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 Boccaccio. 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