How to Talk to Authors Without Voices

I learned from http://www.boingboing.net/2007/03/29/hugo_nominees_announ.html that the Hugo Award nominees have been announced. And (happy bounce) "How To Talk To Girls At Parties" is on the list of nominees. I'd already received one email from a friend telling me that if it was nominated I wasn't allowed to decline the nomination as I did with Anansi Boys. When the Hugo people asked last week if I was willing for the story to be nominated I said yes (and was thrilled to be nominated, and was happy to accept).

The story is in Fragile Things and was also in the January cover date Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. There's a worthy tradition (a recent tradition, but a tradition) of getting Hugo nominated short stories up on the web to help level the playing field and allow the voters to read as much as possible, and I'll get the story up somewhere here soonish.

Thanks to all who nominated it, and to the people who read the first draft and made sensible suggestions (especially Chip Delany), and to Jonathan Strahan who commissioned it and never got to publish it.

The list of nominees, as Cory says at Boing Boing, is really impressive and fine company. A good year to be on the list, whether one wins or not. (I tend to take my joy from nominations. What happens after that is just a horse-race.)

Now I have to ponder whether I can make the time to get to Japan for Worldcon this summer...

PS: Just noticed that Girl In the Fireplace was nominated. Having predicted it would get a Hugo back in this blog almost a year ago, I'm pleased we got this far.

PPS to add -- here's the comnplete list of nominees from Locus Magazine: http://www.locusmag.com/2007/03_HugoNominations.html
and not from the official site at http://www.nippon2007.us/hugo_nominees.php

Labels: happy posts, How to talk to girls at parties, Hugo Awards