Hugo Awards

This year’s Hugo Award ceremony was held earlier this month.  Below is a complete list of the winners (taken from the Hugo site).

Also, last week would’ve been Ray Bradbury’s 94th birthday.  He passed away a couple years back, but I recently came across an interview with him in The Paris Review: Read the transcript here.

I haven’t blogged lately, though I’ve been hard at work.  I’m finishing up the rough draft of a screenplay (an action movie) that I’m quite excited about.  After I beat this script into shape, I’ll press ahead on a new novel that I’ve been researching.

* * * * *

BEST NOVEL

Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie (Orbit US / Orbit UK)

BEST NOVELLA

“Equoid” by Charles Stross (Tor.com, 09-2013)

BEST NOVELETTE

“The Lady Astronaut of Mars” by Mary Robinette Kowal (maryrobinettekowal.com /
Tor.com, 09-2013)

BEST SHORT STORY

“The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere” by John Chu (Tor.com, 02-2013)

BEST RELATED WORK

“We Have Always Fought: Challenging the Women, Cattle and Slaves Narrative” by Kameron Hurley (A Dribble of Ink)

BEST GRAPHIC STORY

“Time” by Randall Munroe (xkcd)

BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION, LONG FORM

Gravity written by Alfonso Cuarón & Jonás Cuarón, directed by Alfonso Cuarón (Esperanto Filmoj; Heyday Films;Warner Bros.)

BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION, SHORT FORM

Game of Thrones “The Rains of Castamere” written by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, directed by David Nutter (HBO Entertainment in association with Bighead, Littlehead; Television 360; Startling Television and Generator Productions)

BEST EDITOR, SHORT FORM

Ellen Datlow

BEST EDITOR, LONG FORM

Ginjer Buchanan

BEST PROFESSIONAL ARTIST

Julie Dillon

BEST SEMIPROZINE

Lightspeed Magazine edited by John Joseph Adams, Rich Horton, and Stefan Rudnicki

BEST FANZINE

A Dribble of Ink edited by Aidan Moher

BEST FANCAST

SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester

BEST FAN WRITER

Kameron Hurley

BEST FAN ARTIST

Sarah Webb

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New Interview

Ginger Nuts of Horror has a new interview with me up on their website.  Give it a read and tell me what you think.  Check out the whole site too, because there’s some great stuff on it.

And here’s an old essay from Doug Winter that’s republished on DarkEcho.  It’s called “The Pathos of Genre,” and although it was written in the ’90s, it still resonates today.

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Link Olio

John Gary recently broke down the latest employment numbers from the Writers Guild of America, and you can read his analysis here.  Hollywood hasn’t jumped back to its pre-recession/pre-strike levels, but the numbers are headed in a positive direction.

And Comixology is currently running a special deal on 750 Batman issues, in celebration of the Dark Knight’s 75th anniversary.  I snagged some of the greatest Batman stories ever told for a song, so grab yours while you can because this sale only lasts one week.

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Shirley Jackson Awards

Earlier this month the winners of this year’s Shirley Jackson Awards were announced.  Congratulations to all the nominees.  (List taken from ShirleyJacksonAwards.org.)

NOVEL

Winner: American Elsewhere, Robert Jackson Bennett (Orbit)

Finalists

  • The Accursed, Joyce Carol Oates (Ecco)
  • The Demonologist, Andrew Pyper (Orion-UK/ Simon & Schuster-US)
  • The Ghost Bride, Yangsze Choo (William Morrow)
  • Night Film, Marisha Pessl (Random House)
  • Wild Fell, Michael Rowe (ChiZine Publications)

NOVELLA

Winner: Burning Girls, Veronica Schanoes (Tor.com)

Finalists:

  • Children of No One, Nicole Cushing (DarkFuse)
  • Helen’s Story, Rosanne Rabinowitz (PS Publishing)
  • It Sustains, Mark Morris (Earthling Publications)
  • “The Gateway,” Nina Allan (Stardust, PS Publishing)
  • The Last Revelation of Gla’aki, Ramsey Campbell (PS Publishing)
  • Whom the Gods Would Destroy, Brian Hodge (DarkFuse)

NOVELETTE

Winner: Cry Murder! In a Small Voice, Greer Gilman (Small Beer Press)

Finalists:

  • “A Little of the Night,” Tanith Lee (Clockwork Phoenix 4, Mythic Delirium Books)
  • “My Heart is Either Broken,” Megan Abbott (Dangerous Women, Tor Books)
  • “Phosphorus,” Veronica Schanoes (Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells: An Anthology of Gaslamp Fantasy, Tor Books)
  • “Raptors,” Conrad Williams (Subterranean Press Magazine, Winter 2013)

SHORT FICTION

Winner: “57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides,” Sam J. Miller (Nightmare Magazine, December 2013)

Finalists:

  • “Furnace,” Livia Llewellyn (Grimscribe’s Puppets, Miskatonic River Press)
  • “The Memory Book,” Maureen McHugh (Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells: An Anthology of Gaslamp Fantasy, Tor Books)
  • “The Statue in the Garden,” Paul Park (Exotic Gothic 5, PS Publishing)
  • “That Tiny Flutter of the Heart,” Robert Shearman (Psycho-Mania!, Constable & Robinson)
  • “The Traditional,” Maria Dahvana Headley (Lightspeed, May 2013)

SINGLE-AUTHOR COLLECTION

Two Winners: Before and Afterlives, Christopher Barzak (Lethe Press) and North American Lake Monsters, Nathan Ballingrud (Small Beer Press)

Finalists:

  • Everything You Need, Michael Marshall Smith (Earthling Publications)
  • In Search of and Others, Will Ludwigsen (Lethe Press)
  • The Story Until Now, Kit Reed (Wesleyan)

EDITED ANTHOLOGY

Winner: Grimscribe’s Puppets, edited by Joseph S. Pulver, Sr. (Miskatonic River Press)

Finalists:

  • The Book of the Dead, edited by Jared Shurin (Jurassic London)
  • End of the Road, Jonathan Oliver (Solaris)
  • Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells: An Anthology of Gaslamp Fantasy, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (Tor Books)
  • Where thy Dark Eye Glances: Queering Edgar Allan Poe, edited by Steve Berman (Lethe Press)
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Link Olio

Buzzfeed has a lengthy interview with several of Hollywood’s top screenwriters that’s worth a look:  How to Write An Awesome Movie.

Also worthy of your time is this Q&A with J. Michael Straczynski from last year’s Phoenix Comicon.  His Complete Book of Screenwriting was the first screenplay manual I ever read.  I still consult that book, which reads woefully out of date in matters of technology but remains timeless in terms of actual writing advice.  If you can track down a copy, snag it.

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World Fantasy Awards

World Fantasy Award nominations are out — congratulations to everyone involved.  The winners will be revealed at the World Fantasy Convention in Washington, D.C. in November.  (List taken from WFC website.)  Additionally, lifetime achievement honors this year go to editor Ellen Datlow and novelist Chelsea Quinn Yarbro.

Novel

  • Richard Bowes, Dust Devil on a Quiet Street (Lethe Press)
  • Marie Brennan, A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent (Tor Books)
  • Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane (William Morrow/Headline)
  • Sofia Samatar, A Stranger in Olondria (Small Beer Press)
  • Helene Wecker, The Golem and the Jinni (Harper/Blue Door)
  • Gene Wolfe, The Land Across (Tor Books)

Novella

  • Andy Duncan & Ellen Klages “Wakulla Springs” (Tor.com, 10/13)
  • Caitlín R. Kiernan Black Helicopters (Subterranean Press)
  • KJ Parker “The Sun and I” (Subterranean magazine, Summer 2013)
  • Veronica Schanoes “Burning Girls” (Tor.com, 6/13)
  • Catherynne M. Valente, Six-Gun Snow White (Subterranean Press)

Short Story

  • Thomas Olde Heuvelt, “The Ink Readers of Doi Saket” (Tor.com, 4/13)
  • Caitlín R. Kiernan, “The Prayer of Ninety Cats” (Subterranean magazine, Spring 2013)
  • Yoon Ha Lee, “Effigy Nights” (Clarkesworld, 1/13)
  • Sofia Samatar, “Selkie Stories Are for Losers” (Strange Horizons, 1/13)
  • Rachel Swirsky, “If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love” (Apex Magazine, 3/13)

Anthology

  • Kate Bernheimer, ed., xo Orpheus: Fifty New Myths (Penguin Books)
  • Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, eds. Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells: An Anthology of Gaslamp Fantasy (Tor Books)
  • Stephen Jones, ed. Flotsam Fantastique: The Souvenir Book of World Fantasy Convention 2013 (Smith & Jones/PS Publishing)
  • George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, eds. Dangerous Women (Tor Books/Voyager UK)
  • Jonathan Oliver, ed., End of the Road: An Anthology of Original Short Stories (Solaris Books)
  • Jonathan Strahan, ed., Fearsome Journeys: The New Solaris Book of Fantasy (Solaris Books)

Collection

  • Nathan Ballingrud, North American Lake Monsters: Stories (Small Beer Press)
  • Laird Barron, The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All and Other Stories (Night Shade Books)
  • Caitlín R. Kiernan, The Ape’s Wife and Other Stories (Subterranean Press)
  • Reggie Oliver, Flowers of the Sea (Tartarus Press)
  • Rachel Swirsky, How the World Became Quiet: Myths of the Past, Present, and Future  (Subterranean Press)

Artist

  • Galen Dara
  • Zelda Devon
  • Julie Dillon
  • John Picacio
  • Charles Vess

Special Award—Professional

  • John Joseph Adams, for magazine and anthology editing
  • Ginjer Buchanan, for editing at Ace Books
  • Irene Gallo, for art direction of Tor.com
  • William K. Schafer, for Subterranean Press
  • Jeff VanderMeer & Jeremy Zerfoss, for Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction (Abrams Image)

Special Award—Non-professional

  • Scott H. Andrews, for Beneath Ceaseless Skies
  • Marc Aplin, for Fantasy-Faction
  • Kate Baker, Neil Clarke & Sean Wallace, for Clarkesworld
  • Leslie Howle, for Clarion West administration
  • Jerad Walters, for Centipede Press
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Screenwriters

I think Joss Whedon is a writing genius.  If I were to rank my 15 favorite authors, only two screenwriters would crack the list:  Rod Serling and Joss Whedon.  Check out Whedon’s Top 10 Writing Tips, then take a peek at this list of 50 Joss Whedon quotes.

As for Rod Serling, “American Masters” aired a great documentary about him that I dug up on YouTube.  Lots of good information here.

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Link Olio

Couple of tidbits from around the ‘net:

Here’s a great collection of quotes about writing from Thought Catalog.

And an interesting piece in The New York Times about what happens inside the brain during the act of writing.

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Link Olio

A few interesting tidbits from around the ‘net:

Check out this periodic table of storytelling.  Mix and match your favorite movie, or use it to help plot your next story.

Wonder why old books have such a distinctive odor?  I’m an unabashed book-sniffer, and I love the smell of used bookstores.  Compound Interest breaks down the chemical processes at work.

Mental Floss has a great piece about authors who made cameos in films based on their work.  A glaring omission is Charles Beaumont in Roger Corman’s The Intruder.  Chuck wrote the novel (his only) and the screenplay, plus he played a crucial role in the film.  Turns out not only could he write, he had acting chops as well.

Here’s the full movie, but Beaumont’s best bit starts at the 68-minute mark.  Eagle-eyed genre viewers may also notice a young William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson in the audience shots alongside William Shatner.

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Blog Tour Wrap Up 5/24

We finish the Flashback tour with a wrap up at Reading Addiction Virtual Book Tours.  My thanks to Cami and Michelle, who worked hard to put together the tour.  They’re currently running a Memorial Day weekend sale, if any other authors out there want to use their services.

Reading Addiction Blog Tours

My great appreciation goes out to the individual blog hosts and hostesses who reviewed my book or interviewed me or let me hijack their blogs with a guest post.  And thanks, most importantly, to those readers of this blog who’ve followed the tour, in whole or in part.

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