My novelette “May Our Voices Sing Like Blood from Open Wounds" (with praise for Edmund Schubert)

Artwork for "May Our Voices Sing Like Blood from Open Wounds" created by Dean Spencer.

My first-ever vampire novelette, “May Our Voices Sing Like Blood from Open Wounds," has been published as the cover story for InterGalactic Medicine Show. The amazing artwork was created by Dean Spencer.

Robert L Turner III, reviewing the issue at Tangent Online, says "The story is well paced and extremely well written, hinting at deeper meanings while only occasionally becoming explicit. While not perfect, this is the best short story I have read in some time and deserves careful reading and perhaps award nominations."

Go check out the story.

Not only is this the 50th issue of IGMS, it's also Edmund Schubert's final issue as editor. I'll miss working with Edmund, who is a class act and one of those unsung heroes who make the SF/F genre what it is.

Last year Edmund was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Editor, Short Form. While Edmund had long been on my ballot for a Hugo nomination, in 2015 he was also on the Rabid Puppies' slate, a fact which caused him a good bit of pain. He eventually withdrew from consideration. You can read his statement on why he did this — which proved yet again how classy Edmund is — here.

Prior to Edmund withdrawing I wrote the following, which I feel still really, really applies:

As editor of Intergalactic Medicine Show, Edmund has been extremely supportive of new writers no matter their politics or backgrounds or beliefs. The list of writers who've earned one of their early publishing credits through Edmund reads like a "who's who" of the new generation of SF/F authors, and includes Tony Pi, Saladin Ahmed, Aliette de Bodard, Nancy Fulda, Eric James Stone, Eugie Foster, and many more.

And yes, I'm biased about Edmund because he accepted my first-ever professionally published story. He also published my first short story collection Never Never Stories while working as the editor of Spotlight Publishing. And he commissioned this amazing artwork from fellow Hugo finalist Julie Dillon for my story "The Never Never Wizard of Apalachicola."

But despite IGMS being one of our genre's few professional-level magazines, Edmund has never appeared on the Hugo Award Best Editor ballot. Again, I'm not naive — I know it's because of two reasons. First, Edmund has never been among the trendy insiders in our genre. And it's also likely some people never considered him for the award because the full title of his magazine is Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show. That OSC name trips up people and they hold it against Edmund.

Which is a true shame. After all, OSC doesn't run the editorial side of the magazine. He merely supports the magazine. I am able to separate OSC's political views, which I disagree with, from his support of new writers. This is similar to how most people in our genre support the Writers of the Future contests and programs even though they were founded by L. Ron Hubbard and receive funding from Scientology-related ventures.

Edmund has a new SF short story collection out, so go read the book to learn more about his fiction. I wish Edmund the best in his life and his writing and all he takes part in during the years to come.

I also wish our genre would remember the common dreams and goals which bound us together in the first place, no matter our differences.

We should never forget to notice the good people all around us.

People like Edmund Schubert.

2016 Hugo Awards: Despite pups, good works still make ballot

The 2016 Hugo Awards final ballot has been announced by MidAmericCon II and, as expected, a good deal of the Rabid Puppies' slate are among the finalists. File 770 has an excellent breakdown of which works and authors made the ballot because of RP slate voting.

The relative good news, though, is that more non-slate works and authors made the ballot than last year, and many of these works and authors are very deserving of Hugo Award consideration. For example, I loved both The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin and Uprooted by Naomi Novik and could easily see either of them winning the novel category. The same with Alyssa Wong in the Campbell Best New Writer category. Most other Hugo categories also have a few award-worthy options.

There are exceptions. The short story category is completely filled with the RP slate, including works like "Space Raptor Butt Invasion" by Chuck Tingle which no one can deny made the ballot for no reason other than outright trolling. The same with the Best Related Work category.

There are also authors who made the ballot with slate support but didn't ask to be included, such as Andy Weir of The Martian fame along with many of the films and semiprozine finalists who were slated without their consent. As a result Hugo voters will have to go through each category, consider the nominated works, and make a decision on how to vote. If that vote is No Award, then so be it.

But never forget that the goal of the Rabid Puppies is to destroy the Hugo Awards. That's why they included publications like Beneath Ceaseless Skies and Strange Horizons on their slate — they want people to vote No Award on publications which are the exact opposite of everything the Rabid Puppies stand for. It's up to Hugo voters to see this trick and not fall for it.

After all, as John Scalzi asks, "how much credit should (the puppies) get for nominating already-celebrated work?" The answer is none.

In the end, read and consider all the works on this year's Hugo ballot and vote for those which are worthy of winning. And as with last year's Hugos, if a category has no deserving finalists then No Award is always an option.

And before anyone asks, yes, rule changes being considering at this year's Worldcon will make it more difficult for slates to dominate the Hugos in the future. I also don't believe a second year of puppy madness will permanently destroy the Hugo Awards' brand or importance. People are able to recognize hateful trolling when they see it, and hateful trolling is what people will remember about this whole affair in the decades to come.

Chinese edition of The Ships Like Clouds, Risen By Their Rain

The Chinese edition of The Ships Like Clouds, Risen By Their Rain is now available as a stand-alone ebook on Douban Read.

So far I've been really impressed with Douban Read, which translates and publishes e-editions of genre works by a number of authors including Ken Liu and Aliette de Bodard.

Douban Read takes an innovative approach to translating foreign works. They have a "foreign works in translation page" where they allow different translators to post sample translations of upcoming books. The editors then review these translations and pick the best translator to go with the story. Among the books they're currently translating are The Waiting Stars by Aliette de Bodard, Help Me Follow My Sister into the Land of the Dead by Carmen Maria Machado, The Elephant and Macaw Banner by Christopher Kastensmidt, and my novella Sublimation Angels.

To purchase and read the Chinese edition of The Ships Like Clouds, Risen By Their Rain, go here.

A short fiction Dragon Award in honor of Eugie Foster

Eugie Foster working on the Daily Dragon at Dragon Con.

Dragon Con has announced the creation of the Dragon Awards, which will "recognize outstanding achievement in science fiction and fantasy literature, comics, gaming and filmed entertainment." The awards will be selected by fans in an open nomination and voting process.

Complete information is available on the award's website.

I think this is a great idea and look forward to taking part as a genre fan. I also think this will go a long way toward raising awareness about the different literary subgenres recognized in the award.

In fact, my only criticism of the award is that it lacks a short fiction category. On one level I understand this decision since short fiction is not as popular as novel-length fiction. However, short fiction is still a powerful force in our genre and one well worth honoring and recognizing.

My hope is that in the future Dragon Con will consider adding a short fiction category or two to the Dragon Awards. And perhaps they could do so while also honoring a short fiction author who devoted so much of her life to the convention: Eugie Foster.

For many years Eugie edited the Daily Dragon, the official publication of Dragon Con. Eugie deeply loved Dragon Con, perhaps as much as she loved writing short fiction. If Dragon Con decides to create a short fiction award in the future it would be a fitting honor if they named or hosted the award in Eugie's name.

My novelette "Blood Grains Speak Through Memories" in Beneath Ceaseless Skies

My novelette "Blood Grains Speak Through Memories" is in the special science-fantasy double issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies alongside fiction by Aliette de Bodard, Sarah Pinsker, Yoon Ha Lee, Cat Rambo, and Anaea Lay.

In addition to reading the story online You can also download it in the following formats:

The novelette will also be reprinted in The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2017 Edition, edited by Rich Horton.

So far the review of "Blood Grains Speak Through Memories" have been excellent.

  • 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.