2010 Hugo Awards Announced

The winners of the 2010 Hugo Awards were announced last weekend at Aussiecon 4, the 68th World Science Fiction Convention. They include:

Best Novel (Tie): The City & The City by China Mieville and The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
Best Novella: "Palimpsest" by Charles Stross (in Wireless)
Best Novellette: "The Island" by Peter Watts (in The New Space Opera 2)
Best Graphic Story: Girl Genius, Vol. 9: Agatha Heterodyne and the Heirs of the Storm

The Hugo Awards are awarded for excellence in the field of science fiction and fantasy. They are given by the members of the World Science Fiction Convention for the best in fiction, art, editing, filmmaking and fan achievement. They were first awarded in 1953, and have been awarded every year since 1955. For more about the Hugos, including a somplete list of this year's nominees and winners, go to http://www.thehugoawards.org/.

SFWA announces latest Nebula Awards winners

Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America has announced the Nebula Awards® winners for 2009.

The Nebula Awards® are voted on, and presented by, active members of SFWA. The awards were announced at the Nebula Awards® Banquet held at the Hilton Cocoa Beach Oceanfront the evening of May 15. The 2009 Nebula Award Winners are:

Novel - The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi (Night Shade Books, Sept. 2009)

Novella – The Women of Nell Gwynne’s by Kage Baker (Subterranean Press, June 2009)

Novelette – “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast,” by Eugie Foster (Interzone, Feb. 2009)

Short Story – “Spar,” Kij Johnson (Clarkesworld, Oct. 2009)

Ray Bradbury Award – District 9 by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell (Tri-Star, Aug. 2009)

Andre Norton Award – The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente (Catherynne M. Valente, June 2009)

Founded in 1965 by the late Damon Knight, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America brings together the most successful and daring writers of speculative fiction throughout the world.

Since its inception, SFWA® has grown in numbers and influence until it is now widely recognized as one of the most effective non-profit writers’ organizations in existence, boasting a membership of approximately 1,500 science fiction and fantasy writers as well as artists, editors and allied professionals. Each year the organization presents the prestigious Nebula Awards® for the year’s best literary and dramatic works of speculative fiction.

2010 Hugo Award Nominees Announced

Over the weeked, Aussiecon 4, the 68th World Science Fiction Convention, announced the ballot for the 2010 Hugo Awards. The nominees for Best Novel, Novella and Novelette are:

Best Novel

• Boneshaker, Cherie Priest
• The City & The City, China Miéville
• Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America, Robert Charles Wilson
• Palimpsest, Catherynne M. Valente
• Wake, Robert J. Sawyer
• The Windup Girl, Paolo Bacigalupi

Best Novella

• “Act One”, Nancy Kress (Asimov’s 3/09)
• The God Engines, John Scalzi
• “Palimpsest”, Charles Stross (Wireless)
• Shambling Towards Hiroshima, James Morrow
• “Vishnu at the Cat Circus”, Ian McDonald (Cyberabad Days)
• The Women of Nell Gwynne’s, Kage Baker

Best Novelette

• “Eros, Philia, Agape”, Rachel Swirsky (Tor.com 3/09)
• The Island”, Peter Watts (The New Space Opera 2)
• “It Takes Two”, Nicola Griffith (Eclipse Three)
• “One of Our Bastards is Missing”, Paul Cornell (Solaris Book of New Science Fiction: Volume Three)
• “Overtime”, Charles Stross (Tor.com 12/09)
• “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast”, Eugie Foster (Interzone 2/09)

For the complete list of all the nominees in all categories, go to http://www.thehugoawards.org/.

Joe Haldeman Named Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America just announced that Joe Haldeman will be honored as the next Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master for 2010. The Grand Master represents SFWA’s highest accolade and recognizes excellence for a lifetime of contributions to the genres of science fiction and fantasy.

The author of 20 novels and five collections, Joe Haldeman remains one of the most popular science fiction writers working today. His landmark novel, The Forever War, won the Nebula, Hugo and Ditmar Awards for best science fiction novel in 1975, and spawned two follow-up novels, Forever Peace and Forever Free. In total, his writings have garnered him five Nebulas, five Hugos and a host of other awards as well as numerous nominations. Other notable works include the novels Camouflage, The Accidental Time Machine and Marsbound as well as the short works “Graves,” “Tricentennial” and “The Hemingway Hoax.” His latest book, Starbound, is scheduled for a January release.

Sidewise Awards for Alternate History

The Sidewise Awards for Alternate History were conceived in late 1995 to honor the best allohistorical genre publications of the year. The first awards were announced in summer 1996 and honored works from 1995. The award takes its name from Murray Leinster's 1934 short story Sidewise In Time, in which a strange storm causes portions of Earth to swap places with their analogs from other timelines.

Two awards are usually given each year. The Short-Form Award is presented for the best work of less than 60,000 words. This includes short stories, novelettes and novellas, and poems. The Long-Form Award is presented for the best work longer than 60,000 words. This category includes individual novels and longer works.

The winners of the 2008 Sidewise Awards were announced at Anticipation, the 67th World Science Fiction Convention, three weeks ago in Montréal. They are:

Long Form: The Dragon's Nine Sons by Chris Roberson

Short Form: "Sacrifice" by Mary Rosenblum, in Sideways in Crime: An Alternate Mystery Anthology

For a list of all this year's finalists, go to http://uchronia.net/sidewise. For a list of all the Long Form finalists for 1995-2008, we put together this handy list for you:

Sidewise Awards 09

2009 Hugo Awards

The Hugo Award, also known as the Science Fiction Achievement Award, is presented annually by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS). The Hugo Awards were named in honor of Hugo Gernsback, “The Father of Magazine Science Fiction,” as he was described in a special award given to him in 1960.

Presented at Anticipation, Montréal, Quebec, August 6-10, 2009, here are some of this year's winners:

•Best Novel: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

•Best Short Story: “Exhalation” by Ted Chiang (Eclipse Two)

•Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: WALL-E by Andrew Stanton & Pete Docter, story; Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon, screenplay; Andrew Stanton, director

•Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog by Joss Whedon, Zack Whedon, Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen, writers; Joss Whedon, director

•Best Editor Short Form: Ellen Datlow

•Best Editor Long Form: David G. Hartwell

For more information, including all the winners and nominees in all categories, visit the official Hugo Award Web site.

Here is a list we put together of all the Best Novel Hugo winners 1953-2009:
Hugo Awards 09

2009 Edgar Award Winners

Mystery Writers of America recently announced, as we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Edgar Allan Poe, the Winners for the 2009 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, television and film published or produced in 2008. The Edgar® Awards were presented at the 63rd Gala Banquet, April 30, 2009 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City. Here are some of the winners:

Best Novel - Blue Heaven by C.J. Box

A twelve-year-old girl and her younger brother go on the run in the woods of North Idaho, pursued by four men they have just watched commit murder—four men who know exactly who William and Annie are, and who know exactly where their desperate mother is waiting for news of her children's fate.

Best First Novel by An American Author - The Foreigner by Francie Lin

Emerson Chang is a mild mannered bachelor on the cusp of forty, a financial analyst in a neatly pressed suit, a child of Taiwanese immigrants who doesn't speak a word of Chinese, and, well, a virgin. When his mother suddenly dies, Emerson sets out for Taipei to scatter her ashes, and to convey a surprising inheritance to his younger brother, Little P. Now enmeshed in the Taiwanese criminal underworld, Little P seems to be running some very shady business out of his uncle's karaoke bar, and he conceals a secret--a crime that has not only severed him from his family, but may have annihilated his conscience.

Best Paperback Original - China Lake by Meg Gardiner

Evan Delaney learns that not only has her ex- sister-in-law joined a religious cult, but the unstable young mother plans to regain custody of her son and disappear with him into the fold of the fanatical group. But when murder raises the stakes, Evan is dragged even deeper into the nightmare.

For the complete list of Edgar Award nominees and winners, go to www.theedgars.com/ .

2008 Nebula Award Winners Announced

Last weekend the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) announced the winners of the 2008 Nebula Awards for excellence in science fiction and fantasy writing. They are:

• Best Novel: Powers by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Best Novella: "The Spacetime Pool" by Catherine Asaro
• Best Novelette: "Pride and Prometheus" by John Kessel
• Best Short Story: "Trophy Wives" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
• Best Script: WALL-E Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter
• Andre Norton Award: Flora's Dare: How a Girl of Spirit Gambles All to Expand Her Vocabulary, Confront a Bouncing Boy Terror, and Try to Save Califa from a Shaky Doom (Despite Being Confined to Her Room) by Ysabeau S. Wilce

2009 Award Honorees

• A. J. Budrys — Solstice Award
• M.J. Engh — Author Emerita
• Marty Greenberg — Solstice Award
• Harry Harrison — Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master
• Joss Whedon — Ray Bradbury Award
• Kate Wilhelm — Solstice Award

J.G. Ballard, 1930-2008

From BBC News:

The author JG Ballard, famed for novels such as Crash and Empire of the Sun, has died aged 78 after a long illness.

His agent Margaret Hanbury said the author had been ill "for several years" and had died on Sunday morning.

Despite being referred to as a science fiction writer, Jim Ballard said his books were instead "picturing the psychology of the future".

His most acclaimed novel was Empire of the Sun, based on his childhood in a Japanese prison camp in China.

Read the entire article here. See also Obituary: JG Ballard.

Click here for a list of J.G. Ballard titles at the Library.

Horror Writers Association announces Bram Stoker Awards finalists

The Horror Writers Association just announced the finalists for the 2008 Bram Stoker Awards. The Stokers, which have been presented annually since 1988, are given by the organization for superior achievement in horror writing.

The winners will be announced at a banquet held during this year's Stoker Awards Weekend, June 12-14 at the Burbank Marriott Hotel, near Los Angeles.

The nominees for Superior Achievement in a Novel are:

Coffin County by Gary Braunbeck
The Reach by Nate Kenyon
Duma Key by Stephen King
Johnny Gruesome by Gregory Lamberson

For more information, including all nominees in all categories, visit the official site at stokers2009.org.

Hugo Nominees Announced

The Hugo Awards celebrate the best in the field of science fiction and fantasy. Hugos are presented each year at the World Science Fiction Convention, by the World Science Fiction Society.

All members of this year's convention—Anticipation—may vote to select the winners. The Hugos awarded at Anticipation will be for works released in 2008. The nominees for Best Novel are:

Anathem by Neal Stephenson

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (Free download)

Saturn's Children by Charles Stross

Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi

For more information, including all nominees in all categories, visit the official Hugo Award Web site.

Random House Offers Free Science Fiction/Fantasy E-Books

Really. No Kidding. Right here. Here's what they have to say:

We know it can be hard to navigate the countless fantasy and science fiction series out there and figure out which ones are right for you. Well, we're here to make those tough decisions a bit easier on you. With the Suvudu Free Book Library, you can read the first book in some of our most acclaimed series absolutely free!

They are starting off this free library with some really great SF titles, including Kim Stanley Robinson's Nebula Award-winning Red Mars and Robin Hobb's Assassin's Apprentice, a finalist for the British Fantasy Award.

And don't forget, we too are in the business of offering e-books for free.

2009 Nebula Award Nominees Announced

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) just announced the nominees for the 2009 Nebula Awards. The awards will be presented at the 2009 Nebula Awards® Weekend, April 24-26,2009 in Los Angeles, California. The nominees for best novel are:

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Powers by Ursula K. Le Guin

Cauldron by Jack McDevitt

Brasyl by Ian McDonald

Making Money by Terry Pratchett

Superpowers by David J. Schwartz

For more information on the awards and the Nebulas Weekend, go to: www.nebulaawards.com/index.php/nebulaweekend