Ditmar Awards Again

Nominations have opened for the 2014 Ditmar Awards.

I'm eligible with a whole bunch of stories, but there are two in particular that have achieved some success and recognition.

Holland:1944 

published by Mike Resnick in Galaxy's Edge #7. It has garnered some great reviews, and was selected by Mike for inclusion in The Best of Galaxy's Edge.

The Last of the Butterflies

published by Keith Stevenson in Dimension6 #3. Again some great reviews, and reprinted in Dimension6: Annual Collection 2014.

Should you feel these stories are worthy of a nomination, I would certainly appreciate the support.

Nominations for the 2015 Australian SF (“Ditmar”) awards are now open and will remain open until one minute before midnight Perth time on Sunday, 1st of February, 2015 (ie. 11.59pm, GMT+8). Postal nominations must be postmarked no later than Friday, 30th of January, 2015.
The current rules, including Award categories can be found HERE.

You must include your name with any nomination. Nominations will be accepted only from natural persons active in fandom, or from full or supporting members of Swancon 40, the 2015 Australian National SF Convention. Where a nominator may not be known to the Ditmar subcommittee, the nominator should provide the name of someone known to the subcommittee who can vouch for the nominator’s eligibility. Convention attendance or membership of an SF club are among the criteria which qualify a person as “active in fandom”, but are not the only qualifying criteria. If in doubt, nominate and mention your qualifying criteria. If you received this email directly, you almost certainly qualify.

You may nominate as many times in as many Award categories as you like, although you may only nominate a particular person, work or achievement once. The Ditmar subcommittee, which is organised under the auspices the Standing Committee of the Natcon Business Meeting, will rule on situations where eligibility is unclear. A partial and unofficial eligibility list, to which everyone is encouraged to add, can be found HERE.

Online nominations an be made via this form.

On A Tangent.

What a great way to start the New Year.

I woke up this morning to find my story, Holland:1944, had made Tangent's recommended reading list. 

This story has a strange genesis. 

The short version is it evolved from an anonymous post I made on a forum in response to comments made by someone who, I found out much later, had been bullying some friends of mine. That post became a running joke on the forum for well over a year before this story was published. 

The long version is probably best told over a couple of beers - especially if you're buying.

Mike Resnick bought the story for Galaxy's Edge #7, and then selected it for his anthology, The Best of Galaxy's Edge.  Tangent's list is quite long, so I won't reproduce it here. Congratulations to everyone who made the list. Below are inclusions by some of my friends.

"A Perfect Day Off the Farm" by Patty Jansen (Extreme Planets)

"The Nursery Corner" by Kaaron Warren (Fearsome Magics)

"Elsa's Spheres" by Marina J. Lostetter (IGMS #37)
"Human Strandings and the Role of the Xenobiologist" by Thoraiya Dyer (Clarkesworld #90)
"Holland: 1944" by Steve Cameron (Galaxy's Edge #7)
"The Nechronomator" by Brad R. Torgersen (Galaxy's Edge #7)
"Pocket Full of Mumbles" by Tina Gower (Galaxy's Edge #8)
"Honey, Plums and Cinnamon" by Andrea G. Stewart (Galaxy's Edge #9)
"Matial" by Lou J. Berger (Galaxy's Edge #9)
"Song of the Sargasso" by Marina J. Lostetter (Galaxy's Edge #11)
"The Mandelbrot Bet" by Dirk Strasser (Carbide Tipped Pens)
"Imma Gonna Finish You Off" by Marina J. Lostetter (Galaxy's Edge #6)
"The Cuckoo" by Sean Williams (Clarkesworld #91)
"The Newboy’s Last Stand" by Krystal Claxton (UFO 3)
"Life Flight" by Brad R. Torgersen (Analog, 3/14)
"Recapturing the Dream" by Brad R. Torgersen (Racers of the Night)

The Best of Galaxy's Edge 2013-2014.

I'm delighted to announce that Mike Resnick has selected my story, Holland:1944, to be reprinted in The Best of Galaxy's Edge 2013-2014.

And what a TOC. I'm in there with Brad R. Torgersen, Andrea Stewart, Tina Gower, Marina J. Lostetter, Kary English, Lou J. Berger, Ken Liu, C.L. Moore, Nancy Kress and Larry Niven.

LARRY NIVEN!

(So, is this a fitting entry for my 500th post?)

Run, Buy, Preorder, Purchase. It's due for release next week.

Here's the table of contents:

Introduction, by Mike Resnick
I, Arachnobot, by Brian Trent
Pocketful of Mumbles, by Tina Gower
Creator of the Cosmos Job Interview Today, by Nick DiChario
Will You Volunteer to Kill Wendy?, by Eric Cline
Neep, by Kathleen Miller
Effect and Cause, by Ken Liu
Ghost in the Machine, by Ralph Roberts
The Prayer Ladder, by Marina T. Lostetter
Holland: 1944, by Steve Cameron
The Spinach Can’s Son, by Robert T. Jeschonek
Intersection, by Gio Clairval
No Place for a Hero, by James Aquilone
Happily Ever After, by C. L. Moore
Upright, Unlocked, by Tom Gerencer
Love in Bloom, by Sabina Theo
Icarus at Noon, by Eric Lief Davin
Matial, by Lou J. Berger
Do You Remember Michael Jones?, by Nancy Kress
Zombies at Work, by Leena Likatelo
Exemplar, by Mercedes Lackey
The Nechronomitor, by Brad R. Torgersen
Today I Am Nobody, by Tina Gower
God Walks Into a Bar, by Larry Niven
Totaled, by Kary English
The Unchanging Nature of Stones, by Andrea Stewart

Thirty Three And A Third.

Twelve months after its launch, Galaxy's Edge has been approved by the SFWA as a professional market. Congratulations to Shahid Mahmud, Laura Somerville and Mike Resnick who have worked so hard in achieving that goal.

In September of last year, I wrote on how impressed I was with this magazine, so I was thrilled when I was able to sell Mike a story a short time later. (I also mentioned two other magazines in that piece - interestingly I've also sold to Keith Stevenson at Dimension6. Now I have to sell to Dean Wesley Smith at Fiction River to hit the prophetic trifecta.)

What does it mean for me?

It means that my first pro-level sale, a story entitled Holland:1944, now qualifies as one-third of the required three sales to become a full SFWA member, and I'm pretty happy about that.

Oh, and for the next five weeks or so, Holland:1944 continues to be available to read for free here.

Holland: 1944.

I'm thrilled to announce that my story, Holland:1944, is now available in Galaxy's Edge #7.

The magazine is free for the next two months, or it can be purchased in a number of formats either from the webpage, or through your usual online retailers.

But wait, there's more.  Check out the names on this TOC and tell me this isn't worth reading.

Once again thanks to Mike, Laura and Shahid. Thanks to Stewart C. Baker, who suggested I turn this idea into a story, although he probably doesn't even realise it. (There is a story in itself behind all this.) And special thanks to David McDonald, Pete Aldin, and the amazing Tina Gower, who all spent time critiquing my story.

And to Bob Writer, wherever you may be.

Table of Contents:

Cassandra, by C. J. Cherryh
Holland, 1944, by Steve Cameron
Cordle to Onion to Carrot, by Robert Sheckley
Pallbearers, by Martin Shoemaker
Werehunter, by Mercedes Lackey
The Tour Guide, by Lou J. Berger
Faster Gun, by Elizabeth Bear
The Necronomator, by Brad R. Torgersen
In a Green Dress, Surrounded by Exploding Clowns, by Robert Jeschonek
One Sunday in Neptune, by Alexei Panshin
Except for the Plumbing, by Greg Benford
From the Heart’s Basement #7, by Barry N. Malzberg
Book Reviews, by Paul Cook
Lest Darkness Fall (Part 1), by L. Sprague de Camp

My Story Is Coming In Galaxy's Edge.

How on earth did I manage to squeeze in between Cherryh and Sheckley? I still can't believe it.

Add Malzberg, Sprague de Camp, Benford and you'll find me all a quiver. Huge fanboy moment. I mean, these are names that have been on my bookshelf since I was a teenager.

In more recent years I've been impressed by Torgersen and Shoemaker. I'd go as far as calling them online friends. And I feel honoured to share a TOC with these guys as well. I know most of the other names, I'm sorry I'm just not familiar with their writing. So little time, so many books.

My story, Holland: 1944, goes live in Galaxy's Edge #7 next Saturday. It'll be free on the website until the following issue. And it's available for purchase as an ebook or in print.

Thanks Mike Resnick, Shahid Mahmud and Laura Somerville.

Contributor copies appear to have arrived in the U.S., which means mine is hopefully somewhere over the Pacific Ocean.