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My new essay "In praise of virtual connections" is now live on my Sci-Fi Strange Medium.com collection. In the essay I discuss why our interconnected world isn’t the cause of social disengagement, and might even fix it. For good measure I even throw in Sturgeon’s Law and apply it to human communications and lives.
If you like the essay, consider following my Sci-Fi Strange collection, which is updated regularly with works by myself and many others.
The storySouth Million Writers Award top ten stories have been released and the public vote for the overall winners is now open. We have more than $1,000 in cash and prizes for the winners, so go check out the stories and vote.
I also want to thank our three final judges: Forrest Anderson, Jeff VanderMeer, and the one judge who wished to remain anonymous. You three are amazing! Even though all three of the judges are extremely busy with their own writing careers, they still took the time to read through all of this year's notable stories and pick their ten favorites. If that doesn't fit perfectly into the definition of awesome, I don't know what does.
Never Never Stories (Print Edition)"The most original speculative fiction that I’ve ever read." Catherine Russell, Functional Nerds Jason's stories "reward reading, and presage what could be an excellent career." "If you're new to (Sanford's stories) then this is a very highly recommended collection indeed." Spaceships passing through the sky like endless clouds. A woman whose skin reveals the names of sailors fated to die at sea. A virus which causes people who touch each other to turn into crystalline trees. These are only a few of the stories in my collection, Never Never Stories. Ranging from science fiction to fantasy, the 10 stories contained in the print edition of Never Never Stories have won the Interzone Readers’ Poll, been nominated for the BSFA Award, longlisted for the British Fantasy Award, and printed in numerous magazines and book anthologies including Year's Best SF. The collection also contains an original essay on archeology and fantasy and a cover by award-winning artist Vincent Chong. Stories included in this collection:
Reviews “The most original speculative fiction that I’ve ever read.” — Catherine Russell, Functional Nerds |
Spotlight Publishing The price is $15.95 Note: The small press publisher of this print edition went out of business. Used copies, though, are still available online. |
Never Never Stories (Ebook Edition)The ebook edition of Never Never Stories contains all of the content from the print edition along with four additional stories (one of which has never been published) plus a different introduction. Stories included in this ebook collection:
Reviews "Sanford (and some other writers) are producing SF that truly has a different feel than much that has gone before." — Rich Horton, Locus, February 2011 "Few SF/fantasy writers generate a buzz through short fiction alone, but Jason Sanford is an exception. Over the past few years, he's created a growing fan base through his brand of modern speculative fiction, something he called 'SF Strange.'" — Jeff VanderMeer on Amazon's Omnivoracious blog
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The price is $4.99 Purchase for the Amazon Kindle (U.S.A. site)
Purchase for the Barnes and Noble Nook In the iBooks Store: |
Sublimation AngelsOriginally published in the British magazine Interzone, my novella Sublimation Angels was a finalist for the Nebula Award, won the Interzone Readers' Poll for best story, and was longlisted for the British Fantasy Award. The ebook edition contains the complete text of Sublimation Angels along with a short essay on why I wrote the novella. Reviews A Tangent Online 2009 recommended story Five stars. "A captivating story about freedom, rebellion, and seeking the truth." SF Signal "One of the best novellas of the year." Suite101 "Sanford shows again just what a talent he is." SF Revu "Superb ... a satisfying and wonderfully rounded story." SF Crowsnest "SF of the purest quality." Tangent
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The price is $2.99 Purchase for the Amazon Kindle (U.S.A. site)
Purchase for the Barnes and Noble Nook In the iBooks store: United States |
Her Scientifiction, Far Future, Medieval FantasyPrincess Krisja Jerome lives in a futuristic playground universe of stone castles and dragons, where gallant knights fight for honor and glory using lasers and unbreakable synthetic swords. But when invaders destroy Krisja's carefully managed life, she sets out on a quest with a King Arthur duplicate to discover the truth of their world. Along the way she learns it’s not enough to merely experience great deeds – to be a true hero you must risk everything you love and hold dear. Originally published in the British SF magazine Interzone. Reviews "You can always count on Jason Sanford for something imaginative and ‘Her Scientifiction, Far Future, Medieval Fantasy’ certainly more than achieves that goal. Another stunning piece by a talented writer." — Sam Tomaino, SF Revu "A whirlwind of a story that bashes together every trope of speculative fiction into a big chaotic adventure and it is tremendous fun to go along for the ride." — Tomas Martin, Stephen's Hunt SF Crowsnest
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The price is 99 cents Purchase for the Amazon Kindle (U.S.A. site)
Purchase for the Barnes and Noble Nook In the iBooks store: Coming soon! |
Million Writers Award: The Best New Online VoicesFor nearly a decade the Million Writers Award has honored the best fiction published in online magazines and journals. Now collected for the first time are the most exciting literary voices recognized by this award. Read these groundbreaking short stories and you’ll understand why online magazines and journals are the place to find today’s most vital and challenging stories. Table of Contents
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Spotlight Publishing The price is $15.95 Note: The small press publisher of this print edition went out of business. Used copies, though, are still available online. Purchase print or Kindle edition from Amazon Purchase print or Nook edition from B&N
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Million Writers Award: The Best Online Science Fiction and FantasyFor nearly a decade the Million Writers Award has honored the best fiction published in online magazines and journals. Now collected for the first time are the most exciting science fiction and fantasy voices recognized by this award. Read these groundbreaking short stories and you’ll understand why online magazines and journals are the place to find today’s most vital and challenging stories. Table of Contents
Reviews Publisher's Weekly Starred Review: "Sanford, editor of the online literary journal storySouth, assembles a remarkable collection of science fiction and fantasy works, all originally published online and heralded in storySouth’s annual Million Writers Award contest (some are winners, others finalists and notables). Many of these stories have earned other awards and nominations, and they prove that online journals and magazines deserve readers’ respect and attention." Jamie Todd Rubin, Orson Scott Card's InterGalactic Medicine Show: "We are living in a golden age of short science fiction and fantasy. Having read and written a great deal about classical Golden Age science fiction, having done a pretty good job keeping up with most of the short fiction markets today, I feel I can make this statement with some authority. If further evidence is required, however, I point to Jason Sanford's recent anthology,Million Writers Award: The Best Online Science Fiction and Fantasy."
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Spotlight Publishing The price is $15.95 Note: The small press publisher of this print edition went out of business. Used copies, though, are still available online. Purchase print or Kindle edition from Amazon Purchase print or Nook edition from B&N
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My full-length short story "The Blue Room" is now available on the Daily Science Fiction website.The story is a non-traditional fantasy set on the Great Plains. When the story was emailed last week to DSF subscribers, I announced a contest: The first person to figure out who and what inspired the story would receive an autographed copy of Interzone 231.
But while I've received a lot of responses, so far no one has guessed correctly. That means the contest is still on. Simply email or message me your answers. All the clues you need are in the story.
The 2011 Million Writers Award is now open for nominations. This page is for READERS to nominate one short story published in an online magazine during 2010. Editor nominations are here.
Nominations will be accepted through March 15, 2011. As always, there is no fee to nominate a story or to take part in the award process. If a story is already nominated below, there is no need to nominate that story multiple times. Attempts to "stuff" multiple nominations of the same story by one reader or a group of readers will be deleted.
To nominate a story, please first read the rules then use the following format to place information in the comment box at the bottom of this page.
Asimov's Science Fiction
http://www.asimovs.com
Story: "Stone Wall Truth" by Caroline M. Yoachim
Story URL: http://carolineyoachim.com/Stories/StoneWallTruth.html
(Note: the above story—while a top-notch piece of short fiction—is not eligible for the Million Writers Award because it was first published in Asimov's, a print magazine.)
Failure to use the above format when making a nomination can result in nominations not being considered.
Please enter your nomination into the comment box at the bottom of this page. To post nominations people will need to log into this site using either Facebook, Twitter, Typepad, or another social media account. If anyone experiences problems please contact Jason Sanford.
Finally, if you like what we're doing with the Million Writers Award please consider making a donation to increase the amount of prize money we can offer.
My ballot for the 2010 SFWA election arrived today and I have cast my vote for the following:
I really like the changes SFWA has instituted in the last two years, which are helping return the organization to its former glory. I'm confident if these candidates win they will continue the hard work needed to finish revitalizing the SFWA. 'Nuff said.
Don't know where to start wading through the great community angst and anger session some are already calling rate fail? Never fear, CliffsNotes are here.
As for myself, I'm now officially sick of all this. How about we return to more traditional sources of angst and anger in the genre community. Like how everyone hates the use of red matter in the new Star Trek movie.
I can be contacted at jasonsanfordsf (at sign) gmail (dot) com. You can also Twitter me at twitter.com/jasonsanford and find me on Facebook at facebook.com/jasonsanford.
Last year the Million Writers Award gave away a $1000 in cash and prizes, all of which came from donations. If you'd like to make a donation, please use the link below.
Please note that since these donations do not go through Spring Garden Press (storySouth's publisher), donations are not tax deductible. However, your entire donated amount will be used for the prize money, minus the small fee PayPal deducts for transmitting the money. All donors will have the option of having their name and donation listed on the Million Writers Award page. Donors may also remain anonymous.
To make a donation, click below.
Jason Sanford is the award-winning author of a number of short stories, essays, and articles, and an active member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Born and raised in the American South, he currently lives in the Midwestern U.S. with his wife and sons. His life's adventures include work as an archeologist and as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
Jason has published more than a dozen of his short stories in the British SF magazine Interzone, which once devoted a special issue to his fiction. His fiction has also been published in Asimov's Science Fiction, Analog: Science Fiction and Fact, InterGalactic Medicine Show, Tales of the Unanticipated, The Mississippi Review, Diagram, Pindeldyboz, and other places. Book anthologies containing his stories include Year's Best SF 14 edited by David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, Bless Your Mechanical Heart edited by Jennifer Brozek, and Beyond the Sun edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt.
A collection of Jason’s short stories, titled Never Never Stories, was published by a small press in 2011.
Jason’s awards and honors include being a finalist for the 2009 Nebula Award for Best Novella, winning both the 2008 and 2009 Interzone Readers' Polls for best story of the year (and being a co-winner of the 2010 Poll), receiving a Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship, being nominated for the BSFA Award, and being longlisted for the British Fantasy Award. His stories have also been named to the 2012 and 2013 Locus Recommended Reading Lists along with being translated into a number of languages including Chinese, French, Russian, Polish, and Czech.
Jason co-founded the literary journal storySouth, through which he ran the annual Million Writers Award for best online fiction. His critical essays and book reviews have been published in a number of places including SF Signal, The New York Review of Science Fiction, and The Pedestal Magazine. He also writes a regular column for the Czech SF magazine XB-1.
Jason can be contacted at jasonsanfordsf (at sign) gmail (dot) com. He can also be found on Twitter, Facebook, Medium.com, and other social media platforms.
Here are some of the awards and honors I've received for my writing:
Below is a sampling of the media coverage about my work. Reviews of my fiction are on this page.
Here are reviews of my fiction along with interviews with me. For specific publication information on these stories, please see my fiction page.
"Plague Birds" (short story originally published in Interzone)
"A Twenty-First Century Fairy Love Story"
"Into the Depths of Illuminated Seas"
"Here We Are, Falling Through Shadows"
"Sublimation Angels" (Link to ebook editions)
"When Thorns Are The Tips Of Trees"
"The Ships Like Clouds, Risen By Their Rain"
"Book Scouts of the Galactic Rim"
Via the Fantasy and Science Fiction blog comes this test to determine which science fiction writer you are. Evidently I am "Gregory Benford, a master literary stylist who is also a working scientist." Of course, people should take the test with a grain of salt, because as my tests results stated "The real Greg Benford once took this quiz, and it told him he was Arthur C. Clarke."
My wife and I saw Cloverfield last night and it was an enjoyable throwback to old Hollywood spectacles like King Kong, where the film takes the audience to places we'd prefer not to see in real life (but are perfectly happy to watch on the big screen). Overall, the film does a masterful job of creating a realistic yet sensawunda story about a monster attacking New York City. The movie also strikes me as very 21st century, with scenes that people will be playing over and over on their iPods and DVD players as they attempt to figure out more of the story. Big hint: That last scene at Coney Island isn't simply a flashback to happier times in the main characters's lives. Check out what's making a splash in the ocean.
My one criticism is that the jerking and shaking of the handheld camera quickly grows old. When the Blair Witch Project came out, technology was such that the only way to hold a camcorder steady was to use a tripod. Now most camcorders come with built in image stabilizers. Would it have really taxed the directors' imaginations for their characters to have a Canon GL2? I know the audience would have thanked them.
Note: If a publication isn't given for an essay, that means it was originally published on my website.
"Interzone is really spoiling me when it publishes Jason Sanford so regularly. As far as I'm concerned, they couldn't publish too much of this author if they named it Jason Sanford's Science Fiction Magazine." — Sam Tomaino at SFRevu
"What Is Sand but Earth Purified?"
"We Eat the Hearts that Come for You"
"Paprika"
"Monday's Monk"
"Mirrorblink"
"Heaven's Touch"
"The Ever-Dreaming Verdict of Plagues"
"Her Scientifiction, Far Future, Medieval Fantasy"
"The Never Never Wizard of Apalachicola"
"Memoria"
"Peacemaker, Peacemaker, Little Bo Peep"
"Millisent Ka Plays in Realtime"
"Plague Birds"
"A Twenty-First Century Fairy Love Story"
"Cwazy"
"Into the Depths of Illuminated Seas"
"Here We Are, Falling Through Shadows"
"When Thorns Are The Tips Of Trees"
"The Ships Like Clouds, Risen By Their Rain"
"Where Away You Fall"
"Book Scouts of the Galactic Rim"
"Freelanga"
"For Aging Kids Who Dream of Star Treks"