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This week will see several joyous celebrations. Today is the first day of Hanukkah (it began Sunday evening at sundown). Wednesday is Christmas. And Thursday is Boxing Day as well as the first day of Kwanzaa.

Each of these holidays has a very rich history and traditions.

We have a tradition of our own here at WMG, which is to give away a free story this week (as we all happen to celebrate Christmas).

So, in keeping with that tradition, I’m gifting you with a story that should appeal to readers celebrating any of these holidays. It’s a New Year’s story, actually, but one that seems particularly appropriate this year as we turn to a new decade—the Hugo Award-winning “Millennium Babies” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.

Here’s the synopsis:

From the moment of her birth, Brooke Cross felt like a loser. Conceived to win a First Baby of the Millennium contest, Brooke came five minutes late. Her mother never let her forget it.

So Brooke, estranged from her mother, became a history professor and tried to live in obscurity.

Until Professor Eldon Franke recruits her for a study of Millennium Babies, a study that will change her life. 

You can download this story for free here.

After 2019, I’m certainly looking forward to a new year. And a new decade. Let’s make it a good one!

From all of us at WMG, we wish all of you a very happy holiday season.

Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer, working mother, and brain tumor survivor.