"Jackalope Wives" is a 2014fantasy short story byUrsula Vernon, combining the legends of theswan maiden and thejackalope. It was first published inApex Magazine and has been reprinted in the collectionJackalope Wives and Other Stories. One of the characters, Grandma Harken, is the protagonist of another award-winning story by Vernon, "The Tomato Thief."
When a young man accidentally mutilates a jackalope wife, his Grandma Harken takes charge of her.
"Jackalope Wives" won the 2014Nebula Award for Best Short Story,[1] and the 2015WSFA Small Press Award,[2] and was nominated for the 2015World Fantasy Award—Short Fiction.[3] As well, an analysis atIo9 indicated that, if not for theSad Puppies ballot-manipulation campaign, "Jackalope Wives" would have been a finalist for the 2015Hugo Award for Best Short Story.[4]
Tor.com called it "soulful" and "extraordinary", praising Grandma Harken as a "captivating protagonist".[5] AtLocus,Lois Tilton commended Vernon's "(f)ine prose imagery and dialogue, strong characters, (and) neat invented folklore".[6]Strange Horizons noted that, by basing the story on "a piece of inauthentickitsch", Vernon avoided issues ofcultural appropriation.[7]
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