Welp, looks like it's that time of year again!
Some year, huh.
I wasn't focused on short fiction this year but on novels and novellas, with the result that it's a pretty paltry eligibility post. On the other hand I think it would also be accurate to say that I was focused even more on 'staying alive' and 'not dying of Ye Pestilence' or 'losing my mind,' which are arguably also somewhat important? I don't know. I guess it depends where you think writers fit into the Great Chain Of Being.
Novels for 2020:
'Beneath the Rising,' Solaris Books. Debut, so eligible for all the first novel, sci-fi, fantasy, and horror awards, but that's what happens when you futz around with genres, I guess! A child prodigy and her best friend flee monsters, cops, and the past as they race against time to save the world from an ancient, evil invasion that (cough) probably could have been predicted. Places to buy here! (Reviewers/awards folks, if you want a free copy, let me know and I can connect you to my publicist!)
Eligible for:
Bram Stoker Awards: Novel; First Novel
British Fantasy Awards: Fantasy Novel (Robert Holdstock Award); Horror Novel (August Derleth Award)
Hugo Award: Best Novel
Locus Award: Science Fiction Novel; Fantasy Novel; Horror Novel; First Novel
Nebula Award: Novel
Shirley Jackson Awards: Novel
World Fantasy Award: Novel
The Kitschies: Red Tentacle; Golden Tentacle (debut)
Aurora Awards: Best Novel
New short fiction for 2020:
'Everything As Part Of Its Infinite Place,' Broken Eye Books (Patreon). This got locked up into a patreon so isn't available to read to non-patrons, but the story of a kid drawn into Strange And Apparently Random Events in his little English village after the death of his beloved older brother. Folk horror and weird physics, sickness, guilt, duty, and grief. (5830 words)
'The Redoubtables,' Apparition Lit, Issue 9 'Experimentation.' Probably my favourite short piece I've written in ages. A young journalist interviews a man who is also, probably, an ancient evil, as she digs into the death of eleven scientists. (4402 words)
'Restoration of function to Biochemical Structure 34 using iterative molecular construction techniques: teaching an old dome new tricks,' Journal of Imaginary Research, Volume 6. A little research abstract and bio for research that never was, about a beloved (but decrepit!) structure at one of (!) the Mars habitats, featuring a photo I took in Vancouver. (337 words including fictional bio).
Nonfiction for 2020:
An Empathy of Fear, Nightmare Magazine, Issue 97. Explaining how I, a well-known horror weenie, write horror all the time! (The secret is: I am driven by primal fears rather than anything resembling 'knowing about genre').
The Big Idea: Premee Mohamed, John Scalzi's blog, March 2020. Very pleased to be allowed to post this little essay at The Big Idea, discussing 'Beneath the Rising' and the complexities and nuance of friendships, transactionality, and love.
Whew, grim little list, eh? I did also have new fiction excerpted for Jo Walton's New Decameron project, but I don't think that's eligible for anything as it's part of a longer work; I also put up a link to a piece of 'fiction' that I wrote for the Exoplanet Demographics event, but that's actually narrative nonfiction.
And onwards we go to 2021!