency dash to Victorian England is required and he's the only available historian. But Ned's time-lag is so bad that he's not sure what the errand is - which is bad news since, if he fails, history could unravel around him...

THREE CLASSIC SCI-FI NOVELLAS IN ONE VOLUME--from a Hugo and Nebula award-winning author In Terra Incognita, Connie Willisexplores themes of love and mortality whilebrilliantly illuminating the human condition through biting satire. Uncharted Territory Findriddy and Carson are explorers, dispatched to a distant planet to survey its canyons, ridges, and scrub-covered hills. Teamed with a profit-hungry indigenous guide of indeterminate gender and an enthusiastic newcomer whose specialty is mating customs, the group battles hostile terrain as they set out for unexplored regions. Along the way, they face dangers, discover treasures, and soon find themselves in an alien territory of another kind: exploring the paths and precipices of sex--and love. Remake In the Hollywood of the future, live-action movies are a thing of the past. Old films are computerized and ruthlessly dissected, actors digitally ripped from one film and thrust into another. Humphrey Bogart and Marilyn Monroe in A Star Is Born? No problem. Hate the ending? Change it with the stroke of a key. Technology makes anything possible. But a starry-eyed young woman wants only one thing: to dance on the big screen. With a little magic and a lot of luck, she just may get her happy ending. D. A. Theodora Baumgarten is baffled and furious: Why was she selected to be part of a highly competitive interstellar cadet program? After all, she never even applied. But that hasn't stopped the powers that be from whisking her onto a spaceship bound for the prestigious Academy. With her protests ignored, Theodora takes matters into her own hands, aided by her hacker best friend, to escape the Academy and return to Earth--only to uncover a conspiracy that runs deeper than she could have imagined. Praise for Terra Incognita "Willis's lively, funny forays into futuristic territory shine as brightly today as when originally released. . . . In all three stories, the protagonists find their narrow concepts of life challenged and expanded by possibilities created through technology. As a collection, these smart, accessible shorts make for an entertaining initiation or reintroduction into the world of one of sci-fi's greatest treasures."--Shelf Awareness "A master of fantasy playfully combines science fiction with other genres in three antic novellas. . . . Clever, funny, thought-provoking, and sweet, these stories are classic Willis."--Kirkus Reviews

This new, expanded edition of Miracle and Other Christmas Stories features twelve brilliantly reimagined holiday tales, five of which are collected here for the first time. Christmas comes but once a year, yet the stories in this dazzling collection are fun to read anytime. They put a speculative spin on the holiday, giving fans of acclaimed author Connie Willis a welcome gift and a dozen reasons to be of good cheer. Brimming with Willis's trademark insights and imagination, these heartwarming tales are full of humor, absurdity, human foibles, tragedy, joy, and hope. They both embrace and send up many of the best Christmas traditions, including the holiday newsletter, Secret Santas, office parties, holiday pageants, and Christmas dinners (both elaborate and spare). There are Rockettes, the best and worst Christmas movies, modern-day Magi, Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Yet to Come--and the triumph of generosity over greed. Like all the timeless classics we return to year after year, these stories affirm our faith in love, magic, and the wonder of the season. Praise for A Lot Like Christmas "A perfect stocking stuffer for Christmas--celebrating fans of Connie] Willis's humorous SF."--Publishers Weekly "A collection of Christmas stories with just the right blend of sugar and spice . . . sweet and sharp, whimsical and heartfelt, funny and warm . . . Fans of Willis's gently comic speculative fiction will love this collection, and it will also appeal to readers looking to get into the holiday spirit."--Kirkus Reviews

Crosstalk is a smart, brilliant and endearing romantic comedy comparable to Sliding Doors

An original collection of stories from the SFWA GRAND MASTER AWARD-winning author - the first original SF Masterwork!

A HUGO AWARD-winning time travel novel from the SFWA grandmaster.

A Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novel of plague and time travel by an SFWA Grand Master of Science Fiction.

The thrilling sequel to BLACKOUT, and a superb WWII novel.