Just getting this under the wire! The last day to nominate for the Nebulas is Feb 29, and the deadline for the Hugo is March 9.
So get your votes in!
If you’re curious about what I worked on last year, here is my list.
It’s that special time of year again, where we try to remember what the heck we spent the last 12 months doing. I’ve been quiet, head-down on the writing front, but I have still been podcasting and editing. So here is my eligibility post for 2020.
As for my endorsements, I am not endorsing much adult fiction, partly because I’m on the jury for the Philip K. Dick award and am keeping my opinions of original paperbacks to myself, but here are some of the other categories I feel strongly about.
Fan Writer: Alasdair Stuart continues to do amazing work from his newsletter to his in depth host spots on various Escape Artists podcasts. Jason Sanford is also doing a great job at keeping track of the news in SF.
Dramatic Work (short): I love seeing clipping. on the Hugo ballot because it shows how much we as a genre are willing to stretch ourselves. This year they did a full EP release alongside Rivers Solomon’s (Hugo-eligible!) novella The Deep, on which they share writing credit. (The EP is different from their Hugo-nominated single “The Deep.” But it contains that single, so I don’t know if that messes with eligibility or not.)
Dramatic Work (long): I find it amusing that The Witcher is so polarizing. I am firmly on the “loved it” side. It wasn’t perfect, and the disability representation seems to go from empowering to stereotypical (I am not a disability critic/scholar, so I invite you to read this criticism) but I really enjoyed it regardless. I also loved The Umbrella Academy as a whole season as well, and it looks like it’s not going to go the same direction as the comic did, which I really hated.
Graphic Story: I really enjoyed Die by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans. It shows that some stories we think of as tired cliches are masterful stories in the hands of an excellent storyteller. Kids get sucked into their own RPG game, but it’s so much more than that. (The title can give you a hint what the genre of this comic is.)
Lodestar (YA- not a Hugo): Neal Shusterman has written his YA trilogy masterpiece Arc of the Scythe underneath the radar of SF circles, but the final book, The Toll, came out last year, and it was as good as the first two. The series follows people who live in a government-free, eternal-life utopia ruled by a benevolent AI and Scythes, people who legally kill in order to a) control the population and b) remind people that life has meaning when it has a chance to end. All of the fascinating plotlines come to head including the introduction of a non-binary salvage captain.
I’m sure there’s more, but I will blog them as time goes on.
2018 was a year heavy on the writing and light on the actual publishing. But here’s what I worked on and what I’m eligible for, if you’re in a nominating mood.
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NOTE FROM MATT AND MUR: So, yeah. This episode, as well as next week’s 20-Minute Ditch, were both recorded before rampant sexual harassment allegations against Morgan Freeman became public knowledge. The Ditch Diggers are an organization that believes women and has no desire or intention to prop up harassers or abuser culture, accused or otherwise. As such, we will be omitting our usual references to Morgan Freeman in episodes moving forward.
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I am stunned, honored, and humbled (and proud- can I be proud and humble? The jury is out) to say that I have been nominated for three Hugo awards this year. Fancast (Ditch Diggers), Semiprozine (Escape Pod), and Novel (Six Wakes).
WE ARE WARRIORS
I had lunch with friends, where Ursula Vernon and I quietly celebrated our nominations (she was nominated in Short Story and the new YA Not-A-Hugo – congrats, Ursula!). We went out for coffee afterwards, and then I got the email about Escape Pod being a finalist for Semiprozine. This is the first Hugo nomination for any Escape Artist podcast, and the first time a podcast magazine has been nominated in this category. I informed our publishers and then had a “holy crap!” call with my co-editor, SB Divya. I’m so proud of our team.
Two nominations. I was feeling pretty damn cool about right now.
That night I played Overwatch and drank a glass or two of wine. This was officially “holy crap I’m nominated for two Hugos” wine.
Mood right about now.
Then the third email, the BIG ONE, came in. I had to throw the controller at Fiona so she could take over playing Lucio for me, and then I read the email and tried very hard to parse the meaning. I’ve never had a major fiction nomination before, and now my novel has been nominated for the Philip K Dick, Nebula, AND HUGO.
Three nominations, man. I never ever expected this.
Congrats to all of the nominees! Full list here.
(Future posts will have the report from NorwesCon and commentary on the Hugo ballot as a whole. Spoiler- it is DOPE.)
I’m completely dumbfounded, baffled, and so honored to announce that my little murder clone book, Six Wakes, is nominated for The Nebula Award.
Yeah. I know.
To compare to the movie industry, the Hugo Awards are like the Peoples’ Choice Awards, voted on by the fans attending Worldcon. The Nebulas are the Oscars: voted on by members of the professional organization of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
I never thought I would get a Nebula nomination. I mean I felt it was so far out of my league that I didn’t even want it; it wasn’t worth the mental energy to desire it. It’s like wishing you could own the moon. So when the nomination came I was floored.
It’s in the same category as some amazing books by some amazing authors. It is such an honor to be even considered among them.
For the record, in the novel category, six out of seven books were written by women, and two of seven (that I know of) written by people of color.
And check out Fonda Lee, Sarah Pinsker, and Vina Jie-Min Prasad, who are each on the ballot twice! That’s hardcore!
I’ll be attending Nebula weekend in Pittsburgh in May. I’ll be the one walking around looking stunned.
I have several friends on the other ballots, and I’m SO HAPPY and proud of them. Here’s the whole ballot. (Biggest conflict I have is the fact that “Get Out” AND “The Good Place” are nominated for the Ray Bradbury Award! I honestly don’t know how I will vote there.)
2017 Nebula/Bradbury/Norton Award Finalists
Novel
Amberlough, Lara Elena Donnelly (Tor)
The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, Theodora Goss (Saga)
Spoonbenders, Daryl Gregory (Knopf; riverrun)
The Stone Sky, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
Six Wakes, Mur Lafferty (Orbit US)
Jade City, Fonda Lee (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
Autonomous, Annalee Newitz (Tor; Orbit UK 2018)
Novella
River of Teeth, Sarah Gailey (Tor.com Publishing)
Passing Strange, Ellen Klages (Tor.com Publishing)
“And Then There Were (N-One)”, Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny 3-4/17)
Barry’s Deal, Lawrence M. Schoen (NobleFusion Press)
All Systems Red, Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)
The Black Tides of Heaven, JY Yang (Tor.com Publishing)
Novelette
“Dirty Old Town”, Richard Bowes (F&SF 5-6/17)
“Weaponized Math”, Jonathan P. Brazee (The Expanding Universe, Vol. 3)
“Wind Will Rove”, Sarah Pinsker (Asimov’s 9-10/17)
“A Series of Steaks”, Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Clarkesworld 1/17)
“A Human Stain”, Kelly Robson (Tor.com 1/4/17)
“Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time”, K.M. Szpara (Uncanny 5-6/17)
Short Story
“Fandom for Robots”, Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Uncanny 9-10/17)
“Welcome to Your Authentic Indian ExperienceTM”, Rebecca Roanhorse (Apex 8/17)
“Utopia, LOL?”, Jamie Wahls (Strange Horizons 6/5/17)
“Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand”, Fran Wilde (Uncanny 9-10/17)
“The Last Novelist (or A Dead Lizard in the Yard)”, Matthew Kressel (Tor.com 3/15/17)
“Carnival Nine”, Caroline M. Yoachim (Beneath Ceaseless Skies 5/11/17)
The Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation
Get Out (Written by Jordan Peele)
The Good Place: “Michael’s Gambit” (Written by Michael Schur)
Logan (Screenplay by Scott Frank, James Mangold, and Michael Green)
The Shape of Water (Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro & Vanessa Taylor)
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Written by Rian Johnson)
Wonder Woman (Screenplay by Allan Heinberg)
The Andre Norton Award for Outstanding Young Adult Science Fiction or Fantasy Book
Exo, Fonda Lee (Scholastic Press)
Weave a Circle Round, Kari Maaren (Tor)
The Art of Starving, Sam J. Miller (HarperTeen)
Want, Cindy Pon (Simon Pulse)
Last Thursday, after a pretty crappy day, I got an all caps text from my agent telling me that Six Wakes is on the ballot for the Philip K. Dick Award!
HOLY SHIT.
So now my years’ plans include attending NorWesCon March 30-April 1! Can’t wait to see the west coast people!
Here’s the whole nominee list:
The Book of Etta by Meg Elison (47North)
Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty (Orbit)
After the Flare by Deji Bryce Olukotun (The Unnamed Press)
The Wrong Stars by Tim Pratt (Angry Robot)
Revenger by Alastair Reynolds (Orbit)
Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn (Mariner/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
All Systems Red by Martha Wells (Tor.com)
The Philip K. Dick Award is presented annually with the support of the Philip K. Dick Trust for distinguished science fiction published in paperback original form in the United States during the previous calendar year. The award is sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society and the Philip K. Dick Trust and the award ceremony is sponsored by the Northwest Science Fiction Society.
The award will be announced on Friday, March 30, 2018 at Norwescon 41 in SeaTac, Washington. For more information, you can go to their website.
It’s HEY I AM ELIGIBLE FOR AWARDS time again! So hang up your Hugo stocking and start singing those Nebula carols and cook the Locus beast! Here’s what I accomplished in 2017:
Did I forget something? Probably. I’m bad with the “what hat am I wearing at this point in time?” problem.
Not-Me Work That’s Awesome Too
I don’t like to promote too much of other people’s stuff for awards time, partly because I feel so bummed when others post their favorite stuff and my work doesn’t make the cut. I’m a softie. But I would like to put forth a few things I enjoyed, namely:
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Here are all the Hugo finalists, with the most important category first! (Bold categories have guest-hosted Ditch Diggers!) (more…)
I made stuff in 2016! I’m going to tell you about it!
My Season 2 Bookburners novelette was Debtor’s Prison, published in July.
I wrote the short story “Voice of the Empire” for Star Wars Insider magazine that came out December 27, just under the wire.
Regarding the Hugos, my podcasts I Should Be Writing and Ditch Diggers (with co-host Matt Wallace) are both eligible for fancast this year, and we would love your consideration.
The magazine I edit, Mothership Zeta, is eligible for best semiprozine, which makes me eligible for best editor (Short).
I think that’s all I’m eligible for; last year was a lot of work on stuff that hasn’t seen the light of day (yet). For example, my novel SIX WAKES didn’t make it out in time to be a 2016 book, but you can get it this month (make it safe and preorder now!) and then consider it for next year.