Usually, at about this time of year, I've finally caught up on all my 2018 award reading. That's not true this year.
Unfortunately a major personal issue came up and I only did about half the reading I wanted to. I'm sure I'm missing a lot of great stories that I just ran out of time for.
So I'm only going to make one suggestion this year, because I'm pretty certain that even if I hadn't gotten waylaid, this one would have made my top five for the year.
And that's "Strange Waters" by Samantha Mills, which was published over in Strange Horizons in April of last year. It's a great short story about a woman adrift in time, trying to find her way back home to her children, and I love the ending.
Showing posts with label awards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label awards. Show all posts
Monday, February 4, 2019
Monday, January 29, 2018
My 2017 Award Recommendations
It's award nomination time for both the Hugos and the Nebulas for works of science fiction and fantasy. I had a really rough time keeping up with short fiction this year, so some of that is likely reflected in my choices. Notably the novelettes and novella are the only entries in those categories I read last year, but I think they're each good enough to be award worthy. (I mean I read other novelettes and novellas, but these three are the only ones published last year.)
Can I get a chance to do retro-voting the years after things come out?
Links to where you can read the recommended fiction are provided when available!
Short Stories
"Monster Girls Don't Cry" by Merc Restad - Uncanny Magazine, January 2017
"The Last Dinosaur Rider of Benessa County" by Jeremy Sim - Beneath Ceaseless Skies, February 2017
"These Deathless Bones" by Cassandra Khaw - Tor.com, July 2017
"These Constellations Will Be Yours" by Elaine Cuyegkeng - Strange Horizons, August 2017
"Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience™" by Rebecca Roanhorse - Apex, August 2017
Novelettes
"The Fox, the Wolf, and the Dove" by Ville Meriläinen - Writers of the Future Vol 33, 2017
"Children of Thorns, Children of Water" by Aliette de Bodard, Uncanny July/August 2017 *
Novellas
The Black Tides of Heaven by JY Yang - Tor.com (stand alone publication not tied to an issue)
* "Children of Thorns, Children of Water" was originally published as part of a pre-order bonus for Aliette de Bodard's The House of Binding Thorns. It came out in April 2017 so it is eligible even though the Uncanny link is a reprint.
Can I get a chance to do retro-voting the years after things come out?
Links to where you can read the recommended fiction are provided when available!
Short Stories
"Monster Girls Don't Cry" by Merc Restad - Uncanny Magazine, January 2017
"The Last Dinosaur Rider of Benessa County" by Jeremy Sim - Beneath Ceaseless Skies, February 2017
"These Deathless Bones" by Cassandra Khaw - Tor.com, July 2017
"These Constellations Will Be Yours" by Elaine Cuyegkeng - Strange Horizons, August 2017
"Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience™" by Rebecca Roanhorse - Apex, August 2017
Novelettes
"The Fox, the Wolf, and the Dove" by Ville Meriläinen - Writers of the Future Vol 33, 2017
"Children of Thorns, Children of Water" by Aliette de Bodard, Uncanny July/August 2017 *
Novellas
The Black Tides of Heaven by JY Yang - Tor.com (stand alone publication not tied to an issue)
* "Children of Thorns, Children of Water" was originally published as part of a pre-order bonus for Aliette de Bodard's The House of Binding Thorns. It came out in April 2017 so it is eligible even though the Uncanny link is a reprint.
Monday, August 21, 2017
Baen Fantasy Adventure Award
I've been sitting on this news for about a month and a half now, but I finally can say that my short story "And Not Go Hungry" placed third in the annual Baen Fantasy Adventure Award contest. The award ceremony was at GenCon this past weekend.
Unfortunately I was unable to go, so editor Jim Minz read a speech I had sent him and accepted on my behalf. I was pleasantly surprised when "And Not Go Hungry" was announced as a finalist, as I hadn't expected a story about Chinese laborers in World War I to have done well, even if involves guardians of the underworld and jiangshi. It's an unorthodox setting for fantasy adventure, though the judges seem to have been open to that and for that I'm grateful.
It's also an excellent example of why writers should not self-reject. If it looks like it could work, let the editors decide.
Unfortunately I was unable to go, so editor Jim Minz read a speech I had sent him and accepted on my behalf. I was pleasantly surprised when "And Not Go Hungry" was announced as a finalist, as I hadn't expected a story about Chinese laborers in World War I to have done well, even if involves guardians of the underworld and jiangshi. It's an unorthodox setting for fantasy adventure, though the judges seem to have been open to that and for that I'm grateful.
It's also an excellent example of why writers should not self-reject. If it looks like it could work, let the editors decide.
Monday, January 30, 2017
My 2016 Award Recommendations
It's nomination time for both the Hugos and the Nebulas for science fiction and fantasy, and though I tried to get a better handle on my reading this year, the fact is I still couldn't read as widely as I wanted, so I'm going to restrict my recommendations to short stories and novelettes.
Links to recommended fiction are provided when available, and yes there are more short stories than there are slot to nominate. Read a few to see what you're missing!
Short Stories
"This is Not a Wardrobe Door" by Merc Restad - Fireside, January 2016
"Dragon Brides" by Nghi Vo - Lightspeed, April 2016
"The Gentleman of Chaos" by Merc Restad - Apex Magazine, August 2016
"Pagpag" by Samuel Marzioli - Apex, October 2016
"And In Our Daughters, We Find a Voice" by Cassandra Khaw - The Dark, November 2016
"A Glamour in the Black" by Sylvia Anna Hivén - Writers of the Future Vol 32, 2016
"Of Sight, of Mind, of Heart" - by Samantha Murray - Clarkesworld, November 2016
Novelettes
"A Deeper Green" by Samantha Murray - Beneath Ceaseless Skies, August 2016
"The War of Heroes" by Kameron Hurley - Lightspeed, August 2016 *
* This was originally published on her Patreon, but because the copyright date is 2016 I assume it is eligible for this year.
Links to recommended fiction are provided when available, and yes there are more short stories than there are slot to nominate. Read a few to see what you're missing!
Short Stories
"This is Not a Wardrobe Door" by Merc Restad - Fireside, January 2016
"Dragon Brides" by Nghi Vo - Lightspeed, April 2016
"The Gentleman of Chaos" by Merc Restad - Apex Magazine, August 2016
"Pagpag" by Samuel Marzioli - Apex, October 2016
"And In Our Daughters, We Find a Voice" by Cassandra Khaw - The Dark, November 2016
"A Glamour in the Black" by Sylvia Anna Hivén - Writers of the Future Vol 32, 2016
"Of Sight, of Mind, of Heart" - by Samantha Murray - Clarkesworld, November 2016
Novelettes
"A Deeper Green" by Samantha Murray - Beneath Ceaseless Skies, August 2016
"The War of Heroes" by Kameron Hurley - Lightspeed, August 2016 *
* This was originally published on her Patreon, but because the copyright date is 2016 I assume it is eligible for this year.
Monday, December 12, 2016
My 2016 Award Eligibility Post
It's the last month of the year, so it's time for eligibility posts. Cat Rambo, our SFWA president, is encouraging everyone to make them, and I do have a few things that are eligible for the Nebula and Hugo awards this year.
All of them are short stories. If you'd like a review copy, please shoot me an e-mail.
In publication order, my works are:
"Confidence Game" - Galaxy's Edge, January 2016 - An ex-con man turned magician gets roped into back into his old work, by the space station authorities no less. Sleight of hand in space!
"The World That You Want" - Galaxy's Edge, July 2016 - The demon apocalypse happened and most of humanity died in the ensuing months, but Joan continues to survive because she can reconcile her existence with the that of the demons.
"The Final Gift of Zhuge Liang" - Swords v Cthulhu (anthology), 2016 - Jiang Wei is saddled with the impossible expectation of becoming the successor to Zhuge Liang, the greatest general the kingdom of Shu has ever known.
"Hunters of the Dead" - Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores, September 2016 - Wild magic marks the site of an ancient war, causing the dead to rise in search of a battle that has long ended. The king has abandoned those lands, but the hunters have not.
"Poison Maiden, Open Skies" - Intergalactic Medicine Show, December 2016 - The women of Harpy Squad are literally poisonous thanks to an accident in a munitions factory. Now there is no place they can safely exist, save as weapons on the battlefield.
All of them are short stories. If you'd like a review copy, please shoot me an e-mail.
In publication order, my works are:
"Confidence Game" - Galaxy's Edge, January 2016 - An ex-con man turned magician gets roped into back into his old work, by the space station authorities no less. Sleight of hand in space!
"The World That You Want" - Galaxy's Edge, July 2016 - The demon apocalypse happened and most of humanity died in the ensuing months, but Joan continues to survive because she can reconcile her existence with the that of the demons.
"The Final Gift of Zhuge Liang" - Swords v Cthulhu (anthology), 2016 - Jiang Wei is saddled with the impossible expectation of becoming the successor to Zhuge Liang, the greatest general the kingdom of Shu has ever known.
"Hunters of the Dead" - Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores, September 2016 - Wild magic marks the site of an ancient war, causing the dead to rise in search of a battle that has long ended. The king has abandoned those lands, but the hunters have not.
"Poison Maiden, Open Skies" - Intergalactic Medicine Show, December 2016 - The women of Harpy Squad are literally poisonous thanks to an accident in a munitions factory. Now there is no place they can safely exist, save as weapons on the battlefield.
Sunday, February 1, 2015
2015 Awards Recommendations
I made it a bit more of a point to read this year than I normally do in an attempt to be better educated for award nominating. Unfortunately, I did not read any new novels last year barring a single YA book (my backlog is healthy enough, thanks!), but I did around to several short stories and a few novelettes.
These are my award picks:
Short Stories
Jackalope Wives by Ursula Vernon - Apex, January 2014
The Fisher Queen - Alyssa Wong - F&SF May/June 2014
Not Her Garden - Yukimi Ogawa - Lackington's #3, Summer 2014
Novelettes
Life Flight - Brad Torgersen - Analog, March 2014
The Pushbike Legion - Timothy Jordan - Writers of the Future 30
The Magician and Laplace's Demon - Tom Crosshill, Clarkesworld, December 2014
Campbell Award for Best New Writer
Alyssa Wong
Yukimi Ogawa*
* I don't know if Yukimi Ogawa is currently eligible, but I can't find any pro publications of her work prior to 2013 (in Strange Horizons), which would put her in her second year of eligibility. She's published quite a few things in 2014 and I love her stuff ("Town's End," "Rib," "In Her Head, In Her Eyes").
UPDATE: Yukimi Ogawa confirmed on Twitter that she is in her second year of eligibility! Please consider her for the Campbell Award.
As for my own work, I had three original works published in 2014.
Short Stories
The Wings The Lungs, The Engine The Heart - Galaxy's Edge #9, July/August 2014
The Ancestors - Crossed Genres July/August 2014
Unfilial Child - Streets of Shadows (anthology)
"The Wings The Lungs, The Engine The Heart" and "Unfilial Child" are not available online, but can be requested by interested Hugo/Nebula voters. If you are a SFWA member, both of them are available in the members-only forums for reading.
These are my award picks:
Short Stories
Jackalope Wives by Ursula Vernon - Apex, January 2014
The Fisher Queen - Alyssa Wong - F&SF May/June 2014
Not Her Garden - Yukimi Ogawa - Lackington's #3, Summer 2014
Novelettes
Life Flight - Brad Torgersen - Analog, March 2014
The Pushbike Legion - Timothy Jordan - Writers of the Future 30
The Magician and Laplace's Demon - Tom Crosshill, Clarkesworld, December 2014
Campbell Award for Best New Writer
Alyssa Wong
Yukimi Ogawa*
* I don't know if Yukimi Ogawa is currently eligible, but I can't find any pro publications of her work prior to 2013 (in Strange Horizons), which would put her in her second year of eligibility. She's published quite a few things in 2014 and I love her stuff ("Town's End," "Rib," "In Her Head, In Her Eyes").
UPDATE: Yukimi Ogawa confirmed on Twitter that she is in her second year of eligibility! Please consider her for the Campbell Award.
As for my own work, I had three original works published in 2014.
Short Stories
The Wings The Lungs, The Engine The Heart - Galaxy's Edge #9, July/August 2014
The Ancestors - Crossed Genres July/August 2014
Unfilial Child - Streets of Shadows (anthology)
"The Wings The Lungs, The Engine The Heart" and "Unfilial Child" are not available online, but can be requested by interested Hugo/Nebula voters. If you are a SFWA member, both of them are available in the members-only forums for reading.
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