"Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman

"'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman"
Short story by Harlan Ellison
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre(s)Science fiction
Publication
Published inGalaxy Science Fiction
Publication typemagazine
Publication dateDecember 1965

"'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" is a 1965 dystopian science fiction short story by American writer Harlan Ellison. First published in the science fiction magazine Galaxy in December 1965, it won the 1965 Nebula Award for Best Short Story, the 1966 Hugo Award for Best Short Story, and the 2015 Prometheus Hall of Fame Award.

"'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" was written in a single six-hour session as a submission to a Milford Writer's Workshop the following day. A version of the story, read by Ellison, was recorded and issued on vinyl, but has long been out of print. The audio recording has since been reissued with other stories, by Blackstone Audio, under the title "The Voice From the Edge, Vol. 1".

The story was first collected in Ellison's Paingod and Other Delusions and has also appeared in several retrospective volumes of Ellison's work, including Alone Against Tomorrow, The Fantasies of Harlan Ellison, The Essential Ellison, Troublemakers and The Top of the Volcano. The story has been translated into a number of other languages.