In amongst all of the running around and being overstressed, a quick note that the latest issue of Locus is shipping. I keep meaning to mention when this comes out, and keep not getting around to it. So, this time, a mention.

 For the April issue, CHARLES, Lisa, Kirsten, Tim, Karlyn, Caroline, and Amelia have put together a special YA issue, with all sorts of cool goodies.  You can see a full profile of the issue here, and you can subscribe here. I’ve been working on the magazine since 1997, and every issue has been both a challenge and really cool to do. Check this one out.

Every now and then a wonderful book comes along that completely fails to capture the attention of the readership it deserves. Every reader can name a book like that, and any reviewer or commentator can name a handful.

For me, the book that comes to mind when I think of books that the world should have fallen in love with is Gwyneth Jones Bold as Love. Smart, savvy, wonderfully written, it takes aim at the point where popular culture meets politics, and envisages a near future where the British union has dissolved, the climate is on the verge of collapse, mysticism is becoming ever more popular, and some kind of consensus world view is needed to avoid everything from civil ward to jihad in the British Isles. That consensus manifests itself in the person of three rockstars who become politicians and then royalty, in a story that is at first science fiction then fantasy and then maybe something else.

When the first of the Bold as Lovequintet was published some readers scoffed at the idea that rockstars could, through any means, end up running a government. That scepticism seems harder to swallow in a world where a rock star petitions governments to forgive Third World debt and stalks the corridors of power as readily as he does a concert stage.

The first and best book in the quintet, Bold as Love, was published in 2001, won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Novel, and was recently published in the US for the first time by Night Shade. It’s been followed by Midnight Lamp, Castles Made of Sand, Band of Gypsys, and now Rainbow Bridge.

I’ve not yet read Rainbow Bridge, though I expect to shortly. In the meantime, you can read a sample of Gwyneth Jones’s website. And, if you’re in the States, you can order that handsome Night Shade edition as a starter.

I just had the world’s third largest panic attack. I was reading Nick Cowie’s blog and realised it’s May. May! I am four weeks late on taxes (I always put off the taxes), need to proofread two anthologies and edit one set of columns this week, have two manuscripts to prepare, am planning a family trip (note: trip not holiday to US), am trying to build a new promotional website and work out a whole lot of new promotional stuff, and there’s more stuff I’m not even thinking about. I know there are a bunch of proposals that need writing too. All in all, I sat down for a quick breakfast in front of the computer and nearly had a complete meltdown. I’ll calm down and start planning how to cope a little later, but for right now I’m going a little crazy.

I edit three year’s best anthology series: THE BEST SCIENCE FICTION OF THE YEAR and THE BEST FANTASY OF THE YEAR anthology series for Night Shade Books, and BEST SHORT NOVELS for The Science Fiction Book Club. The Night Shade books are the first volumes in two new series that will make their debut in March 2007, while the BEST SHORT NOVELS volume will be the fourth in the continuing series, and should appear in June 2007.

I am reading for all three anthologies at the moment, and am looking for stories from all branches of science fiction and fantasy: space opera to slipstream, fairy tales to infernokrusher, or anything else that might qualify. If in doubt, send it. Please note: These are reprint anthologies so I am only reading material published in or about to be published during the year 2006.

Continue reading Best of the Year 2006 →

I’ve just finished proofreading the manuscript of the third volume of my year’s best novellas anthology series. It’s set to be published by the Science Fiction Book Club in June of this year, but I thought readers of this blog might like some kind of advance sampler to see what they’ll get before they hand over their hard earned dollars.

While my budget is limited, there’s a surprising amount of stuff you can find out on the web already that will give you an advance taste of the final book. Stories have been published online for awards’ consideration, podcast, sneak peeked or whatever, so…

• The Little Goddess, Ian McDonald
  Ian McDonald’s story of faith and fate in a near future India is once of the most celebrated stories of the year. Read it online at Asimov’s.
• The Gist Hunter, Matthew Hughes
  Hughes is establishing himself as one of the best writers of science fantasy working today. This story sees investigator Hengis Hapthorn hoist by his own petard on the cusp between science and magic. You can’t read or sample this one online, but you can get a feel for it by reading some of the fiction published on Matt’s website.
• Human Readable, Cory Doctorow
  Emergent networks, insect intelligences, politics in Washington, and a life and death emergency at Jewish funeral near the beach. What more could you want from a story? Cory has podcast his story from Future Washington on his website. You can subscribe to his podcast, or download it in seven parts.
  Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 |
• Audubon in Atlantis, Harry Turtledove
  An ageing John James Audubon, America’s most famous naturalist, travels to an unlikely land to catch his last great glimpse of nature (and kill it). You can read an excerpt at Analog.
• Magic For Beginners, Kelly Link
  You can read Kelly’s strange and lovely story about a tv show that you wished existed over at the F&SF website.
• Fishin’ With Grandma Matchie, Steven Erikson
  This one’s not online at all. You can order a lovely edition of this strange post-modern SFnal tale from publisher PS Publishing.
• The Policeman’s Daughter, Wil McCarthy
  You can read an excerpt from Wil McCarthy’s novella of murder and intrigue in his Wellstone universe at Analog.
• Inside Job, Connie Willis
  You can read Connie Willis’s story of love, superstition and H.L. Mencken over at Asimov’s
• Mysterious ninth story
  And there’s still the mysterious ninth story.
• Online bonus
  Year’s best editors often complain that, if they just had a little more space, they would have added this or that story to their book. If I could have added just one more story to my already overstuff book, it would have been James Patrick Kelly’s extraordinary short novel, Burn. While you can order it from the publisher or Amazon.com, you can also listen to it as a sixteen part podcast. Or if that doesn’t suit, it’ll be in Gardner Dozois’s next year’s best SF. It’s very cool.

I hope to be writing more about my year’s bests over at www.yearsbests.com. Until then, you can always check out the official SFBC website.