My novelette "Blood Grains Speak Through Memories" is a finalist for the Nebula Award for Best Novelette. The novelette was originally published in Beneath Ceaseless Skies and will be reprinted in The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2017 Edition, edited by Rich Horton.
My reaction to learning this news: "Really!?! Really!?!" Followed by a stunned and humbled rambling and lots of dancing. I'm also excited to see all the amazing authors who are Nebula finalists this year. There are some excellent stories and novels on the list, so go check them out.
A deep, sincere thanks to BCS editor Scott H. Andrews, who requested the story and gave excellent editorial feedback. And equal thanks to everyone who read and enjoyed the novelette, including all the members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America who nominated it for the Nebula.
"Blood Grains Speak Through Memories" can be read online or downloaded in the following formats:
Below are a sample of the reviews "Blood Grains Speak Through Memories" has received.
- Rocket Stack Rank, which ranks the year's best genre short fiction, calls the novelette Hugo Award worthy and gives it 5 stars. See the complete review for more.
- Rich Horton in the May 2016 Locus Magazine gives the novelette a "recommended" rating and says "It’s cool and strange stuff, almost gothic at times, thought-provoking and honest."
- Eric Kimminau at Tangent Online calls the novelette a "marvelous piece of work" and adds "It is unlike any story I have ever read and I give it my highest possible recommendation."
- Maria Haskins writes "Sanford skillfully sets up an intricate, weird, and uniquely imagined world where land-anchors are set against day-fellows (don’t ask, just read), and where memory, family, protecting the land, and finding a place to call home are complex and potentially dangerous things. It’s a story that made me want to read more about the world it conjures."
- Charles Payseur at Quick Sip Reviews calls the novelette "rather moving" and adds that it's "a fine story and one well worth its fairly substantial weight. Indeed!"
- Tethyan Books says "With its creative setting and deep emotional stakes, this story was my favorite of the month."
- Tadiana Jones at Fantasy Literature gives the story 4.5 stars out of 5, says "Jason Sanford has created a unique and compelling world in this novelette ... The characters have complex motivations that are equal to the unusual setting, making this intricate SF tale a delight to unpack."
- Four stars from Reading Trance. "Imaginative and original, with great characterization.
- Named to the Tangent Online 2016 Recommended Reading List.