Wow, is it really award season again? Last year’s award season was chaos and pandemonium, but I have high hopes that this year, the science fiction and fantasy community will have a friendly discussion about their favorite genre. If you had a membership to WorldCon last year or have a membership this year, you can nominate work. Awards can make a huge difference in a writer’s career, so get out there and nominate the pieces you love! For more information, visit the MidAmericon’s Hugo award site.

I had a lot of short fiction come out this year, but most of it was horror, so it’s not a great fit for the Hugo awards. Of course, I did work my butt off in the editorial world, and one awesome fan site recommended me as a nominee for Best Short Form Editor (Thanks so much, Nerds of a Feather!). I guess I am eligible!

Seriously, the editorial categories of the Hugo awards often get very few nominations or votes, but editors do a lot of heavy lifting in this field. If you love a magazine’s work, give their editor a shout-out when you make your nominations! And if you like a book, you can often find its editor listed in the acknowledgments at the back of the book. I’d love to see short form editors like John Joseph Adams, C. C. Finlay, and Scott Andrews get recognized this year, and I adore the work of long form editors like Liz Gorinsky, Nick Mamatas, and Paizo’s own James Sutter.

Let’s make the Hugo Awards a celebration this year. It’s not really about who wins–it’s about how much we love SFF!

Terrific news, audiophiles! Fifteen of the Pathfinder adventure novels have been released today as audiobooks, including my all-axes-on-deck novel, Skinwalkers. So if you need something to make your commute a little more exciting, we’ve gotcha covered.

You can check it out here on Audible.

It’s a rite of passage for every SF/F writer, especially those of us in the Pacific Northwest: signing the legendary column in Powell’s Gold Room. For a measure of the artifact’s true awesomeness, here’s a photo from the Powell’s Tumblr. Yes, that is Douglas Adams’ signature. And Peter S. Beagle’s. And Ursula K. LeGuin’s. Neil Gaiman has particularly epic piece of art he added to the column a few years back.

So when a group of us local writing gals met up with an out-of-town friend—the talented Tex Thompson—we knew we had to take her to see this holiest of all landmarks. You can’t help but feel the presence of the great ones when you’re standing next to their scrawled messages. Elizabeth Scarborough left her email address! Brian Froud drew a fairy! I mean, how cool is that?

Staff in the Gold Room were just as geeked out about it as we were. Over the past few years, one of the staffers has stepped up to advocate for the preservation of the post, and Powell’s is going to install a new UV-protective plexi covering that will help keep the signatures fresh for future generations. If you look closely, you can see the ghostly shapes of previous signatures, now nearly lost in time.

But the signatures of our little gang are bright and shiny  (and right next to Wesley Chu‘s autograph! What a great place to be!). I’ve been waiting to sign the column until I felt like “a real writer,” but with a lot of chocolate under my belt and in the presence of awesome fun friends like Tina Connolly (who hadn’t signed either, even though she has like four books out and a Nebula nomination and is basically my hero), Alex Renwick (who already signed the column like a total pro, because that’s how she rolls), and Tex, it just seemed like the right thing to do.

Squee!

Photo by Arianne “Tex” Thompson, who rocks.

We just announced the preliminary line-up for Queers Destroy Horror!, the special issue of Nightmare Magazine that I’m guest editing. I’ve gotten to work with some pretty amazing writers (Caitlín R. Kiernan! Poppy Z. Brite! Favorite author who is still top-secret and cannot be named!!!!) and our editorial staff has been incredible.

For the announcement, visit the DestroySF website.

Smarter people than me have weighed in on the Hugo eligibility of the Women Destroy projects. It sounds like the issues are unlikely candidates for the Best Related Work category. (Sorry! I know my last post said it was!)

I was a little bummed out to hear it, because I think the Women Destroy special issues are some of the most exciting work that happened last year, with an unusual positive message of inclusivity and empowerment. I also think the Women Destroy projects brought together fiction and nonfiction in a particularly resonant way, and I don’t think we see those two forms brought together in synergy nearly enough.

As I’ve mentioned before, the individual pieces within the special issues can all be nominated for awards. Each nonfiction piece does qualify for Best Related Work, including the multi-author Editorials. I personally think the editorials do an exceptional job explaining the genesis of the projects and expressing the unique spirit of destruction.

Whatever happens, I know I’m looking forward to the big awards party in Spokane this year. 2014 had a bumper crop of great work, and I think science fiction and fantasy should be proud of itself.

It’s been an exciting year so far, but by far the most thrilling news is that I’ve signed on to write another book for Pathfinder! More details will follow, but I think it’s safe to say that Jendara and her family are pretty stoked to get into more trouble.

*dances off to go write*

As research for the upcoming Women Destroy Fantasy! special issue of Lightspeed, I’m compiling a list of fantasy novels by women that have won major genre fiction awards. Here’s what I have so far:

World Fantasy Award-winning novels by women

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, by Patricia McKillip (1975)

Watchtower, by Elizabeth A. Lynn (1980)

Thomas the Rhymer, by Ellen Kushner (1991)

Godmother Night, by Rachel Pollack (1997)

The Antelope Wife, by Louise Erdrich (1999)

The Other Wind, by Ursula K. LeGuin (2002)

Ombria in Shadow, by Patricia McKillip (2003)

Tooth and Claw, by Jo Walton (2004)

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke (2005)

Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan (2009)

Who Fears Death, by Nnedi Okorafor (2011)

Alif the Unseen, by G. Willow Wilson (2013)

Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel

Harpist in the Wind, by Patricia McKillip (1980)

The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley (1984)

Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea, by Ursula K. LeGuin (1991)

Beauty, by Sheri S. Tepper (1992)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J. K. Rowling (2000)

Paladin of Souls, by Lois McMaster Bujold (2004)

The Privilege of the Sword, by Ellen Kushner (2007)

Lavinia, by Ursula K. LeGuin (2009)

Fantasy novels[*] by women that have won the Nebula Award for Best Novel:

The Falling Woman, by Pat Murphy (1988)

Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea, by Ursula K. LeGuin (1991)

Paladin of Souls, by Lois McMaster Bujold (2005)

Powers, by Ursula K. LeGuin (2009)

Among Others, by Jo Walton (2012)

[*]           If the author attempted to explain the speculative elements of the text via some kind of appeal to science or technology, I called it science fiction and did not include the work.

Works by women writers to receive the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award[*]

The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart (1971)

Red Moon and Black Mountain, by Joy Chant (1972)

The Song of Rhiannon, by Evangeline Walton (1973)

The Hollow Hills, by Mary Stewart (1974)

The Firelings, by Carol Kendall (1983)

When Voiha Wakes, by Joy Chant (1984)

Cards of Grief, by Jane Yolen (1985)

Thomas the Rhymer, by Ellen Kushner (1991)

A Woman of the Iron People, by Eleanor Arnason (1992)

Briar Rose, by Jane Yolen (1993)

The Porcelain Dove, by Delia Sherman (1994)

Something Rich and Strange, by Patricia A. McKillip (1995)

Waking the Moon, by Elizabeth Hand (1996)

The Wood Wife, by Terri Windling (1997)

The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye, by A.S. Byatt (1998)

The Innamorati, by Midori Snyder (2001)

The Curse of Chalion, by Lois McMaster Bujold (2002)

Ombria in Shadow, by Patricia A. McKillip (2003)

Sunshine, by Robin McKinley (2004)

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke (2005)

Solstice Wood, by Patricia A. McKillip (2007)

Orphan’s Tales, by Catherynne M. Valente (2008)

Flesh and Spirit and Breath and Bone, by Carol Berg (2009)

Lifelode, by Jo Walton (2010)

Redemption in Indigo, by Karen Lord (2011)

The Uncertain Places, by Lisa Goldstein (2012)

Digger, vols. 1-6, by Ursula Vernon (2013)

[*]           From 1971-1992, the Mythopoeic Society made no distinction between adult and youth fiction. In 1992 the Mythopoeic Society began giving two separate awards, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature and the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature. I have included only the Adult winners for the time being.

First, I want to give a big thank you to everyone who entered! You all shared amazing stories and I had a great time reading them. From a number of entrants, I selected two winners, one based upon how much I liked their story of an outstanding mother, and one selected purely at random.

Winner #1 is Jonathan, aka Greeniewolf! His story about his remarkable mother made me quite teary. She sounds like a truly amazing woman. Jonathan, I’m sending you an email to get your shipping information.

Winner #2 didn’t give me her name, but I do have her email address, and I’ll be contacting her to get her details.

Don’t forget that all of you have been entered into the Grand Prize drawing, where you could win a copy of not just my novel, Skinwalkers, but eighteen other fantastic books. My fingers are crossed for all of you!