world fantasy nominations
It's been nearly a year since the release of A Field Guide to Surreal Botany, and I'm guessing many of you are sick of me talking about it by this point. But I do have at least one more thing to say about the book, and it relates to the World Fantasy Award.
The awesome John Klima of Electric Velocipede has just posted his nominations for the WFA, and it's a great list. If you're going to attend the World Fantasy Convention this year in San Jose, or if you attended one (or both) of the last two years' conventions in Saratoga Springs or Calgary, you are also eligible to nominate works for the WFA. The World Fantasy Award is a bit different than the Hugo and the Nebula, in that it's a juried prize like the Booker, but as John mentions, "the top two vote getters automatically appear on the final ballot." The judges still have to vote on the winner, and they may have already made up their minds before the populist entries are placed on the ballot, but even a nomination for the WFA is a huge thing.
(And wow, am I smacking myself for writing "a huge thing," because I wouldn't let my students get away with such a vague phrase.)
Since Surreal Botany was published in 2008, it is eligible for the WFA for Best Anthology. Voters can actually nominate up to five works in each category, and so I would kindly ask that if you enjoyed the work that Janet and I and our 49 contributors did on Surreal Botany, please make it one of your nominations. If you've yet to read the book, send me an email and I'll let you know how you can download it for free.
We'd be under some stiff competition in that category; the anthologies John mentions (especially Wastelands edited by John Joseph Adams, and The New Weird and Steampunk edited by the VanderMeers) are all incredibly strong books, and it would be highly unlikely that Surreal Botany could beat them even if it was nominated, but the nomination itself would be an incalculable boost for me and Janet and Two Cranes Press. We'd certainly be the underdog in this race, but if the book meant anything to you, even in a slight, whimsical way, I'd appreciate you helping to get us in the race in the first place.
The nomination ballot can be downloaded here; it needs to be filled out and postmarked by 30 June, so you have a whole month left. Thanks in advance.