April 19, 2012
K.D. Wentworth (1951-2012)
I was deeply saddened to learn today of the loss of K.D. Wentworth. (Image by Robert Castillo, used with his gracious permission.)
Kathy was the author of such novels as The Imperium Game and Moonspeaker, and she was a four-time Nebula nominee for her short fiction.
Kathy was also the coordinating judge for the Writers of the Future Contest for the past several years, and all recent Contest winners–myself included–owe her a great debt of gratitude for picking our stories out of the untold thousands of submissions she read. It was a pleasure and honor to get to know her at the WOTF workshop that she ran with Tim Powers. It was obvious that she was strongly committed to helping new authors develop their talents.
When I first met Kathy at the workshop, she told me she loved the ending of my WOTF story, then proved her point by reciting my own ending back to me. It was one of my great thrills to date as a writer.
Kathy will be dearly missed.
March 26, 2012
Another Arcane Review
Jon P. Bloch of the Kindle Book Review has posted a five-star review of Arcane, with nice things to say about the anthology and about my story:
Reading [Arcane] is sort of like staying up all night watching a Twilight Zone marathon. Along the way, you get acquainted with the work of many an author. And you’ll be dazzled by the range of plots, characters, time periods, and locales–not to mention writing styles–that can scare the crap out of you.
Picking favorites obviously is a matter of personal choice…. [A] few of my favorites include “The Truth About Mother,” by Van Aaron Hughes, which concerns a detective paid by the wife of a congressman to see if he’s cheating on her. But the entire federal government soon becomes Kafka-esque, and moreover it makes perfect sense that we actually are governed by giant maggots.
Glad you liked it, Jon!
March 5, 2012
Campbell Award Recommendations
Over at the Fantastic Reviews Blog, I’ve posted recommendations for this year’s Campbell Award for best new writer. The excellent new writers I’m nominating are Monica Byrne, Stina Leicht, Patrick O’Sullivan, and Brad R. Torgersen. And I’m also nominating myself, because if I don’t, who will? Read more about my recommendations at the Fantastic Reviews Blog, or check out the many talented new writers listed at Writertopia.
March 4, 2012
Story Recommendation of the Week
My Story Recommendation of the Week is for “Coming of Age on Barsoom” by Catherynne M. Valente, from the anthology Under the Moons of Mars, edited by John Joseph Adams. Read about it at the Fantastic Reviews Blog. This is the third SROTW for Valente, one of the most impressive writers around.
February 29, 2012
Spring 2012 Battle of the Books
Over at the Fantastic Reviews Blog, we’ve just announced the pairings for the Spring 2012 Battle of the Books. Who will join Elizabeth Bear as a Battle of the Books winner?
In related news, Elizabeth Bear has graciously consented to an interview with Fantastic Reviews, which she believes is to promote her Winter 2012 Battle of the Books victory, but actually is just a chance for me to bask in the telephonic presence of someone who writes the way I wish I could learn to do.
February 21, 2012
New Arcane Review
Defcon’s Defunct Delirium has posted a very thorough review of the Arcane anthology. Defcon individually analyzes each of the 30 stories in the anthology. Here is what she says about my story “The Truth About Mother”:
The Truth About Mother by Van Aaron Hughes – Now this was a wacky PI story about a detective named Buster discovering who really runs Washington D.C. I adored the voice in this; Buster is wittily sarcastic, seeing as he’s from Seattle. For me, conversational tone is my preference for stories written in 1st-person (otherwise, you wind up with the dreaded “I-ing”).
The pacing is swift, the story moving along as Buster gets (bug) guts-deep into the investigation of a congressman. Fun stuff. Maybe Buster should look into a career change.Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Thanks, Defcon!
And in case this has piqued your interest, here is Arcane‘s Amazon listing, $14.99 for the trade paperback, $3.99 for the Kindle edition. Check it out!
February 17, 2012
Battle of the Books Winner
Over at the Fantastic Reviews Blog, we have just announced the Championship Round of the Winter 2012 Battle of the Books.
The winner of this bracket was Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear, which Tor is releasing on March 27. Check it out — it is an outstanding novel. Range of Ghosts won out over a number of very strong competitors, including Eyes Like Leaves by Charles de Lint, And Blue Skies from Pain by Stina Leicht, Shadows in Flight by Orson Scott Card, and many others. You can see the full bracket here.
Huge congratulations to Elizabeth Bear!
February 7, 2012
Quote of the Week
I’ve always liked quotations. Whatever their content, they always seem apropos. If your audience doesn’t immediately grasp the connection, they’re inclined to think they just aren’t learned enough. I suppose they assume that if you’ve read enough to offer them some quotation, you must be smart enough to use it correctly.
Steve Rasnic Tem, “The Glare and the Glow”
February 6, 2012
Award Eligibility
So it’s awards season, and I’ve been asked about my award eligibility. I feel a bit awkward, since the very idea of being nominated for one of the awards I’ve followed closely my whole life seems absurd, but what the heck. If you feel inclined, I’d be honored if you would consider nominating me in the following categories:
John W. Cambpell Award for Best New Writer
(The form asks for an example – any of the stories below will do.)
Hugo/Nebula Award, Best Novelette:
“The Dualist,” Writers of the Future Vol. 27
Hugo/Nebula Award, Best Short Story:
“Random Fire,” Abyss & Apex, 4th Quarter 2011
Also eligible for Best Short Story:
“Losing Your Grip,” Linger Fiction, Feb 2011
“The Burbles,” The Dream People #36
“The Truth About Mother,” Arcane (Cold Fusion, Dec)
I have no realistic shot at being nominated in any of these categories, but nominations for the Campbell Award could conceivably be meaningful, because I’ll be eligible next year as well, and I think having some nominations in the first year of eligibility can help one’s chances in the second year. You can find a list of other Campbell-eligible authors at Writertopia.
I’ll be grateful for any nominations for “The Dualist” or “Random Fire.” As for the other eligible stories, I’d frankly rather have you nominate some of the more worthy stories out there, such as “Movement” by Nancy Fulda or “Ray of Light” by Brad R. Torgersen. I’ll be posting a list of my Hugo Recommendations some time before the March 11 deadline for nominations.
January 25, 2012
Beautiful Prose
Someone at the Writers of the Future Forum asked for examples of “beautiful” prose, and I thought I’d cross-post my list of beautifully written short fiction here.
10 classics of beautiful prose:
Ed Bryant, “The Thermals of August”
Octavia E. Butler, “Speech Sounds”
Orson Scott Card, “Unaccompanied Sonata”
Arthur C. Clarke, “The Star”
Daniel Keyes, “Flowers for Algernon”
Ursula K. LeGuin, “Nine Lives”
Ursula K. LeGuin, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”
Bob Shaw, “Light of Other Days”
James Tiptree, Jr., “The Women Men Don’t See”
Connie Willis, “Chance”
20 beautifully written stories published since 2001:
Paolo Bacigalupi, “The Gambler”
Ted Chiang, “Hell Is the Absence of God”
Aliette de Bodard, “Blighted Heart”
Jeffrey Ford, “The Empire of Ice Cream”
Eugie Foster, “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast”
Nancy Fulda, “Movement”
Neil Gaiman, “How to Talk to Girls at Parties”
Neil Gaiman, “The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains”
Samantha Henderson, “Deutoroi”
Kij Johnson, “The Man Who Bridged the Mist”
Stephen King, “All That You Love Will Be Carried Away”
Kelly Link, “Magic for Beginners”
China Miéville, “The Tain”
Nnedi Okorafor, “Spider the Artist”
Susan Palwick, “Sorrel’s Heart”
Cat Rambo, “Magnificent Pigs”
Geoff Ryman, “Pol Pot’s Beautiful Daughter”
Rachel Swirsky, “Eros, Philia, Agape”
James Van Pelt, “The Radio Magician”
Catherynne M. Valente, “The Harpooner at the Bottom of the World”
