Monday, May 24, 2010
Prix Aurora Awards, part two
The winner for Best Novel in English went to Robert J Sawyer, for Wake. (which means I didn't get the award, darn). But I'm certainly not annoyed by that -- Rob's book is terrific; and all the other books were strong contenders, too.
I didn't have any appearances on panels -- though, to be fair, when I looked at the programming grid, I felt I didn't have anything useful to contribute to the talks, except maybe Worldbuilding. The panellists that were already on it had more than enough competence to speak about that topic, so I didn't want to intrude. Since the theme of the convention was Egyptian, that would have been a nice tie-in to The Amulet of Amon-Ra.
Hayden Trenholm invited Ed Willett and me to join him in a couple of his panels, both about science. Since I'm primarily a fantasy writer, I elected to moderate (I later ducked out of the second one, because it was up against something I wanted to attend).
Things I enjoyed: meeting other writers; the Friday night Aurora Novel Nominee party; the Masquerade (lotsa energy!); listening to Sheila Gilbert's stories about being an editor for DAW Books; spending time with my room-mate, Susan Forest; being happy for friends who won awards; seeing Brian Hades in a tux; attending Michelle Cook's talk on her recreation costume of Queen Elizabeth I.
I didn't have any appearances on panels -- though, to be fair, when I looked at the programming grid, I felt I didn't have anything useful to contribute to the talks, except maybe Worldbuilding. The panellists that were already on it had more than enough competence to speak about that topic, so I didn't want to intrude. Since the theme of the convention was Egyptian, that would have been a nice tie-in to The Amulet of Amon-Ra.
Hayden Trenholm invited Ed Willett and me to join him in a couple of his panels, both about science. Since I'm primarily a fantasy writer, I elected to moderate (I later ducked out of the second one, because it was up against something I wanted to attend).
Things I enjoyed: meeting other writers; the Friday night Aurora Novel Nominee party; the Masquerade (lotsa energy!); listening to Sheila Gilbert's stories about being an editor for DAW Books; spending time with my room-mate, Susan Forest; being happy for friends who won awards; seeing Brian Hades in a tux; attending Michelle Cook's talk on her recreation costume of Queen Elizabeth I.
Labels: Keycon, Prix Aurora, The Amulet of Amon-Ra
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Auroras!
I am THRILLED to say that my second children's novel, The Amulet of Amon-Ra, will be on the voting ballot for this year's Prix Aurora Awards for best long-form work in English. These are Canadian awards for speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, horror, etc). I am in good company, with Robert J Sawyer (Wake), Edward Willett (Terra Insegura), Barb Galler-Smith and Josh Langston (Druids), and Hayden Trenholm (Steel Whispers). Competition will be fierce! I think it's really cool just to be nominated.
The rest of the short-lists will be available as soon as possible. Information can be found here:
http://www.prix-aurora-awards.ca/
Cliff Samuels, who is on the committee this year, called last night while I was out. I could not figure out why, until about two hours later, when I went, "OH!" Then I wondered if he might be calling, as a friend, to commiserate with bad news (i.e., that I hadn't quite made it). It seemed unlikely, but possible. I had a nightmare, in which the "bad news" arrived with my morning oatmeal. Literally. It was in my oatmeal. But then I woke up and realized I had been dreaming. So I guess I was more concerned about it than I had thought!
But he called again this morning, asking if I would accept the nomination, to which I said, "Of course!" So. There we have it. I've been smiling all day.
The rest of the short-lists will be available as soon as possible. Information can be found here:
http://www.prix-aurora-awards.ca/
Cliff Samuels, who is on the committee this year, called last night while I was out. I could not figure out why, until about two hours later, when I went, "OH!" Then I wondered if he might be calling, as a friend, to commiserate with bad news (i.e., that I hadn't quite made it). It seemed unlikely, but possible. I had a nightmare, in which the "bad news" arrived with my morning oatmeal. Literally. It was in my oatmeal. But then I woke up and realized I had been dreaming. So I guess I was more concerned about it than I had thought!
But he called again this morning, asking if I would accept the nomination, to which I said, "Of course!" So. There we have it. I've been smiling all day.
Labels: Druids, Prix Aurora, Steel Whispers, Terra Insegura, The Amulet of Amon-Ra, Wake
