Novella

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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 Effinger (1973)
• Animal Farm by George Orwell
• Anthem by Ayn Rand
• At the Mountains of Madness, by H. P. Lovecraft
• Avatar (Théophile Gautier)
• The Ballad of Black Tom, by Victor LaValle
• The Basement by Stephen Leather
• Beren and Lúthien by J. R. R. Tolkien
• Between the Teeth series by Taylor Fitzpatrick
• Billy Budd, by Herman Melville
• Borrasca, by C.K. Walker
• The Boy with Blue Eyes, by Travis Lee
• Breakfast at Tiffany's, by Truman Capote
• The Bridge of San Luis Rey, by Thornton Wilder
• Bubba Ho-Tep by Joe R. Lansdale
• By His Bootstraps, by Robert A. Heinlein
• Carmen (1845)
• Carmilla, by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
• The Cell, by David Case
• Chains Of The Sea, by Gardner Dozois (1973)
• Child of an Ancient City, by Tad Williams
• The Children of Húrin, by J. R. R. Tolkien
• The Circus of Doctor Lao, by Charles G Finney
• A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens
• Cold Snap, by Kim Newman
• "Common Sense", by Robert A. Heinlein
• The Conan the Barbarian series by Robert E. Howard includes a couple of novellas:
  • "The People of the Black Circle"
  • "Red Nails"
• Coraline, by Neil Gaiman
• Daisy Miller, by Henry James
• The Death of Ivan Ilyich, by Leo Tolstoy
• The Dream Eaters and Other Stories, by Louise Searl (The Dream Eaters itself is a novella, the others are short stories)
• The Events at Poroth Farm, by T.E.D. Klein
• The Fall of Gondolin, by J. R. R. Tolkien
• The Fall of Númenor, by J. R. R. Tolkien
• The Fifth Child, by Doris Lessing
• The Firework-Maker's Daughter
• Future History, by Aaron Wall
• The Fifth Head Of Cerberus, by Gene Wolfe (1972)
• Giant Monster Farmarna, by Constantine Furman
• The General (Foundation), by Isaac Asimov
• The Gold At The Starbows End, by Frederik Pohl (1972)
• Graveyard Shift, by ML Rio
• The Great God Pan, by Arthur Machen
• The Gypsies in the Wood, by Kim Newman
• Heart of a Dog, by Mikhail Bulgakov
• Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad
• The Hellbound Heart, by Clive Barker
• The Jew's Beech, by Annette von Droste-Hülshoff (1842)
• The Key to Charlotte, by EA West
• Kogoro Akechi Series by Edogawa Ranpo
  • The Boy Detectives Club
• Stephen King's novellas have been published as stand-alone books as well as in Anthology collections:
  • Blockade Billy
  • Carrie
  • Different Seasons
  • The Mist
• The Last Hope, by Don Evans
• Lavinia Rising by Farah Rose Smith
• The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi
• Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel
• The Lineman, by Walter M Miller Jr (1957)
• The Man Who Got Off the Ghost Train, by Kim Newman
• MARiiMO, by Tyrel Pinnegar
• Mefisto in Onyx by Harlan Ellison
• The Mermaid Variations, by Rhys Huges
• The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka
• The Monster of Elendhaven, by Jennifer Giesbrecht
• The Mule, by Isaac Asimov
• Nightflyers, by George R. R. Martin
• 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
• Oracle, by Greg Egan
• Orbital (2023), by Samantha Harvey
• The Originist, by Orson Scott Card
• Chapter 22 of The Pale King
• The Pearl, by John Steinbeck
• Pharmakembru series, by Monos D.O.A
• "Profession", by Isaac Asimov
• The Push Of A Finger, by Alfred Bester
• River of Teeth, by Sarah Gailey
• The Sandman: The Dream Hunters by Neil Gaiman, set in The Sandman
• Search by the Foundation, by Isaac Asimov
• Search by the Mule, by Isaac Asimov
• Seedfolks, by Paul Fleischman
• The Serial Murders, by Kim Newman
• Seven Stars, by Kim Newman
• The Shadow Out of Time, by H. P. Lovecraft
• The Shadow over Innsmouth, by H. P. Lovecraft
• Shadowsun: The Last of Kiru's Line, by Braden Campbell
• Sherlock Holmes had four associated novellas:
  • The Hound of the Baskervilles
  • The Sign of the Four
  • A Study in Scarlet
  • The Valley of Fear
• The Shrine Of Sebastian, by Gordon Eklund (1973)
• The Shunned House, by H. P. Lovecraft
• Sorcerer Conjurer Wizard Witch, by Kim Newman
• Strange Houses
• Strange Pictures
• The Stranger, by Albert Camus
• Strange Tale Of Panorama Island, by Edogawa Ranpo
• Strange Weather, by Joe Hill
• Sula, by Toni Morrison
• The Tale of Li Wa
• A Taste of Honey
• The Tentacles From Below, by Anthony Gilmore (Pen Name for Harry Bates and DW Hall)
• Thebe and the Angry Red Eye by David Hopkins
• Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, by Eric LaRocca
• This Other World, by AC Buchanan
• To Be Taught, If Fortunate, by Becky Chambers
• True Names, by Vernor Vinge
• Two Dooms, by Cyril M. Kornbluth (1958)
• Undine (1811), by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué
• Unstrung, a tie-in to the Unwind trilogy, by Neal Shusterman
• Viy, by Nikolai Gogol
• A.E. van Vogt's
  • Asylum 1942
  • Recruiting Station
• Waldo, by Robert A. Heinlein
• 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
  • Thunderstar's Echo
  • Redtail's Debt
  • Tawnypelt's Clan
  • Shadowstar's Life
  • Pebbleshine's Kits
  • Tree's Roots
  • Mothwing's Secret
  • Daisy's Kin
  • Spotfur's Rebellion
  • Blackfoot's Reckoning
• "The Way To Amalteia", by Boris Strugatsky and Arkady Strugatsky (1960)
• What Moves the Dead, a retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher, by Ursula Vernon through her pseudonym T. Kingfisher.
  • What Feasts at Night
• The Whisperer in Darkness, by H. P. Lovecraft
• Who Goes There?
  • Frozen Hell
• Wildflower Ranch