The Evening Star Rises

July 26, 2016 at 10:43 pm

The results of this year’s Locus Awards voting were announced this weekend in Seattle, and I am delighted to announce that OLD VENUS took home the honors as last year’s Best Anthology. Alas, I was not able to be there in person to accept. Nor was my co-editor, Gardner Dozois, who is still in hospital in Philadelphia recovering from a broken ankle. But we were both thrilled.

I did send LOCUS a few words to be read in the event of our victory:

“Gardner and I are both sorry that we could not be with you tonight, but we’re surprised and delighted to accept this award for OLD VENUS. As with all of our anthologies, the real credit belongs to our writers, who gave us such amazing stories. Nonetheless, we plan on keeping the plaque for ourselves. Two years ago the readers of Locus honored OLD MARS as best anthology. This year OLD VENUS. It’s very gratifying to know that the readers still appreciate new anthologies of old stuff… that is, new old stuff… well, you know what I mean… put together by old grey editors who were new young turks just yesterday. Keep your eyes out for OLD URANUS, coming to a bookstore near you soon….”

All kidding aside, I am very proud of OLD VENUS, and I know Gardner is as well. There are some terrific stories in there, and one that in any normal year would have been a surefire Hugo finalist. This is the third year in a row that one of the original anthologies that I’ve done with Gardner has won the Locus Award, and I can’t tell you how gratifying that is. Gardner and I both began our careers (a long time ago) with short fiction, and it pleases me no end to be able to provide a showcase for some of the extraordinary short stories, novelettes, and novellas still being written in this age of the series and the meganovel. If you don’t read anthologies, friends, you are missing out on some great stuff.

Oh, and before the crazy internet rumors start flying, I had better say that I was only kidding about OLD URANUS. I do want to do some more books with Gardner, but not until I have subdued the Son of Kong. Meanwhile, Gargy is flying solo on a couple of great new original anthologies of his own, and I know those will be full of awards contenders as well.

Anyway, thanks to all the good folks at LOCUS, and everyone who voted for OLD VENUS… or for the other nominated anthologies, which were pretty special as well.

You can find the full list of nominees and winners here: http://www.locusmag.com/News/2016/06/2016-locus-awards-winners/

And if any of who would like to check out OLD VENUS… or OLD MARS, or ROGUES, or DANGEROUS WOMEN, or any of my other anthologies…. signed copies remain available from the Jean Cocteau Cinema Bookstore at http://www.jeancocteaubooks.com/

Happy reading.

Tags: anthologies, awards, jean cocteau cinema bookstore, locus awards

Awards, Awards

May 3, 2016 at 6:34 pm

The Hugo Awards may be the best-known and most prestigious awards for science fiction and fantasy, but they’re not the only ones. With the controversies about this year’s ballot raging on every side, we risk losing sight of the some other awards.

Such as the Locus Awards. Locus just announced the shortlist for those, which you can find here:http://www.locusmag.com/News/2016/05/2016-locus-awards-finalists/

I’m delighted to see that OLD VENUS is one of the finalists in Best Anthology, and that one of the stories therein, Elizabeth Bear’s “The Heart’s Filthy Lesson,” is a nominee in Best Novelette. Congratulations, Elizabeth! Oh, and Gardner Dozois was nominated as Best Editor. Congratulations, Gargy. Congratulations, Venus. Congratulations, me!

(OLD VENUS and OLD MARS both done very well, both critically and commercially. That’s very gratifying. If I ever find some spare time, Gardner and I need to do some more of those. OLD URANUS, anyone?)

The Locus Awards winners will be announced in Seattle, June 24 to 26.

Well before that, we will learn the winner of this year’s Nebula Awards. The Nebula Banquet is going to be in Chicago next weekend, May 14. My friend John Hodgman will be the master of ceremonies. You can still get a ticket, I think. Check it out: http://www.sfwa.org/nebula-awards/2016-nebula-conference/

Oh, and I’ve also been informed that the Spanish language edition of THE WORLD OF ICE & FIRE, the massive “fake history” book I did with Elio Garcia and Linda Antonnson, has been nominated for the Ignotus Award, one of the biggest SF/ awards prizes in Spain.

The full list of nominees is here: http://www.aefcft.com/nominaciones-a-los-premios-ignotus-2016/

Win or lose, as always, it is an honor just to be nominated.

Tags: awards, locus awards, nebula awards, spain

Good Stuff to Read

February 1, 2016 at 1:46 pm

With Hugo nominations now open, the question arises… what to nominate?

There was a lot of good work done last year.

A great place to start is with the LOCUS Recommended Reading List, which just came out:

http://www.locusmag.com/News/2016/02/2015-locus-recommended-reading-list/

I am sure there are some terrific stories and books that did not make the list (there usually are), but still, you can’t do better when it comes to a starting place.

And please note, in light of last year’s controversies, that this is what a recommended reading list SHOULD look like. Not a slate of five, with the message (spoken or unspoken) “vote for these,” but rather a long long list of quality work with the message, “here’s some good stuff, things we like, take a look.”

(I am, of course, gratified that so many stories from OLD VENUS made the list. LOCUS has always been kind to me. I point this out lest I be accused of bias. So I cannot pretend to be a completely disinterested party, but I do want to be honest and upfront. It should be said as well that, while I often share the enthusiasms of the LOCUS editorial staff and reviewers, and have found them to be on the whole a reliable guide, I do also disagree with their assessments from time to time. We all have our own tastes).

Just for the record, before the issue is raised, let me state loudly and definitively that I do not want any of my work to be part of anyone’s slate, this year or any year. But I do feel, as I have said before, that a recommended reading list and a slate are two entirely different animals.

Meanwhile, I will continue making my own recommendations here from time to time, when I have the time and the energy. Both of which I find are in short supply these days.

Tags: awards, hugo awards, locus awards, science fiction

Locus Award to ROGUES

July 2, 2015 at 10:09 am

Would that I could be in two places at once. While I was off in Germany, Sweden, Finland, and the Aland Islands, I was winning an award in Seattle.

ROGUES, the latest in the series of massive cross-genre anthologies I’ve edited with Gardner Dozois, won the Locus Award for the Best Anthology of 2014. The award is voted annually by the readers and subcribers of LOCUS, the PUBLISHER WEEKLY of science fiction, and a “must read” publication for anyone seriously interested in our genre.

I’m thrilled to say that one of the stories in the book also took home a Locus plaque — Joe Abercrombie won Best Novelette for “Tough Times All Over.” ROGUES also had two runners-up on the list, a novella by Patrick Rothfuss and a novelette by Scott Lynch.

The full results can be found here: http://www.locusmag.com/News/2015/06/2015-locus-awards-winners/

The two LOCUS Awards are the latest additions to the anthology’s awards haul. Gillian Flynn’s story for ROGUES earlier won an Edgar, and the book itself was voted a Stabby Award by the members of the Reddit online community.

If you’d like to check out the book for yourself, autographed hardcovers are still available from the bookstore at the Jean Cocteau Cinema: http://www.jeancocteaubooks.com/

Tags: anthologies, awards, locus awards, signed books

LOCUS Nominations Announced

May 4, 2015 at 7:20 pm

LOCUS has just released its list of finalists for this year’s Locus Awards. I am pleased and proud that ROGUES, last year’s big crossgenre anthology from Gardner Dozois and yours truly, earned a nomination for Best Original Anthology.

In addition, three of the stories in the ROGUES have also been nominated in their respective categories: “The Lightning Tree” by Patrick Rothfuss in Novella, and Joe Abercrombie’s “Tough Times All Over” and Scott Lynch’s “A Year and a Day in old Theradane” in Novelette.

You can find the complete list of finalists here:

http://www.locusmag.com/News/2015/05/2015-locus-awards-finalists/

While this year, admittedly, may be different due to the influence of the slate campaigns, over most of the past couple of decades the Locus Poll has traditionally had significantly more participants than the Hugo nomination process. Looking over the Locus list, one cannot help but think that this is probably what the Hugo ballot would have looked like, if the Puppies had not decided to game the system this year.

Is it a better list or a worse one? Opinions may differ. The proof is in the reading.

In any case, congratulations to Scott, Patrick, and Joe, and thanks to everyone who nominated their stories, and ROGUES. We’re glad you liked the book. Gardner and I loved doing it.

Tags: anthologies, awards, locus awards

Martians and Women and Rogues, Oh My

July 17, 2014 at 5:06 pm

Hey, lots of good news on the anthology front while I was traipsing around France and Switzerland these past couple of weeks.

OLD MARS led the way, winning the annual Locus Award as the Best Anthology of 2013:

Old Mars cvr rev

You can check out the details at http://www.locusmag.com/News/2014/06/2014-locus-awards-winners-2/ And congratulations to my pals Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck as well. As James S.A. Corey, they won the Locus Award for Best SF Novel of the year. (Would that ABADDON'S GATE was on the Hugo ballot as well). And of course, congrats to my co-editor Gardner Dozois, and our amazing lineup of writers, who made the anthology the delight that it is. If you haven't checked out OLD MARS yet, you missed at lot.

((And for what it's worth, OLD VENUS will be even better)).

Next thing, the nominees for this year's World Fantasy Award were announced. OLD MARS wasn't eligible, being science fiction and all… but DANGEROUS WOMEN, the big crossgenre anthology that Gardner and I released last summer, is one of the finalists for Best Anthology (against some mighty stiff competition, I might add).

91EWTSOg1IL._SL1500_

You can check out the full list of Wold Fantasy Award nominees here:
http://www.worldfantasy.org/awards/

To round out the triptych, in the midst of all this recognition for the books that Gargy and I did last year, our newest anthology, ROGUES, hit the shelves from coast and coast… and debuted at #7 on the NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller List. No, not the anthology bestseller list, or the SF/ fantasy bestseller list, but the bestseller list for ALL HARDCOVER FICTION. Which is pretty damned extraordinary for an anthology.

http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2014-07-06/hardcover-fiction/list.html

Rogues comp A March 17 lo res

So, all in all, it was a hell of a month.

My thanks to the LOCUS voters, the World Fantasy Con members and judges, and all the readers who snatched up ROGUES.

I love doing anthologies, and introducing great stories and new writers to my fans. It's great to see the books being so well received.

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Tags: anthologies, awards, bestseller lists, locus awards, world fantasy convention

I’m Number Two…

December 23, 2012 at 10:36 pm

… for the whole twentieth century!

LOCUS says so, so it must be true. They did their once-every-decade-or-so megapoll for the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of All Time, and A GAME OF THRONES finished in the second place for the Best Fantasy Novel of the twentieth century, behind this guy named Tolkien. Tolkien was third as well, followed by Le Guin and Zelazny. You don’t get into more rarified company than that.

(A STORM OF SWORDS and A CLASH OF KINGS showed up on the 20th century poll as well, further down).

I even made the Best Fantasy Novel of the Twenty-FIRST century top five, with A FEAST FOR CROWS in fifth.

((Actually, I tend to think that at least some of the people who voted for A GAME OF THRONES were voting for the entire series. Makes more sense that way. You will note that Tolkien’s first place winner was LORD OF THE RINGS… they did not divide his novel into its three component volumes, but mine did get sliced into five separate entries, maybe because its unfinished as of yet.

Anyway… you have to take these kind of polls with a whole shaker of salt, but still, it’s cool. Thanks to everyone who voted for me.

You can peruse the full results here:

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/12/locus-announces-winners-of-best-novels-of-20th-and-21st-centuryq-poll

(FWIW, Frank Herbert’s DUNE finished first in SF and ENDER’S GAME was second, but my own top three would have been LORD OF LIGHT (Zelazny), THE STARS MY DESTINATION (Bester), and THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS (Le Guin).

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Tags: awards, honors, locus awards

Dancing With LOCUS

June 18, 2012 at 12:14 am

I’m very pleased to announce that A DANCE WITH DRAGONS has won the LOCUS Award as the Best Fantasy Novel of 2011. I wasn’t able to attend the awards banquet myself, but Ty flew out (he was also nominated, for LEVIATHAN WAKES in the SF category) and accepted on my behalf. Presumably he will even bring me back the award, if I can pry it out of his fingers.

For a full list of this year’s finalists and winners, go to the LOCUS website at:
http://www.locusmag.com/News/2012/06/locus-awards-2012-winners/

LOCUS, founded by the late great Charles Brown, is the trade magazine of science fiction and fantasy, and has been the bible for me and a lot of other professional writers for decades. Their annual awards poll draws more votes than the Hugo and Nebula Awards combined.

A DANCE WITH DRAGONS is the fifth volume in A SONG OF ICE & FIRE to be nominated as the year’s best fantasy by the readers of LOCUS, and the fourth to win. What can I say? Those LOCUS readers have really good taste.

Thanks to the good folks at LOCUS, and to everyone who voted, whether it was for me or for one of my excellent fellow nominees.

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Tags: a dance with dragons, awards, locus awards

WARRIORS Wins Locus Poll

June 29, 2011 at 10:30 am

I’m delighted to announce that WARRIORS, the gigantic cross-genre anthology that I co-edited with my old friend Gardner Dozois, has won the Locus Award as the Best Anthology of 2010.

The award is given by LOCUS magazine, the PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY of science fiction and fantasy, and is decided by an annual poll of of the magazine’s readers. You can check out the full results on Tor.com here: http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/06/announcing-the-2011-locus-award-winners

Gardner and I are very proud of WARRIORS, our tilting-at-windmills attempt to smash down some genre barriers, and we’re thrilled to see it cop this prize over some terrific competition, all of them pure SF and fantasy. My thanks to all our contributors, who helped make the book what it is. Without them, WARRIORS would be… well, a big book of blank pages. And thanks as well to Tom Doherty, Patrick Nielsen-Hayden, and all the other folks at Tor.

In other categories, Neil Gaiman took home the prize for Best Short Story for “The Thing About Cassandra,” originally published in another of the anthologies that Gardner and I have edited, SONGS OF LOVE AND DEATH. Congratulations to Neil. A well deserved award for a great story.

In novella, my own contender “The Mystery Knight” was among the finalists, but lost out to Ted Chiang’s “The Lifecycle of Software Objects.” Tough competition, that. Congratulations to the winner… and don’t worry, Dunk & Egg will have other chances in the years to come.

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Tags: anthologies, locus awards, tor

Not a Blog

The Evening Star Rises

Awards, Awards

Good Stuff to Read

Locus Award to ROGUES

LOCUS Nominations Announced

Martians and Women and Rogues, Oh My

I’m Number Two…

Dancing With LOCUS

WARRIORS Wins Locus Poll

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