Barb and I attended the John W. Campbell Memorial Award and Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award Banquet at the University of Kansas (our alma mater) in Lawrence on the 8th.  A cancelled flight made us forty-five minutes late, and we almost decided it would be rude to walk in just as everyone was having dessert . . . but we wound up doing just that.

     And we were glad we did.  After dinner, Professor James E. Gunn (the most influential instructor I ever had) announced that my novella "Sergeant Chip" was the winner of the 2005 Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best short science fiction of 2004.

     For almost a year, I had planned to attend the 2005 Campbell Conference (and the Award Banquet) so I could join other students, former students, and colleagues in thanking Prof. Gunn for his many contributions to the field of speculative literature.  Then "Sergeant Chip" made the list of finalists for the Sturgeon Award, but I didn't allow myself to hope it would win -- especially after I saw a preliminary schedule for the Conference that included a reading slot for "Bradley Denton" and a separate reading slot for "Sturgeon Award Winner."  That was pretty good evidence, I thought, that my story hadn't finished first.

     So when Prof. Gunn announced that "Sergeant Chip" had won, it was a complete surprise . . . which was what Prof. Gunn and Conference organizer Chris McKitterick had hoped for, since they usually have to tell the winners in advance in order to bring them to Lawrence.

    Afterward, though, Chris said that he'd been pretty worried when I hadn't shown up on time.  Half an hour into the meal, he'd gone to Prof. Gunn and whispered, "I knew we should've told him!"

    The rest of the weekend was jam-packed with discussions, readings, and socializing.  After Friday evening, the highlight for me was hearing Prof. Gunn read from his novel-in-progress on Saturday -- a novel that begins with a vivid nail-biter of a scene aboard a sabotaged space elevator.  It was terrific.

    I still have a lot to learn from Jim Gunn.

                   #

    P.S. The winner of the 2005 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel of 2004 was Market Forces by Richard K. Morgan.

    To read a news release about the 2005 Campbell and Sturgeon Awards (and to see a few of Keith Stokes' photos from the Banquet), click here.

    You can see more of Keith's Banquet photos in this Midamericon.org gallery.   

    And to learn more about the Campbell Conference, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, visit the website of the J. Wayne and Elsie M. Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction.

July 15-17, 2005:

Conestoga 9

    The weekend after the Campbell Conference, I was Toastmaster at Conestoga 9, a great science-fiction convention in Tulsa.  The Guest of Honor was George R.R. Martin; the Artist Guest of Honor was Brad W. Foster; and the Fan Guests of Honor were Margene Bahm, Paula Helm Murray, and James J. Murray -- all of whom are old friends and/or heroes of mine.  So I had a wonderful time telling vast PowerPoint-assisted lies about them at Opening Ceremonies.

    Special thanks to K.D. Wentworth, Melissa Tatum, Randy Farran, and Elspeth Bloodgood on the Conestoga 9 committee.  Special thanks, too, to the Kansas City and Austin friends I talked into coming to Tulsa for the weekend:  Ken Keller, Terry Matz, Howard Waldrop, Bud Simons, Caroline Spector, and Warren Spector.  And extra-special thanks to Barb Denton, without whom the whole PowerPoint thing would have augered in like a burning biplane.

    The convention was a blast.  Take a look at the photos at Midamericon.org.

August 7, 2005:

"Sergeant Chip" Doesn't Win Hugo Award

    "Sergeant Chip" came in second on the Hugo novella ballot.  The winner was "The Concrete Jungle" by Charles Stross -- a great story by a great writer, so I'm happy.

    Besides, I hear that Mr. Stross was required to wear a kilt when he accepted the award.  And I don't have the legs for that.

                                          #

    P.S. A month later, I receive a 3.25-inch consolation prize -- a Hugo-like memento given to all of this year's nominees by next year's Worldcon, L.A.con IV (see image at left).  It was forwarded to me by Fantasy & Science Fiction editor Gordon Van Gelder (who first bought and published "Sergeant Chip").  Thank you, L.A.con; thank you, Gordon.

August 19-21, 2005:

ArmadilloCon 27

    Ever since Barb and I moved to Austin in 1988, ArmadilloCon has been our hometown convention -- and as luck would have it, it's one of the finest literary science-fiction conventions in the nation. 

    This year the Guest of Honor was Charles Stross; the Editor Guest was Jim Minz; the Artist Guest was Ctein; the Fan Guests were Jim and Laurie Mann; and the Special Guest was Sean McMullan.  Of course, there was the typical long 'dilloCon list of who's-who-in-science-fiction-and-fantasy in attendance as well.

    As usual, I didn't get to spend more than thirty seconds talking to anyone, unless it was on a panel.  I had especially been hoping for a chance to chat a bit with Charles Stross -- but only managed to say hello for five seconds on Friday and to have a twenty-second conversation with him on Sunday as we were going into the Howard Waldrop reading.  But then someone else spoke to me; I turned and responded; and when I turned back, Mr. Stross was gone.  Which is one of the things that happens at any convention.

    One thing that happens at ArmadilloCon, in particular, is the Saturday-night Dance.  In 2003 and 2004, the rock'n'roll band Two-Headed Baby provided the music; in previous years, the blues band Ax Nelson did the gig.  This year, since I play drums for both bands, we combined personnel and called the group Baby Face Nelson.  (Read more about Two-Headed Baby, Ax Nelson, and Baby Face Nelson in Music.)

    We also had two guest guitarists:  Artist David Lee Anderson and Editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden.  That gave us a grand total of seven guitars -- and needless to say, we blew the roof off the joint.

September 7, 2005: 

Science Fiction Weekly  Interview 

    Dorman T. Shindler conducted an interview with me several weeks ago . . . and today, it was posted in Science Fiction Weekly on SciFi.com.  It's at 

              www.scifi.com/sfw/issue437/interview.html

October 16-27, 2005:

25th-Anniversary Vacation in Prague

    This "2005 Wrapup" page is mainly for noting some of the year's professional highlights . . . but the Prague trip was a big deal for me and Barb, so I wanted to mention it here anyway.  You can read more about it in my Blog.

Earlier in 2005:

    Since I didn't begin work on this website until October, I started the "News" (currently "2005 Wrapup") page with my account of July's Campbell Conference.  But a few things happened between January and June, too . . . so for this December 1 update, here are some brief notes from the first half of the year:

    March:  I spent several days serving on a jury in a civil suit in U.S. District Court in Austin.  From the beginning, it was sadly obvious which way the case was going to go . . . so it was a relief when the judge threw it out after the Plaintiffs rested.  The Defense would have mopped the courtroom floor with them if His Honor hadn't mercifully put a stop to it.  The Plaintiffs had suffered a tragedy, and somebody owed them something . . . but it wasn't the Defendants.

    May:  Barb and I drove to Kansas City on Memorial Day weekend to attend ConQuesT 36 (which featured Guest of Honor Joe Haldeman and Toastmaster George R.R. Martin).  ConQuesT was our hometown science-fiction convention before we moved to Austin, so it was a huge kick to go back and see all our old friends.  It was also sobering to meet a lot of new writers and fans who had no idea who the heck I was.  (Time marches on, trampling the sluggish.)  Highlights included spending time with long-lost pals Robin & Diana Bailey, Ken Keller & Terry Matz, Jim & Paula Murray & Margene Bahm, and others too numerous to mention.  Another highlight was James Hollaman's RoomCon party, where the Musical Guest was Bland Lemon Denton (see Music ).

    June:  I attended ApolloCon 2 (which featured Guest of Honor Robert J. Sawyer) in Houston the weekend of June 24-26, and it was great.  There was a lot of energy in the air, and the panel discussions and parties were lively.  Friends and colleagues I encountered at ApolloCon included Martha Wells, Selina Rosen, A.T. Campbell, Willie Siros, M.T. Reiten (who threw a swell Conestoga promotion party), and Raymund Eich -- who was one of the writers at the Clarion West workshop when I taught there in 2001.  So I was really glad I put ApolloCon on my schedule, even though it meant driving on the Road-Warrior-esque tollways of Houston.