Info and links for Hugo Award nominations (including my Campbell Award shortlist)

The nomination deadline for this year's Hugo Awards is March 17. To nominate you must be a member of MidAmeriCon II, Worldcon 75 and/or Worldcon 76 in San José. If you're a member you should have been emailed a personal link for your nominations. If you're not a member it's too late to join and nominate although you'd still be able to vote for the finalists later this year.

Below are links to information I've collected as I worked on my Hugo Award nominees. I hope people find this useful.

And in a blatant self promotion, my "Blood Grains Speak Through Memories" is a finalist for the Nebula Award for Best Novelette and also eligible for the Hugo Award in that same category. If you read and liked my novelette please consider it for a nomination.

On with the info and links.

General Hugo Award info and links

  • Hugo Nominees 2017 Wikia — This is a great resource to learn about the potential nominees in the different categories (and especially in the less-known Hugo categories). Highly recommended.
  • Rocket Stack Rank's Hugo Awards overview — RSR focuses on short fiction reviews, with their Hugo overview listing rankings for different stories based on number of reviews and year's best reprints. However, their page also includes additional info on the eligible professional artists (with a "lightbox" sample of their art) along with best editors and other categories.
  • Hugo Award spreadsheet — The people behind Lady Business have pulled together a great spreadsheet of eligible Hugo nominees suggested by themselves and fellow fans. Click through the tabs for each category and, if you wish, make your own suggestions.
  • 2016 Nebula Awards finalists — Lots of great stories and novels on this list, all of which are eligible for the Hugos.

Campbell Award Shortlist

The John W. Campbell Award is given to a new SF/F author whose first published genre work happened in the previous two years. Because of this rolling two-year eligibility there is sometimes confusion over which authors can be nominated.

An excellent resource is Writertopia's list of Campbell-eligible authors, which breaks down all the eligible authors and also lists whether they're in their first or second year of eligibility.

I've compiled a short list below of the eligible authors who have caught my eye with their fiction over the last two years. I list their eligibility year after their name and also link to their websites. This names below form the basis for my Campbell nominations.

The Voices of Martyrs by Maurice Broaddus

Today sees the release of The Voices of Martyrs by Maurice Broaddus, a must-read short story collection from one of today's must-read genre authors. I've long been a fan of Maurice's writings and was thrilled to blurb the book.

Here's what I wrote:

An outcast in the distant past struggling to survive. A religious captain rationalizing away the evil of the slave ship he commands. A future biomech warrior in a literal culture war. The stories in The Voices of Martyrs again prove why Maurice Broaddus is one of the most exciting writers of today's genre fiction. His vision spans space and time while staying grounded in the stories —  in the very voices —  which make us fully and tragically and hopefully human.

Go read this collection. And do yourself a favor and buy a print copy. Rosarium Publishing does beautiful design work and printing and The Voices of Martyrs is one of those books where you'll enjoy the stories, enjoy the book itself, and be oh-so-happy with the entire reading experience.

Cover for Chinese edition of "Blood Grains Speaks Through Memories"

Been a good two days. Yesterday my novelette "Blood Grains Speak Through Memories" became a finalist for the Nebula Award for Best Novelette. And this morning I received an advance look at the cover for the story's Chinese translation, which is being released as a stand-alone book by Douban Reads.

Wow. WOW. Wow! I love this cover.

To purchase the book go here.

Douban Reads has already released translations of my Nebula Award nominated novella Sublimation Angels, my short story collection Never Never Stories, and "The Ships Like Clouds, Risen By Their Rain." All of these works are listed on my Douban Read author page.

As always many thanks to my Douban Reads editor Pei Liu for translating and publishing these stories. And many thanks to the readers in China who have responded so positively to my writing.

"Blood Grains Speak Through Memories" is a Nebula Award finalist!

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.

Best thing in the world is hanging in a bookstore with K. Tempest Bradford

What do writers do when they get together? They go to the bookstore! I spent the afternoon with K. Tempest Bradford, including hanging out at a Half Price Books.

One highlight was discovering the creepily titled Piers Anthony novel The Color of Her Panties, which Tempest has already posted about over on Facebook.

The other great part? Hearing Tempest critique a novel she read a while back, Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher.

Enjoy the video.