The Hemingway Hoax is a Hugo- and Nebula-winning novella that weaves an intricate plot of a fake Hemingway manuscript with time travel, multiple universes, and the potential destruction of the omniverse itself. *** Hemingway's first wife, Hadley, lost a bag containing the manuscript of his first novel on a Parisian train. In 1996, John Baird, a renowned Hemingway scholar, decides to use that loss to account for a fake manuscript he creates. *** Little does Baird suspect that his attempt to pass off the forgery as a recovered Hemingway manuscript will take him on a journey involving parallel universes and time travel. For Hemingway's reputation is intricately linked to the fate of multiple worlds in the omniverse and any attempt to change that can have disastrous consequences.

The hoax proposed to John Baird by a two-bit con man in a seedy Key West bar was shady but potentially profitable. With little left to lose, the struggling, middle-aged Hemingway scholar agreed to forge a manuscript and pass it off as Papa's lost masterpiece. But Baird never realized his actions would shatter the history of his own Earth . . . and others. Now the unsuspecting academic is trapped out of time - propelled through a series of grim parallel worlds - and pursued by an interdimensional hitman with a literary license to kill.

The Hemingway Hoax is a Hugo- and Nebula-winning novella that weaves an intricate plot of a fake Hemingway manuscript with time travel, multiple universes, and the potential destruction of the omniverse itself.Hemingway's first wife, Hadley, lost a bag containing the manuscript of his first novel on a Parisian train. In 1996, John Baird, a renowned Hemingway scholar, decides to use that loss to account for a fake manuscript he creates.Little does Baird suspect that his attempt to pass off the forgery as a recovered Hemingway manuscript will take him on a journey involving parallel universes and time travel. For Hemingway's reputation is intricately linked to the fate of multiple worlds in the omniverse and any attempt to change that can have disastrous consequences.

Generations of clones on the moon chronicle the recovery of mother Earth, which has been destroyed and deserted. Eons have passed and a new generation of clones discover that their own base on the moon had been destroyed in the past and then rediscovered and rebuilt by the man known as Sandor Pen. *** In the meantime the remnants of humanity have just started unlocking the mysteries of interstellar flight, but over the years their memory of old Earth has faded...a memory Sandor Pen intends to reignite. *** The Ultimate Earth is classic Williamson. A multi-layered story with subtle interpretations. The novella was published to much critical acclaim, winning both the Hugo and Nebula Awards.

It is extremely difficult to win a Hugo award. It is also extremely difficult to win a Nebula. These are like the Oscars and Golden Globes on the science fiction/fantasy writing side, and just like it is the extremely rare movie that gets both the Oscar and the Golden Globe for Best Movie, it is only stories of the highest caliber that get awarded both the Nebula and the Hugo. The Hugo is awarded at the annual Worldcon, voted on by fans. The Nebula is awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) voted on by its member, primarily professional writers. A piece that wins both, signifies that it had wide-spread fan appeal (fan votes) and also the highest regard by professionals in the field (voted on by exclusively by SFWA member). A novella is something just short of a novel (in word-count), and many of the worlds outstanding series started off as novellas, including Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game (the novella is the one that won all the awards, and then was extended into a novel, and finally a series). Some consider the novella the perfect size for a story...large enough to develop it, but with a wordcount constrain that still imposes writing discipline. This anthology reprints four novellas, each of which has stood the test of time and each of which won both the Nebula and the Hugo. Some went on to win a plethora of other awards from around the world. For example, Mike Resnick's "The Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge" may be one of the most awarded stories in science fiction, having won not only the Hugo and Nebula, but also the HOMer award, the SF Chronicle Award, and awards from countries like as Spain, France and Croatia. Here then are four of the most outstanding and most acclaimed novellas in science fiction, penned by Joe Haldeman, Lois McMaster Bujold, Mike Resnick and Nancy Kress. Beggars in Spain take place in a future where genetic engineering has become a reality, and society and culture face the consequences of genetic modifications. The story revolves around the existence of the "Sleepless" individuals genetically modified to not need sleep, who have greater potential for intelligence and accomplishment than ordinary humans, called "Sleepers". The Hemingway Hoax weaves together a story of an attempt to produce a fake Ernest Hemingway manuscript with themes concerning time travel and parallel worlds. The story is based on the real-life incident in Hemmingway's life when his first wife Hadley lost a suitcase with his manuscripts. The Mountains of Mourning explores the concepts of justice and mercy when Miles Vorkosigan is sent to represent the empire in a far-flung rural village where a woman demands justice for the murder of her baby who was born healthy, but with a cleft lip and palate. The Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge explores the meaning of human progress and decline, long after humans have disappeared from the Earth. An alien archeological expedition is sent to explore humanities rise and fall in its birthplace of Olduvai Gorge where seven recounted stories based on artifacts found tell the tale of how they rose and how they fell, but also leave the aliens with an uneasy feeling of what the future may hold.

An award-winning visionary and true master of worlds and wonders, the man whom author David Brin calls "one of the nest prophetic writers of our times" once again demonstrates the breathtaking scope and startling power of his imagination--transporting the reader across space and time, into the heart of darkness and the soul of madness. From the spinetingling account of an intergalactic poacher's rite of passage, to an erotic and ultimately uplifting modern fable of inner scars and otherworldly transformation, here are fifteen remarkable tales and "story poems"--featuring four HUGO and NEBULA Award-winners, including the classic novella THE HEMINGWAY HOAX. These are stories that sing with a unique and haunting voice--stories of war's monsters, of brutal art and lost stars. . .and a brief, miraculous moment called childhood, when a young girl can actually fly.

For more than twenty years The Year's Best Science Fiction has been recognized as the best collection of short science fiction writing in the universe and an essential resource for every science fiction fan. In 2005 the original Best of the Best collected the finest short stories from that series and became a benchmark in the SF field. Now, for the first time ever, Hugo Award-winning editor Gardner Dozios sifts through hundreds of stories and dozens of authors who have gone on to become some of the most esteemed practitioners of the form, to bring readers the ultimate anthology of short science fiction novels from his legendary series. Included are such notable short novels as: Sailing to Byzantium by Robert Silverberg In the fiftieth century, people of Earth are able to create entire cities on a whim, including those of mythology and legend. When twentieth-century traveler Charles Philip accidentally lands in this aberrant time period, he is simultaneously obsessed with discovering more about this alluring world and getting back home. But in a world made entirely of man's creation, things are not always as they seem on the surface. Forgiveness Day by Ursula K. Le Guin Le Guin returns to her Hainish-settled interstellar community, the Edumen, to tell the tale of two star-crossed lovers who are literally worlds apart in this story of politics, violence, religion, and cultural disparity. Turquoise Days by Alastair Reynolds On a sea-wold planet covered with idyllic tropical oceans, peace seems pervasive. Beneath the placid water lurks an ominous force that has the potential to destroy all tranquility. Contributors include: Greg Egan; Joe Haldeman; James Patrick Kelly; Nancy Kress; Ursula K. Le Guin; Ian R. MacLeod; Ian McDonald; Maureen F. McHugh; Frederick Pohl; Alastair Reynolds; Robert Silverberg; Michael Swanwick; Walter Jon Williams With work spanning two decades, The Best of the Best, Volume 2 stands as the ultimate anthology of short science fiction novels ever published in the world.