Archives
Hugo Awards final ballot released
The Hugo and John W. Campbell Best New Writer final ballot has been announced. Alas, Marseguro is not on it. (I and everyone else would have been shocked if it had been!)What I find most interesting about it is that three of the Best Novel nominees are young adult books: Cory Doctorow's Little Brother, Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book (which just won the Newbery Medal) and John Scalzi's Zoe's Tale. Rounding out the list are Neal Stephenson's Anathem (which will my first choice!) and Charles Stross's Saturn's Children.You can read the complete list of nominees here. To vote, you have to be a member of Anticipation, the 67th World Science Fiction Convention, being held ...Municipal Heritage Award for Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw
I'm pleased to announce that thanks to my book Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw (Red Deer Press), I've been awarded a Municipal Heritage Award by the City of Regina. (I posted about it being nominated back in November.)The award was presented tonight at the beginning of the City Council meeting by Mayor Pat Fiacco and Councillor Fred Clipsham; in the photo, Clipsham is on the left and the Mayor on the right. That'd be me in the middle, and I've also posted a close-up of the award down below.The award ...Hugo nominations open
Hard on the heels of the announcement that Aurora Award nominations are open comes the announcement that the nominating period for the Hugo Awards has begun. (Why, yes, Marseguro is eligible to be nominated. Thank you for thinking of it!)The Hugos work differently than the Auroras, though. In order to nominate you must be a current members of the World Science Fiction Society, which means you were either a supporting or attending members of the 2008 Worldcon (Denvention 3) or are a supporting or attending member of the 2009 Worldcon (Anticipation). If you aren't, and you'd like to be, go here. (You'll have to buy your membership by January 31 in order to nominate.)...Aurora Awards nominations open
Nominations are now open, and will remain so until February 28, for the Aurora Awards, Canada's premiere science fiction awards.Anyone who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident in Canada can nominate free of charge. You can nominate your favorite works by Canadian or permanently-resident-in-Canada authors online using this form.My novel Marseguro is among those eligible this year, so if you read it and enjoyed it, please consider nominating it. And be sure to nominate, as well, any other Canadian SF you read that might be eligible in any of the Aurora categories.Thanks!An award nomination for Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw
My nonfiction book Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw (Red Deer Press) has been nominated by Heritage Regina for a City of Regina Municipal Heritage Award in the Education category.From the letter in support of the nomination, signed by Dr. J. William Brennan, chairman of Heritage Regina:Reginans and visitors to our city alike will find this a well-written and informative overview of many of the historic buildings that have shaped and continue to shape Regina's urban landscape.I'm very pleased Heritage Regina has found Historic Walks worthy of nomination: as I noted in the book's ...2008 World Fantasy Award Winners
Last day of the World Fantasy Convention! The awards banquet wrapped up just an hour or so ago, and so without further ado, here are the winners of this year's World Fantasy Awards (with pictures of the actual recipients who were present--not a very high percentage, I'm afraid). Winners, as you can probably guess, are in bold.Life AchievementLeo & Diane DillonPatricia McKillipNovel Ysabel - Guy Gavriel Kay [Viking Canada/Penguin Roc] Territory - Emma Bull [Tor]Fangland - John Marks [Penguin Press]Gospel of the Knife - Will Shetterly ...My Jimi Hendrix bio an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers
I just discovered that my children's biography of Jimi Hendrix for Enslow's American Rebels series, Jimi Hendrix: Kiss the Sky, is on the 2008 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers selection list, announced by the Young Adult Library Services Association at the American Library Association's ALA Midwinter Meeting back in mid-January.The Quick Picks list, selected annually, suggests books that teens, ages 12-18, will pick up on their own and read for pleasure; it is geared to the teenager who, for whatever reason, does not like to read.I'm honored!Aurora Award nominations open
This year's Aurora Awards were just barely handed out, but nominations are already open for next year's, to be presented at KeyCon, the annual SF convention in Winnipeg (which I hope to attend for the first time ever next year!). Also note that the Auroras have a new website, a considerable step up from the old one.I would like to modestly point out that my short story "The Wind", published in The Book of Dark Wisdom, is eligible, though you must think of it as "dark fantasy," since it certainly isn't science fiction.I hope to post it to my website soonish. I'll let you know.You must be a Canadian citizen (not ...Aurora Awards announced
I'm back! I'll post more about my exploits with the Canadian Chamber Choir (which is what kept me away from the computer and hence from this blog for the last week) soon, but in the meantime, let's get things rolling forward again with this list of the Aurora Award winners for the best Canadian SF and fantasy, presented at Canvention 27, hosted by VCON 32 over the weekend.And the winners are:Best Long-Form Work in EnglishChildren of Chaos, Dave Duncan (Tor Books) Best Long-Form Work in FrenchReine de Mémoire 4. La Princesse de Vengeance, Elisabeth Vonarburg(Alire) Best Short-Form Work in English"Biding Time", Robert J. Sawyer (Slipstreams, DAW) ...A quiz with only one possible answer
Q. Which former guest of honor at the World Science Fiction Convention (in 1987) went on to win the Nobel Prize in Literature?A. Dorothy Lessing.
Edward Willett is a The Shards of Excalibur, Book 1: Song of the Sword
My new YA fantasy novel, coming in October from Lobster Press
Before the Lady called her, Ariane’s life was a mess. Two years ago, her mother disappeared. She bounced around different foster homes until her aunt finally took her in. The meanest clique at her new high school has decided to make Ariane their prime target. And to top it all off, she is having frightening premonitions, and they are becoming more intense. The moment water touches her skin, she sees visions of a lake, a lady, and a sword. When a staircase opens up in the middle of Wascana Lake and the water begins singing to her, she has no choice but to answer the call….
Marseguro
Winner of the 2009 Prix Aurora Award for Best Long-Form Work in English
Water world Marseguro is home to the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from human DNA. When an unmodified human seeks revenge on a Selkie by activating a distress beacon taken from the remains of the original colony ship, a strikeforce is sent from Earth to eradicate the genetic abomination. Yet Marseguro will not prove as easy to conquer as the Earth force anticipates…
Terra Insegura
Finalist for the 2010 Prix Aurora Award for Best Novel in English
Marseguro, a water world far from Earth, is home to a colony of humans and the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from modified human DNA. For seventy years the colony has lived in peace. Then Earth discovers Marseguro, and a strike force is sent to eradicate this “abomination.” But Marseguro has created a genetically tailored plague to use against Earth’s Holy Warriors. With the enemy defeated, the people of Marseguro feel they are safe. But Chris Keating, the traitor who signaled Marseguro’s location to the Holy Warriors, has fled to Earth, unknowingly carrying the deadly plague within him. The people of Marseguro feel they must send a ship to Earth with a life-saving vaccine. Only time will tell what awaits them when they reach their destination.
Lost in Translation
Kathryn was a human empath whose world and life had been destroyed when the alien S’sinn slaughtered her parents before her very eyes. Jarrikk was a young S’sinn, an unproven warrior who’d seen his flight mates slaughtered by the humans who’d sought to colonize his world.
As humans and S’sinn found themselves on the brink of war, these two Translators had to work together to find a common ground and avert catastrophe. But whether their Translators’ oath and training could overcome the enemies leagued against them was very much in doubt…
Archives
Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw
Ten walks to points of historic and architectural interest in the cities of Regina and Moose Jaw (eight walks for Regina, two for Moose Jaw).
Disease-Hunting Scientist
The true stories of six real disease hunters. Epidemiologists travel the world trying to keep us safe from deadly diseases—from high-tech labs in Canada to remote villages in Africa. Learn how these “disease detectives” are coming up with new ways to fight disease, and find out if you have what it takes to become an epidemiologist, too!
The Bounty Mutiny
The Bounty was a British ship visiting Tahiti in 1789 when some of the crew overthrew the captain, William Bligh, and set him adrift in a tiny boat with sailors loyal to him. The mutiny resulted in a number of trials–both of the men who mutinied and of Bligh for losing command of his ship. These fascinating events have been the source for numerous Hollywood movies, most recently The Bounty. The Bounty Mutiny: From the Court Case to the Movie explores the famous case and the movies it inspired.
