Novella

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A Novella is a work of prose fiction somewhere in length between a short story and a "full length" novel. One writer's association defines it as being between 17,500 and 39,999 words in length[1]. The word was originally an Italian one meaning a tale or piece of news and as such was applied to the work of such writers as Boccacchio. The word novel comes from the same source[2], although the full length novel evolved many years later.

Notes

  1. http://www.sfwa.org/awards/faq.htm#6 Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America FAQ
  2. J.A. Cuddon (1999) The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory

Bibliography

  • Baldrick, Chris (1991). Oxford Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-282893-2. 
  • Cuddon, J.A. (1999). The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-051363-9. 
  • Holman, C. Hugh; Harmon, William (1992). A Handbook to Literature, Sixth Edition. New York: MacMillan. ISBN 0-02-553440-8.