Champagne and Socks

I woke up disgustingly early this morning because my boyfriend is a sailor and sailors get up very early and my sailor checks his email before he gets out of bed. And he woke me up with the unbelievable news that the World Fantasy Awards ballot was announced and:

Special Award, Non-Professional

• Stephen Jones, Michael Marshall Smith, & Amanda Foubister, for Brighton Shock!: The Souvenir Book Of The World Horror Convention 2010
• Alisa Krasnostein, for Twelfth Planet Press
• Matthew Kressel, for Sybil’s Garage and Senses Five Press
• Charles Tan, for Bibliophile Stalker
• Lavie Tidhar, for The World SF Blog

I keep having to check back because it seems so hard to comprehend. I never even dreamed I would be on the WFA ballot and to be on one with such outstanding company in this category is such a great, amazing honour. I’m blown away, excited and unbelievably grateful to everyone who has ever helped me out, contributed to book buzz, bought a book, given me advice or mentored me so far on this journey. And to the Twelfth Planet Press Posse who work so hard behind the scenes and Amanda Rainey who makes every book look fantastic.

And that thing? Where’s it’s so good just to be nominated? It’s really really true.

I had just paid for my tickets to go to San Diego as well so I’m overjoyed to be there and to be going with the Aussie contingent this year. And that, um, dream big? Anything is possible. *grin*
The rest of the ballot is exceptionally great this year too. Check it out (Via Locus):

Best Novel

• Zoo City, Lauren Beukes (Jacana South Africa; Angry Robot)
• The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)
  
• The Silent Land, Graham Joyce (Gollancz; Doubleday)
  
• Under Heaven, Guy Gavriel Kay (Viking Canada; Roc; Harper Voyager UK)
  
• Redemption In Indigo, Karen Lord (Small Beer)
  
• Who Fears Death, Nnedi Okorafor (DAW)

Best Novella

• Bone and Jewel Creatures, Elizabeth Bear (Subterranean)
• The Broken Man, Michael Byers (PS)
• “The Maiden Flight of McCauley’s Bellerophon”, Elizabeth Hand (Stories: All-New Tales)
• The Thief of Broken Toys, Tim Lebbon (ChiZine Publications)
• “The Mystery Knight”, George R.R. Martin (Warriors)
• “The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers beneath the Queen’s Window”, Rachel Swirsky (Subterranean Summer 2010)

Best Short Fiction

• “Beautiful Men” , Christopher Fowler (Visitants: Stories of Fallen Angels and Heavenly Hosts)
• “Booth’s Ghost”, Karen Joy Fowler (What I Didn’t See and Other Stories)
• “Ponies”, Kij Johnson (Tor.com 11/17/10)
• “Fossil-Figures”, Joyce Carol Oates (Stories: All-New Tales)
• “Tu Sufrimiento Shall Protect Us”, Mercurio D. Rivera (Black Static 8-9/10)

Best Anthology

• The Way of the Wizard, John Joseph Adams, ed. (Prime)
• My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me, Kate Bernheimer, ed. (Penguin)
• Haunted Legends, Ellen Datlow & Nick Mamatas, eds. (Tor)
• Stories: All-New Tales, Neil Gaiman & Al Sarrantonio, eds. (Morrow; Headline Review)
• Black Wings: New Tales of Lovecraftian Horror, S.T. Joshi, ed. (PS)
• Swords & Dark Magic, Jonathan Strahan & Lou Anders, eds. (Eos)

Best Collection

• What I Didn’t See and Other Stories, Karen Joy Fowler (Small Beer)
• The Ammonite Violin & Others, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Subterranean)
  
• Holiday, M. Rickert (Golden Gryphon)
  
• Sourdough and Other Stories, Angela Slatter (Tartarus)
  
• The Third Bear, Jeff VanderMeer (Tachyon)

Best Artist

• Vincent Chong
• Kinuko Y. Craft
• Richard A. Kirk
• John Picacio
• Shaun Tan

Special Award, Professional

• John Joseph Adams, for editing and anthologies
• Lou Anders, for editing at Pyr
• Marc Gascoigne, for Angry Robot
• Stéphane Marsan & Alain Névant, for Bragelonne
• Brett Alexander Savory & Sandra Kasturi, for ChiZine Publications

And Lifetime Achievement Winners are Peter S. Beagle and Angélica Gorodischer

I’m so looking forward to the convention!