An Award Eligibility Post - 2017

Reader, I have been remiss on my a-blogging.  So we've arrived at that time of year when lists of things are a thing.  So here is mine.  I have three stories published in 2017 that are eligible for the Hugo, Nebula and Prix Aurora awards:

• The Weight of Sentience; Shimmer, November.  A story about love and faith and surrendering.
• A Ghost Among The Mangroves; PodCastle, July; One of my most personal stories, set in Sri Lanka and referencing the riots of Black July in 1983, and a particular aftermath.
• The Waduf; Kaleidotrope, Summer; A lush science-fantasy featuring a battle-narrator and a nesting of tales.
• The Orphans of Nilaveli; Where The Stars Rise Anthology, October; A short story about erasure set in a future Sri Lanka (only available in print, but contact me on twitter if you want a copy)

In addition, the following poems are eligible for the Rhysling Award:

• Jackfruit; Strange Horizons, February; A poem about the immigrant experience.

I've been very lucky to have these pieces published this year, and I appreciate hearing your comments about them on twitter and elsewhere.  Thank YOU!

Battle-Storytellers & Forthcoming Publications

Not much to report for the first half of the year, but the second half is looking good with four stories due to come out.  

The first of these just came out in the Summer edition of Kaleidotrope, featuring battle-storytellers and nested narratives.  The whole summer edition is great and well worth reading including some exquisite poetry!

Two other story sales come out later this year -- one possibly in the summer at PodCastle and one likely in the fall at Shimmer.  Both of these stories are dear to me, especially the 1st which will likely also be accompanied by a story-notes post on this blog.

Lastly, the anthology Where the Stars Rise comes out in October and includes a story of mine on erasure set in a future Sri Lanka.

2016 In Review

2016 was a pretty good year, I had 3 stories published and one reprint plus an additional sale that will appear in 2017.  About parity with the previous year.  I can't complain, though I had a few near misses with some stories that were dear to my heart that are still out on submission.  My two favorite stories from this year are listed below.  Both of these (and the rest of my new fiction published in 2016) are Nebula and Hugo eligible.

• A Handful of Dal - POC Destroy SF! Special Edition of Lightspeed.  I loved this story for many reasons.  It was about food, and specifically about how recipes change and stretch over time from generation to generation while maintaining that connection to food and family and memory that forms the backbone of so much in culture.  It was also a part of the fantastic POC Destroy SF! special edition of Lightspeed which was a project I was really happy to be a part of.
• Straight Lines - Mothership Zeta #3.  This was a really fun story for me and took on a different voice then I usually adopt for my stories.  It ended up on the Tangent recommended reading list for 2016 as well as receiving some kind words elsewhere.

In terms of poetry it was a great year -- five publications plus another poem coming out in the middle of 2017.  My poem "Origami Crane / Light-defying Spaceship" won the Prix Aurora for best poem (unexpected!).  All of my poems from this year are eligible for the Rhysling as well as this year's Prix Aurora.  My poetry favorites that I wanted to highlight are listed below:

• The Rambutan Man - Strange Horizons.  This poem, a reflection on both the political struggles of Sri Lanka was a particularly personal poem, and I was glad that it found a home at Strange Horizons.
• Moirae - The Mithila Review.  This was my longest poem to date and dealt with cycles of destruction and rebirth as viewed through the lens of the fates from Greek mythology.  

The rest of my fiction and poetry from 2016 is listed in my bibliography page.  

New Poetry!

The new issue of Inkscrawl is out with some amazing poems, including one from me on the subject of badminton.  The issue looks like it's got a terrific thematic thread running through it and I love the way they've structured and sequenced the issue.  I'm looking forward to reading all the amazing poem!

Prix Aurora!

I'm thrilled to announce that my poem Origami Crane / Light-defying Spaceship (published in Liminality) has won the 2016 Prix Aurora for best poem/song!  

Some facts:

• I wrote this poem in one sitting somewhere in the first two weeks after my son's birth.  I'm not sure exactly when because a) the first few weeks of having a new addition to the familyfor first-time parents is like some sort of strange hallucinatory experience equal parts ecstatic joy and trauma where time has no meaning and b) all the timestamps on my project file got updated when I had to put together a draft copy for the Rhysling Anthology
• It was the second poem I wrote in 2015 (and frankly ever, aside from occasional high-school drivel) -- I call this incredible beginner's luck because more so then most written works poetry's appreciation is ephemeral and impossible to quantify or predict
• This poem was among the list of incredible poems that make up the Rhysling Anthology (that I am still woefully behind in reading through)

I'd like to send out a hearty thank you to Shira & Matt at Liminality.  They're curating some amazing works over there and I encourage everyone to check out the wonderful poets who grace their pages.  I'd also like to send out a hearty thanks to those in the CSFA that nominated and voted for me.  Lastly I'd like to send a warm congratulations to the other winners, who you can see here.

As with most awards -- before award, write poetry; after award, write poetry.

New Poetry In The Mithila Review

I have a new poem in the June issue of Mithila Review!  This was an interesting piece for me -- the longest poem I've written yet and ambitious at least in what I was trying to achieve (whether I succeeded or not is up to you!). 

May & June Publications

First off, POC Destroy SF! came out today! I'm really thrilled to be part of such a power-house issue.  For the curious, my story in the issue is a SFnal story about food!  You'll have to buy the issue to check it out, not all of the stories are being rotated for free through the website.  I'm gleefully checking my mailbox for my contributor copy, the art looks fantastic!  There are so many good authors in this issue and I'm looking forward to read all the stories.  My essay on destroying SF is also a part of this issue, along with all of the other essays that were sent out via the Kickstarter.  Highly recommended reading!

I was a bit lax on mentioning this on my blog in May, but issue 3 of Mothership Zeta also came out, with a story of mine.  The rest of the stories in the issue are fantatic and funny and I appreciate how MZ is taking up the banner of adding some lightness and levity to all of the prevalent grimdark in SFF.  Which is not to say that my story is all lightness -- my story delves into mental health issues in a SFnal context in a wry style with a touch of humor.  I was happy to see the story find a home.  I believe MZ will be rotating the stories through their website over the next few months but for now you can purchase their issue from the previous link.

I've also got two poems coming out this month but I'll post again once they're live.

Poetic And Other Happenings

All sorts of fun things happening on the poetic front in the last two months.  First off, the realm of pleasant surprises.  My poem from Liminality, "Origami Crane / Light-Defying Spaceship" got nominated twice for different awards:

• Rhysling 2016 anthology (Nominee) - If you're a member of the SFPA you'll get a copy of this anthology with all the nominees and a chance to vote!
• Prix Aurora Awards (Finalist!) - This one is given out by the Canadian SF writers association.  I was thrilled to hear that I am on the final ballot with a few other awesome poets.

Needless to say, I'm thrilled.  I'm still not quite getting the hang of seeing myself as a poet, but I guess I am.  The Rhysling is given out at Readercon in June-ish if I recall, and the Prix Aurora is given out in August at the When Worlds Collide convention in Calgary.  Its unlikely I'll actually make the trip out to either, but still, exciting bits!  Also, much encouragement to push the poetic envelope this year.

Now, publications and sales:

• Muir in the Spring 2016 edition of Illumen.  You can purchase an e-copy direct from the Alban Lake store.  This is the first poem I wrote and submitted last year, so glad to see it find a home somewhere. 
• Were-- will appear in the summer edition of Liminality.  This was a whimsical poem about were-moons and were-universes.  I'm excited to see who else will be in the summer issue, because Liminality is really putting out some incredible poetry.

I also have an additional poetry sale that I'm quite excited about but can't speak of yet until the TOC is announced.

On top of all this, the TOC for POC Destroy! SF was announced! I'm super thrilled to be in this special issue along with some fantastic authors.  

Note to writers, POC Destory! Horror is looking for subs!  I'm going to be working on my piece for it over the next few weeks trying to make the deadline.  And beyond that, POC Destroy! Fantasy was also funded, and I have a crazy idea that I've been mulling over that needs to get down on paper for this issue.