On being a Campbell Award finalist

Sometimes the news is too good, it’s hard to know what to say about it. Where to start? An amazing thing happened. I can’t believe this, it’s so great…

Okay, how’s this:

A dream came true. I’m a finalist for the 2017 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, which will be presented at the Hugo Awards on August 11, at WorldCon in Helsinki. This is absolutely the award nomination that every new SFF writer dreams about, and I assure you, I’m drinking in every drop of joy it brings.

My fellow finalists are Sarah Gailey (my friend, great writer, and awesome human), J. Mulrooney, Malka Older (making such a splash with her work), Ada Palmer (her novel is up for the Best Novel Hugo!), and Laurie Penny. If you’re voting in the Hugos (and of course even if you’re not) please check out their work and if voting, download the packet of our work and vote your heart.

I will always say vote your heart for everything. Not because I don’t want to win (of course I do!), but because I care more about people voting for the right reasons that I do about winning. I’ve loved SF my whole life. The past two years of drama over the Hugos has been deeply upsetting, and I hope this year will be the first step in getting the awards back to normal.

Anyway, enough of that. I’m so excited about being a finalist! My wife and I will be going to Finland for WorldCon and I simply can’t wait. My plan is to have a terrific time, stay up late every night, see old friends and make new ones. Because that’s what it’s all about in the end. It’s not about winning or losing, but the people you meet along the way.