"Seasons of Glass and Iron" is a 2016 fantasy story by Canadian writer Amal El-Mohtar . It was first published in the anthology The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales .

Synopsis [ edit ]

Tabitha and Amira are both trapped in fairy tales : Tabitha is marching around the world until she wears out seven pairs of iron shoes in an effort to free her husband from an enchantment, while Amira sits atop a glass mountain awaiting a man to climb all the way up and claim her as his bride. When Tabitha accidentally climbs up Amira's mountain one day, they become friends, and their lives change.

Origin [ edit ]

El-Mohtar was inspired to write the story when her 7-year-old niece asked to be told a fairy tale, but the only ones she could think of involved "women being rescued by men or tormented by other women". ^[1]

Reception [ edit ]

Seasons won the Nebula Award for Best Short Story of 2016, ^[2] the 2017 Hugo Award for Best Short Story , ^[3] and the 2017 Locus Award for Best Short Story . ^[4] It was also shortlisted for the 2017 World Fantasy Award?Short Fiction , ^[5] the 2017 Aurora Award for Best Short Fiction, ^[6] and the 2017 Theodore Sturgeon Award . ^[7]

Publishers Weekly called it "excellent", and observed that it "explores the power of women's friendships to rewrite?or at least expose?misogynist ideologies", ^[8] while Tor.com noted that it "undermines the logic of [Tabitha and Amira's] self-imposed martyrdom" and "invites introspection". ^[9]

References [ edit ]

External links [ edit ]

• Text of the story at Uncanny Magazine