PUGGY'S HILL

So there you are: Staring at your Nebula (or Hugo or WFC) Nomination Ballot, and wondering, "What the hell is a novelette, anyway? And have I read any this year?  And, most importantly:  Have my friends written any that I should be nominating if I only knew their exact word length?"

I understand.  We've all been there.

And I am here to help.

On the Nebula Ballot, a novelette is defined as "a story of at least 7,500 words but less than 17,500 words." Such as, for instance (and I speak here only of stories that happened to have been published in 2011, making them eligible for a Nebula Nomination which can only be done by an Active member of SFWA and must be submitted before Feb. 15th),

* "The Duke of Riverside" by Ellen Kushner  (8,000 hard-won words, and my editor nearly killed me 'cause she wanted it SHORT!)

Or what about those troubling novellas?  Again, the Neb Ballot (which has recently imposed the draconian rule that "Works may not be nominated by their authors, editors, publishers, or agents") comes to the rescue with: "A story of at least 17,500 words but less than 40,000 words."  Such as, for example:

* "Welcome to Bordertown" by Terri Windling & Ellen Kushner (23,000 words - but, hey, there were two of us!)

Get the idea?  

It's a win/win situation. You nominate me and my friends, and we never tell anyone that you couldn't remember what the hell a novelette was.

BONUS COOLNESS POINTS  

Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation: For dramatic works such as motion pictures, television, Internet, radio, audio, and stage productions (Also on Nebula Ballot)

Why run with the herd, nominating all those films & TV shows that everyone else has seen, too?  Why not nominate something different this year - like a musical-feminist-shtetl-klezmer-magicrealist audio drama (starring Tovah Feldshuh, Simon Jones & Neil Gaiman)?  I speak, of course, of
The Witches of Lublin.  
SFWA members can get a link to hear the whole show, and to see other nominated dramatic work, here.

(And everyone else:  You can get the special extended 2-hour Witches download here on Audible.com)

ETA:  So don't be shy, folks!  Be sure to ask for the word count when asking friends and colleagues what they published in 2011!

We'll all be glad you did.

voteformevoteformegivecantripsilkvoteforme

  

Naked City: Tales of Urban Fantasy

'"Urban fantasy" is one of those subgenre labels that I've never been quite sure of the meaning of. [....]  But in the case of Naked City, Ellen Datlow's new anthology, the meaning of urban fantasy is quite literal. Each of those twenty tales takes place in a city. The city might be a real one, or fictional; it might be within the United States (New York City features five times) or elsewhere in the world, or in another reality entirely; the setting might be past or present. But always, there is the city, bewitching and terrifying, frustrating and wonderful. [....]

'Fans of Ellen Kushner's Swordspoint and other novels set in that fantasy world will certainly want to pick up the anthology for "The Duke of Riverside," a story set both before and after the events of that novel, and featuring St. Vier and Alec. The same mixture of swordplay, sharp humor, and passion familiar from otherRiverside fiction distinguishes this story, which also highlights the relationship between the aristocratic corner of the city and its less-wealthy regions. [. . . . there's plenty more!]'

From "The Stars at Noonday" Blog - read the whole thing here:
http://tinyurl.com/4yww9yv
Monday, June 6, 2011

. . . and I think I got one! Because we're leaving for Europe in 2 weeks, and between now & then I've got a "Klezmer Nutcracker" reading followed by Yom Kippur followed by casting the show followed by a visit from my brother & his wife, followed by more casting and more company, and there are two anthologies I'm trying to get stories into before then, I hunkered down after dinner last night with the umpteen existing warped and misshapen incomplete bad drafts, a slice of birthday cake and a strong cup of Russian Caravan, and attacked the evasive Riverside Story with zeal. (Full disclosure: I actually started the process in mid-afternoon. But without the cake.) One last time, I told myself; if I can't push through and make it work by just bulling through with one unified vision to a finished decent draft, I'll give up for now. (Fortunately, in my ancient files I'd uncovered a treasure trove of half-finished pre-Swordspoint stories. Some of them were pretty good - too bad I had no more idea how to structure a story then than a day-old chick - and not the confidence - or desperation, or pride - to push on through to some kind of ending. But they did provide both inspiration and a couple of good lines.) At about 1:30 a.m., I had a rough draft done. It had been hours since the cake, and I was ravenous. Delia had gone to bed, leaving a dim light on for me. But she roused herself when I came in, and insisted on reading it then and there. She says it works.

I have not read it. Yet. I tremble. But I go and do so now. Farewell. If I fall on my sword, it will be "The Duke of Riverside"'s fault.

So thank you for all the lovely good birthday wishes, which I feel sure cannot fail to work to good effect. It means a lot to me to know that so many wonderful people wish me well, and think me worth a visit here. May it be a sweet year for all of us. And, hobbit-like, may I manage to deliver to you all a lovely birthday present of under 10,000 words.