Yes, I had an excellent weekend. The highlight was (obviously) winning the 2023 Best Novel Award from the British Science Fiction Association, as voted on by members. The full list of winners is here and you can learn a bit about the BSFA while you’re there, if you wish.

I was pleased and honoured to be shortlisted. Yes, that’s what people always say. The thing is, it’s true. A nomination for a genre award means readers find your work worthy of recognition alongside books written by your professional peers and personal friends. That in itself is wonderful. When a friend’s novel which I have enjoyed turns out to win, I’m thrilled for them.

The Green Man’s Quarry actually winning this award was a wholly unexpected delight, and an honour not only for me. Writing may be a solitary occupation, but getting a book into print most assuredly is not. I am intensely grateful to Cheryl Morgan of Wizard’s Tower Press, who first set up her publishing enterprise to help writers like me make our backlists available in print and ebook formats on terms that brought us a worthwhile return. When The Green Man’s Heir was met with a discouraging lack of interest from the agents and publishers I approached, she was absolutely ready to see how the book fared as WTP’s first original publication. The rest, as they say, is history – and do check out the subsequent original titles from Wizard’s Tower Press.

My further thanks go to Toby Selwyn, whom I have known since he was a teenager reading my epic fantasy novels. We’ve met at conventions and stayed in touch through his university years and subsequent career as an editor. This combination of his rigorous professional skills and his finely-honed understanding of my writing makes a significant contribution to these books. I also thank Ben Baldwin for his outstanding artwork, for the whole series, and especially for The Green Man’s Quarry. This latest cover did everything the previous art did to catch the eye and stir the imagination, as well as hinting this time, readers should expect something a bit different… Each of these books brings new members to the team. Since The Green Man’s Quarry sees Dan venture north of the border, I enlisted Shona Kinsella, also a fine writer and meticulous editor, as Scots cultural consultant. She made an invaluable contribution, so thank you to her for that.

It’s thanks to SF conventions and the wider SF&Fantasy fan community that I know these people. Conventions are where I first met Cheryl and Shona. Ian Whates of Newcon Press, another friend made through conventions, recommended Ben when we were looking for an artist for The Aldabreshin Compass reissues. Our genre’s early and effective adoption of websites meant Toby and I could make contact all those years ago and stay in touch ever since. The online world has long enabled keen SF&F readers and reviewers to share their enthusiasms. This virtual word of mouth makes it possible for small press publications to find the people who will love their stories. So thank you, everyone in SF&F circles for that.

The rest of the convention? The panels I took part in were fascinating and informative conversations. I listened to various talks and discussions with keen interest and my notebook to hand, coming away with new information and perspectives that will improve and inform my own work. The convention’s guests were wonderful to meet, and to hear talking about their writing and their working lives. In between times, I caught up with long-standing friends whom I haven’t seen in person for far too long, given the weird dislocations of these past few years. I met online pals in person which is invariably a pleasure, and I made connections with people I wouldn’t have encountered elsewhere, who will assuredly become friends and colleagues. If anyone ever asks you if SF conventions are worth their time and money, feel free to cite all of the above.

There was one notable difference from many UK conventions this year. Rather than being based in a main hotel, this Eastercon used the Telford International Centre for its programme and events, and for central social space. This turned out to work extremely well. Accommodation was readily available within easy walking distance in a range of hotels to suit all budgets. There was similarly a good choice of restaurants and other refreshments options within easy reach, as well as food and drink on site. I recommend event organisers in search of a venue take a serious look at both this site and at this slightly different model for themselves.

As those of us who’ve been involved in event organisation will know, nothing as big and complicated as an Eastercon runs as apparently smoothly and successfully as this weekend did, without a tremendous amount of hard work by a great many people both beforehand and through the event itself. Last, but emphatically by no means least, my thanks and admiration go to the Convention Committee, everyone working in the various departments on site, and to the Levitation volunteers.

And thanks to my husband, for tackling the interesting photographic challenge of this shiny transparent glass award alongside shiny dark-hued book covers.

It’s always worth taking a look at the novels long- and shortlisted for genre awards – even if you’re not a member of organisations like the BSFA, the BFS, or SFWA. Likewise, it doesn’t matter if you’re eligible or not to vote for awards linked to conventions such as the Hugos. These are books that have appealed to a solid number of well-read SF&F fans. The juries who pick the winners for accolades such as the Arthur C Clarke Award and the World Fantasy Awards are fans first and foremost, and assess all submissions diligently. Not every book is for every reader, but there’s every chance you’ll find something to your particular taste that you haven’t come across before.

Then there are the short stories, the novellas, the non-fiction and related works. The odds are good that these lists will offer you unfamiliar names whose writing you’ll want to check out, both of authors currently published and of authors being written about. There’ll be discussions about aspects of the genre which you may very well find of interest. When something on any of these lists comes from a small press you haven’t previously encountered, it’s definitely worth seeing what else they’re publishing. And don’t forget the art awards, which invariably illustrate the breadth and depth of skill enhancing SF&F stories these days.

Why am I mentioning this now? Because the BSFA long lists have just been announced, and yes, I have an interest to declare because The Green Man’s Quarry is among the nominations for best novel. Will it be shortlisted? Who knows? At the moment, knowing enough readers enjoyed Dan Mackmain’s latest to nominate the book gives me a nice, warm feeling on this chilly wintry day.

If you are eligible to vote, but haven’t read this latest in the series yet, this is great timing, as the ebook is currently a Kindle UK limited time deal for the bargain price of 99p – and so are a good few other BSFA longlisted titles. Amazon have a wide-ranging SF&Fantasy offer on at the moment. That’s well worth checking out whether or not you’re interested in voting for any awards at all.

Happy reading!

This month’s a busy one. On 15th October, I’ll be running an online writers’ workshop for the British Fantasy Society, looking at revising your own work. I’ll share examples of ‘before’ and ‘after’ drafts of a piece I wrote some years ago, and discuss the changes I made and why, to highlight the underlying principles of being your own editor. Full details here on the BFS website.

As I imagine you already know, The Green Man’s Quarry will be published on 21st October. You can pre-order paper editions from the Wizard’s Tower Press bookstore (UK only) which includes the ebook free.

You can pre-order ebook editions from your local Amazon, Barnes & Noble Nook in the US and Kobo. Paperback and hardback editions can also now be pre-ordered through Amazon and in the US from Barnes & Noble. Bookshops, chain and independent, should be able to order through their usual wholesalers.

We will be launching the book on the Friday evening before Bristolcon, 20th October, at the Hilton Doubletree hotel, Bristol. By the way, Wizard’s Tower Press are starting their own newsletter as social media fractures. You can sign up here for all their updates.

The first enthusiastic reviews are appearing on Goodreads – spoiler-free, which I very much appreciate.

Alas, I cannot stay to take part in Bristolcon on the Saturday. The diary gremlins have got me good and proper this year. I’ll be travelling to Sheffield to join dear friends as they celebrate a notable anniversary with family and friends, theirs and mine.

Looking further forward, I’ve selected the short stories for my Polestars collection, coming from NewCon Press. Choosing those and writing a short note for each one has been fascinating. More news on that in due course on the NewCon Press website.

Readers may recall the anthology Fight Like a Girl, from Kristell Ink. I’m delighted to say a second volume is on its way. Following extremely helpful feedback from the editors, I’ve revised my story and I am very pleased with it.

I’m currently working on my story for Ampyrium, the shared world project for the American small press ZNB, now that this year’s Kickstarter has funded. The open call for submissions for their other two 2024 anthologies, ‘Familiars’ and ‘Last-ditch’ has started and will run until December 31st. Remember, ZNB are committed to giving debut writers opportunities.

Looking back, long-standing pals may recall the days when I wrote a review column for Albedo One, Ireland’s foremost SFFH magazine, founded in 1993. As with so many genre publications, this has been a labour of love, and as happens for many reasons, the project has reached the end of this particular journey. Issue 50 is the final, valedictory, fiction edition, and that’s an honourable number for such a conclusion. My story is called ‘The End of the Road’, and you can buy the magazine through Amazon here.

Social media update: I’m using Twitter-as-was less and less as it becomes more and more pointless, and I look forward to the day when I can bin it, frankly. You can find me on Facebook at facebook.com/jemck, on Bluesky @julietemckenna.bsky.social, and on Mastodon @JulietEMcKenna@wandering.shop.

And don’t forget, you can sign up for my newsletter here.

The Green Man’s Quarry will be published by Wizard’s Tower Press on 21st October 2023, following our launch on Friday evening 20th October at Bristolcon. Artwork once more by the supremely talented Ben Baldwin.

So what’s this story about? Here’s the cover copy…

“The Green Man sends Daniel Mackmain to stop threats from folklore making trouble in the everyday world. Now a naiad and dryad want him to deal with the big cat they’ve seen prowling in their woods. Reports like this turn up in the tabloid press from time to time, though no one has ever caught such a cat, or even found evidence of a large carnivore’s kills.

Can Dan discover the truth behind this modern myth before social media turns his hunt into an internet sensation? He knows that not all animals are what they seem. A huge cat which can appear and disappear without a trace must be more than meets the eye. Dan knows one thing for certain. He’s on the trail of a killer.’

Pre-orders are open. Here are the links so for. For more buy links as soon as they become available, check the Wizard’s Tower Press website.

You can pre-order ebook editions from:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon AU
Amazon DE
Barnes & Noble (Nook) – USA only
Kobo

ISBNs
Paperback: 978-1-913892-64-7
Hardcover: 978-1-913892-65-4
EPUB: 978-1-913892-62-3
MOBI: 978-1-913892-63-0

Feel free to spread the word!

Cover art – Ben Baldwin