The Hugo Award is the highest honor in science fiction and fantasy writing. And I’m a finalist for one.
I very rarely think about a physical object that I want, especially when I’ve imbued the object with some significance regarding who I think I am. That way lies sportscars, fancy handbags, and McMansions. But the Hugo rocketship statue… that is the object I allow myself to want. I have immense admiration and respect for the other finalists in my category (and in all the others!) I have recommended that people read A.T. Greenblatt’s riveting superhero story and Sarah Pinsker’s deep creep about truth and lies over and over since they came out, because they’re great work. It’s all great work. We all deserve to win.
And I still want it.
As before, I want to thank my editors at PM Press, who believed in this work and honored me with inclusion in the Outspoken Author Series, which includes seminal and definitive work from many of the greatest minds in genre writing. I especially want to thank Stephanie Pasvankias, who helped make this happen in the first place, and series editor Terry Bisson.
It is such an honor to be nominated, and it is something I have wanted since before I went pro. Everybody imagines making the speech, holding the statuette and realizing how heavy it is.
For a long time, I worked for a Hugo Award winner. I would slip into his study while performing my duties and gently, reverently, touch my fingertips to the point at the top of his rocketship. It’s luck, it’s reverence. It’s the same emotion people always feel looking at a spaceship: a desire to go farther and see what’s out there.
I can’t wait to see what’s beyond the horizon, and I am so honored to make it to the launchpad. I’ll see you at Worldcon in December.