…more about Obsession: Tales of Irresistible Desire, including the Introduction to the anthology.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America have announced the nominees for the 2011 Nebula Awards (presented 2012). Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti, Genevieve Valentine is among them.

Novels-SF: Heart of Iron, Ekaterina Sedia
First Novels: Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti, Genevieve Valentine
Collections: When the Great Days Come, Gardner Dozois and Somewhere Beneath Those Waves, Sarah Monette
Anthologies-Reprints/Bests: The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror: 2011, ed. Guran and The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy: 2011, ed. Horton

Prime Books published 17 titles in 2011; six made the list: apx. 35%. How does that compare to other publishers? Well when you publish 228 sf/f titles like Random House, even having 16 (the top number from one house) is only about a 17% rate and not a fair comparison. Among independent/specialty presses, the percentages (rounded) are:

• Small Beer (4 of 8=50%)
• Aqueduct (3 of 9=33%)
• Tachyon (3 of 10=30%)
• Night Shade (12 of 42=28%)
• Subterranean (5 of 53=10%)

We suspect PS Publishing has a high percentage with five titles recommended, but Locus did not report the total number of books published in 2011.

Genevieve Valentine was named winner of the 2012 William L. Crawford Fantasy Award for her 2011 novel Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti. (print / e-book)

The award, which includes a cash prize, is presented annually at the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, and is designated for an exceptionally promising writer whose first fantasy book was published the preceding year. Prior winners include Jonathan Lethem, Charles de Lint, Greer Gilman, Judith Tarr, Kij Johnson, Joe Hill, M. Rickert, Daryl Gregory, Christopher Barzak, Jedediah Berry and, last year, Karen Lord.

Congratulations as well for to other fine nominees: Erin Morgenstern for The Night Circus, Téa Obreht for The Tiger’s Wife, Stina Leicht for Of Blood and Honey, and Ransom Riggs for Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Those participating in the selection included Stacie Hanes, Niall Harrison, Ellen Klages, Kelly Link, Cheryl Morgan, Graham Sleight, and Paul Witcover.

The 2012 International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts will take place March 21-25 in Orlando FL. Further details are at www.iafa.org.

• “Hair” by Joan Aiken (The Monkey’s Wedding & Other Stories / F&SF July/August)
• “Rakshasi” by Kelley Armstrong (The Monster’s Corner: Through Inhuman Eyes)
• “Walls of Paper, Soft as Skin” by Adam Callaway (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue #73, July 14, 2011)
• “The Lake” by Tananarive Due (The Monster’s Corner: Through Inhuman Eyes)
• “Tell Me I’ll See You Again” by Dennis Etchison (A Book of Horrors)
• “King Death” Paul Finch (King Death)
• “The Last Triangle” by Jeffrey Ford (Supernatural Noir)
• Near Zennor by Elizabeth Hand (A Book of Horrors)
• “Crossroads” by Laura Anne Gilman (Fantasy, Aug 2011)
• “After-Words” by Glen Hirshberg (The Janus Tree and Other Stories)
• “Rocket Man” by Stephen Graham Jones (Stymie, Vol. 4. Issue 1, Spring & Summer 2011)
• “The Maltese Unicorn” by Caitlin R. Kiernan (Supernatural Noir)
• “The Dune” by Stephen King (Granta 117)
• “Catastrophic Disruption of the Head” by Margo Lanagan (The Wilful Eye: Tales from the Tower, Vol. 1)
• “The Bleeding Shadow” by Joe R. Lansdale (Down These Strange Streets)
• “Why Light?” by Tanith Lee (Teeth)
• “Conservation of Shadows” by Yoon Ha Lee (Clarkesworld, August 2011)
• A Tangle of Green Men, Charles de Lint (Welcome to Bordertown)
• “After the Apocalypse” by Maureen McHugh (After the Apocalypse)
• “Why Do You Linger?” by Sarah Monette (Subterranean #8)
• “Lord Dunsany’s Teapot” Naomi Novik (The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities)
• “Mysteries of the Old Quarter” by Paul Park (Ghosts by Gaslight)
• Vampire Lake, by Norman Partridge (Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy 2)
• “A Journey of Only Two Paces” by Tim Powers (The Bible Repairman and Other Stories)
• “Four Legs in the Morning” by Norman Prentiss (Four Legs in the Morning)
• “The Fox Maiden” by Priya Sharma (On Spec, Summer 2011)
• “Time and Tide” by Alan Peter Ryan (F&SF, Sept/Oct 2011)
• “Sun Falls” by Angela Slatter (Dead Red Heart)
• “Still” by Tia V. Travis (Portents)
• “Objects in Dreams May Be Closer Than They Appear” by Lisa Tuttle (House of Fear)
• “The Bread We Eat in Dreams” by Catherynne M. Valente (Apex Magazine, Issue 30, November 2011)
• “All You Can Do Is Breathe” by Kaaron Warren (Blood & Other Cravings)
• “Josh” by Gene Wolfe (Portents)