World Fantasy Awards 2007

[Hobbit]

From Locus Online:

The nominees for the 2007 World Fantasy Awards are:

NOVEL
# Lisey's Story, Stephen King (Scribner; Hodder & Stoughton)
# The Privilege of the Sword, Ellen Kushner (Bantam Spectra; Small Beer Press)
# The Lies of Locke Lamora, Scott Lynch (Gollancz; Bantam Spectra)
# The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden, Catherynne M. Valente (Bantam Spectra)
# Soldier of Sidon, Gene Wolfe (Tor)

NOVELLA
# "Botch Town", Jeffrey Ford (The Empire of Ice Cream, Golden Gryphon)
# "The Man Who Got Off the Ghost Train", Kim Newman (The Man from the Diogenes Club, MonkeyBrain)
# Dark Harvest, Norman Partridge (Cemetery Dance)
# "Map of Dreams", M. Rickert (Map of Dreams, Golden Gryphon)
# "The Lineaments of Gratified Desire", Ysabeau S. Wilce (F&SF Jul 2006)

SHORT FICTION
# "The Way He Does It", Jeffrey Ford (Electric Velocipede #10, Spr 2006)
# "Journey Into the Kingdom", M. Rickert (F&SF May 2006)
# "A Siege of Cranes", Benjamin Rosenbaum (Twenty Epics, All-Star Stories)
# "Another Word for Map is Faith", Christopher Rowe (F&SF Aug 2006)
# "Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter (Fantasy)", Geoff Ryman (F&SF Oct/Nov 2006)

ANTHOLOGY
# Cross Plains Universe: Texans Celebrate Robert E. Howard, Scott A. Cupp & Joe R. Lansdale, eds. (MonkeyBrain and the Fandom Association of Central Texas)
# Salon Fantastique, Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling, eds. (Thunder's Mouth)
# Retro Pulp Tales, Joe R. Lansdale, ed. (Subterranean)
# Twenty Epics, David Moles & Susan Marie Groppi, eds. (All-Star Stories)
# Firebirds Rising, Sharyn November, ed. (Firebird)

COLLECTION
# The Ladies of Grace Adieu and other stories, Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury)
# The Empire of Ice Cream, Jeffrey Ford (Golden Gryphon)
# American Morons, Glen Hirshberg (Earthling)
# Red Spikes, Margo Lanagan (Allen & Unwin Australia; Knopf)
# Map of Dreams, M. Rickert (Golden Gryphon)

ARTIST
# Jon Foster
# Edward Miller
# John Picacio
# Shaun Tan
# Jill Thompson

SPECIAL AWARD, PROFESSIONAL
# Ellen Asher (For work at SFBC)
# Mark Finn (for Blood & Thunder: The Life of Robert E. Howard, MonkeyBrain)
# Deanna Hoak for copyediting
# Greg Ketter for Dreamhaven
# Leonard S. Marcus, ed. (for The Wand in the Word: Conversations with Writers of Fantasy, Candlewick)

SPECIAL AWARD, NON-PROFESSIONAL
# Leslie Howle (for her work at Clarion West)
# Leo Grin (for The Cimmerian)
# Susan Marie Groppi (for Strange Horizons)
# John Klima (for Electric Velocipede)
# Gary K. Wolfe (for reviews and criticism in Locus and elsewhere)

Nominations for this year's World Fantasy Awards, for works published in 2006, have been released. Winners will be announced at this year's World Fantasy Convention, to be held 1-4 November 2007 in Saratoga Springs, New York.Judges for this year's awards are Gavin Grant, Ed Greenwood, Jeremy Lassen, Jeff Mariotte, and Carsten Polzin. Final ballot nominations are determined through a combination of convention member votes (two items in each category) and judges' selections. Winners will be determined by the judges.

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IMO, an interesting list.

Congrats to all nominees.

Hobbit

 

[GreyMantle]

I'm kind of surprised at Locke's nomination. Based on my (limited) knowledge, I had thought that epic fantasy was rarely nominated for the WFA. And I didn't think Lynch's book was even that good...

 

[JamesL]

I'm kind of surprised at Locke's nomination. Based on my (limited) knowledge, I had thought that epic fantasy was rarely nominated for the WFA. And I didn't think Lynch's book was even that good...

I personally wouldn't call Lies epic fantasy. And I have to say I'm not suprised that it was nominated, as it was pretty much the hottest and most hyped novel published in 2006.

 

[GreyMantle]

By epic, I meant in that the setting is pre-industrial, contains magic, cities with thieves guilds, there's sword-play, a clear-cut villain, and such, as opposed to, say, Mieville, Vandermeer, Duncan, etc. (I didn't want to use traditional because if anything that would have provoked even more of a negative response.) I would agree in that Lies is not typical epic fantasy, but for the label-obsessed like myself I would have to say it's epic fantasy. (Maybe sword&sorcery?)

Also, I thought that a lot of the reception had thought that the book was pretty good, but not awe-inspiring.

And besides, by looking over the nominees and winners from the past, I noticed a great dearth of the type of fantasy I would call epic or traditional, or sword and sorcery. And we all know that that is most certainly not true, so I would guess that the WFA is possibly favored towards the more "out-there" stuff.

Eek. This has turned into a bit of a ramble.

 

[Phellim]

As usual, I haven't read the majority of books on the list, although I do know the artists mentioned (and find that particular list to be a bit lacking).

I should really read more new releases...

 

[Yobmod]

I've not read any of the novels, but 2 are on my to read list for being sequels to books i loved: The Privilege of the Sword (--> Swordspoint (9)) and Soldier of Sidon (-->Soldier of the Mist (10!)).

The only novella i've read is Botch Town (8), which was good from what i remember, but not something i thought was the best of the year.

Of the Short fiction i've read, i want Journey Into the Kingdom (8.5) to win, it was a very well done and ambiguous ghost story. Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter (8) is a close second, whereas A Siege of Cranes (6.5) was disappointing - lots of nice ideas, but too rushed.

The Empire of Ice Cream was a good collection (8), but i'm hoping that there was something better released last year, as there were few if any stories that were really amazing instead of just very good. I have high hopes for M. Rickert's Map of Dreams; i've read 3 of the stories in it online and was impressed, and with the title story also nominated, i'm hoping this will be another Kelly Link level discovery for me.

 

[Gary Wassner]

And The Thousandfold Thought by Bakker was absent from the list.

I'm probably too jaded by the process by now to find this list interesting.

 

[U-Borat]

Well, IMO, the Novel nominees are certainly....disappointing.

 

[Eventine]

And The Thousandfold Thought by Bakker was absent from the list.

I'm probably too jaded by the process by now to find this list interesting.

What in particular about the process do you find disappointing Gary? The process allows for a mix of popular and panel selected options (I believe 2 are voted for by attendees at the WFC) - if Scott's not attracting the fans, and not wowing the judges why does he deserve to win an award?

For everyone's information, the panel deciding this years winner (and some of the nominees) is:
Gavin Grant (Small Beer Press) Ed Greenwood (Author), Jeremy Lassen (Nightshade), Jeff Mariotte (Author), and Carsten Polzin (Editor, Fantasist Enterprises)

Does anyone know how the panel is selected?

 

[cgw]

I would have expected Three Days to Never by Tim Powers to be nominated.
The only one I have read is Lynch which I liked, but I think I liked TDtN better.

 

[Eventine]

I would've liked to see Ink by Hal Duncan, Shriek: An Afterword by Jef Vandermeer or even The Road by Cormac Mcarthy (assuming it's eligible) - I think they're all deserving of an award (whether it's this one or not is arguable). Heck, if they're seriously looking at epics throw in Crown of Stars by Kate Elliott. But I don't go to the WFC, and I'm not ever going to be in the position to be a jury member so I can't really complain though.

 

[Bear]

I would've liked to see Ink by Hal Duncan, Shriek: An Afterword by Jef Vandermeer or even The Road by Cormac Mcarthy (assuming it's eligible) - I think they're all deserving of an award (whether it's this one or not is arguable). Heck, if they're seriously looking at epics throw in Crown of Stars by Kate Elliott. But I don't go to the WFC, and I'm not ever going to be in the position to be a jury member so I can't really complain though.

I have "Shriek" and "The Road" sitting on desk as my next reads. Both came with high praise. I'm looking forward to them.

And from the selection of collections, I'm a big fan of American Morons. "Safety Clowns" is my favorite short story so far this year. But I haven't read Empire of Ice Cream yet, and Ford can be excellent, so we'll see.

 

[Gary Wassner]

Just some pet peeves of mine, Eventine.

I'm not a big fan of awards like these. I guess they're good for business, but I don't think they reflect anything more than the popularity or trendiness of a book within a specific circle. It's certainly not sour grapes on my part. I'm not widely read enough to show up on the radar of any of these judges. But some of my friends are, and some, like Bakker, aren't plugged into the process, so I think they get passed over in many cases.

Pet peeves, nothing more. I could be way off base. But I do get a little insulted by the way some of us are treated by the committees that decide the agendas of this convention and some others.

 

[BrianC]

And The Thousandfold Thought by Bakker was absent from the list.

I'm probably too jaded by the process by now to find this list interesting.

Yeah, I didn't see anything to get excited about in this list. Last year I could root hard for Hal Duncan, but here--though I met Scott Lynch at last year's WFC and he's a nice guy--I just don't see any of the novels really being breakaway awesome. Lies was an interesting and fun book, but is it really in the top five? (I'm picking on Scott because his is the only book in this list that I have read. None of the other books interested me enough to even pick up). Maybe I'm jaded too but I think that we need to raise our expectations for these kinds of awards. Echo: How come The Road didn't get a nomination?? Shriek would have been better too.

Strangely, I didn't read any of the shorter stuff even though I made a concerted effort to do more short fiction this year. The closest I came was reading the first few paragraphs of Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter, but I was too bored with it to continue. Guess I'm just out of touch.

(ASAIK, the panel is selected by the WFC Committee. Could be wrong about that.)

 

[Larry]

I've read three of the five finalists (will read the Kushner and King in the next month or so, as I just ordered those) for the Best Novel. I read each of them near release time back in 2006 and I remember making a year-end blog post where I ranked VanderMeer's Shriek first, with the Valente and Wolfe in a dead heat. Lynch was a bit behind those in overall quality, I thought. It was interesting to see how closely my own particular tastes mirrored those of the WFA panel.

As for which books could/should have made that list, I'd second the Vandermeer and McCarthy, would have loved to have seen Ngugi wa Thiong'o's Wizard and the Crow get some recognition, and Bakker would have been worthy as well. But I certainly wouldn't have dropped Valente or Wolfe from the final pool, and if the fans voted for Lynch and King (as I suspect might have been the case), then that would leave all those mentioned above to match up against Kushner. I'd like to think it was a very tough decision and that really, the finalist list is pretty good, considering the 3 that I've read.

 

[Yobmod]

Most people criticising the novel nominees don't seem to have read many of them at all (excepting Aldarion). From the other works i've read by these writers, i would not be suprised to find they are all worthy books.

The problem seems to be that the list is not particularly exciting:

All the reviews of Soldier of Sidon i've seen have said it is excellent. But Wolfe has won 2 WFAs already (out of 7 nominations), in addition to receiving the life achievment award. Hence, no matter how great the book, it is difficult to be thrilled about its inclusion.

Similarly King has won 3 WFAs (out of 18 noms!), and was recognized for life achievment already.

Kushner is also a previous winner (with 3 nominations).

Considering the quality of writers here, it seems a big leap to simply guess that Bakker for example is in the same league, without actually reading the entries.
And isn't The Road science fiction and not fantasy?

 

[BrianC]

Most people criticising the novel nominees don't seem to have read many of them at all (excepting Aldarion).

That's a good point, Yobmod, but here's another: I didn't read any of the other nominees because they did not interest me. I'm not saying that any of them do not deserve to be on the list, objectively, but subjectively, this list generates no excitement for me.

Hmm, The Road as science fiction? I don't really think it fits well, seeing that there is no technology or science involved in the story. It's more of an 'alternate future'. There've been lots of debates about whether The Road is genre fiction at all, with good points on both sides. I think it is fantasy, given a broad understanding of the term.

 

[Eventine]

some, like Bakker, aren't plugged into the process, so I think they get passed over in many cases.

By this do you mean that Scott's work isn't being submitted to the judges? Or that he's not involved in any lobbying/discussions/cliques/??? associated with the WFA?
At any rate, I find single novels out of multi-volume epics problematic for awards assessing novels - it's almost like they should have a seperate category for novels part of a sequence.
As far as I can tell only two novels that were not a stand alone or the first in a series have won the WFA - The Other Wind by Ursula Leguin and Lyonesse: Madouc by Jack Vance. Leguin and Vance - there's a lot of weight behind those names.

And isn't The Road science fiction and not fantasy?

Hence my original comment asking if it was eligible when I mentioned it. I think it's post-apocalyptic SF, but a sympathetic jury might let it fly.

I'm also assuming that King and Lynch were the "crowd" based choice and the other options came from the judges. I have a dislike of Kushner, can't really argue with Wolfe and Valente is on my to-read list. So if I got one change, I'd take of Kushner and add either Vandermeer or Duncan.

 

[firqoret]

That's a good point, Yobmod, but here's another: I didn't read any of the other nominees because they did not interest me. I'm not saying that any of them do not deserve to be on the list, objectively, but subjectively, this list generates no excitement for me.

Hmm, The Road as science fiction? I don't really think it fits well, seeing that there is no technology or science involved in the story. It's more of an 'alternate future'. There've been lots of debates about whether The Road is genre fiction at all, with good points on both sides. I think it is fantasy, given a broad understanding of the term.

Now, I haven't read The Road yet, so maybe I shouldn't comment, but the impression that I've gotten is that it's a more or less a straight post apocalypse story with no supernatural elements what so ever. And since it's set in the future and has no magic in it, it is obviously science fiction and not fantasy. The arguments that I've encountered regarding it's identity as science fiction has more been about whether it's a product of the science fiction tradition than if it's actually could fit in the science fiction section of a bookstore.

It should also be pointed out that there are tons and tons of science fiction with little technology, so the lak of that doesn't really disqualify any story as long as it's set in a more or less naturalistic future.