2008 Gaylactic Spectrum Awards

Gaylactic Spectrum Awards
PO Box 73602
Washington, DC 20056-3602
info@spectrumawards.org
http://www.spectrumawards.org/

For Immediate Release
January 29, 2009
Contact: Rob Gates


Washington DC: -- The Gaylactic Spectrum Awards Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the 2008 Gaylactic Spectrum Awards. The Gaylactic Spectrum Awards were created in 1999 by The Gaylactic Network, the premiere organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) fans of science fiction, fantasy, and horror (SF/F/H), to honor works in SF/F/H that deal positively with gay characters, themes and issues. The independent Gaylactic Spectrum Awards Foundation was created in 2002 to manage and further the mission of the awards, which is to educate and raise awareness of GLBT content in SF/F/H. Nominations for the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards are open to everyone. Winners and a short list of recommended works in each category are selected by a jury. The 2008 Awards were presented in three categories – Best Novel, Best Short Fiction, and Best Other Work - for works originally appearing in calendar year 2007.

The novel selected by the judges as the best science fiction, fantasy or horror novel with significant positive GLBT content from 2007 was Wicked Gentlemen, by Ginn Hale, published by new independent publisher Blind Eye Books. This atmospheric novel combined unique fantasy elements with theology and mystery and incorporated complex emotional and relationship content between its two main characters. This was author Ginn Hale’s first novel, and the first title published by Blind Eye.

The work chosen as the winner in the short fiction category was Ever So Much More Than Twenty by Joshua Lewis from the anthology So Fey, available from Prime Books. This story of a man’s realization that middle age does not preclude the magic of love from one’s life was rich and sweet. Much like the Best Novel winner, this was the author’s first published story.

Other novels recommended on the judges’ short list were Daughters of the North, by Sarah Hall (Harper Perennial); Ha’Penny, by Jo Walton (Tor); Hero, by Perry Moore (Hyperion); Hex, by Darieck Scott (Carroll & Graf); Ink, by Hal Duncan (Del Rey); Lady Knight, by LJ Baker (Bold Strokes Books); Spaceman Blues, by Brian Francis Slattery (Tor); Vintage, by Steve Berman (Lethe Press); and three novels by Elizabeth Bear – a first for the awards – Dust (Ace), New Amsterdam (Subterranean Press/Far Territories), and Whiskey & Water (Roc). Short Fiction short list titles include three additional titles from the So Fey anthology – A Bird of Ice by Craig Gidney, Charming: A Tale of True Love by Cassandra Clare and Ruby deBrazier, and The Coat of Stars by Holly Black; four titles from the anthology Alleys and Doorways from Torquere Press – The Reflection of Love by Julia Talbot, Side Effects by M. Decker, The Steel Anniversary by Valerie Lewis, and Were by JoSelle Vanderhooft; Bittersweet, by Steve Berman (Endicott Studios); Dancing on the Head of a Pin by Kiernan Kelly (Torquere); Dividing the Sustain by James Patrick Kelly from the anthology New Space Opera (Eos); The Healing by Leigh Ellwood (Phaze); Medusa’s Touch by Catherine Lundoff from the anthology Crave: Tales of Lust, Love and Longing (Lethe Press); and Prime Suspect by K S Augustin (Total-E-Bound). These recommended works show remarkable variety in content, tone, publishing house size, author experience, and genre.

In the Best Other Work category – for works that do not fit in either of the two other categories - the judges identified the following recommended works: the comic book series 52 by Greg Rucka, Grant Morrison and others (DC Comics), the comic book series Buffy Season 8 by Joss Whedon and others (Dark Horse) and the comic book series Y The Last Man by Brian Vaughn, Pia Guerra and others (Vertigo/DC); the television show Torchwood (BBC) and the special episode of the television series Battlestar Galactica, Razor (Universal/Sci-Fi Channel); the films Socket (Dark Blue Films) and Stardust (Paramount); and the anthologies So Fey: Queer Faery Fiction edited by Steve Berman (Prime Books) and Alleys and Doorways edited by Meredith Schwartz (Torquere Press).

The 2008 Gaylactic Spectrum Awards were presented at Gaylaxicon 2008 in Washington DC on October 11, 2008 at a banquet celebrating ten years of award winners. Winners in the Best Novel and Best Short Fiction category receive physical awards and a cash prize. The 2009 Awards will be presented at Gaylaxicon 2009 in Minneapolis MN in October 2009.

For more information about the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards, including a complete listing of all nominated works from 2008, a handout listing winners and short list recommendations with brief descriptions, or to nominate works for the 2009 Gaylactic Spectrum Awards, you can visit the website at http://www.spectrumawards.org/ or send email to info@spectrumawards.org.

Gaylactic Spectrum Awards
PO Box 73602
Washington, DC 20056-3602
www.spectrumawards.org