ellen_datlow | Vote vote vote--and rec rec rec rec

Ok. Here's my impassioned plea/push/nag for anyone who reads this blog and is eligible to recommend stories and or novels for the various peer group science fiction, fantasy, and horror awards.
I know that some people feel that awards themselves are a bad thing and that they should all be abolished. I'm not talking to you. I don't believe that and I know I'm not going to change your minds.

Awards are NOT going to go away but they could become less visible (which I think is a bad thing). As an editor I really appreciate it when the stories/books I edit make final award ballots and win awards. And I think most writers are even more appreciative of this. It gives a sense of validation for what you're doing by your peers (for the Nebula and Stoker).

Right now is "award rec season" and there are discussions on both the SFWA Bulletin Board and the HWA Bulletin Board about how their respective awards are dying --not enough members are recommending works to even make a preliminary ballot.

Now some people think that this might be because no one likes the work being published.
Others that no one is reading enough short fiction to be interested in recommending works in those categories.
I have a really difficult time believing the first reason. I've been reading sf/f/h short fiction for twenty five years and have found no drop off in quality in any of those fields.

I can't answer for the second but I hope it's not true because if so my profession will die and I love editing short fiction.

If you care at ALL for the genre short story then I urge you to recommend the stories that you think are worth bringing to the attention of your peers.

This is totally off the cuff and I know if I thought about it more I'd have more to write--but I'd also probably just delete the whole post...

Comments welcome!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm a pusher, too. I've done three Book Fairs for a local High School and I must admit that my ulterior motive was my love of fiction, and to recommend them to friends. And young people do read, some of them.

That's a great thing!

What happens at a HS book fair these days? Can you/would it help to get writers/editors to the fair--can we send you free copies of our books to give away??? How can all of us fiction lovers help?

The last I chaired was three years ago, and we sold lots of books. If I remember correctly it was over 20K. It's a week-long affair set up next to the lunch room. Both middle school and HS band perform, so parents come, and we try to arrange for other entertainments: face painting, refreshments, prizes, drama readings, etc. One year I've made up quizzes for the middle schoolers, which involved reading books. We did have a couple of fiction writers do book signing each year, but none of the big names ever came. The Book Fair chairs are always looking for editors and writers to attend, and yes, it would help to sell books and kids think it's cool to meet authors and editors. I'm not doing Book Fairs now, and last I heard the school changed it to a one day affair at the local (Boca Raton, FL) Barnes & Nobles because it involves a lot less work. It's a shame though, because that week of being surrounded by books and chatting about and selling and mingling with people who like to read was what made the Book Fair so much fun. It's their loss, and mostly the young people's, because they had really gotten into the spirit of reading. Me? I own thousands of books, so I'm not deprived. :)

You've just encouraged and discouraged me at the same time! It sounds as if the events you chaired were the perfect way to get kids to read and appreciate who creates the books they read. Too bad it's not happening any more --at least on the scale of what you organized. I don't think there are too many fantasy/sf writers in that area. Tim Sullivan lives in Miami and Vicki Hendricks (hard boiled mystery writer) used to live around Boca but not sure she still does.

Do you live in Boca Raton? My parents are snowbirds who winter in Boynton Beach--I used to talk to the local sf club when I was visiting my parents in March (before the Conference of the Fantastic) but since Joe Sicliri moved to upstate NY I'm not sure it's even active any more.

Yeah, it discouraged me, too, at the time. That decision, to do it at B&N, was the reason I refused to chair any more Book Fairs. I've sent an email to Piers Anthony, one of my favorites, whom my daughter absolutely adores, but he never replied. She and her friends were so excited to meet him. I understand that writers can't always go everywhere and they have other obligations. And a HS Book Fair, even if it's Saint Andrew's School, is not a priority. Or my email could have ended up in his junk mail. I was not aware of other writers in the area at the time. And, shamefully, three years ago, I had no livejournal and no website and I wasn't using the internet as I do now.

Yes, I live in Boca, but I'm itching to move further up north to Stuart. Boca is getting too crowded for my taste.

Boynton is next door; I have a friend who lives there. Hm, a local sf club; maybe I'll look into that if it's still around. It would be nice.

I don't know Piers at all but I try not to assume everyone receives my emails.

I just googled and look what I found for you:
South Florida Science Fiction Society (http://www.sfsfs.org/)

Thanks! You're the best. Am looking at it now. Going to join. :-)

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