News

2011 Nebula Award nominees

No Comments » Written on February 22nd, 2012 by
Categories: News
Tags: ,

While I was away in California doing familial things, the nominees for the 2011 Nebula Awards (which will be presented in May of 2012) were announced. You’ve probably seen them elsewhere, but I’m happy to post them here all the same:

Novel
Among Others, Jo Walton (Tor)
Embassytown, China Miéville (Macmillan UK; Del Rey; Subterranean Press)
Firebird, Jack McDevitt (Ace Books)
God’s War, Kameron Hurley (Night Shade Books)
Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti, Genevieve Valentine (Prime Books)
The Kingdom of Gods, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)

Novella
“Kiss Me Twice,” Mary Robinette Kowal (Asimov’s Science Fiction, June 2011)
“Silently and Very Fast,” Catherynne M. Valente (WFSA Press; Clarkesworld Magazine, October 2011)
“The Ice Owl,” Carolyn Ives Gilman (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, November/December 2011)
“The Man Who Bridged the Mist,” Kij Johnson (Asimov’s Science Fiction, October/November 2011)
“The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary,” Ken Liu (Panverse Three, Panverse Publishing)
“With Unclean Hands,” Adam-Troy Castro (Analog Science Fiction and Fact, November 2011)

Novelette
“Fields of Gold,” Rachel Swirsky (Eclipse 4, Night Shade Books)
“Ray of Light,” Brad R. Torgersen (Analog Science Fiction and Fact, December 2011)
“Sauerkraut Station,” Ferrett Steinmetz (Giganotosaurus, November 2011)
“Six Months, Three Days,” Charlie Jane Anders (Tor.com, June 2011)
“The Migratory Pattern of Dancers,” Katherine Sparrow (Giganotosaurus, July 2011)
“The Old Equations,” Jake Kerr (Lightspeed Magazine, July 2011)
“What We Found,” Geoff Ryman (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September/October 2011)

Short Story
“Her Husband’s Hands,” Adam-Troy Castro (Lightspeed Magazine, October 2011)
“Mama, We are Zhenya, Your Son,” Tom Crosshill (Lightspeed Magazine, April 2011)
“Movement,” Nancy Fulda (Asimov’s Science Fiction, March 2011)
“Shipbirth,” Aliette de Bodard (Asimov’s Science Fiction, February 2011)
“The Axiom of Choice,” David W. Goldman (New Haven Review, Winter 2011)
“The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees,” E. Lily Yu (Clarkesworld Magazine, April 2011)
“The Paper Menagerie,” Ken Liu (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March/April 2011)

Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation
Attack the Block, Joe Cornish (writer/director) (Optimum Releasing; Screen Gems)
Captain America: The First Avenger, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely (writers), Joe Johnston (director) (Paramount)
Doctor Who: “The Doctor’s Wife,” Neil Gaiman (writer), Richard Clark (director) (BBC Wales)
Hugo, John Logan (writer), Martin Scorsese (director) (Paramount)
Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen (writer/director) (Sony)
Source Code, Ben Ripley (writer), Duncan Jones (director) (Summit)
The Adjustment Bureau, George Nolfi (writer/director) (Universal)

Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Book
Akata Witch, Nnedi Okorafor (Viking Juvenile)
Chime, Franny Billingsley (Dial Books; Bloomsbury)
Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Laini Taylor (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Hodder & Stoughton)
Everybody Sees the Ants, A.S. King (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
The Boy at the End of the World, Greg van Eekhout (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
The Freedom Maze, Delia Sherman (Big Mouth House)
The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Rae Carson (Greenwillow Books)
Ultraviolet, R.J. Anderson (Orchard Books; Carolrhoda Books)

I still have some reading ahead of me, but I’ve already consumed most of the titles listed here. It strikes me as a very strong list, and that’s always great to see.

Congratulations to all the nominees! I look forward to seeing you all at SFWA’s 47th Annual Nebula Awards Weekend in May!

Tags: ,
Posted in News

Awards Eligibility – # buffalito #tlh #klingon

2 comments Written on January 27th, 2012 by
Categories: News
Tags: ,

The nominations deadline for the Nebula Awards is February 15th, 2012, at 11:59pm PST.

The nominations deadline for the Hugo Awards is Sunday, March 11, 2012, 11:59 p.m. PDT.

And this is my official statement of what I have that I hope you’ll consider nominating so that I might land on a ballot this year.

I seem to be building up some credibility as a champion of small press, both as a publisher and because almost everything I’ve written lately has come out through small and micro-presses. Such stories have to work harder to get on ballots, but as the Hugo ballot a couple years ago revealed, it can be done. Ready? Here we go then.

SHORT STORY (Nebula and Hugo eligible):
“Yesterday’s Taste.” I wrote this short story at the request of Colin Harvey. He bought it for the anthology TRANSTORIES which was published posthumously two months ago by Aeon Press in Ireland. It’s another in the series of Amazing Conroy stories, so it’s intended to be somewhat light and humorous, but to me it will always be somewhat bittersweet because it’s the last thing Colin and I ever talked about. Coincidentally (no, really), I posted this to the Freebies section of my website just yesterday. Follow that link and you can download or read a PDF of the story.

NOVEL (Nebula and Hugo eligible):
Buffalito Contingency, my second published novel, came out last March. I believe it is the best thing I’ve written to date, but because it came out from a small press (Hadley Rille Books) not very many people have heard of it, let alone read it.But publishing is changing — for the better, I think — and having small press novels making some of the awards ballots seems like a good thing too. Assuming of course that you like it enough to nominate it.

FANCAST (Hugo eligible):
And finally, I only recently realized that DaHjaj Hol, the daily Klingon Language podcast that I did in 2011 (yes, every single #$%^& day) is eligible for the Hugo in the “Best Fancast” category (this link that will take you to the vast selection of podcasts). Mind you, I think you should also be nominating the brilliant podcast “Writing Excuses,” and I hope they win this year, but I certainly wouldn’t turn down a shiny rocket ship pin if my podcast makes the short list So, if you think it’s past time that Klingon is properly represented on the Hugo ballot, feel free to nominate DaHjaj Hol. Warriors everywhere will praise your name!

Thank you for your willingness to read my words. May they bring a smile to you.

Tags: ,
Posted in News

How I’m spending the first snow of 2012

No Comments » Written on January 21st, 2012 by
Categories: News
Tags:

Actually, the snow isn’t a big deal. I’ve already shoveled and salted the walkway. The stuff in the driveway is only about three inches deep (and I just got new tires two weeks ago!). The roads are fine. So, it should be Saturday as usual, except…

Today’s installment of Saturday Chinese Buffet has been postponed. No, it’s not due to the snow. It’s because I’m on my way to a hypnosis seminar in Philadelphia. I promise to resume eating Chinese food tomorrow.

Now… sleep!

Tags:
Posted in News

Thought for the Day – Thumbscrews

No Comments » Written on January 17th, 2012 by
Categories: News
Tags:

With the current prevalence and popularity of videogames, as well as the surging numbers of people texting instead of typing, I have to wonder if thumbscrews will experience a resurgence as an instrument of torture.

There you go, talk amongst yourselves now.

Tags:
Posted in News

Hooray for Wednesday!

No Comments » Written on January 11th, 2012 by
Categories: News
Tags:

It’s going to be a busy day, but a good one.

For one thing, I have a Compliance Hot Line call waiting for my attention (and I’ll deal with it as soon as I start work at the DayJob in a few miutes).

After work I need to stop by the Home Depot and pick up a new toilet seat, go home, and install it (actually, really easy to do).

I have a nice piece of basa that I’ll bake for dinner tonight.

Then there’s the first part of a two part webinar on hyposis that I’ll be attending.

But the real reason I’m cheering about today is because my wife returns home this evening. She’s been gone since Monday morning of last week, and I miss her very very much.

No doubt the dogs do too.

Tags:
Posted in News

Three Things Make A Post (Because I’m Not Sleeping)

No Comments » Written on December 30th, 2011 by
Categories: News
Tags: , ,

I’ve recorded the last two episodes of DaHjaj Hol, the daily Klingon podcast that I’ve been doing since January 1st. They’ll go out into the world at dawn today and tomorrow.

It’s been an interesting experience, creating a snippet of Klingon every day for a year. I have no idea how large an audience I reached, or if they’ll continue to be used as a resource by people interested in the language (the entire series will remain available via this website).

For 2012 I think I’ll continue to post a Klingon podcast, but the format is likely to change to only once a week, and the content will probably be aimed more at an intermediate level. But nothing’s definite yet, it’s all in flux.

In other news, since I’m awake, I started thinking about conventions, and realized that I hadn’t yet booked my hotel for my first event of 2012. Happily, the fine folks at Lunacon made that very easy with their website links, and I’m now all set.

If you’re not acquainted with this convention, I would encourage you to check it out (and not just because I was their GoH last year). It’s an incredibly relaxing and enjoyable convention, the programming is always entertaining, the hotel grounds are gorgeous, and I always have a wonderful time.

I’m particularly glad to be heading back this year because the artist GoH is none other than Howard Tayler, the multi-Hugo nominated creator of Schlock Mercenary and one quarter of the podcast Writing Excuses. I love Howard like a brother, and I never get to see him enough (not that I expect to manage much time with him at Lunacon, as he’ll be busy doing that whole GoH thing).

This year it looks like there will be several other Hadley Rille authors present, and we’re trying to coax the programming team to give us a slot. No guarantees, but I’m hopeful. In any case, I hope to see you at Lunacon; it’s great fun!

My wife and I have no major plans for New Year’s Eve (in case you were wondering), other than a quiet night here at home. I generally avoid traveling on the last night of the year; in my experience there are just too many people on the road with a bit too much alcohol in their systems. Thanks, but we hit our drama quotient for the year and are not looking for any last minute additions.

If your own plans take you out and about, please keep yourselves safe. If you do feel the need/desire to imbibe, designate a driver for your group and treat this person well.

A lot of folk like to make various resolutions for the new year, things they’ll try to do better in the coming months, but I’ve never understood the appeal. As that little green guy said, “Do. Or do not. There is no try.” That said, I have quite a bit that I intend to do in 2012. I could tell you about it now, but this post has already run on too long, and besides, why spoil the surprises?

Anyway… it’s now 4am. I think maybe I’ll try and grab another hour or two of sleep. Wish me luck!

Tags: , ,
Posted in News

Test Post – Trying to get LJ crossposting working

No Comments » Written on December 24th, 2011 by
Categories: News

Pay this post no mind.

We’re trying to figure out why WORDPRESS isn’t allowing commenting on my LJ cross posts.

Posted in News

“soft targ” – the full story #tlh tlhIngan #klingon

3 comments Written on December 23rd, 2011 by
Categories: News
Tags:

My holiday gift to you, this simple lullaby from the Klingon homeworld.

http://j.mp/soft-targ

 

Here are the lyrics:

tun targhoy. tuj targhoy. tugh DuchoprupchoH.
Quchchu’ targhoy. Doy’qu’ targhoy. HoH! HoH! HoH!

Here’s the literal transation:
The targgy is soft. The targgy is hot. Soon it will be ready to begin to bite you.
The targgy is clearly happy. The targgy is very tired. Kill! Kill! Kill!

And here’s a singable translation:
Soft targgy. Hot targgy. It will bite you soon.
Happy targgy. Sleepy targgy. Kill! Kill! Kill!

 

For those who want a bit more insight into the Klingon, here’s how the words break down:

tun – (verb) be soft.

targh – (noun) an animal presumably native to the Klingon homeworld; believed to resemble a cross between a dog and a wild boar.

-oy – (noun suffix) endearment.

Thus targhoy – “targy”

tuj – (verb) be hot.

tugh – (adverbial) soon.

Du- – (prefix) third person singular subject, second person singular object.

chop – (verb) to bite.

-rup – (verb suffix) readiness.

-choH – (verb suffix) change of action.

Thus DuchoprupchoH – It is ready to start to bite you.

Quch – (verb) be happy.

-chu’ – (verb suffix) clearly, perfectly.

Doy – (verb) be tired.

-qu’ – (verb suffix) emphasis.

HoH – (verb) kill.

Note: When dealing with animals, a reduced form of the language, referred to as “Clipped Klingon,” is often seen. Commands, such as Sit!, which in regular speech would require the use of an imperative prefix such as yI- as well as the verb (in this case, ba’), would be reduced to just the verb form when commanding an animal. In this context then, the simple verb HoH could be correctly seen as the command Kill!.

However, readers should not draw any association between this song and the classic Russ Meyer film, Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, as that would just be silly and wrong.

Thanks to Krikor for providing the plush targ, Diane for providing the photos, and Merle for making it all happen and hosting the party that sparked this whole thing in the first place.

Super colosso thanks to Tim W. Burke for spending the afternoon at my house and pulling the entire video together.

Tags:
Posted in News

« Older Entries
Simple WordPress Themes