Sunday, November 4, 2007

2007 World Fantasy Award Nominees

Location: World Fantasy Convention, Saratoga Springs, New York.

Comments: 2007 was a banner year for fantasy author Mary Rickert, who writes under the name "M. Rickert". She won two World Fantasy Awards in the categories of Best Short Fiction and Best Collection, and earned another nomination in the Best Novella category. Mary Rickert is clearly one of the elite of the fantasy fiction writing world, capable of turning out high quality and marketable work. And yet, the name she writes under is an indication of the lingering sexism of the publishing world. As a rule of thumb, whenever a woman uses her initials in place of her full name, she is doing it because her publisher thinks that having a woman's name on the cover of a book will depress sales. The use of initials by C.J. Cherryh, A.S. King, C.S. Friedman, P.D. James, and yes, M. Rickert, are a testament to this sad reality.

Best Novel

Winner:
Soldier of Sidon by Gene Wolfe

Other Nominees:
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
Lisey's Story by Stephen King
The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden by Catherynne M. Valente
The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner

Best Novella

Winner:
Botch Town by Jeffrey Ford

Other Nominees:
Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge
The Lineaments of Gratified Desire by Ysabeau S. Wilce
The Man Who Got Off the Ghost Train by Kim Newman
Map of Dreams by M. Rickert

Best Short Fiction

Winner:
Journey Into the Kingdom by M. Rickert

Other Nominees:
Another Word for Map is Faith by Christopher Rowe
Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter (Fantasy) by Geoff Ryman
A Siege of Cranes by Benjamin Rosenbaum
The Way He Does It by Jeffrey Ford

Best Anthology

Winner:
Salon Fantastique edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

Other Nominees:
Cross Plains Universe: Texans Celebrate Robert E. Howard edited by Scott A. Cupp and Joe R. Lansdale
Firebirds Rising edited by Sharyn November
Retro Pulp Tales edited by Joe R. Lansdale
Twenty Epics edited by David Moles and Susan Marie Groppi

Best Collection

Winner:
Map of Dreams by M. Rickert

Other Nominees:
American Morons by Glen Hirshberg
The Empire of Ice Cream by Jeffrey Ford
The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke
Red Spikes by Margo Lanagan

Lifetime Achievement

Winner:
Betty Ballantine
Diana Wynne Jones

Other Nominees:
None

Best Artist

Winner:
Shaun Tan

Other Nominees:
Jon Foster
Edward Miller
John Picacio
Jill Thompson

Special Award, Professional

Winner:
Ellen Asher

Other Nominees:
Mark Finn
Deanna Hoak
Greg Ketter
Leonard S. Marcus

Special Award, Non-Professional

Winner:
Gary K. Wolfe

Other Nominees:
Leo Grin
Susan Marie Groppi
Leslie Howle
John Klima

Go to previous year's nominees: 2006
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 2008

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