Our guest this week on EATING AUTHORS broke in to the field with his first story sale in 1980 at the tender age of 45. Two years later, his first novel won the Philip K. Dick Award. I’m talking about Jack McDevitt. He has been nominated for fifteen Nebula Awards, five Campbell Awards, and two Hugo Awards. He’s took home one of the Nebulas and one of the Campbells. And there’s no indication that he’s slowing down.

Jack’s probably best known for two series of novels, the Priscilla “Hutch” Hutchins series (begining with The Engines of God), which in addition to boasting seven novels also has another half dozen short stories set in the same universe, and the Alex Benedict series (a mere six books, beginning with A Talent for War). He also has several stand alone novels and a vast and uncountable number of short stories.

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I first began this weekly blog feature in June of 2011. Since then, every summer I’ve set aside space here for the nominees of the Campbell Award for Best New Writer — or at least for any of them that choose to participate. Having been nominated myself I have a soft spot for the award, and yes, the 2013 nominees will start showing up here next month. But I mention it now because this week’s guest won the award in 2010.

I’m speaking of course about Seanan McGuire (as well as her alter-ego, Mira Grant). What can I tell you about her that you don’t already know? The woman is everywhere these days! In addition to her Campbell Award, she’s been nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award and won five Pegasus Awards for her work as a filker. Prior to this year she’d been nominated for four Hugo Awards (not counting winning the Hugo for Best Fancast in its debut year), and this year she’s nominated five times across four categories (yes, she’s in competition with herself!) on the Hugo ballot.

Many readers know Seanan for her October Daye series (including the novels Rosemary and Rue, A Local Habitation, An Artificial Night, Late Eclipses, One Salt Sea, Ashes of Honor, as well as Chimes at Midnight, The Winter Long, A Red Rose Chain, and Once Broken Faith currently scheduled for publication in September of 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016, respectively), and that’s only the novels, there are also shorter works in the same series. If that’s not enough for you, there’s also her InCryptid series (two novels published so far — Discount Armageddon and Midnight Blue-light — with three more slated), and under the name Mira Grant there’s her popular Newsflesh series (Feed, Deadline, and Blackout), as well as Parasite, the first book in her new Parasitology trilogy, coming in November. And please note: the first of these books appeared in September of 2009; this is one busy writer!

Fortunately for this blog, even the busiest of writers need to take time out to eat.

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