Podcast Honored

September 8, 2013 at 1:18 am

A somewhat belated congratulations to Kyle, Mimi, Ashley, Amin, and the many other co-hosts, guests, and visitors at A Podcast of Ice and Fire, who just won the "Geekie Award" for Best Podcast.

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I've never actually met the folks from the Podcast of Ice & Fire… well, most of them, anyway, I may have run into one or two on book tours… but I have listened to them from time to time, and they seem to have a lot of fun. They are not always right, but they are [almost] always interesting, and worth the listen. So give them a try, if you're a fan of podcasts. You can find them at http://podcastoficeandfire.com/ talking about the show, the books, and… for reasons I am not entirely clear on… House Manwoody.

Congrats on the honor, guys. Take a bow.

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Tags: awards, fandom, podcasts, song of ice and fire

GOT Takes BAFTA

May 12, 2013 at 2:11 pm

Hot damn.

GAME OF THRONES has just won the Radio Times BAFTA Award:

http://bafta-television.tumblr.com/post/50282069146/bafta-television-radio-times-audience-award-winner

The BAFTAs, for those unfamiliar with them, are the British Emmys. Despite the fact that we shoot in Belfast, Northern Ireland (and Morocco, Iceland, Croatia, and Malta) and that half of our cast is British (most of the rest being Irish, with here and there a Dane, a Norwegian, a German, and even a token American), we are considered to be an American show, I guess because HBO is an American company, and therefore ineligible for the BAFTAs.

However, this one category, the Radio Times award, is for the best international show, and unlike the other BAFTAs, it is chosen by popular vote.

Which I guess just proves that a lot of Brits are watching, even if we are an “American” show.

Congrats to all!!

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Tags: awards, game of thrones, hbo

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

WGA Nominates HBO’s GOT

December 6, 2012 at 2:33 pm

The writing staff of HBO’s series GAME OF THRONES, season two, has been nominated by the members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) for the 2013 WGA Awards, Best Drama.

Second year in a row. The finalists are MAD MEN, HOMELAND, BREAKING BAD, BOARDWALK EMPIRE, and us. “Us” this year being David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Vanessa Taylor, Bryan Cogman, and yours truly.

wga

For a full list of all categories and nominees, go to:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-wga-awards-tv-nominations-20121206,0,181371.story

Congratulations to David, Dan, Bryan, and Vanessa. And to the writers on the other shows, all of whom did some kickass work this year.

It is always nice to be recognized by your fellow writers.

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Tags: awards, game of thrones, hbo, television

World Fantasy Awards

November 4, 2012 at 5:55 pm

Just heard that OSAMA, by Lavie Tidhar, won this year’s World Fantasy Award (also known as the Howard and/or Howie, since the trophy is a bust of H.P. Lovecraft by Gahan Wilson).

I haven’t read the novel myself, but I hear good things about it. Congratulations to Lavie Tidhar.

The WFC did award me one of this year’s “Lifetime Achievement” awards.

My thanks to the jury. My editor, Anne Lesley Groell, was going to accept the award for me, but Sandy marooned in NYC. I did sent a few words to the conom; I trust that someone or other got and read them on my behalf.

Alan Garner was also given a Lifetime Achievement award. I was very pleased to see that. Garner, the author of THE OWL SERVICE and THE WEIRDSTONE OF BRISINGAMEN and many other fine, fine fantasies, is long overdue for some recognition. If you’re not familiar with his books, you have a treat coming. Go out, find them, read them.

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Tags: awards, dance with dragons, world fantasy convention

The Day After

September 24, 2012 at 1:01 pm

Lost another one.

sigh

Not unexpected, but still…

The parties were fun, though.

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Tags: awards, game of thrones

Emmy Day

September 23, 2012 at 11:21 am

Just had brunch. Now I get to watch a couple hours of football, before it’s time to put on the Monkey Suit and hop in the limo for the Emmy Award Shuffle.

GAME OF THRONES is one of six nominees in Best Dramatic Series, and all Hollywood agrees that we are the longest shot of the six. Vegas puts the odds against us at 50-1 (still time to get down your bets). Others put it more succinctly: it will be snowing in hell before the Academy gives the “big one” to a fantasy or SF show.

But we shall see. It’s am honor to be nominated, and the HBO party will be the best in town, regardless of who wins the award.

Cross your fingers, uncross your legs, and light an offering to your favorite deity.

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Tags: awards, game of thrones

Bring Me the Head of Howard Phillips Lovecraft

August 14, 2012 at 1:26 pm

Actually, TWO heads would be even better.

It occurs to me that I have been so busy lately that I have not yet gotten around to announcing that (1) A DANCE WITH DRAGONS has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award in the “Best Novel” category, and (2) the World Fantasy Award jury has also selected me as one of the winners of their Lifetime Achievement Award this year.

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The World Fantasy Award is one of the more complicated honors in our field. Here’s how it works. A five-person jury is selected. The members of the previous World Fantasy Con and the upcoming World Fantasy Con receive a nominating ballot, and nominate two finalists in each award category. The jury adds three additional nominees. Then the jury selects the winner from among the five finalists.

This year’s finalists for Best Novel are:

!¢ THOSE ACROSS THE RIVER, Christopher Buehlman (Ace)
!¢ 11/22/63, Stephen King (Scribner; Hodder & Stoughton as 11.22.63)
!¢ A DANCE WITH DRAGONS, George R.R. Martin (Bantam; Harper Voyager UK)
!¢ OSAMA, Lavie Tidhar (PS Publishing)
!¢ AMONG OTHERS, Jo Walton (Tor)

A very distinguished list. My congratulations to all the other finalists.

The rest of the ballot can be found here:

http://www.wfc2012.org/pr-wfawards01.html

The Lifetime Achievement Award is a different deal. That one is announced ahead of time. I was rather startled to learn that the jury had announced ME. After all, my lifetime is not nearly over, and I have lots more achieving ahead of me, I hope… (unless the World Fantasy Award knows something that I do not). I am such a young lad, and devilishly handsome as well.

However, it is a HUGE honor, and I am very thrilled to receive it… especially as the jury also named Alan Garner as the other Lifetime Achievement receipient. If you don’t know Garner’s work, well… you should, damn you. He’s the author of THE OWL SERVICE and THE WEIRDSTONES OF BRISINGAMEN and ELIDOR and all sorts of other great stuff, and was writing terrific fantasies long before fantasy was either popular or fashionable. It’s great to see Garner get some long overdue recognition for his contributions to our genre. Now I’d love to see someone put all his books back into print again.

Past receipients of the Life Achievement award include Ray Bradbury, Ursula K. Le Guin, Theodore Sturgeon, Richard Matheson, Jack Vance, Jack Williamson, Stephen King, Fritz Leiber, Gene Wolfe, and many of my other heroes and role models, so I am going to be in very good company indeed with this one.

The awards will be presented at this year’s World Fantasy Convention in Toronto over Halloween weekend. Alas, I do not think I will be able to attend. My schedule is already pretty full for the rest of 2012, and this one came on me unexpectedly. (Also, I just appeared in Toronto early in the year). But I am sure it will be a great con.

(I do have one of Howard’s heads already, for my werewolf novella “The Skin Trade” from way back when. He proudly wears a Jets cap).

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Tags: awards, conventions, honors

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

Double Victory

February 5, 2012 at 2:10 pm

Last night in London SFX magazine announced the winners of their annual readers’s awards, and I am pleased and proud to report that A DANCE WITH DRAGONS won for Best Novel, and HBO’s GAME OF THRONES as Best New TV Show.

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I was not able to be in the UK for the awards (though I will be, come April, for Eastercon, and signings in Bath and London), so I taped my acceptance speech ahead of time.

Thanks for everyone who voted… and to all my readers everywhere, who waited for the book so patiently, and have received it with so much enthusiasm and acclaim.

(For a full list of winners, check out the SFX website. And do be sure to play Neil Gaiman’s acceptance speech, it’s a hoot and a half.)

((Now all I need to make the day perfect is a Giants victory in the SuperBowl. GO BIG BLUE!!))

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Tags: a dance with dragons, awards, game of thrones, hbo

Not a Blog

Podcast Honored

GOT Takes BAFTA

I’m Number Two…

WGA Nominates HBO’s GOT

World Fantasy Awards

The Day After

Emmy Day

Bring Me the Head of Howard Phillips Lovecraft

Dancing With LOCUS

Double Victory

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