Awards: Won, Lost and Otherwise
Okay, so I haven't won any awards. I should delete that part from the title, I suppose, but it looks so pretty that I'll just keep it in.
I have, apparently, lost an award: the Asimov Award. Sigh. Got word from Thomas the other day that a friend of his has been notified that he was an Honorable Mention (congratulations, whoever you are), and since they notify the winners at the same time and my phone has been noticeably silent ... no go. Ah, well. I'll admit to some disappointment, but it's really not unexpected. "I Breathe" is a mess, as I've said (though an interesting mess, I think), and "Earth Bride" is unreadable. Seriously. I opened the file the other day to see what it was that I wrote that night, and ouch. Not good. So since all my hopes were riding on a structurally and stylistically messy story, and a just plain bad story, is it any wonder that I won't be getting a free trip to Florida?
I did get into the final group, though, and that's something.
In other award news, I've seen that
Strange Horizons is having their annual
readers' poll, which "Drowned Men Can't Have Kids" is eligible to win. I don't vote for myself (it feels too tacky, and edging on something morally questionable, so I just don't), and I've only read a few other stories so I guess I won't be voting in that. Nice to know I'm eligible, though, and there's always hope that someone else will vote for me.
There's always hope, right?
My recent inability (or, rather, lack of time) to read short stories that neither I nor my friends wrote has left me with something of a problem. I'm also allowed to nominate for the Hugos this year, and I'd rather like to do that. After all, in a sense I've paid for that privilege, and I do like to see good work rewarded. For example, one person I'd love to nominate is friend Susan Mosser for her story "Bumpship" in
Trampoline--fantastic story. But as I haven't had a chance to read nearly anything else out there, including reviews of what's good, I don't even know where to start my reading.
So, I'm asking for help. If there's a story out there that you think is particularly good and worthy of Hugo nomination, please let me know and I'll try to track it down and read it and (if I agree with you) nominate. Otherwise ... well, so much for my nominating power.
