Hello! I have only a scattering of stuff this year (but 2021 is going to be a doozy, I can tell you that right now, because at least two novels, a novelette, appearances in BCS and Mag of F&SF, co-editing an anthology, a non-fiction project, and some other stuff are all coming up, wheeeee!)
Anyhow. When you are reading for awards, here’s what I published in 2020. But if you want a huge batch of them, what you should really do is consult the big post of F&SF awards eligibility 2020 posts that is here — and if you’ve got something that should be on there, let me know.
My favorite story of the year, which appeared in Daily Science Fiction, is “I Decline,” a short story which grew out of a writing prompt, write a complaint letter about an abstract concept. If you’re a SFWA member, I hope you’ll consider adding it to your recommended reading suggestions. Similarly, if you’re reading for the Hugos or Eugie Foster awards, I hope you’ll consider it when nominating. If you’d prefer to listen to it in audio form, I gotcha!.
“Because It Is Bitter” is an alternative-history novella, part of the AND THE LAST TRUMP SHALL SOUND project I did with Harry Turtledove and James Morrow. Want to buy it at Powell’s? Here’s the link.
I wish there were flash fiction awards, both because I appreciate the hell out of well-done flash, but also because I produced a number of good ones this year. Beside the earlier mentioned “I Decline,” the piece I did, At the End of the Song, A Ghost is Waiting, which appeared in Three-Lobed Burning Eye, is another nicely done piece.
“How Joyful the Work” is a clockpunk re-centering of the Odyssey on those left behind with a touch of lesbian romance, written for Predators in Petticoats.
Red Boots Blues is a cyberpunk mash-up of “The Red Shoes” and “The Girl who Trod on a Loaf,” done for the UPON A ONCE TIME anthology from Air & Nothingness Press. Also fun to write, and I let myself loose with poetic language sometimes. AAN does beautiful books and I picked up some to give as presents this year. Here’s a reading of that for you:
Wayne and I wrote a story together, “Stand and Deliver,” which appeared in Dark Matter Magazine. We wrote it while on a road trip together, and I hope we’ll do more in the future, because he’s fun to write with!
Patreon stories primarily were installments of serial novella Baby Driver, a #hopepulp focused on Pat Savage, cousin of Doc Savage, and her crew of five bad-ass women, but there were a number of flash pieces, snippets, and roughs from playing writing games.
I am part of a podcast this year! In 2020 we kicked off hopepunk-centered If This Goes On (Don’t Panic), cohosted by Alan Bailey, Diane Morrison, Rachel Renee, and myself. I can take very little credit for this project, but great pride in being associated with it, and we’ve had some awesome episodes over the course of our first year.
I have enough coming out in 2018 that some of the different campaigns are colliding a bit. Some are self-pubbed projects, others are with presses but I’m helping with the marketing where I can.
3 Responses
Dear Cat,
Your prose needs a good editor. The below is your opening on a story posted at Clarkesworld:
I glance in the glass wall’s reflection. [Why give a plural possessive to an inanimate object? And, are you really glancing in the Wall’s reflection, or are you glancing at your own reflection?]
I glance at my reflection in the glass wall. It faces me twenty feet away as I walk up the stairs [;] marble slab steps, showing grainy pink underneath my red sneakers. My fingers clutch the [again] chrome railing. I’m feeling shaky, that internal quiver where your body announces that it may not be up to this.
What any competent writer needs is a good editor. Unfortunately, you will probably not get to where you want to go by publishing in semi-pro zines; they don’t have the resources to make your work better””tighter””more publishers friendly.
Fellow writers might help, but nothing takes the place of a good editor.
Good luck with your secondary career. Or, if you would like to take a flyer””I can be bought! A penny a word and then perhaps your work might be expanded into professional magazines. Content counts for about half of what an editor considers.
Best-
Mike
P.S. Comma after the word “that” is never a good idea, and placing two “that’s” in the same sentence is a no-no. That said, that’s a shame.
Hi Mike, good luck with the editing career! I’d suggest that if you really want to use the web to drum up business, you might want to rethink your approach, which comes off more like an attempt to troll than a genuine effort to be helpful and thus ends up looking less than professional. You might also want to acquaint yourself with the list of what’s considered pro and what’s not when dealing with SF writers – I’ve found the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America site very helpful and I often point people new to the field at that site.: http://www.sfwa.org I hope that’s helpful!