I have just delivered Best Short Novels: 2006 to Andrew Wheeler at The SF Book Club (or, I will have when he checks his email in the morning). The book features nine stories, including work by Steven Erikson, Kelly Link, Ian McDonald, Cory Doctorow, Harry Turtledove, Connie Willis, Wil McCarthy, and Matthew Hughes. I love working on this series, and think the final book is a strong one. I’d loved to have snuck an extra story or two in, but the book can only be so long, and I’m very happy with what is in the book. If all goes to plan, it should be out in May/June.

Cory Doctorow makes some remarkably sensible points about Google’s Book Search service.

Should you and I ever be in the same place, and should you ever here me grumble about the editing life, remind me of this. First, I am incredibly lucky (and I know it). Second, there are two things that make all of it worthwhile. The first is the moment when, having thought up an idea and persuaded someone else that it’s a good one, you sell a book. There’s a real adrenalin rush to knowing that it worked, it was a good idea, and it was going to happen. The second, and by far the best thing, is the moment when a new story for a book arrives via post or email, you open it and read it, and it’s not only good, it’s so surprisingly, stunningly good that it makes you want to shout out loud, punch the air, and run around grinning like an idiot.

The reason I mention this is that I’m working on completing my first original anthology – all the others up till now have been reprint anthologies – and I’ve had at least four or five moments like that while working on the book. It’s been thrilling. The book, The Starry Rift, will finally be out in mid-2007 and I can’t wait to see what people think of it.

The Guardian reports that “Every time Miles farted they had the tape machine running.“

Time is running out to nominate for the Ditmars. To help with nominations, Bill Congreve and Michelle Marquardt have published a remarkably useful list of short fiction by Australians published in 2005. You can find information on the Ditmars themselves here, and the nomination forms are here. Anyone can nominate for the awards, and you don’t need to have read everything published during the year. Voting is restricted to paid members of the national SF convention, Conjure. You can buy a membership here.