I’M BACK….Many thanks to Laura Rozen and Suzanne Nossel for filling in for me this weekend while I was ignoring the news and hanging out with science fiction geeks at the World Science Fiction Convention. If you liked their stuff, you can find Laura at War and Piece and Suzanne at Democracy Arsenal. They’re both great sites.

Before the weekend slips completely away, though, and we return to weightier subjects, I’m sure you’re all wondering how things went at the WorldCon. The answer is: it was lots of fun and the panels went fine. The 2007 con is in Yokohama, so I don’t think I’ll be going again next year, but 2008 will be in Denver. Maybe I’ll give it another go then.

And who did I meet? Aside from fellow panelists, I got to meet Patrick and Teresa Nielsen Hayden in the flesh for the first time, which was cool, and via the Tor party I also met John Scalzi, who went on to win the John Campbell award for best new writer (as well as third place in the Hugo voting for his novel Old Man’s War); James Patrick Kelly, who took third place in the novella category for “Burn”; Cory Doctorow, who took second place in the novelette category for “I, Robot”; and Kim Stanley Robinson, who wasn’t up for anything this year but has won plenty of Hugos in the past. For those who are interested, here’s the complete list of Hugo winners this year:

  • Novel: Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson

  • Novella: “Inside Job,” by Connie Willis

  • Novelette: “Two Hearts,” by Peter S. Beagle

  • Short Story: “Tk’tk’tk,” by David D. Levine

  • Related Book: Storyteller: Writing Lessons and More from 27 Years of the Clarion Writers’ Workshop, by Kate Wilhelm

  • Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: Serenity

  • Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: Doctor Who (“The Empty Child” and “The Doctor Dances”)

  • Professional Editor: David G. Hartwell

  • Pro Artist: Donato Giancola

  • Semiprozine: Locus

  • Fanzine: Plokta

  • Fan Writer: Dave Langford

  • Fan Artist: Frank Wu

  • John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer: John Scalzi

That’s it for science fiction for the moment ? though if anyone happens to know why Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys was withdrawn from consideration in the novel category, I’d be interested in hearing the story.

I’ll be back Monday morning with the usual serious stuff. See you then.

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