Here's the complete nomination results--and congratulations to all my friends who were nominated in other categories!  The awards will be handed out at Anticipation in Montreal, which happens August 6-10, 2009.

 Nominated works

Best Novel
(639 Ballots / Bulletins)

• Anathem by Neal Stephenson (Morrow; Atlantic UK)
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins; Bloomsbury UK)
• Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (Tor Teen; HarperVoyager UK) — Free download
• Saturn’s Children by Charles Stross (Ace; Orbit UK)
• Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi (Tor)

Best Novella
(337 Ballots / Bulletins)

• “The Erdmann Nexus” by Nancy Kress (Asimov’s Oct/Nov 2008)
• “The Political Prisoner” by Charles Coleman Finlay (F&SF Aug 2008) – Read Online
• “The Tear” by Ian McDonald (Galactic Empires)
• “True Names” by Benjamin Rosenbaum & Cory Doctorow (Fast Forward 2) — Free download
• “Truth” by Robert Reed (Asimov’s Oct/Nov 2008)

Best Novelette
(373 Ballots / Bulletins)

• “Alastair Baffle’s Emporium of Wonders” by Mike Resnick (Asimov’s Jan 2008) — Read Online
• “The Gambler” by Paolo Bacigalupi (Fast Forward 2) — Read Online
• “Pride and Prometheus” by John Kessel (F&SF Jan 2008)
• “The Ray-Gun: A Love Story” by James Alan Gardner (Asimov’s Feb 2008) — Read Online
• “Shoggoths in Bloom” by Elizabeth Bear (Asimov’s Mar 2008) — Read Online

Best Short Story
(448 Ballots / Bulletins)

• “26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss” by Kij Johnson (Asimov’s Jul 2008) — Read Online
• “Article of Faith” by Mike Resnick (Baen’s Universe Oct 2008)
• “Evil Robot Monkey” by Mary Robinette Kowal (The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, Volume Two)
• “Exhalation” by Ted Chiang (Eclipse Two)
• “From Babel’s Fall’n Glory We Fled” by Michael Swanwick (Asimov’s Feb 2008)

Best Related Book
(263 Ballots / Bulletins)

• Rhetorics of Fantasy by Farah Mendlesohn (Wesleyan University Press)
• Spectrum 15: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art by Cathy & Arnie Fenner, eds. (Underwood Books)
• The Vorkosigan Companion: The Universe of Lois McMaster Bujold by Lillian Stewart Carl & John Helfers, eds. (Baen)
• What It Is We Do When We Read Science Fiction by Paul Kincaid (Beccon Publications)
• Your Hate Mail Will be Graded: A Decade of Whatever, 1998-2008 by John Scalzi (Subterranean Press)

Best Graphic Story
(212 Ballots / Bulletins)

• The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle Written by Jim Butcher, art by Ardian Syaf (Del Rey/Dabel Brothers Publishing)
• Girl Genius, Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones Written by Kaja & Phil Foglio, art by Phil Foglio, colors by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)
• Fables: War and Pieces Written by Bill Willingham, pencilled by Mark Buckingham, art by Steve Leialoha and Andrew Pepoy, color by Lee Loughridge, letters by Todd Klein (DC/Vertigo Comics)
• Schlock Mercenary: The Body Politic Story and art by Howard Tayler (The Tayler Corporation)
• Serenity: Better Days Written by Joss Whedon & Brett Matthews, art by Will Conrad, color by Michelle Madsen, cover by Jo Chen (Dark Horse Comics)
• Y: The Last Man, Volume 10: Whys and Wherefores Written/created by Brian K. Vaughan, pencilled/created by Pia Guerra, inked by Jose Marzan, Jr. (DC/Vertigo Comics)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
(436 Ballots / Bulletins)

• The Dark Knight Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer, story; Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, screenplay; based on characters created by Bob Kane; Christopher Nolan, director (Warner Brothers)
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army Guillermo del Toro & Mike Mignola, story; Guillermo del Toro, screenplay; based on the comic by Mike Mignola; Guillermo del Toro, director (Dark Horse, Universal)
• Iron Man Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby and Art Marcum & Matt Holloway, screenplay; based on characters created by Stan Lee & Don Heck & Larry Lieber & Jack Kirby; Jon Favreau, director (Paramount, Marvel Studios)
• METAtropolis by John Scalzi, ed. Written by: Elizabeth Bear, Jay Lake, Tobias Buckell and Karl Schroeder (Audible Inc)
• WALL-E Andrew Stanton & Pete Docter, story; Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon, screenplay; Andrew Stanton, director (Pixar/Walt Disney)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
(336 Ballots / Bulletins)

• “The Constant” (Lost) Carlton Cuse & Damon Lindelof, writers; Jack Bender, director (Bad Robot, ABC studios)
• Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog Joss Whedon, & Zack Whedon, & Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen , writers; Joss Whedon, director (Mutant Enemy)
• “Revelations” (Battlestar Galactica) Bradley Thompson & David Weddle, writers; Michael Rymer, director (NBC Universal)
• “Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead” (Doctor Who) Steven Moffat, writer; Euros Lyn, director (BBC Wales)
• “Turn Left” (Doctor Who) Russell T. Davies, writer; Graeme Harper, director (BBC Wales)

Best Editor, Short Form
(377 Ballots / Bulletins)

• Ellen Datlow
• Stanley Schmidt
• Jonathan Strahan
• Gordon Van Gelder
• Sheila Williams

Best Editor, Long Form
(273 Ballots / Bulletins)

• Lou Anders
• Ginjer Buchanan
• David G. Hartwell
• Beth Meacham
• Patrick Nielsen Hayden

Best Professional Artist
(334 Ballots / Bulletins)

• Daniel Dos Santos
• Bob Eggleton
• Donato Giancola
• John Picacio
• Shaun Tan

Best Semiprozine
(283 Ballots / Bulletins)

• Clarkesworld Magazine edited by Neil Clarke, Nick Mamatas & Sean Wallace
• Interzone edited by Andy Cox
• Locus edited by Charles N. Brown, Kirsten Gong-Wong, & Liza Groen Trombi
• The New York Review of Science Fiction edited by Kathryn Cramer, Kris Dikeman, David G. Hartwell, & Kevin J. Maroney
• Weird Tales edited by Ann VanderMeer & Stephen H. Segal

Best Fanzine
(257 Ballots / Bulletins)

• Argentus edited by Steven H Silver
• Banana Wings edited by Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer
• Challenger edited by Guy H. Lillian III
• The Drink Tank edited by Chris Garcia
• Electric Velocipede edited by John Klima
• File 770 edited by Mike Glyer

Best Fan Writer
(291 Ballots / Bulletins)

• Chris Garcia
• John Hertz
• Dave Langford
• Cheryl Morgan
• Steven H Silver

Best Fan Artist
(187 Ballots / Bulletins)

• Alan F. Beck
• Brad W. Foster
• Sue Mason
• Taral Wayne
• Frank Wu

The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
(288 Ballots / Bulletins)

• Aliette de Bodard*
• David Anthony Durham*
• Felix Gilman
• Tony Pi*
• Gord Sellar*

*(Second year of eligibility)

It's February, and time to confirm once again that Locus Magazine really really likes me.  Pirate Sun is one of the twenty novels they recommend out of the hundreds published in 2008.

So, every one of my Tor novels has made this list--six in a row.  I guess this means that, as far as Locus is concerned, I'm one of the top twenty SF novelists working in English.  (I can hear the chant now:  "We're number 20!  We're number 20!)

This recommendation appears to have nothing to do with, and no influence on, sales; but I can't exactly complain, can I?  The list is chosen by a pretty heavy-hitting set of reviewers and editors, all of whom are experts in the field.  Collectively, they read pretty much everything that comes out every year.  So it's hugely flattering that they've given me this rare vote of confidence not just once, but with every book I've written.

Hmmm... maybe, then, I should write another novel.  What to call it?  Perhaps... Ashes of Candesce? ...

David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer have chose the short story Toby Buckell and I wrote last spring, "Mitigation," to be in their annual Year's Best collection.  For me, this is a chance to shine with one of my favourite authors of SF's new generation.  It's also flattering that, of three short stories I wrote last year, two of them have chosen as Year's Best entries (the other being "The Hero" which Gardner Dozois has picked up for his collection).

Writing this story was a blast.  Toby came up from Ohio and crashed on my couch for a weekend, and I wrote at the desktop while he had his laptop open on said couch.  We played literary hopscotch, with him writing one scene while I wrote another that preceded or followed it.  Coffee, lots of laughs, and blasting electronica from my stereo (most Delerium, which I often use while writing) completed the scene.

Thanks to David and Kathryn for choosing this story for their anthology.  And special thanks are due to Lou Anders for believing in Toby's and my vision, and accepting "Mitigation" for Fast Forward 2 in the first place.

Bookgasm has chosen Lou Anders' excellent anthology Fast Forward 2 as its best SF book of the year.  They say:

Anders has assembled some of the best and brightest current stars of the genre, and they turned in stories that, as a whole, really do represent the cutting edge of fiction. From a fashion designer who grows living gowns to a raid on the doomsday seed bank to a young man getting Cyrano-with-a-twist dating advice in the India of the future, FAST FORWARD 2 is the book to read this year.

Tor.com has a review of Metatropolis here.  They really liked it, the reviewer, John Joseph Adams, going so far as to say, "Overall, METAtropolis is one of the best anthologies I’ve read in a long time."  He follows that up with praise for each of the stories, and the narrators, three of whom are Battlestar Galactica actors.  But I really got happy when he said this:

The two standout stories, I thought, were the two with the most complicated titles—Scalzi’s Utere Nihil Non Extra Quiritationem Suis and Karl Schroeder’s To Hie from Far Cilenia. Scalzi’s is the most accessible and fun; Schroeder’s is the most inventive and full of gosh-wow sensawunda.

This is fantastic--another case where I had literally no idea how my story was going to be received.  It's... well... more than a bit strange.  But with the other pieces to anchor the world a bit, I guess it works.

Meanwhile, over at SFFAudio.com is another great review, praising both the stories and the excellent narration.  They have this to say about my story, "To Hie from Far Cilenia:"

...And last is Karl Schroeder’s story, “To Hie from Far Cilenia”, read by Stefan Rudnicki. This is a wonderful story of cities of a different type. Idea-rich, action-packed - it’s got it all. It’s a perfect cap to a great bunch of stories, taking things in a completely different direction. A virtual world superimposed on the “real” one, but isn’t the virtual one just as real? Rudnicki is excellent, like always.

Hey Mom, I made some sensawunda!

I just received the February edition of Locus magazine, and lo and behold Queen of Candesce has made their Recommended Reading list for 2007.  It's one of 28, as usual--a little over two dozen science fiction books that this industry mag recommends, out of approximately 250 published last year.

Of course this is great--but here's the thing:  every one of my novels has made this list.

My books regularly make various top-ten lists, but this list is important because it's some of the genre's chief reviewers and critics weighing in.  I believe, since we're up to five in a row, that I can sense a trend here.  And you'd think it would be a good sign--but nothing in publishing is easy to interpret.  I still feel like the best-kept secret in SF; I mean, if I'm so shit-hot, why is it that not a single one of my books has gone into a second printing?  If every one of my novels since the year 2000 has hit the top-ten recommendation lists, why do I still get invited to participate in convention panels for new and first-time authors?  Why am I not on the top-ten sales lists?

It could be I have a face only a reviewer could love.  --And mind you, I'm not complaining because, after all, I am being regularly published.  My fantasies of being a science fiction writer are getting indulged by the real world. 

Maybe, in the end, that's as good as it needs to get. 

. . .Naaaaaaw.  I still want that bestseller.