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And For My Next Trick: AKA The Amazing Disappearing Nebula Nomination

Picture of Cat Rambo in a Cthulhu ski mask.
There’s power in looking silly and not caring that you do. -Amy Poehler
Well.

Short version: I’ve withdrawn my story from the Nebula ballot. Many congratulations to Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam, whose excellent story The Orangery replaces it on the ballot.

Long version: One of the best parts of being SFWA President or Vice President is that you get to be one of the people calling the Nebula nominees to tell them what’s up. This is a lot of fun because giving people good news is almost always a terrific experience. I’ve ever gotten to call former students on occasion, and thought my heart would burst from joy, because that is a terrific feeling.

This year I woke on February 16, the day we would be making the calls, to find a message from our Nebula Awards Commissioner asking me to give her a call. I did, and she presented me with news that both delighted and horrified me, that my novelette, “Red in Tooth and Cog,” was on the ballot.

Delighted, because I like that story, and think it’s a good one. A number of people whose opinion I value highly have expressed praise for it, and it’s also something that represents a victory for me. I was grimly determined to be published in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction ““ it was a publication that represented an enormous milestone to me ““ and that acceptance was my 44th submission to the magazine over the course of 12 years. It wasn’t that the other stories were bad ones. One of them, “Five Ways to Fall in Love on Planet Porcelain,” even went on to become a Nebula nominee in 2013.

And horrified, because I don’t want things to look like the Nebulas are motivated by concerns other than literary excellence, and it seemed to me that this could look like that since I have engendered a little popularity while President, mainly because I am so goddamn personable. And I was sure there would be a certain amount of grumbling about it. So before we moved forward, I had to decide whether or not to withdraw it

I made some coffee, went for a walk, and spent a good bit of time thinking about it, talking to my spouse and my best friend, as well as a number of other SFWA folk. I was aware that there was precedent for either decision. In the end, I thought that to withdraw it would be a disservice to the members who liked it and wanted to see it on the ballot. If I wasn’t satisfied that it’s a good story, if I hadn’t previously had a story on a ballot when not involved with the SFWA Board, then I might’ve made a different decision and there are undoubtedly parallel universes where our ballot was different. But if I was appearing on the ballot just because of the Presidency, the time for that would have been last year, when my first novel came out. I think. Maybe. Who knows? Maybe in another universe it did.

However, back in this universe, apparently the fact that in the course of editing the 8,000 word story, what emerged was actually short story rather than novelette length, had managed to escape us all over the course of the past year, and so my happiness at finally getting a chance to tell everyone, huzzah, came to an end a bit precipitously. You’ll forgive any rawness to my tone; I think it’s natural.

This presented me with a new dilemma. I could allow it to be moved to the short story category, which would have bumped off not one, but three stories, which had tied for that slot. But that seemed pretty unfair, and made three people pay for the screw-up, instead of just one. So, I’m withdrawing the story. Kudos to the wonderful reading still on the ballot — there is a ton of great stuff on there and you should read it all.

Should the length issue have gotten caught before now? You bet. But if it had to happen on my watch, I am relieved that it happened to me rather than someone else. Is it a solid gut punch? Sure. But there have been others in my life and this is hardly the worst. I still get to go to the Nebulas and enjoy them as one of the ringmasters of that circus. So…wah! Very sad in some ways, but so it goes. Sometimes one puts one’s big girl pants on and soldiers forward without too much entitled whining.

I will, though, try to squeeze a few drop of lemonade from this lemon. If you like what I’m doing, and if you want me to keep persevering, there’s several ways of encouraging me. You can:

Here is a link to the story.

Today’s been crazy. Tonight I’m working my way through some Tillamook chocoloate peanut butter ice cream, Black Jack, and a few levels of Skyrim.

14 Responses

  2. As it happens, I had lunch with Dawn and Steven at CapriCon last weekend. The subject of the Nebulas came up — all anonymously, with me and Amanda Daly at the table, of course. Hearing them discuss the process, I am not at all surprised that a length discrepancy could happen. The process is a valiant attempt to bring order out of chaos; and sometimes, chaos wins.

    Thank you for doing the honorable thing as you see it. That speaks highly of your character.

    Reply
  3. Pingback: Corrected 2016 Nebula Nominees | File 770

  8. No doubt you have acted with tremendous class, Cat. I do have a question — for the Hugo, there is a deadband for each category, such that stories within a certain percentage of the official word count are eligible in each category. Most certainly, a 7000 word story would be eligible as a novelette, and an 8000 word story as a short story. Is that not true for the Nebulas?

    Be that ast it may, “Red in Tooth and Cog” is a great story, and I’m thrilled to be reprinting it in my anthology, and I hope it gets a Hugo nomination (in either category!)

    Reply
  12. Pingback: Story: Red in Tooth and Cog | The World Remains Mysterious
  14. Pingback: Black Gate » Articles » Future Treasures: The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2017, edited by Rich Horton

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"(On the writing F&SF workshop) Wanted to crow and say thanks: the first story I wrote after taking your class was my very first sale. Coincidence? nah….thanks so much."

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SFWA Accessibility Guidelines: What They Are and Why They Matter

Picture of a robot in the SFWA suite, illustration to accompany blog post by speculative fiction writer Cat Rambo.
One thing that did surprise me was the lack of provision for robots, such as this one, enslaved in the SFWA suite at the Nebulas and forced to serve its human captors with cocktails. Should I become SFWA Vice President this year, I pledge that no robot will be left behind.
The SFWA Board recently passed an Accessibility Guidelines Checklist, which will be used at all SFWA-sponsored events. That includes things like the Nebulas, the NY Meet and Greet, etc. Along with passing them, the board passed a provision that every time they get used at such an event, someone sits down afterward and checks to make sure they worked well and don’t need to be adjusted.

One reason I think this is great is that I’ve seen a lot of conventions lately — among the largest around — that have dropped the ball as far as accessibility goes. I’ve seen con participants treated shabbily and shamefully, even to the point where participants from other, more mundane conventions and gatherings end up stepping up to help up the F&SF fans. It’s great to see SFWA leading by example by using such a set of guidelines as well as making it available to conventions who might find it a useful resource.

So here’s what the checklist involves:

  1. There must be an accessibility liaison who is a member of the committee or event staff and who understands accessibility issues, resources, and solutions.
  2. There must be wheelchair accessible cabs and lift-equipped shuttle vans available between airport and hotel. If the hotel has shuttle service, it must include lift-equipped vans or arrange for such a service.
  3. The hotel must have a convenient drop-off and pick-up point, with an accessible route to the entrance no more than 200 feet away.
  4. The hotel must be within two blocks of a bus stop or train, as well as reachable by car.
  5. The hotel entrance must be wheel-chair accessible and have accessible parking spaces nearby. Non-accessible entrances should have signs pointing to an accessible one.
  6. Hotel public spaces (restaurants and bars) must be wheel-chair accessible. At least one should be serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner during the event.
  7. Hotel must provide wheelchair-accessible hotel rooms.
  8. There must be wheelchair-accessible restaurants within a couple of blocks that people can get to.
  9. Lots of minor stuff like clearly identified accessible exits, Braille or raised characters in the elevators, audible and visual alarm signals, evacuation plan that includes people with disabilities, at least one TTY-equipped public telephone, and water fountains that are wheelchair-accessible or have a cup dispenser.
  10. The event functions must be in the host hotel or someplace easy to get to and within two blocks. You should be able to get to them in an elevator and restrooms should be wheelchair accessible.
  11. Stages and raised platforms for banquets, presentations, and panels must be wheelchair-accessible with lifts or ramps.
  12. Banquet, presentation, and panel seating must leave space for wheelchairs and scooters, and provide seating near the stage for visually and hearing-impaired attendees.
  13. Video content must be closed captioned, assistive listening devices should be available, lighting should be adequate, and an ASL interpreter should be available.
  14. If there are hearing-impaired panelists, the moderator and panel must meet beforehand to make sure they know best how to accommodate the panelist.
  15. If someone needs a caretaker/assistant, the caretaker’s registration is comped.
  16. Service animals are permitted in all hotel and convention spaces.
  17. Wherever food is served, it must be labeled for common triggers like dairy, shellfish, nuts, eggs, etc, and alternate selections will be provided.

A lot of this is common sense, but it’s great to have a checklist that a new convention can go through item by item.

Why does this matter? Because this is the sort of thing that SFWA should be doing (among LOTS of other stuff, like adapting to the new world of self-publishing and writing for electronic media, yes, yes). It leads by example, creating a set of standard for its own events, and offering them up to the community for their own use. It’s a move that encourages diversity by making sure disabled writers know that they’re a valued part of the membership and also makes sure that they can get to and enjoy SFWA events.

So yay SFWA! More of this, please. 🙂

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Two Seattle Memorials to Ursula K. Le Guin

We’ve got two coming up in the next couple of weeks and I’ll be at both.

Tuesday, February 20, 2018
7:00 PM
$10 at the door
$8 for Folio Members, SFWA Members, and Town Hall Members
Complimentary wine reception to follow

Folio Forum
A Tribute to Ursula Le Guin
Noted local authors and fans honor the great writer.
Plus a recording of Le Guin, reading her famous story

Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum
314 Marion Street, Downtown Seattle
Parking tips and map: www.folioseattle.org

Many deeply mourn and greatly esteem Ursula Le Guin, the famous, and famously prolific, Portland-based writer of science fiction, fantasy, and many other works. To honor Le Guin, who died last month at the age of 88, Folio is hosting a gathering of authors and readers moved by the works of this remarkable author. Le Guin wrote poetry, children’s books, essays, and short stories. Her science fiction works attracted an immense readership and she brought literary depth and a tough-minded feminist sensibility to science fiction and fantasy.

A highlight of the evening will be hearing Le Guin on a recording where she reads from one of her most famous stories, “The ones who walk away from Omelos.” Those sharing memories and tributes include Cat Rambo, president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) and critic Edward Wolcher of Town Hall Seattle.

That weekend:

Sunday, February 25
7:00 PM (please support our venue by buying food and drink!)
$free
Celebration of the Life and Work of Ursula K. Le Guin
Blue Moon Tavern, 712 NE 45th St, Seattle, Washington 98105

Please join us for a reading to commemorate the words and worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin (1929″“2018). One of the most beloved writers of our time, Ursula K. Le Guin inspired generations of readers with her science fiction and fantasy literature, from Earthsea to Hain-Davenant. Let’s keep her spirit with us always.

Our evening celebration will consist of readings of Le Guin’s work by Eileen Gunn, Nisi Shawl, Cat Rambo, and you. Please bring up to five minutes of your favorite writing by Ursula K. Le Guin to share during open mic. This event is *free* and open to the public.

There will be a sign-up at the venue for open-mic readers. (Slots will be limited, readers selected in order of sign-ups.)

#sfwapro

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