Ted Chiang’s short story The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate is available online in its entirety. (And it won the Nebula, as predicted here months ago.) A time-travel tale with an Arabian Nights framework, this highly emotional short story packs a surprisingly strong punch. There’s also an audiobook version.

Kij Johnson, a lovely woman I had the opportunity to meet once in Japan, wrote an excellent short story that was nominated for the 2007 Nebula but did not win. It’s available online as well, and which one you prefer will depend entirely on your temperament: The evolution of trickster stories among the dogs of North Park after the Change.