I’m tentatively down to do a panel at Conjure (you’ve joined, right?) on What’s Hot? This is, as far as I can tell, a variation on the annual year in review panel CHARLES and I have done in previous years. One thing that is hot – and the Stephen King review below brought this to mind – is zombies. For some reason, everyone from Alex Irvine and Kelly Link to Stephen King is writing about zombies. I’m sure there’s some deep cultural reason for this, but it is interesting.

My editor Andew Wheeler from the SF Book Club has a blog, The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent, which is a lot of fun. I don’t know why I didn’t know this existed until yesterday, but I didn’t. It’s fun and I think Andy, who shares a number of my musical tastes, must read more than just about anyone I know.

The ballot and survey for the 36th Annual Locus Awards is now online. It covers works that first appeared in 2005. You can vote for up to five works in any category, and are not restricted to works contained in the drop-down lists on the ballot (which correspond to the Recommended Reading List). For what it’s worth, I think voting really is worth your time. When CHARLES first set up the awards, his intention was to positively affect the Hugo awards. After 36 years, the Locus Award has become an important award in its own right.

Well, this is definitely weird. I have just confirmed news that I received yesterday. I’ve just had my first book of 2006 published – I just didn’t know it. The anthology Best Short Novels: 2004, which was published by Andy and the gang at the SFBC, has just been reprinted by iBooks under the title Modern Greats of Science Fiction: Nine Novellas of Distinction. I’ve not seen it, have no idea what it looks like, and need to chase up contributors’ copies and such, but I’m happy to see it get a trade release. I always hoped this series would do really well for the SFBC and then sell on to a reprint market.

Well, today is a big day at our house. Jessica starts at her new school, Noranda Primary School, this afternoon, while Sophie starts there tomorrow. Jessica is doing the final year of pre-primary, while Sophie is starting kindergarten. What makes this such a big deal is that, not only is it the start of a new school year, it is Jessica’s first day in a mainstream school. Up till now she’s been outside the mainstream, so…fingers crossed it all goes well. A big day.