Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portable Childhoods | 2007 | Ellen Klages | Buy |
| 2 | What Remains | 2009 | Ellen Klages | Buy |
| 3 | Wicked Wonders | 2017 | Ellen Klages | Buy |
Ellen Klages has published three story collections. Portable Childhoods (2007) gathers her early short fiction, What Remains (2009) adds more stories, and Wicked Wonders (2017) collects work from the most recent phase of her career. Together they provide a thorough overview of one of science fiction’s most decorated short fiction writers.
Portable Childhoods includes her Nebula Award-winning story “Basement Magic” and other pieces that mix science fiction with domestic settings and coming-of-age themes. Wicked Wonders, published a decade later by Tachyon Publications, picks up where the earlier collections left off and includes stories that earned Hugo and Nebula nominations.
Klages tends to write stories that are quiet and character-driven rather than action-heavy. Her fiction often features young protagonists, scientific curiosity, and a sense of wonder that does not rely on spectacle. Readers who enjoy the shorter fiction of Kelly Link or Karen Joy Fowler will find similar pleasures in Klages’s work.