Jeffty Is Five is a fantasy short story written by Harlan Ellison. It was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in 1977, then was included in his short story collection Shatterday three years later. According to Ellison, it was inspired by a fragment of conversation that he mis-heard at a party at the home of actor Walter Koenig: "How is Jeff?" "Jeff is fine. He's always fine," which he perceived as "Jeff is five, he's always five."
Summary
"Jeffty is Five" concerns a boy who never grows past the age of five — physically, mentally, or (oddly enough) chronologically. The narrator, Jeffty's friend from the age of five well into adulthood, discovers that Jeffty's radio plays serial programs no longer produced on radio stations that no longer exist. They are contemporary, all-new shows, however; not re-runs. He can buy comics such as The Shadow and Doc Savage that are, again, all-new although they are no longer being produced. The narrator is privy to this world because of Jeffty's trust, while the rest of the world (the world that grew as Jeffty did not) is not. When Jeffty's world and the 'real' world intersect Jeffty loses his grip on his own world, eventually meeting a tragic end.
Awards
It won a Nebula Award in 1977 and the Hugo Award for 1978. It was also voted in a 1999 online poll of Locus readers to be the best short story of all time.
