Tag Archives: fantasy

Want to Nominate and Vote for the Hugo Awards?

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The nomination period for the Hugo Awards opens this week, and you can still sign up to nominate and vote!

Hugo Award Logo

The Hugos are roughly equivalent to the People’s Choice Awards, in that the awards are determined by science fiction and fantasy fans rather than professionals in the field. The categories include Best Novel, Best Short Story, Best Related Work, Best Dramatic Presentation, and so forth.

Anyone with an Attending or Supporting membership in last year’s, this year’s, or next year’s World Science Fiction Convention can submit nominations. Supporting membership in this year’s Worldcon, Loncon 3 — to be held in London in August — run about $60 $40 (depending on the exchange rate), for which you receive electronic copies of nearly every nominated work, including portfolios from the nominated artists. Only members of the current Worldcon can vote for the Hugos, and you have until the end of January to join the convention in order to nominate and vote.

Anyway, even though this page says you can nominate now, the Loncon3 front page says the Hugo nomination period opens later this week, which seems to be the case since the nomination form wasn’t working as I prepared this blog post. In the meantime, you can find general information on this Hugo Awards page, and nomination-specific information here.

The nomination period closes at the end of March, but remember: if you want to nominate, you need to join Worldcon before the end of January!

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If You Come to illogiCon, This is What I’ll Be Doing

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illogiCon, the Research Triangle area’s science fiction and fantasy convention, will convene next weekend for its third installment.


(The illogiCon mascot, “Professor Schrodington.”)

Subtitled “The Search for Schrodington’s Gold” in honor of its mascot, pictured above, illogiCon is a small, fan-run convention being held here in Cary at the Embassy Suites Raleigh-Durham/Research Triangle. The guests of honor this year are my writing friends Mary Robinette Kowal and Lawrence M. Schoen, and many of my other writing friends will be part of the convention, too.

I’ll be on several panels, and will also present a reading (which in my case is always a “singing,” too):

Friday, January 10th

  • 4:00 PM — Our Cyborg Futures…Today! Paralyzed veterans are now starting to test exoskeletons that allow them to walk again. Robotic hands are becoming more nimble, robotic legs more responsive and balanced. On a more subtle level, smartphones today can augment human brains and bodies in fundamental functions such as managing hunger and sleep, and expand intelligence in ways unimaginable just a few decades ago. Are we living in the dawn of the age of machine-men? (With James Maxey and Justin Andrews.)
  • 9:00 PM — Lies With Words: The panelists are given a list of obscure and/or obsolete words in advance. All but one of them composes a false definition of the word, long or short, simple or complex, as they please. One panelist has the true definition. Can the audience tell which is which? Points are Awarded to each panelist for every audience member who buys into his/her lie. (Hosted by Lawrence M. Schoen. Other panelists: Mark Van Name, Michael Williams, Ed Schubert, and Bill Ferris.)
  • 10:00 PM — Open Filk

Saturday, January 11th

  • 11:00 AM — A Million Nations:: There was a time when where you lived was the primary determining factor of the culture you were raised in. But with the interconnectivity of the modern era, many of us get to build virtual neighborhoods of friends to socialize with online while never needing to bother with learning the names of people living next door in the real world. Is there anything resembling a common culture anymore? Or do we face a future of ever increasing cultural fragmentation as humanity sorts itself into a million different segments, all with differing values, myths … and even facts? (With James Maxey, Samuel Montgomery-Blinn, and Ed Schubert.)
  • 12:00 PM — Social Scientists’ Science Fiction: There’s no shortage of science fiction written by authors with Ph.D.s in the “hard sciences” (biology, chemistry, physics), and their expertise show up in everything from world building to alien physiology. But what about authors with doctorates in Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Linguistics, Economics, and so on? Is the SF experience redefined when it comes from social scientists instead? (With Lawrence M. Schoen, Samuel Montgomery-Blinn, Michael Williams, and Bill Ferris.)
  • 1:00 PM — READING … and singing!
  • 5:00 PM — Baen Books Travelling Roadshow: Come find out whatʼs new from Baen Books. There will be an exploding spaceship.
  • 11:00 PM — Open Filk

Sunday, January 12th

  • 10:00 AM — Hard SF vs. Soft SF: From near-future thrillers so hard they could cut diamonds to allegories less-than-concerned about literal realism, science fiction covers a broad spectrum. How do they play together in the genre of ideas? (With Metricula and Samuel Montgomery-Blinn.)
  • 5:00 PM — New Trends in Speculative Fiction: Speculative fiction often rides on the next big thing — the New Wave, Cyberpunk, Steampunk, Urban Fantasy, the Singularity, the New Weird. Where are we headed right now? Are there undiscovered movements just waiting for their central works? (With Samuel Montgomery-Blinn, Ada Milenkovic Brown, Bill Ferris, and Natania Barron.)

So if you’re in the Research Triangle area next weekend, and you need to get your fantasy and science fiction fix, stop by and see us!

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Welcome 2014! Looking back and looking forward …

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Last year was … strange … but in a good way!


(This New Year, too, will eventually be washed away. Image from MyrtleBeach.com’s Facebook feed.)

I had three stories published in 2013:

And, of course, I released my album, Truths and Lies and Make-Believe, in August. (If you haven’t bought a copy yet, the download is $7 and the physical CD is $10.)

So far I have one story slated for publication in 2014: “Lightweaver in Shadow,” which will be part of the Shattered Shields anthology edited by Jennifer Brozek and Bryan Thomas Schmidt. It will come out from Baen Books in November.

I need to finish editing another story that’s been provisionally accepted, and I’ve got other songs in work that may eventually be part of another album. Here’s looking forward to another creative year!

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I’ll Have a Story in an Upcoming Baen Books Anthology

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The press embargo lifted yesterday! I’m excited to announce that my short story, “Lightweaver in Shadow,” will appear in the Shattered Shields military fantasy anthology coming out from Baen Books.


(Gray is going to be a Baen author!)

Editors Jennifer Brozek and Bryan Thomas Schmidt put together the anthology, and I was thrilled to learn that they selected my little story — first, because I still get excited when any of my stories are accepted for publication, and second, because this means that I will soon enough be a Baen author! After being connected to Baen as the “Slushmaster General” for the past few years, to have one of my stories picked for a Baen anthology feels terrific.

The anthology will be released as a trade paperback in November 2014, and the full Table of Contents features some wonderful authors:

  • Introduction by Jennifer Brozek and Bryan Thomas Schmidt
  • “Ashes and Starlight,” a Runelords story by David Farland
  • “The Fixed Stars,” an October Daye story by Seanan McGuire
  • “The Keeper of Names,” by Larry Corriea
  • “The Smaller We Are,” by John Helfers
  • “Invictus,” by Annie Bellett
  • “Rising Above,” by Sarah A. Hoyt
  • “A Cup of Wisdom,” by Joseph Zieja
  • “Words of Power,” by Wendy N. Wagner
  • “Lightweaver in Shadow,” by Gray Rinehart
  • “Hoofsore and Weary,” by Cat Rambo
  • “Vengeance,” a Frost story by Robin Wayne Bailey
  • “Deadfall,” by Nancy Fulda
  • “Yael of the Strings,” by John R. Fultz
  • “The Gleaners,” by Dave Gross
  • “Bonded Men,” by James L. Sutter
  • “Bone Candy,” a Black Company story by Glen Cook
  • “First Blood,” a Paksenarrion story by Elizabeth Moon

 

Since my story holds down the middle slot, I expect it’s the weakest of the bunch — but it made the cut! That’s good enough for me.

I’ll post more information as we get closer to the release date.

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Now Available Online: Truths and Lies and Make-Believe

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Folks on Facebook saw this yesterday, but the Truths and Lies and Make-Believe album is now live online!


(Front cover by Christopher Rinehart, using photo by Paul Cory Photography.)

The album has ten original songs, several of which relate to well-known science fiction or fantasy franchises and others that are more personal:

  • “Steampunk Pirates”
  • “The Monster Hunter Ballad”
  • “Another Romulan Ale”
  • “Dare to Do Great Things”
  • “Mortal Men”
  • “Tauntauns to Glory”
  • “Help My Unbelief”
  • “I Think I’ll Run for Congress”
  • “Day to Day Disguises”
  • “Finding Serenity”

 

For folks who prefer a physical CD, you can also order one online even though they’re not available quite yet. They should arrive from the manufacturer next week, and they cost $10 (hey, that’s $1 per song) whether you buy one from me in person or order one online — although we’ll add shipping & handling to the latter. (To download the online version is only $7.) Since Dragon_Con is next weekend, I won’t be able to ship out any orders until the first week of September.

Tell your friends, or tell your enemies, Truths and Lies and Make-Believe is out!

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CD Manufacturing Now In Progress

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Physical copies of Truths and Lies and Make Believe are now in work.


(This playful image by Paul Cory Photography is the scene on the interior cover art of the physical CD.)

For those folks who no longer trade in physical CDs, tonight or tomorrow I should complete the process of uploading the files for electronic access. I hope to decide about digital distribution this week, also, but no matter which service I use the album will take additional time to show up on iTunes and whatnot.

Tell your friends, or tell your enemies, Truths and Lies and Make Believe is coming soon — sooner now than ever!

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Last Day to Nominate for the Pegasus Awards, One More Day for the Hugos

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In case you have any interest in such things ….

Pegasus Award Logo

Your nominations for the 2013 Pegasus Awards for Excellence in Filking (a/k/a science fiction and fantasy-related music) must be in by midnight tonight (Pacific Time). The awards are sponsored by the Ohio Valley Filk Festival.

Here’s a link to the Pegasus Brainstorming Poll, if you need some suggestions. As for your eligibility to nominate, the Pegasus Award web page notes that

The nomination and ballot procedure is similar to that of the Hugo, except that one does not need to be a paid member of the convention to nominate or vote. Anyone with an interest in Filking or Filk music can place a nomination and/or vote.

And, speaking of the Hugo Awards, if you’re a member of the World Science Fiction Convention, you have until midnight tomorrow night (Central Time) to submit your votes.

Hugo Award Logo

Do your civic genre duty!

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Coming This Summer: ‘Truths and Lies and Make-Believe’

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With the help of my friends and family, I’m putting together an album of original music which I’m calling Truths and Lies and Make-Believe.

Truths and Lies and Make-Believe

I describe it as “a compendium of musical selections, inspired or influenced by science fiction, fantasy, life, and faith … a multitude of things.” The plan right now is for it to include ten original songs: mostly “filk” (genre-related music), but with a few other odds-and-ends thrown in as well.

Like all my other projects, this is a part-time endeavor — heck, these days it seems as if I’m living a part-time life — but I intend to finish and release it this summer. Exactly when this summer I’m not sure, so I’m not being any more specific than “summer.” As we make progress, I’ll post updates here on the Ghost Writer blog.

Meanwhile, you can get a PDF version of the flyer here, if you have some strange desire to share it your friends (or even your enemies). And don’t forget, “The Monster Hunter Ballad” is available now.

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My StellarCon Schedule

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StellarCon, an always-enjoyable student-run science fiction and fantasy convention, starts tomorrow in Greensboro.

I have the good fortune to be a guest, and my panel schedule is actually quite reasonable:

  • Friday, 9 p.m.: Reader Expectations and Stories – How do authors balance reader expectations and their work, and how should fans manage their own expectations?
  • Saturday, 11 a.m.: Editors – How Do They Work? – What do editors do and why are they necessary?
  • Saturday, 1 p.m.: Baen Traveling Roadshow – Find out what’s next from Baen Books, and maybe win a prize.
  • Saturday, 6 p.m.: Naming Names, Titling Titles – Discussion of our favorite and most memorable character names and book/story titles.
  • Sunday, 12 p.m.: Sex, Religion, Politics, and Aliens – The three subjects you’re never supposed to talk about and how to deal with them in genre fiction.

In addition to the usual panels, concerts, and general revelry, this year StellarCon reprises the Symposium On Nerdy Academic Research (SONAR), an honest-to-goodness academic conference — with scholarly presentations and everything! So there’s something for everyone at StellarCon, and I’m happy to be a part of it!

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Look at How Many of My Friends are on the Nebula Awards Ballot!

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Okay, some of them may be more like acquaintances, but it’s still kind of surreal that I know people who are in the running for the awards.

Nebula Award Logo

To explain: Last week the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America announced the nominees for the 2012 Nebula Awards, as well as for the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation and the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy. These are “industry” awards, in the same way that the Academy Awards are given within the movie industry, the Grammys within the music industry, etc. Among the nominees, I’ve marked my friends and acquaintances in bold:

Novel

  • Throne of the Crescent Moon, Saladin Ahmed (DAW; Gollancz ’13)
  • Ironskin, Tina Connolly (Tor)
  • The Killing Moon, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
  • The Drowning Girl, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Roc)
  • Glamour in Glass, Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor)
  • 2312, Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit US; Orbit UK)

Novella

  • On a Red Station, Drifting, Aliette de Bodard (Immersion Press)
  • After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall, Nancy Kress (Tachyon)
  • “The Stars Do Not Lie,” Jay Lake (Asimov’s 10-11/12)
  • “All the Flavors,” Ken Liu (GigaNotoSaurus 2/1/12)
  • “Katabasis,” Robert Reed (F&SF 11-12/12)
  • “Barry’s Tale,” Lawrence M. Schoen (Buffalito Buffet)

Novelette

  • “The Pyre of New Day,” Catherine Asaro (The Mammoth Books of SF Wars)
  • “Close Encounters,” Andy Duncan (The Pottawatomie Giant & Other Stories)
  • “The Waves,” Ken Liu (Asimov’s 12/12)
  • “The Finite Canvas,” Brit Mandelo (Tor.com 12/5/12)
  • “Swift, Brutal Retaliation,” Meghan McCarron (Tor.com 1/4/12)
  • “Portrait of Lisane da Patagnia,” Rachel Swirsky (Tor.com 8/22/12)
  • “Fade to White,” Catherynne M. Valente (Clarkesworld 8/12)

Short Story

  • “Robot,” Helena Bell (Clarkesworld 9/12)
  • “Immersion,” Aliette de Bodard (Clarkesworld 6/12)
  • “Fragmentation, or Ten Thousand Goodbyes,” Tom Crosshill (Clarkesworld 4/12)
  • “Nanny’s Day,” Leah Cypess (Asimov’s 3/12)
  • “Give Her Honey When You Hear Her Scream,” Maria Dahvana Headley (Lightspeed 7/12)
  • “The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species,” Ken Liu (Lightspeed 8/12)
  • “Five Ways to Fall in Love on Planet Porcelain,” Cat Rambo (Near + Far)

Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation

  • The Avengers, Joss Whedon (director) and Joss Whedon and Zak Penn (writers), (Marvel/Disney)
  • Beasts of the Southern Wild, Benh Zeitlin (director), Benh Zeitlin and Lucy Abilar (writers), (Journeyman/Cinereach/Court 13/Fox Searchlight )
  • The Cabin in the Woods, Drew Goddard (director), Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard (writers) (Mutant Enemy/Lionsgate)
  • The Hunger Games, Gary Ross (director), Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins, and Billy Ray writers), (Lionsgate)
  • John Carter, Andrew Stanton (director), Michael Chabon, Mark Andrews, and Andrew Stanton (writers), (Disney)
  • Looper, Rian Johnson (director), Rian Johnson (writer), (FilmDistrict/TriStar)

(Yeah, I don’t know any of those folks … although I do share a birthday with one of the writer/director types.)

Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy

  • Iron Hearted Violet, Kelly Barnhill (Little, Brown)
  • Black Heart, Holly Black (S&S/McElderry; Gollancz)
  • Above, Leah Bobet (Levine)
  • The Diviners, Libba Bray (Little, Brown; Atom)
  • Vessel, Sarah Beth Durst (S&S/McElderry)
  • Seraphina, Rachel Hartman (Random House; Doubleday UK)
  • Enchanted, Alethea Kontis (Harcourt)
  • Every Day, David Levithan (Alice A. Knopf Books for Young Readers)
  • Summer of the Mariposas, Guadalupe Garcia McCall (Tu Books)
  • Railsea, China Miéville (Del Rey; Macmillan)
  • Fair Coin, E.C. Myers (Pyr)
  • Above World, Jenn Reese (Candlewick)

You can find links to some of the stories referenced above, available to read for free, in this SF Signal post.

Now I just need to decide for whom I wish to vote.

I’m pretty sure I can’t make it to the awards ceremony, which will be in mid-May in San Jose. If you’re interested — and you don’t have to be a member of SFWA to attend — you can find more information about the Nebula Awards Weekend at http://www.sfwa.org/nebula-awards/nebula-weekend/.

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