By Blood We Live (my vampire anthology)

Just a note about my vampire anthology, By Blood We Live. My agent just now announced the deal, which in fact had been agreed to long ago, but was only just finalized now due to some paperwork delays. In any case, I’m still putting the book together, so if I’ve been in contact with you about a story reprint, this announcement shouldn’t lead you to any conclusions about my decision. I’ve decided on several stories already, but there’s still lots of room in the book to fill, so it’s still very much a work in progress.

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Yet Another Way to Win Copies of My Books

In addition to the Tor.com Zombie Caption Contest, another way to win a copy of The Living Dead is to buy a Lottery ticket. In this context, the Lottery refers to a fundraiser to support the Shirley Jackson Awards. In this case, you’d also win a copy of Wastelands.

The lottery begins on February 9th, 2009 at midnight Eastern Time and ends on February 23rd, 2009 at midnight. Winners will be announced shortly after midnight on the award’s blog.

About the award (from the official website):

In recognition of the legacy of Shirley Jackson’s writing, and with permission of the author’s estate, the Shirley Jackson Awards have been established for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic.

Shirley Jackson (1916-1965) wrote such classic novels as The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, as well as one of the most famous short stories in the English language, “The Lottery.” Her work continues to be a major influence on writers of every kind of fiction, from the most traditional genre offerings to the most innovative literary work. National Book Critics Circle Award-winning novelist Jonathan Lethem has called Jackson “one of this century’s most luminous and strange American writers,” and multiple generations of authors would agree.

The Shirley Jackson Award will be voted upon by a jury of professional writers, editors, critics, and academics, with input from a Board of Advisors. The awards will be given for the best work published in the preceding calendar year in the following categories: Novel, Novella, Novelette, Short Story, Single-Author Collection, and Edited Anthology.

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Federations

From Star Trek to Star Wars, from Dune to Foundation, science fiction has a rich history of exploring the idea of vast interstellar societies, and the challenges facing those living in or trying to manage such societies. The stories in Federations continue that tradition.

What are the social/religious/environmental/technological implications of living in such a vast society? What happens when expansionist tendencies on a galactic scale come into conflict with the indigenous peoples of other planets, of other races? And what of the issue of communicating across such distances, or the problems caused by relativistic travel? These are just some of the questions and issues that the stories in Federations take on.

Herein you will find a mix of all-new, original fiction, alongside selected reprints from authors whose work exemplifies what interstellar SF is capable of.

Table of Contents

  • Mazer in Prison | Orson Scott Card (reprint)
  • Carthago Delenda Est | Genevieve Valentine
  • Life-Suspension | L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
  • Terra-Exulta | S. L. Gilbow
  • Aftermaths | Lois McMaster Bujold (reprint)
  • Someone is Stealing the Great Throne Rooms of the Galaxy | Harry Turtledove (reprint)
  • Prisons | Kevin J. Anderson and Doug Beason (reprint)
  • Different Day | K. Tempest Bradford
  • Twilight of the Gods | John C. Wright
  • Warship | George R. R. Martin and George Guthridge (reprint)
  • Swanwatch | Yoon Ha Lee
  • Spirey and the Queen | Alastair Reynolds (reprint)
  • Pardon Our Conquest | Alan Dean Foster
  • Symbiont | Robert Silverberg (reprint)
  • The Ship Who Returned | Anne McCaffrey (reprint)
  • My She | Mary Rosenblum
  • The Shoulders of Giants | Robert J. Sawyer (reprint)
  • The Culture Archivist | Jeremiah Tolbert
  • The Other Side of Jordan | Allen Steele
  • Like They Always Been Free | Georgina Li
  • Eskhara | Trent Hergenrader
  • The One with the Interstellar Group Consciousnesses | James Alan Gardner
  • Golubash, or Wine-War-Blood-Elegy | Catherynne M. Valente

Federations is scheduled for publication in May 2009. You can pre-order it now from Amazon.com.

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BookSpot Central on Seeds of Change

BookSpotCentral has an extensive review of Seeds of Change, which the reviewer rather liked: “Without exception these stories will provide the reader with a lot of food for thought. So much in fact, that it took me a full week to work though these nine stories, needing a break after most of them to think about what I had just read. … This anthology contains quality stories. It is not one of those effortless reads, this book demands your full attention. Paying attention is absolutely worth the effort though. I think I enjoyed Seeds of Change even more than reading the outstanding Wastelands anthology.”

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Hugo Award Nominating Deadlines

When I made my Hugo Awards post, I neglected to mention that in order to nominate for this year’s award, you have to have either been an attending or supporting member of last year’s Worldcon (Denvention), or you have to register as an attending or supporting member of this year’s Worldcon (Anticipation) by January 31.

So, if you want to nominate, and you didn’t have a membership last year, go here to register. Since the deadline is approaching, you should probably do that now.

If you just want to vote, choose an adult supporting membership ($55 Canadian, about $44 US dollars). Otherwise, buy an attending membership. If you’re not sure if you want to attend, you can buy a supporting membership now, so that you can nominate, and then upgrade your membership later to a full attending membership if you decide to go to the convention.

Once you’re registered, you have until February 28–or rather, your ballot must be received by February 28.

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