Last Novellas in November I wrote two posts, besides my reviews, but this year I will only manage one. However, I just want to put it on record that I do appreciate the work put into it by Cathy of 746 Books and Rebecca of Bookish Beck), because novellas feature highly in my most memorable books.
These reading months tend to suggest you start with “my year in [whatever the topic is]”, so that is my focus for this post. Last year I had read nine – a small number I know compared to many of you. This year, which goes from 1 November 2024 to 31 October 2025, I’ve read even fewer, but they were good! I’m dividing them into two groups: Novellas, and Novella-length Nonfiction.
Novella
- Melanie Cheng, The burrow (185pp.) (my review): shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize and other awards
- PS Cottier and NG Hartland, The thirty-one legs of Vladimir Putin (115pp.) (my review): joint winner of the 2024 Finlay Lloyd 20/40 Prize
- Michelle de Kretser, Theory & practice (184pp) (my review): winner of the 2025 Stella Prize and Prime Minister’s Literary Award
- Shirley Hazzard, The bay of noon (182pp.) (my review)
Novella-length nonfiction
- Helen Garner, The season (Memoir, 188pp.) (my review)
- Gideon Haigh, My brother Jaz (Memoir, 87pp.) (my review)
- Sonya Voumard, Tremor (Memoir, 129pp.) (my review): joint winner of the 2024 Finlay Lloyd 20/40 Prize
In addition to these, I have read a novella this month but it will appear in next year’s novella count. And I’ll soon be reading another novella-length nonfiction, but again that’s for next year’s count.
All of the above, with the exception of Shirley Hazzard’s The bay of noon, were published in 2024, which suggests that publishers are currently happy to publish shorter works – and, given some showing in literary awards, that judges see value in them. Meanwhile, Shirley Hazzard’s novel, now 55 years old, could be called a classic.
It’s interesting – and completely serendipitous – that the three novella-length nonfiction books are all memoirs. It’s made me think, however, that this shorter length is a good one for memoirs because it encourages a focus on the main driver for the memoir, and discourages the wallowing or padding that can sometimes happen? Indeed, Sonya Voumard made exactly this point about writing Tremor (see my post on a conversation with her).
And this leads me to making a brief final note on novel-length. I have read many wonderful long books, but I have a preference for short (and therefore usually tight) ones. Just as, anecdotally, there’s the view that readers want more bang for their buck when buying books, meaning they don’t want to pay around the same amount for a 100-page novella as for a 400-page tome, I want more bang for my reading time! In other words, I prefer to read three great novellas in the same time I can read one great tome. That’s three different authors’ perspectives and ideas versus one. This, in addition the fact that I do enjoy concision (which I seem unable to emulate!), is what appeals. The point is that getting lost in a book’s world and never wanting to leave it, while I do love that, is not my main criterion for enjoyment.
If you are taking part in Novellas in November, you clearly enjoy them too. And, you are probably interested in literary culture, so if you are interested in the history of book-lengths, check out this article “Novels and novellas and tomes, Oh my!” by American writer and editor, Lincoln Michel. It has an American slant but I found it most interesting nonetheless. (BTW, if you read to the end, you’ll see that he struggles to be concise too!)
Thoughts anyone?
Written for Novellas in November 2025.
Whispering Gums 
You’re right, I buy my books like sausages – the longer, the better value. My audiobooks anyway. If I can get 18 hours for one credit, why would I pay 1 credit for 3 hours? Some of Martha Wells Muderbot books are only 3 hours and I really want to read them, but I am determined to wait until they all come out together in one omnibus edition.
Paper books I’m less fussy, though I only rarely pay $38.00 for say 120pp. I loved the de Kretser, and I bought it new, but now I don’t remember what I paid for it. I have always bought most of my books second hand. I wonder if I’m a tightwad.
Interesting distinction between audio and print Bill, and I can sort of understand that but I don’t quite know why.
PS Did you read my post on Edna Davies? I added a section regarding White Australia, which wasn’t in the AWW post because I decided to delve into her a little more afterwards. Davies mentions a book written about Australia by a Scottish writer about 1910 to 12 (I found different dates).
You must have an excellent source of ’em, Bill !
What MR? Sausages or audiobooks or wads of cash!
[grin]
For a few years I listened to books on CDs from all the libraries around. My first digital books were from LibriVox, read by volunteers, sometimes good, sometimes really bad, like Reading for the Blind.
Eventually I got an Audible account which for 2026 I have scaled back to 12 books a year, and I am going to try Libro.fm
The first really long book I listened to was Murakami’s 1Q84, 46 hours (so not a novella sorry, WG). I love it and have listened to it 3 times so far.
Ha! I do exactly the same thing – the audio books I choose are always the longest – The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny (600+ pages), One Hundred Years of Solitude (400+) and now I have downloaded I Capture the Castle (500+). But then I do this also because lugging around a doorstopper is sometimes challenging, where as novellas are tiny handbag size!
Is I capture the castle that long, Rach? I read it in my youth and I don’t recollect its vein a l-o-o-o-ng book. I enjoyed it though!
Yep ! 566 pages!
Wow!
I doubt I’ve ever read one !!!
And in terms of bang for buck, my audiobooks are never shorter than 10 hours – hence my joy at the ‘Robert Galbraith’ novels.
You and Bill, MR, peas in a pod! When I look for audiobooks from the library, which is rare, I look for 6 hours or less to fit in with a Melbourne trip!
[sniffs]
I actually wonder if this is one of the reasons why I have been having trouble getting into Kiran Desai’s latest 700+ page book – I am now so used to novella length stories, if not short stories, that maintaining my attention for something longer is challenging.
When done well I think novellas can really distil a story perfectly. Sometimes I enjoy a longer book but, as you say, shorter reading time means more books can be read!
Thanks Cathy … glad I’m not the only one who feels this way!
As long as it’s good, I don’t care if it’s short, normal or long, BUT, if it’s REALLY good then I wish it would never end.
Haha Jinjer, fair enough. I do understand that too.
I’ve always loved novellas because they mimic what I loved about reading when I was a girl, that capacity to disappear into a book at the beginning and only emerge at the ending. With only a little planning (and peace/luck), you can read one in a single sitting. But if I were to dive into #NovNov in a big way, I would have a hard time adjusting to books of longer length afterwards. Much as, when I read a couple of crime novels together, I expect every page to end as a cliff-hanger and am resentful when it doesn’t. For all the chatter about and admiration of de Kretzer’s critical darling, I hadn’t absorbed that it’s under 200 pages. I’ve got a copy in my cart right now, and that $34 feels a little different now…but I will likely treat myself anyway (also hoping to encourage international rights for other Australian writers with work I’d like to access in Canada).
Thanks Marcie… interesting point about reading like things in a row. I think the opposite happened to me recently after reading Olga Tokurcuz’s House of day house of night and Brian Castro‘s Chinese postman I was looking for something more straight in narrative. I certainly wasn’t looking for something similar as much as I really enjoyed those books.
I think de Kretser’s book is marginal novella. Personally I think 150 pages is the most likely upper limit but I do include books under 200 particularly books like this. There is a bit of white space. As several articles say, publishers do add white space into short novels to make them look longer – so people won’t complain about paying $34 ha ha.
I plan to have my MARM review up this weekend. I promise, with the crossed fingers behind my back!
Even knowing it was that short, I decided to order that copy last night anyway. And I read a few bio’s around the interwebs, where it seems like she might have been asked to approve them at least (if not actually write/submit them herself), and it seems like MdeK considers T&P a novel, which is good enough for me. I understand the page limit for the challenge, though, so I shan’t be petitioning the organisers to disallow any T&P posts for #novnov. heheh
Speaking of short books, I recently finished the new memoir by Miriam Toews that your friend loved so much it became an instant reread, but I didn’t love it that much myself. I’m not sorry I read it either though and might revisit it another time. And it would spark some interesting discussions. My own response was likely coloured by reading the Atwood memoir alongside, which happened to be the sort of memoir I was craving; Toews is channelling a more poetic and philosophical tone.
Good for you for buying it. And I’m not surprised she considers it a novel. It feels more like a novel to me but as it’s borderline I popped it in because every mention of a book helps get it out these.
Thanks re Toews. I had meant to add her … one of hers …. on my reading group schedule suggestions but forgot … as I do want to read her. We’ve done our next schedule but I can put her on for next year. I’ve nearly bought Atwood’s a few times … maybe I’ll put it on my Xmas list.
And yes, we do!
I’ve read a couple of books that are two novellas, so in that sense I feel like I’ve got a good deal for my money. To be fair, I wouldn’t want to pay full-ticket price for a movie that lasts 60 minutes vs 90 or 120 minutes! I can only think of one novella that I’ve read this year (well, off the top of my head) and I enjoyed (as always) the tightness of a shorter long story. That was M.L. Rio’s Grave Yard Shift.
Thanks Melanie. If I’m being honest, I think I’d think a bit more if the film were 60 minutes but it would not put me off if I really wanted to see it.
I have seen two novellas packaged together, or perhaps a little more often a novella with some short stories. They are probably a good way to go from a reader’s point of view.
The 20/40 prize novella length books are sold for around $26 which is significantly less than a trade paperback here. But the publisher describes itself as as not-for-profit which means they want to cover costs including presumably a salary for themselves but aren’t out to make money beyond that. That probably keeps their price down a little. It certainly makes them appealing to buy as gifts at this time of year.
I find myself increasingly drawn to novellas these days, so your recommendations are very welcome, especially as Shirley Hazzard is an author I’ve been meaning to try!
Then that would be a great one to do Jacqui. I love using short stories and novellas as intros to writers I want to read.