"Gemmell Award-nominated Tim Stretton"
Yes, you heard it here first: The Dog of the North has been nominated for an award - the inaugural David Gemmell Legend Award for Fantasy. Fantasy novels published in 2008 are eligible.
As you might imagine, this is rather less impressive than it sounds. Not because the Gemmell Award isn't an excellent thing (there is certainly a gap in the market for an award recognising fantasy as separate to science-fiction) or because there are no good books on the list (it includes A-listers like Joe Abercrombie, Richard Morgan and Steven Erikson), but because the nomination criteria aren't exactly rigorous. If your book meets the eligibility criteria, and your publisher puts it forward, you're on the longlist, which currently stands at about 60. This will be whittled down to a shortlist of five by a public vote (i.e. you, gentle reader, can vote for it) after Christmas.
Despite the low bar over which I've had to leap to get onto the list, it's still very pleasant to be nominated for a prize--particularly one as good as the Gemmell Award. When voting opens, be assured you'll read it here first! (along with extensive instructions on how to register your vote...).
Meanwhile, progress on The Last Free City continues apace. After my "spreadsheet moment" at the weekend, I've been able to put the resulting clarity to good use. New scenes and relationships, conflicts expected and unexpected, are springing forth with a long-forgotten fecundity. If there's a lesson here, it's to plot the next one a damn sight more tightly before I kick off...
Yes, you heard it here first: The Dog of the North has been nominated for an award - the inaugural David Gemmell Legend Award for Fantasy. Fantasy novels published in 2008 are eligible.
As you might imagine, this is rather less impressive than it sounds. Not because the Gemmell Award isn't an excellent thing (there is certainly a gap in the market for an award recognising fantasy as separate to science-fiction) or because there are no good books on the list (it includes A-listers like Joe Abercrombie, Richard Morgan and Steven Erikson), but because the nomination criteria aren't exactly rigorous. If your book meets the eligibility criteria, and your publisher puts it forward, you're on the longlist, which currently stands at about 60. This will be whittled down to a shortlist of five by a public vote (i.e. you, gentle reader, can vote for it) after Christmas.
Despite the low bar over which I've had to leap to get onto the list, it's still very pleasant to be nominated for a prize--particularly one as good as the Gemmell Award. When voting opens, be assured you'll read it here first! (along with extensive instructions on how to register your vote...).
Meanwhile, progress on The Last Free City continues apace. After my "spreadsheet moment" at the weekend, I've been able to put the resulting clarity to good use. New scenes and relationships, conflicts expected and unexpected, are springing forth with a long-forgotten fecundity. If there's a lesson here, it's to plot the next one a damn sight more tightly before I kick off...
3 comments:
Hi, Tim
Any nomination for an award is a good thing, especially with an award associated with a fantasy legend - so congratulations (keeping my fingers crossed that it turns into something more than just a nomination!).
Wonderful--and well-deserved!
I assume you will let us know when and where to vote?
You betcha!
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