Tag Archives: SFWA

2012 Nebula Award Winners

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Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America announced the winners of the 2012 Nebula Awards on May 18, 2013.

Novel
2312, Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit US; Orbit UK)

Novella
After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall, Nancy Kress (Tachyon)

Novelette
“Close Encounters,” Andy Duncan (The Pottawatomie Giant & Other Stories)

Short Story
“Immersion,” Aliette de Bodard (Clarkesworld 6/12)

Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation
Beasts of the Southern Wild, Benh Zeitlin (director), Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin (writers), (Journeyman/Cinereach/Court 13/Fox Searchlight )

Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy
Fair Coin, E.C. Myers (Pyr)

Damon Knight Grand Master Award
Gene Wolfe

Solstice Award
Carl Sagan and Ginjer Buchanan

Kevin O’Donnell Jr. Service To SFWA Award
Michael H. Payne

Writers’ Gala at Balticon

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The Baltimore Science Fiction Society (BSFS) and the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) will jointly host a Writers’ Gala at Balticon on Friday, May 24 from 5–7 p.m.

Both BSFS and SFWA invite everyone to join professional and aspiring science fiction and fantasy writers from all across the nation as they socialize, snack, perform readings, and listen to musical performances. Nebula, Sapphire, and Prism Award winner Dr. Catherine Asaro will host the event, with music by the jazz ensemble, The Greg Adams Trio. There will be giveways of books and other prizes. The event will be held in Frankie and Vinnie’s and is free to enter, though you must buy a convention membership to attend the rest of the convention.

Balticon is a thousand fan convention being held over Memorial Day weekend, May 24–27.

The full press release follows the jump.

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SFWA Service Award to Payne

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Michael Payne has been awarded the 2013 Kevin O’Donnell Jr. Service to SFWA Award for his outstanding work on behalf of the organization.

Payne has been coordinating SFWA’s Circulating Book Plan since 1992. The Circulating Book Plan is a way for SFWA members to see a fair percentage of the new SF and fantasy books being published in order to recommend the ones they like for the Nebula Awards®. There are nine groups around North America, each with four or five members mailing books one to the other and each with a repository library at the end.

An interview with the winner is posted on the SFWA blog:

How long have you been a member of SFWA?

I joined in 1992, I guess–Joe Haldeman was president, at any rate–and the first thing I saw in the old Forum was a message saying they needed someone to co-ordinate the Circulating Book Plan. “Nearly free books,” I thought to myself, and I’ve been trying to keep the thing going ever since.

Night Shade Books’ Exit Plan

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Night Shade Books, which has struggled for years, now proposes to sell its assets to Skyhorse Publishing and Start Publishing if its authors will sign off on a deal that might pay amounts currently due authors but dramatically reduces their prospective income from books under existing NSB contracts. SFWA has recommended acceptance.

Michael Stackpole has analyzed the offer in detail and is not inclined to agree:

NSB recently sent a letter to all of their authors announcing that they were in negotiations with Skyhorse Publishing to complete an “acquisition of assets.” In essence, Skyhorse would pick up all their assets, assume none of their liabilities, but would pay NSB a sum of money which, according to the letter, would pay off outstanding debts to authors. If such a sale cannot be completed, NSB states clearly that they’re broke, and that who knows what a Bankruptcy Court will do with author property in any settlement.

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I understand that SFWA may be in favor of this settlement because it means that authors will get money. And the vision of books and rights languishing while a bankruptcy court is deciding what to do is horrifying. The reality there is that the books, as assets, could be scooped up by Skyhorse or anyone else at fire sale prices, with the authors getting none of the money they’re owed. At least, in that case, the new owner would be bound by the original terms of the contract, which are decidedly better than these.

The literary agent who writes as The Brillig Blogger thinks the offer lacks credibility:

So the first thing to notice is that the letter starts with a sentence that, um, nightshades the truth: “Night Shade Books has had a difficult time after the demise of Borders.”

Let’s be clear. For all the artistic contributions Night Shade has made to sf literature, it’s had problems paying royalties that go back five years. For those five years, they have repeatedly promised better things, adding new staff or new systems. I can’t call this opening sentence a lie, because Night Shade has certainly had a difficult time after the demise of Borders. But since Night Shade’s authors have have problems with royalties that long predate the final days of Borders, it is disingenuous.

Brilig also recommends a post at Staffers Book Review detailing “what went wrong” with Night Shade’s business practices.

[Thanks to James Bacon for the story.]

Nebula Awards Nominees Announced

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The nominees for the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America’s Nebula Awards are –

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 (OrbitUS; OrbitUK)

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)

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)

Enter the Facts

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I didn’t know we were keeping it secret from SFWA that fans attend the Worldcon.

So how come there’s someone writing for the SFWA Blog who sounds unaware of this?

In Jaym Gates’ guest post, Enter the Dragon*con, she rhapsodizes about the audience for her panel at the Atlanta con:

These were fans, people who maybe were just starting to write or be published and readers. They are the people the authors and publishers started out as, and the ones who will be deciding the future of the industry. After a few years of attending conventions mostly populated by writers, it was a refreshing change of pace to hear from a larger crowd.

“Mostly populated by writers.” What conventions are those?

Conventions like WorldCon and World Fantasy are wonderful. It’s a chance to catch up with peers and talk about work, to drink in the bar with your fellows. But it’s a relatively closed system.

Do writers dominate the World Fantasy Con? I suppose that’s possible. WFC has a strict membership limit – just 1000 in 2010.

On the other hand, I’ve never heard anyone characterize the Worldcon as “mostly populated by writers” for a very good reason — it’s not.

In fact, outside of Jaym Gates’ word processor, it’s pretty well known that the Worldcon is a good place to find a few thousand enthusiastic book buyers.

But conventions like Dragon*Con, ComiCon and GenCon offer the opportunity to reconnect with the people we should really be paying attention to.

I’d like to think SFWAns realize anywhere a large group of fans is interested in hearing from an sf/fantasy writer is a good place to make that connection.

Bud Webster’s Estate Search

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Bud Webster is about to update the list of deceased writers whose estates he’s looking for on behalf of SFWA’s Estate Project. If you can help, contact — budwebster (at) mindspring (dot) com

Banks, Raymond E.
Barnes, Arthur K.
Bates, Harry
Bechdolt, Jack (John Ernest)
Biltgen, Flonet (Elizabeth Wallace)
Binder, Eando (Earl and Otto)
Bok, Hannes (Wayne Francis Woodard)
Boule, Pierre (Francois Marie Louis)
Browne, Howard
Clifton, Mark
Cooper, Susan
Counselman, Mary Elizabeth
Evans, E. Everett
Farley, Ralph Milne (Roger Sherman Hoar)
Fyfe, H. B.
Gallun, Raymond Z.
Geier, Chester
Gordon, Bernard
Gotschalk, Felix
Guin, Wyman
Gygax, Gary
Holly, J(oan). Hunter
Jameson, Malcolm
Javor, Frank A. (Francis Anthony Jaworski)
Jones, D(ennis) F(eltham)
Jones, Neil R.
Kapp, Colin
Keller, David H.
Lymington, John (John Richard Newton Chance)
Maine, Charles Eric (David McIlwain)
McQuay, Mike
Merrit-Pinckard, Terri E.
Pavic, Milorad
Phillips, Rog
Smith, George H.
Smith, George O.
Wellen, Edward
Wells, Angus
West, Wallace
Williams, Paul O.
Wolfe, Bernard
Wright, Lan
Zagat, Arthur Leo

Webster adds: “Note, please, that in the cases of estates repped by family members or other private individuals, SFWA does NOT reveal their contact information. Instead, we either blind-copy the individual on our reply to the inquiry or simply forward queries to them. That way their e-mails, addresses and/or phone numbers stay private.”

[Thanks to Andrew Porter for the story.]

Gross Pleads Guilty

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Science fiction novelist Mitchell Gross, who pleaded guilty in February to scamming victims for nearly $6 million, has been sentenced to serve more than 12 years in prison. Gross wrote sf as “Mitchell Graham.”

Earlier this year A.C. Crispin told readers of the SFWA blog about the time Gross tried to buy the silence of Writers Beware after they uncovered a scam writing contest he’d created.

But that was small potatoes compared to the activities that have now led to his imprisonment. When a federal grand jury indicted Gross in 2011 for wire fraud and money laundering, the U.S. Attorney’s press release provided details about one of his schemes that netted almost $3 million:

GROSS met women by corresponding with them on an internet dating service that caters to individuals of the Jewish faith.  In June 2006, GROSS began a romantic relationship with “R.J.,” a woman he met through the dating service. GROSS has written and published novels under the name “Mitchell Graham,” and told R.J. that he was independently wealthy and financially secure. GROSS actually has written and published books. But GROSS also told R.J. that his wealth dramatically increased as a result of the successful investment of his funds by “Michael Johnson,” supposedly a licensed stock broker employed by a subsidiary of Merrill Lynch known as “The Merrill Company.”  In fact, “Michael Johnson” was an alias used by GROSS himself, and “The Merrill Company” did not exist.  R.J. called a phone number provided by GROSS and spoke to “Michael Johnson.” In fact, she was speaking to GROSS, who disguised his voice to conceal the scheme.  R.J. ultimately wired approximately $2.99 million to an account she believed belonged to “The Merrill Company,” which was actually controlled by GROSS. 

Gross, a disbarred attorney, also pleaded guilty of defrauding a couple of $2 million for representing them in a lawsuit that was never filed. 

He will serve 12 years and seven months, then another three years on supervised release, and has been ordered to pay $5.8 million in restitution to his victims, according to a ruling Thursday from U.S. District Judge Julie Carnes in Atlanta. 

[Thanks to Michael J. Walsh for the story.]

2011 Nebula Award Winners

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The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) announced the 2011 Nebula Award winners on May 19, 2012.

Novel: Among Others, Jo Walton (Tor)

Novella: ”The Man Who Bridged the Mist,” Kij Johnson, (Asimov’s Science Fiction, October/November 2011)

Novelette: ”What We Found,” Geoff Ryman

Short Story: ”The Paper Menagerie,” Ken Liu, (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March/April 2011)

Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation: Doctor Who: “The Doctor’s Wife,” Neil Gaiman (writer), Richard Clark (director) (BBC Wales)

Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Winner: The Freedom Maze, Delia Sherman (Big Mouth House)

2011 Damon Knight Grand Master Award: Connie Willis

Solstice Award: Octavia Butler (posthumous) and John Clute

Note about the Solstice Awards: They “acknowledge members who have had a significant impact on the science fiction and fantasy landscape. It is especially meant for those who have made a consistent, positive, major difference in the genre.”

Service to SFWA Award: Bud Webster

SFWA Searching for Estates

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Bud Webster has updated the list of deceased writers whose estates he is trying to track down on behalf of SFWA’s Estate Project.

If you can help, contact — budwebster (at) mindspring (dot) com

Banks, Raymond E.
Barnes, Arthur K.
Bates, Harry
Binder, Eando (Earl and Otto)
Bok, Hannes
Boule, Pierre
Browne, Howard
Carr, Jayge/Mark Krueger
Castell, Daphne
Clifton, Mark
Castelll, Daphne
Clifton, Mark
Counselman, Mary Elizabeth
Fyfe, H. B.
Gallun, Raymond Z.
Geier, Chester
Gernsback, Hugo
Gordon, Bernard
Gotshalk, Felix
Guin, Wyman
Gygax, Gary
Holly, J(oan) Hunter
Hull, E. Mayne
Jones, D(ennis) F(eltham)
Jones, Neil R.
Kapp, Colin
Keller, David H.
Lymington, John (John Richard Newton Chance)
Maine, Charles Eric (David McIlwain)
McQuay, Mike
Neville, Kris
Pavic, Milorad
Phillips, Rog
Rotsler, William
Smith, Evelyn E.
Smith, George H.
Smith, George O.
Wells, Angus
West, Wallace
Williams, Paul O.
Wolfe, Bernard

[Thanks to Andrew Porter for the story.]