Another cool review for The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, this time from Booklist, who say:

The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year #1. Strahan, Jonathan (editor).
Apr. 2007. 478p. Night Shade, paperback, $19.95 (9781597800686).
REVIEW. First published April 1, 2007 (Booklist).
This is an excellent sampling of some of the most interesting contemporary voices in sf and fantasy, including Neil Gaiman, Cory Doctorow, Kelly Link, and Paul Di Filippo, tackling a pleasingly wide range of subject matter. Jeffrey Ford’s “Night Whiskey” concerns the strange customs of a small town and the terrible things that sometimes come out of the unknown. Christopher Rowe’s “Another Word for Map Is Faith” concerns a future in which the faithful of Christendom traverse the earth, “correcting” geography to conform to the errors on maps. The volume closer, Ian McDonald’s “Djinn’s Wife,” is a lovely fairy tale of the future about a dancer who marries an AI; as the narrator observes, even if it doesn’t have a happy ending like a Bollywood movie, it has a happy enough ending. Editor Strahan has selected a lot of winning stories here, well worth revisiting, often more than once. – Regina Schroeder

This follows on the earlier review from PW, and a good Locus review. All in all, the book’s been very well recieved, and I’m delighted. Now I just need to get to work on Volume 2.

Well, the Ditmar nominations are out. You can see the list here. The awards will be presented at the Australian National SF Convention in Melbourne this June. My congratulations to all of the nominees.  I once was nominated for, but didn’t win, a Ditmar that was presented at someone’s backyard BBQ. It was a nice evening, otherwise, though.

The ever kind and generous Jeff VanderMeer has interviewed me over at SF Site. He makes me look good, which is a not inconsiderable achievement.

Yesterday I baked muffins for the first time. Jessica had gone swimming, and Sophie and I were home together for a while, so we made blueberry muffins. They were a real hit, especially during family movie matinee that afternoon. In the evening Richard Scriven, who’s in town from Melbourne, came over and he,  Robin Pen and I had dinner. It was a great evening, just like old times. This morning has been a bit crazy. First up, I called CHARLES and we caught up above life, Cecilia Holland, his new curmudgeonly column, and such. Then, off to the Autum River Festival, a great annual event held along the Swan River. It was all bouncy castles, hot dogs, face painting, music, bubble blowers, stilt walkers, giant kites and such. A fantastic family event. Then off to a kid’s party at a local play place. I’m currently sitting at a table while kids run and scream around, trying to come up with flap copy for a new Lucius Shepard collection that my pal Bill is publishing. The only problem is that I have no inspiration. I know the collection’s a good one. It covers a healthy selection of Lucius’s stories, covering gthe 25 years or so of his professional career. But, to summarise. Maybe the screaming kids will inspire me.