Magic for Beginners is a collection of nine works of fantasy and light horror short fiction by American writer Kelly Link, released by Small Beer Press in 2005.

The stories were all previously published in other venues from 2002 to 2005.

The book won the 2006 Locus Award for best short story collection.

[5] According to Book Marks, the book received a "positive" consensus, based on four critic reviews: one "rave", two "positive", and one "mixed".

[6] On November/December 2005 issue of Bookmarks, the book received a (3.5 out of 5) based on critic reviews with a summary saying, "Link’s collection may defy simple interpretation, but it also challenges readers to decipher for themselves what is real .