A slow news week

Keeping with tradition my blog posts have dried up as I have gone back to work. Fortunately for me its been a slow new week, right?

In the last week alone the final nominations lists have been released for both the David Gemmell Legend Award and, probably more importantly, the Hugo Awards ballot. I will probably dedicate a post to each of these awards, but feel free to visit the official sites for the Gemmell and Hugo lists.

Very Australian

As a true patriot, and given that we have just enjoyed our annual Anzac Day commemorations, it would be remiss of me if I failed to highlight the Ditmar Awards which were presented at SwanCon in Perth over the (very) long weekend. My patriotism has never been more apparent - I haven't read a single one of the novels listed for Best Novel by an Australian writer. The winner, however, was Tansy Rayner Roberts's Power and Majesty (which I will read). And the trophy sure looks nice.

Meanwhile some of the major awards in Science fiction specifically have been announced. South African writer Lauren Beukes won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for her novel Zoo City. Mark Hodder was presented with the Philip K. Dick Award for The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack. Unsurprisingly I have not read either of these books. My Science Fiction reading has dropped off dramatically in favour of Fantasy this year.

The biggest news of the week for me landed today. George R. R. Martin has completed the manuscript of A Dance with Dragons, which will now definitely meet the July publication window. It's been a while! George posted a cryptic message on his blog - so cryptic in fact that his editor Anne Groell felt the need to assure the internet that we did in fact interpret George's message correctly.

Yes

The Locus Awards (and challenge)

Voting is open for The Locus Awards. Visit the official site to participate in selecting the best works published in the Speculative Fiction field in 2010. As with The Gemmell Award there is no restriction on who gets to vote, though the votes of Locus subscribers (like myself) count for double. Locus also has a broader focus, covering (as the banner suggests) both Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Voting closes very soon (April 15), so get in there and get your favourites recognised!

The Ranting Dragon, the site that I have been reviewing for, has been running a challenge in order to help stimulate interest in the awards. If you want some tips on where and how to cast your votes, The Ranting Dragon has compiled a list of worthy candidates - and there is an additional competition with decent prizes for those who vote.

I have put my votes in. While there will be similarities to my Gemmell votes I tried to pick books that fit with the criteria of each award. I didn't vote in every category as there are some areas I feel  I chose the following (in order of preference, which does matter):

Best Sci Fi
Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willies
The Dervish House by Ian McDonald

Best Fantasy
The Desert Spear by Peter V. Brett
Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor (probably a more important book than Brett's, but not as enjoyable)
The Folding Knife by K. J. Parker

Best New Book
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin
Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord
The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi

Reviews for all of these works are on the way, either here or over at The Ranting Dragon.

Best Magazine or Fanzine
Clarkesworld
Fantasy Magazine
Tor.com
Aurealis (the favouritism kicks in here)

Best Book Publisher
Orbit
Subterranean Press
Harper Voyager
Tor