British Fantasy Awards 2010: the Winners

Here are the winners of the British Fantasy Awards 2010, as announced at the British Fantasy Awards ceremony at FantasyCon 2010.

Best Novel: the August Derleth Fantasy Award

ONE, Conrad Williams (Virgin Horror)

Best Novella

THE LANGUAGE OF DYING, Sarah Pinborough (PS Publishing)

Best Short Fiction

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE NIGHT, Michael Marshall Smith (Nightjar)

Best Anthology

THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST NEW HORROR 20, edited by Stephen Jones (Constable and Robinson)

Best Collection

LOVE SONGS FOR THE SHY AND CYNICAL, Robert Shearman (Big Finish)

The PS Publishing Best Small Press Award

TELOS PUBLISHING, David Howe

Best Comic/Graphic Novel

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE CAPED CRUSADER?, Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert (DC Comics/Titan Books)

Best Artist

VINCENT CHONG, for work including covers for The Witnesses Are Gone (PS Publishing) and The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 20 (Constable & Robinson)

Best Non-Fiction

ANSIBLE, David Langford

Best Magazine/Periodical

MURKY DEPTHS, edited and published by Terry Martin

Best Television

DOCTOR WHO, head writer: Russell T Davies (BBC Wales)

Best Film

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, directed by Tomas Alfredson (EFTI)

Best Newcomer – the Sydney J. Bounds Award

KARI SPERRING for LIVING WITH GHOSTS (DAW)

The British Fantasy Society Special Award: the Karl Edward Wagner Award

ROBERT HOLDSTOCK

The British Fantasy Award winners were decided by a vote of the combined memberships of the British Fantasy Society, FantasyCon 2009 and FantasyCon 2010. The exceptions are the the Sydney J. Bounds Award, decided by a panel of appointed judges, and the Karl Edward Wagner Award, decided by the British Fantasy Society and FantasyCon 2010 committees.

The winner of the BFS Short Story Competition 2010 was also announced during the ceremony. The winning story was “Omar the Teller of Tales” by Robin Tompkins. The runner-up was “The Song” by Travis Heermann, and third place went to “Beating Heart” by Dan Malach.

Context 23

I just got the preliminary schedule for Context 23 and I am going to be on 4 panels.

• Shroud Publishing – Sat 2:30
• Hiram Grange/Pulp Hero – Sat 4:00
• Mistakes Beginning Writers Make – Sat 7:00
• Urban Fantasy- Sun 11:30

There also is a mass autographing session at 11:30 on Saturday.

I will be at the Shroud Party on Saturday night after my last panel.

I will post more details when the schedule is finalized and panel descriptions are done.

Boy, Did They Pick the Wrong Guy…

I just got stopped on the sidewalk (in the 100 degree sun, no less) by a news crew keen to hear my “man on the street” thoughts about the state of the U.S. economy and of my 401K plan.

Apparently, I need to work on my Sturm und Drang face. The guy was flabbergasted when I said I wasn’t all that concerned about the state of the economy vis-à-vis my retirement. Clearly, they were looking for some spittle-flying “woe is me” tale to shoehorn into his media narrative of the day. Maybe he thought I looked like a Tea Partier and was expecting some racist, idiocy-laden Keynesian/Ayn Randish rant about guns and ethanol subsidies. Alas, I suspect they will not use the footage of my zen-like equilibrium.

I was tempted to say that I know full well that our Feline Overlords will have made money a quaint memory by the time I retire.

Big News

I just got some great news about one of my stories that I can’t quite share yet, but it is definitely bigger than a breadbox. (Yes, I hate when people post things like this, but I trust you will indulge me just this once. Trust me, it will be worth the wait.)

It is one of my favorite stories, so I am very pleased.

Xmas Books

Everyone gave me gift cards, so I’ve been perusing the interwebs and braving the horror that is the Cambridgeside Galleria getting books:

The Philosopher’s Apprentice, James Morrow
The Engine’s Child, Holly Phillips
Paper Cities, ed. by Ekatarina Sedia
The Enchantress of Florence, Salman Rushdie
Secret Lives, Jeff VanderMeer
An Evil Guest, Gene Wolfe

On a related note, whoever created the B&N website should be shot. Twice.

And, for those of you who work in bookstores, the book goes into the bag spine facing down, so as to not bend or mar the cover. Just once I would like to see it done the right way.

And, for people reading on the bus, you do realize that the dust covers come off, don’t you?

I am in a rather festive mood.

New Blog

I’m still working on this… WordPress stuff. Come back later. Watch out for the chickens.

Mike Love Still Sucks

Beach Boys
at the Hatch Shell in Boston
7-9:30 PM
Rain or Shine
Free!!!

I refuse to pay money to see “The Beach Boys” with Mike Love, because there is no such thing as the Beach Boys without Brian Wilson. But this is free, so we are going.

Why does Mike Love suck?

He did his damned best to make sure Smile was never completed. When presented with the lyrics “columnated ruins domino” from “Surf’s Up”, Mike Love said “…what the fuck is that supposed to mean?” But, of course, the fucking philistine had no problem raking it in fist-over-fist and singing in his nasaly voice “The wildest short around is my cherry, cherry coupe.” Fuck him.

Open a history book, you transcendental redneck hillbilly.

Mittspeak

When asked why his sons weren’t serving in the Greatest War Evah!, someone Lesser-than-Mitt might say “my loins spit out five chickenhawk pussies.”

How did He Who Is Mitt respond?

Mittspeak: “One of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping me get elected because they think I’d be a great president.”

I really think so, too. Have more sons, Mitt. We need them!

I Was A Kamikaze Pilot

Woo hoo!!

Hoodoo Gurus
Middle East, Cambridge, MA
09/08/07 – 08:00 PM

File Under Redundant

I am reluctant to even waste the phosphors pointing out the inherent foolishness, but…

Christian Fantasy Genre Builds Niche Without Hogwarts, Muggles or Spells

“Christian fantasy, which had been a slow seller, has caught fire recently…”

**cough** Bible **cough**