Red Letter Day

by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Graduation Day at Barack Obama High School. The day the Red Letters arrive, the day that students get a glimpse into their own future. But a handful never get a letter and no one knows why. One teacher has an idea though, a teacher who never got a Red Letter herself, a teacher who will finally have answers before the day is out.

Called “a fresh, solid, entertaining take on time travel” by Tangent Online, “Red Letter Day” was chosen as the best short story of 2010 by the readers of Analog Magazine.

“Red Letter Day” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch was first published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact Magazine, September, 2010.

International bestselling writer Kristine Kathryn Rusch has won two Hugo awards, a World Fantasy Award, and six Asimov’s Readers Choice Awards. Her latest novels are Anniversary Day from WMG and Boneyards from Pyr. For more information about her work, please go to kristinekathrynrusch.com.

If you liked “Red Letter Day,” you might like these stories and novels by Kristine Kathryn Rusch:

Diving into the Wreck
City of Ruins
Boneyards
The Spires of Denon
The Disappeared

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Time Travel

29 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 27, 2012

About the author

Kristine Kathryn Rusch is an award-winning mystery, romance, science fiction, and fantasy writer. She has written many novels under various names, including Kristine Grayson for romance, and Kris Nelscott for mystery. Her novels have made the bestseller lists –even in London– and have been published in 14 countries and 13 different languages.

Her awards range from the Ellery Queen Readers Choice Award to the John W. Campbell Award. In the past year, she has been nominated for the Hugo, the Shamus, and the Anthony Award. She is the only person in the history of the science fiction field to have won a Hugo award for editing and a Hugo award for fiction.

In addition, she's written a number of nonfiction articles over the years, with her latest being the book "A Freelancer's Survival Guide".

She has also published as:
Sandy Schofield (collaborations with husband Dean Wesley Smith)
Kristine Grayson - romances
Kathryn Wesley (collaborations with husband Dean Wesley Smith)
Kris Nelscott - mysteries
Kris Rusch - historical fiction
Kris DeLake - romances

Reviews

[Laurel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some time in the future, time travel has been discovered. However, fears of chaos ensuing from multiple potential timelines mean that the use of time travel is heavily regulated. Each person who reaches a certain age can send their teenage self one letter, to be received on Red Letter Day. However, not all receive letters.

A counsellor at the Barack Obama High School, who herself did not receive a letter as a teenager, is two weeks from turning fifty - and the day when she will finally send herself a letter. It's Red Letter Day at the Barack Obama High School, and her task is to counsel those students who do not receive letters. There are three of them that day.

A very interesting twist on the time travel concept, and an exploration into the consequences of foreknowledge of the future. Very well written, and very much a current topic. I really enjoyed this story.

[Natalie K · Rating 5 out of 5]

So happy this story is the free story of the week on Rusch's blog! It's my favorite she's written, along with The Destroyer.

[Jared Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and thought provoking. Very enjoyable.

[Nooilforpacifists · Rating 5 out of 5]

Add this to the list of Top-Dozen SF Short stories. This time travel short, short story seems obvious. But it doesn’t play out obvious, and that’s why it’s a five star.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in The Time Traveler's Almanac.