Jason Sanford

Best Short Story of the Year: Movement by Nancy Fulda

As we near the end of the year, the literary SF/F award season is ready to crash down upon us. Many of the year's best anthologies have announced their picks, the Nebulas are open for nominations, and everyone has an opinion about which stories are award-worthy.

In a few weeks I'll release my complete list of the stories and books I plan to nominate for the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and other awards. But before then, I want to highlight one story which will absolutely be on my year's best list. In fact, it's hard to argue that this isn't hands down the best short story of the year.

The story I refer to is the amazing "Movement" by Nancy Fulda, originally published in the March 2011 Asimov's and reprinted online in both print and audio formats by Escape Pod.

As Nancy says over on her blog, "Movement" is about a "teenage girl with a fictional variant of autism and it toys with the intersections between neurology, temporal dynamics, evolution, and chaos theory." But as with all great stories, that summary doesn't begin to do it justice. I suggest you immediately go read it.

I think the reason I relate to the story's narrator is I have a similar sense of time and place. Perhaps this results from working as an archeologist, or perhaps this sense was always there. I simply can't help looking at the world and seeing it as if I'm an archeologist excavating everything from a thousand years in the future.

This hard SF story is insightful, lyrically written, moving, and eye-opening while retaining an almost effortless flow, and is one of the few stories I've immediate reread upon finishing.  I only hope that one day I can write a story equally as full of insight, emotion, and truth as "Movement."

My Interzone Readers' Poll Selections

The Interzone Readers' Poll is running now through March 31. Any story or art published last year by Interzone is eligible. You can vote for or against the stories and art over on the Interzone forum or by emailing Martin McGrath at interzonepoll@ntlworld.com.

I've been honored to have my stories win the last two readers' polls: "When Thorns Are the Tips of Trees" in 2008 and my novella "Sublimation Angels" in 2009. While I have a number of stories eligible for this year's award, it would not be appropriate to campaign since I've twice won the poll. 

My votes this year are (in alphabetical order by author):

• "Flying in the Face of God" by Nina Allen (issue 227)
• "The Shipmaker" by Aliette de Bodard (issue 231)
• "The Shoe Factory" by Matthew Cook (issue 231)
• "Orchestral Manoevures In The Dark Matter" by Jim Hawkins (issue 229)
• "A Passion for Art" by David D. Levine (issue 228)
• "Dance of the Kawkawroons" by Mercurio D. Rivera (issue 227)
• "Alternate Girl's Expatriate Life" by Rochita Loenen-Ruiz (issue 229)
• "Again and Again and Again" by Rachel Swirsky (issue 226)
• "The Insurance Agent" by Lavie Tidhar (issue 230)

For the artwork, that's a hard call. Warwick Fraser-Coombe illustrated all six covers for Interzone in 2010; when combined, the covers create this impressive image. If I had to pick one person to win the award, it would be him because of the sheer scale and beauty of what he accomplished. But there were also a number of great interior illustrations.

My votes for best art are:

• All 6 covers by Warwick Fraser-Coombe (and their combined illustration)
• Illustration for "Peacemaker, Peacemaker, Little Po Beep" by Warwick Fraser-Coombe (issue 231)
• Illustration for "Plague Birds" by Darren Winter (issue 228)
• Illustration for "The Shipmaker" by Richard Wagner (issue 231)

I've cast no negative votes for either stories or art.

My 2010 Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award Recommendations

After a final rush of reading I've pulled together my nominations for the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards.  I highly recommend these selections and hope people will consider them for their own picks.

The deadline for Nebula nominations is February 15 while Hugo nominations are due March 26. The Locus Award traditionally opens for nominations when the "recommended reading" list and ballot are published in their February issue.

Please note my nominations are arranged in alphabetical order by author/artist/publication. If links to works are available they are also provided.

Nominations for All Three Awards

Best Novel

• The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin. I also loved Jemisin's sequel The Broken Kingdoms, both of which were published last year, but I figured I'd only nominate the first book in the trilogy.
• Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor. Read my review
• Dreadnought by Cherie Priest.
• How To Live Safely In A Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu.
• The Habitation of the Blessed by Catherynne M. Valente.

Best Novella

• The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang (Subterranean Books)
• "The Sultan of the Skies" by Geoffrey A. Landis (Asimov's, Sept. 2010)
• "The Paragon Lure" by Tony Pi (Alembical 2, Paper Golem Press)
• "A History of Terraforming" by Robert Reed (Asimov's, July 2010)
• "The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers Beneath the Queen’s Window" by Rachel Swirsky (Subterranean Online, Summer 2010)

Best Novelettes

• "Flying in the Face of God" by Nina Allen (Interzone 227)
• “River of Souls” by Beth Bernobich (Tor.com)
• "The Jaguar House, in Shadow" by Aliette de Bodard (Asimov's, July 2010)
• "That Leviathan, Whom Thou Hast Made" by Eric James Stone (Analog, Sept. 2010)
• "Stone Wall Truth" by Caroline M. Yoachim (Asimov's, Feb. 2010) Read my review

Best Short Stories

• "Venues" by Richard Bowes, (F&SF Nov/Dec 2010)
• "Alternate Girl's Expatriate Life" by Rochita Loenen-Ruiz (Interzone 229)
• "Elegy for a Young Elk" by Hannu Rajaniemi (Subterranean Online, Spring 2010)
•  "The Spontaneous Knotting of an Agitated String" by Lavie Tidhar (Fantasy Magazine, May 2010)
• "Seeing" by Genevieve Valentine (Clarkesworld 50) Read my review

Nebula Related Category

Andre Norton Award (for Young Adult Novels)

• Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
• Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
• Mistwood by Leah Cypess
• Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride
• The Boneshaker by Kate Milford

Hugo Only Categories

Best Semiprozine

• Beneath Ceaseless Skies
• GUD Magazine
• Interzone
• Locus
• New York Review of Science Fiction

Best Related Work

• The Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy by John Joseph Adams and David Barr Kirtley
• The Business of Science Fiction by Mike Resnick and Barry N. Malzberg
• Sci-Fi Art Now by John Freeman

Best Fanzine

• Argentus
• SF Signal
• The Skiffy and Fanty Show
• StarShipSofa
• The World SF Blog

Best Fan Writer

Note: While I love the fan writings of Dave Langford, Nick Mamatas, John Scalzi and other big name authors, I'm using this award to focus on fan writers who don't usually receive the notice they deserve.

• Ay-leen the Peacemaker
• Michael A. Burstein
• Matthew Cheney
• James Nicoll
• James Oliver

Best Editor, Short Form

• John Joseph Adams (Lightspeed, various anthologies)
• Andy Cox (Interzone)
• Gordon Van Gelder (F&SF)
• Stanley Schmidt (Analog)
• Sheila Williams (Asimov's)

Best Editor, Long Form

Note: It's hard to figure out who qualifies in this category under the arcane Hugo rules, so consider this an attempt to highlight those editors whose books impressed me in 2010.

• David G. Hartwell (Tor Books)
• Patrick Nielsen Hayden (Tor Books)
• Jennifer Hunt (Little, Brown, editor of Ship Breaker)
• Jason Sizemore (Apex Books)
• Paul Stevens (Tor Books)

Best Professional Artist

• Vincent Chong (samples of 2010 work provided here, here, and here)
• Julie Dillon (who created, among other images, this amazing cover for my story "The Never Never Wizard of Apalachicola" in IGMS)
• Warwick Fraser-Coombe (illustrated all the covers for Interzone in 2010; when combined, the covers create this impressive image)
• John Picacio (his illustrations for 2010 can be seen here)

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

• Saladin Ahmed
• Nicky Drayden
• Keffy R. M. Kehrli
• Alastair Mayer
• Ferrett Steinmetz

Locus Only Categories

Best Anthology

• Alembical 2, edited by Arthur Dorrance and Lawrence M. Schoen
• Apex Magazine's special Arab/Muslim themed issue, edited by Catherynne M. Valente
• Dark Faith, edited by Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon Read my review
• Shine: An Anthology of Optimistic SF, edited by Jetse de Vries
• Stories: All-New Tales edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio

Best Collection

• Occultation by Laird Barron
• A Handful of Pearls and Other Stories by Beth Bernobich
• Fritz Leiber: Selected Stories
• The Best of Kim Stanley Robinson
• The Last Hieroglyph (The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith, Vol. 5)

Please note I didn't nominate any works in the Hugo categories of dramatic performances, best fan artist, and best graphic story, or in the Nebula's dramatic performance category. Others will have to voice opinions on which nominations belong there.

If anyone sees any mistakes with my nominations—a story in a wrong category, ineligible works—please let me know. I won't officially submit these nominations until early February. In addition, as authors and publishers provide additional links to their works I'll add these to the post.

The Story of an Old Seaman's Medal of Honor

James Avery earned the Medal of Honor by saving men under extreme gunfire during the Battle of Mobile Bay. According to his medal citation, while serving aboard the U.S.S. Metacomet, Avery, as a member of the boat's crew, "went to the rescue of the U.S. monitor Tecumseh when that vessel was struck by a torpedo in passing the enemy forts in Mobile Bay, August 5, 1864. (Seaman) Avery braved the enemy fire which was said by the admiral to be 'one of the most galling' he had ever seen, and aided in rescuing from death 10 of the crew of the Tecumseh, eliciting the admiration of both friend and foe."

I've visited Fort Morgan a number of times, and the peaceful sea grasses and lapping waves refuse to hint at what Avery and the other men went through on that day almost 150 years ago. And that brief citation and the knowledge that Avery was awarded the medal would be all we know of this man, were it not for an amazing story the New York Times published in 1898, a few months before Avery's death.

The story is set in the 1890s and Avery has been a sailor for most of his life. He is now an old tar having a difficult time adjusting to the Navy's new metal steam ships. Because Avery can't do the work of a "modern" sailor, his commanding officer gives him an easier—if lowly—position as a berth-deck cook. All that changes, however, when the captain accidentally discovers that Avery earned the Medal of Honor.

This is an extremely touching slice of life story, which gives a great glimpse of a sailor's life during the late 1800s. I highly recommend this story to anyone interested in character sketches or maritime tales, or, hell, simple human nature. You can access the original story here.

I'd like to close with Avery's words on why he risked his life to save those men:

"I did like the rest of the men that day, and I never expected anything more than my pay and rations. We tried to do our duty, and when we saw the men in the other ship being shot down and some drowning, we could only try to help them. God knows it was hard to see them being murdered without much chance for escape."

Stories worth reading: "Seeing" by Genevieve Valentine

As 2010 wraps up people are already putting together their lists of the year's best novels and stories. I'm no exception and should release my picks for the best stories of the year—and the stories I'll be nominating for the annual awards—in early December.

However, it's worth remembering that the year isn't over and amazing stories are still being published. Case in point: "Seeing" by Genevieve Valentine from the November issue of Clarkesworld Magazine.

"Seeing" focuses on a space explorer attempting to discover a habitable planet for humanity, whose own earth is facing an extremely slow and painful death. If that sounds rather straightforward and something which has been written a thousand times, prepare to be shocked. From the prose to the characterization to the worldview behind the story, Valentine has create a unique look at what not only drives people but at the strangeness lurking everywhere in our universe.

As N.K. Jemisin said in the comments below the story, "Seeing" features "Fantastic characterization, accurate science, literary experimentation that not only works but fits. Delicious." I couldn't agree more. (BTW, Jemisin also has an extremely good story called "On the Banks of the River Lex" in the same issue of Clarkesworld.)

"Seeing" is a story I'd have easily picked for my online SciFi Strange anthology. It will also be on my list of the year's best stories.

A SF story you must look for: Matthew Cook's "The Shoe Factory"

While there are many up and coming authors out there, one of the best is Matthew Cook. I first met Matt a few years ago at the Context Convention in Columbus, Ohio. He was signing copies of his first novel Blood Magic, published by Juno Books. Even though I'm not a big fan of "paranormal romances," which Juno is mainly known for, I picked up a copy.

I was blown away.

As I wrote in my review at that time, the novel is a must read for any fan of fantasy or horror. The sequel, Nights of Sin is even better, taking Matt’s characters onto unforeseen emotional and storytelling grounds. While these novels were marketed under the paranormal romance subgenre, they picked up a much wider readership. The reason for this is Matt's story easily crosses several genres and creates a world and characters which are both totally unique and totally believable. The books did extremely well, becoming two of Juno's best-selling titles and with both being nominated for the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards. (And as a side note, I now believe the books are actually science fiction. But since Matt won't tell me the truth of that, I'll only learn if I'm correct when Matt finishes the series.)

Unfortunately, when Juno was purchased by Pocket Books they were told to focus exclusively on paranormal romance. That meant no more cross-genre books like Matt's. But he's still working on the third and final novel and I'm sure another publisher will eventually jump at the chance to purchase the book.

Until then, Matt has a new story you must read: "The Shoe Factory," which was recently accepted by Interzone.

While it may not be fair to plug something which isn't even out, I love Matt's story too much to keep quiet. I first read this science fiction tale in manuscript form a while back. Even though Matt had asked me for feedback, all I could meekly mutter was that "The Shoe Factory" was simply and utterly great. The story is beautifully written, deeply touching, and presents a view of life crossing both space and time. Over the last year I've reread the story a number of times and it dazzles with each new reading.

I know I harp on SciFi Strange a lot, but Matt's story is a perfect example of the power of this type of fiction. I don't know which issue of Interzone the story will be in, but it should be out soon. If you trust my recommendations, keep an eye out for the story. And if you aren't already a subscriber to Interzone, dang it, make it happen.

"Stone Wall Truth" by Caroline M. Yoachim

Over the last few weeks, I've twice mentioned "Stone Wall Truth" by Caroline M. Yoachim, which was published in the February 2010 edition of Asimov's. The first time was in "Our science fiction isn't your father's SF," where I discussed a review which claimed "the story is a masterpiece, but a masterpiece of fantasy rather than science fiction" (I disagreed and believe the story is a science fiction masterpiece). The other mention was in my "Online SciFi Strange anthology," where I listed the story as a great example of SciFi Strange.

Obviously I love this story. So I'm excited to announce that Yoachim has posted the story online.

This story will definitely be on my short-list for the major awards, and I suggest people read and likewise consider it. The story is as mind-blowing--and disturbing--as science fiction can get.