Even the Queen

"Even the Queen" is a short story by Connie Willis. A humorous story involving the future of gynecological science, it won the 1993 Hugo Award for Best Short Story. It was originally published in 1992 in Asimov's Science Fiction, and appears in her short-story collection Impossible Things (1994) and The Best of Connie Willis (2013).

During nomination the editor of Asimov's allegedly gave it the punning description of being "a period piece." The story involves the future of menstruation.

The story details a conversation between three generations of women as they discuss the decision of one of their daughters to join the Cyclists—not bicycle enthusiasts, but women who menstruate despite the existence of medical procedures (via a substance called "ammenerol") that would allow them to not do so. The various trials and misconceptions of menstruation are brought forward for examination, including an explanation of the title: one of the characters apparently told her mother that she wasn't going to have her period if Annette Funicello didn't, and the mother replied that "even the Queen" of England had a period.

In Willis' usual comic style, the main character is a sensible person trying to maneuver around the oddities of the others.

External links

Even the Queen title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Hugo Award for Best Short Story (1981–2000)

"Grotto of the Dancing Deer" by Clifford D. Simak (1981) "The Pusher" by John Varley (1982) "Melancholy Elephants" by Spider Robinson (1983) "Speech Sounds" by Octavia E. Butler (1984) "The Crystal Spheres" by David Brin (1985) "Fermi and Frost" by Frederik Pohl (1986) "Tangents" by Greg Bear (1987) "Why I Left Harry's All-Night Hamburgers" by Lawrence Watt-Evans (1988) "Kirinyaga" by Mike Resnick (1989) "Boobs" by Suzy McKee Charnas (1990) "Bears Discover Fire" by Terry Bisson (1991) "A Walk in the Sun" by Geoffrey A. Landis (1992) "Even the Queen" by Connie Willis (1993) "Death on the Nile" by Connie Willis (1994) "None So Blind" by Joe Haldeman (1995) "The Lincoln Train" by Maureen F. McHugh (1996) "The Soul Selects Her Own Society" by Connie Willis (1997) "The 43 Antarean Dynasties" by Mike Resnick (1998) "The Very Pulse of the Machine" by Michael Swanwick (1999) "Scherzo with Tyrannosaur" by Michael Swanwick (2000)

Complete list Retro 1955–1960 1961–1980 1981–2000 2001–present

Nebula Award for Best Short Story

1966 - 1980	""Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman" by Harlan Ellison (1966) "The Secret Place" by Richard McKenna (1967) "Aye, and Gomorrah" by Samuel R. Delany (1968) "The Planners" by Kate Wilhelm (1969) "Passengers" by Robert Silverberg (1970) "Good News from the Vatican" by Robert Silverberg (1972) "When It Changed" by Joanna Russ (1973) "Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death" by James Tiptree, Jr. (1974) "The Day Before the Revolution" by Ursula K. Le Guin (1975) "Catch That Zeppelin!" by Fritz Leiber (1976) "A Crowd of Shadows" by Charles L. Grant (1977) "Jeffty Is Five" by Harlan Ellison (1978) "Stone" by Edward Bryant (1979) "giANTS" by Edward Bryant (1980)

1981–2000	"Grotto of the Dancing Deer" by Clifford D. Simak (1981) "The Bone Flute" by Lisa Tuttle (refused, 1982) "A Letter from the Clearys" by Connie Willis (1983) "The Peacemaker" by Gardner Dozois (1984) "Morning Child" by Gardner Dozois (1985) "Out of All Them Bright Stars" by Nancy Kress (1986) "Tangents" by Greg Bear (1987) "Forever Yours, Anna" by Kate Wilhelm (1988) "Bible Stories for Adults, No. 17: The Deluge" by James K. Morrow (1989) "Ripples in the Dirac Sea" by Geoffrey A. Landis (1990) "Bears Discover Fire" by Terry Bisson (1991) "Ma Qui" by Alan Brennert (1992) "Even the Queen" by Connie Willis (1993) "Graves" by Joe Haldeman (1994) "A Defense of the Social Contracts" by Martha Soukup (1995) "Death and the Librarian" by Esther Friesner (1996) "A Birthday" by Esther Friesner (1997) "Sister Emily's Lightship" by Jane Yolen (1998) "Thirteen Ways to Water" by Bruce Holland Rogers (1999) "The Cost of Doing Business" by Leslie What (2000)

2001–present	"macs" by Terry Bisson (2001) "The Cure for Everything" by Severna Park (2002) "Creature" by Carol Emshwiller (2003) "What I Didn't See" by Karen Joy Fowler (2004) "Coming to Terms" by Eileen Gunn (2005) "I Live With You" by Carol Emshwiller (2006) "Echo" by Elizabeth Hand (2007) "Always" by Karen Joy Fowler (2008) "Trophy Wives" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman (2009) "Spar" by Kij Johnson (2010) "How Interesting: A Tiny Man" by Harlan Ellison and "Ponies" by Kij Johnson (2011) "The Paper Menagerie" by Ken Liu (2012) "Immersion" by Aliette de Bodard (2013) "If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love" by Rachel Swirsky (2014) "Jackalope Wives" by Ursula Vernon (2015)

Locus Award for Best Short Story

1971 - 1980	"The Region Between" by Harlan Ellison (1971) "The Queen of Air and Darkness" by Poul Anderson (1972) "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin (1973) "The Deathbird" by Harlan Ellison (1974) "The Day Before the Revolution" by Ursula K. Le Guin (1975) "Croatoan" by Harlan Ellison (1976) "Tricentennial" by Joe Haldeman (1977) "Jeffty Is Five" by Harlan Ellison (1978) "Count the Clock that Tells the Time" by Harlan Ellison (1979) "The Way of Cross and Dragon" by George R. R. Martin (1980)

1981–2000	"Grotto of the Dancing Deer" by Clifford D. Simak (1981) "The Pusher" by John Varley (1982) "Sur" by Ursula K. Le Guin (1983) "Beyond the Dead Reef" by James Tiptree, Jr. (1984) "Salvador" by Lucius Shepard (1985) "With Virgil Oddum at the East Pole" by Harlan Ellison (1986) "Robot Dreams" by Isaac Asimov (1987) "Angel" by Pat Cadigan (1988) "Eidolons" by Harlan Ellison (1989) "Lost Boys" by Orson Scott Card (1990) "Bears Discover Fire" by Terry Bisson (1991) "Buffalo" by John Kessel (1992) "Even the Queen" by Connie Willis (1993) "Close Encounter" by Connie Willis (1994) "None So Blind" by Joe Haldeman (1995) "The Lincoln Train" by Maureen F. McHugh (1996) "Gone" by John Crowley (1997) "Itsy Bitsy Spider" by James Patrick Kelly (1998) "Maneki Neko" by Bruce Sterling (1999) "macs" by Terry Bisson (2000)

2001–present	"The Missing Mass" by Larry Niven (2001) "The Bones of the Earth" by Ursula K. Le Guin (2002) "October in the Chair" by Neil Gaiman (2003) "Closing Time" by Neil Gaiman (2004) "Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Nameless House of the Night of Dread Desire" by Neil Gaiman (2005) "Sunbird" by Neil Gaiman (2006) "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" by Neil Gaiman (2007) "A Small Room in Koboldtown" by Michael Swanwick (2008) "Exhalation" by Ted Chiang (2009) "An Invocation of Incuriosity" by Neil Gaiman (2010) "The Thing About Cassandra" by Neil Gaiman (2011) "The Case of Death and Honey" by Neil Gaiman (2012) "Immersion" by Aliette de Bodard (2013) "The Road of Needles" by Caitlín R. Kiernan (2014) "The Truth About Owls" by Amal El-Mohtar (2015)

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