Award eligibility post

It’s that time of year again. Like so many other authors, I’d like to present a rundown of work that came out in 2021. If you are nominating for the Hugo, Astounding, Nebula, Stoker, Locus, or any of the other awards out there, I’d appreciate your consideration. For purposes of awards restricted by geography, national citizenship, etc., I’m in the United States, specifically Pennsylvania.

Astounding Award: I’m in my second (and final) year of eligibility for this Not-A-Hugo award for new writers. Like the Hugos, it’s voted on by members of Worldcons 79, 80, and 81 (aka DisCon II, Chicon 8, and a con/location to be decided in December). My eligibility clock started in 2020 with my first short story publication at professional rates. (Eligibility requirements can be a bit hard to determine from the outside, as they involve factors like pay rates, print runs, net income, etc. The Astounding Award website lists some of the eligible authors.)

“Always an After” (approx. 3,250 words) appears in In Somnio: A Collection of Modern Gothic Horror, edited by Alex Woodroe and published by Tenebrous Press. The anthology is available as an ebook or paperback from Amazon, Godless, and Tenebrous. (You can also watch me read the opening of the story in this video.)

“Now and Then and Back Again: A Play of Three Acts” (approx. 2,200 words) appears in The Chorochronos Archives, edited by Jessica Augustsson and published by JayHenge Publishing. The anthology is available as an ebook, paperback, or hardcover from Amazon, Bookshop, and other retailers.

“Wayfinding” (approx. 1,800 words) appears in Underland Arcana 4 (Fall 2021), edited by Mark Teppo, and is free to read online.

“Family Dinner” (approx. 200 words) appears in Underland Arcana 3 (Summer 2021), edited by Mark Teppo, and is free to read online.

“Honey and Apples” (100 words) appears in Martian: The Magazine of Science Fiction Drabbles, edited by Eric Fomley, and is free to read online.

Audio: I also had two stories included in podcasts. “Coffin Bell” was part of The NoSleep Podcast‘s Suddenly Shocking Vol. 13, available to season pass holders. CB Droege’s reading of “Kill Switch” for Manawaker Studio’s Flash Fiction Podcast is available for free online. (Note that while the audio performances are new, the text of both stories was previously published. “Coffin Bell” was published in 2019 on the Patreon site I scrapped. “Kill Switch” originally appeared in Daily Science Fiction in 2020.)

And that was my 2021 output. Whether you end up liking my stuff or preferring other folks’ work, I wish you happy reading and nominating!