In English, a novella consists of stories mid-way—in terms of length and complexity—between a short story and a novel, focusing on a single chain of events with a surprising turning point. Conrad's Heart of Darkness (1902) is a fine example.

Science fiction's Hugo and Nebula awards define the novella as "A...story of between seventeen thousand five hundred (17,500) and forty thousand (40,000) words."

See also: literature