“It wasn’t an obvious Arthur C Clarke winner – it’s not from a science fiction publisher but from a small Scottish press. But I don’t think anyone was surprised it was nominated. It really is a very good book and it has found a real audience in the science fiction readership. It offers a route into dealing with quite serious issues, about science, about maternity and about making choices,” Clarke Award organiser Tom Hunter, quoted in the Guardian article on the award.

The book had been longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, one of the major literary awards in UK publishing, but failed to make the shortlist – hardly surprising since the Booker, while technically open to all forms of fiction, regularly remains resolutely determined to ignore anything which may have the slightest tang of genre (I’ve read very good Booker winners, I’ve also read very good SF or Crime novels that I thought better that never made the list – no wonder we need our own genre friendly awards…). So never mind the usual literary snobbery against genre from the Booker, the Clarke judges, who had to endure a very rude public tirade from certain quarters this year, have picked out some unusual and deserving work to be highlighted and celebrated. Well done to Jane and to Sandstone for the win. And, as ever, for any of you looking for more good reading tips I’d point you to any and all of the shortlisted books on the Clarke award as good starting points.

Alois Nebel by Jaroslav Rudiš and Jaromír 99 (Translation: Eva Profousová. Verlag Voland & Quist)

Alte Meister by Nicolas Mahler, adapted from Thomas Bernhard (Suhrkamp Verlag)

Annas Paradies by Daniel Schreiber (Splitter Verlag)

Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli (Translation: Thomas Pletzinger. Eichborn Verlag)

Aufzeichnungen aus Jerusalem by Guy Delisle (Translation: Martin Budde. Reprodukt)

Baby Blues by Rick Kirkman und Jerry Scott (Translation: Michael Bregel. Bulls Press / Achterbahn im Lappan Verlag)

Castro by Reinhard Kleist (Carlsen Verlag)

Das tapfere Prinzlein und die sieben Zwergbären by Émile Bravo (Translation: Ulrich Pröfrock. Carlsen Verlag)

Dédé – Eriks Detektiv Deschamps by Erik (Epsilon Verlag) > nominated by the audience

Der Mann, der seinen Bart wachsen ließ by Olivier Schrauwen (Translation: Helge Lethi. Reprodukt)

Der Staub der Ahnen by Felix Pestemer (avant-verlag)

Die Ballade von Seemann und Albatros by Nick Hayes (Translation: Henning Ahrens. mareverlag)

Essex County by Jeff Lemire (Translation: Thomas Schützinger. Edition 52)

Fennek by Lewis Trondheim and Yoann (Translation: Kai Wilksen. Reprodukt)

Fünftausend Kilometer in der Sekunde by Manuele Fior (Translation: Maya della Pietra. avant-verlag)

Gaza by Joe Sacco (Translation: Christoph Schuler. Edition Moderne)

Grablicht by Daniela Winkler (Droemer Knaur) > nominated by the audience
Haarmann by Peer Meter and Isabel Kreitz (Carlsen Verlag)

Lou! by Julien Neel (Translation: Thomas Schöner. Tokyopop)

Packeis by Simon Schwartz (avant-verlag)

Pluto by Naoki Urasawa adapted from Osamu Tezuka. Co-Author: Takashi Nagasaki (Translation: Jürgen Seebeck. Carlsen Verlag)

Riekes Notizen by Barbara Yelin (Frankfurter Rundschau)

Schöne Töchter by Flix (Der Tagesspiegel)

Summer Wars by Mamoru Hosoda, Iqura Sugimoto and Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Translation: Nadine Stutterheim. Carlsen Verlag)

The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn (Translation: Marc-Oliver Frisch. Cross Cult) > nominated by the audience

Twenty two of the shortlist nominees were selected by a jury, three by public vote. The special Max und Moritz Lifetime Achievement Award goes to a long-time favourite of mine, the great Lorenzo Mattotti; of the Italian maestro’s work the award organisers said his “genre-crossing body of work is one of the most influential and versatile in comics today.”

Great to see Mattotti honoured and also to see a good mix in the main shortlist of translated work and original German language titles – how nice to see an award that will consider Robert Kirkman, Lewis Trondheim, Olivier Schrauwen, Émile Bravo, Reinhard Kleist, Jeff Lemire and Guy Delisle in the same ballot, that’s a pretty diverse list. Also rather chuffed for debut graphic novelist Nick Hayes – I really enjoyed Nick’s huge Rime of the Modern Mariner published by Cape last year and was delighted to get to meet him in person at the Edinburgh Book Festival, now I see his work is also on the Max und Moritz shortlist, not bad for a first graphic novel!

(Nick Hayes, on the left, with William Goldsmith at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival, pic from my Flickr)

Other awards to contend for on the night include “Best German Comic”, “Best International Comic”, “Best Comic-Strip”, “Best German Comics Artist”, “Best Student Comics Publication” and “Best Children’s Comic”. This year’s “Max und Moritz” Gala will be hosted by Hella von Sinnen and Christian Gasser, the winners being announced at the 15th Erlangen International Comic Salon on June 8th. (thanks to my colleague Iz for translating and clarifying some pieces!)

Best Novel

Among Others by Jo Walton (Tor)
A Dance With Dragons by George R. R. Martin (Bantam Spectra)
Deadline by Mira Grant (Orbit)
Embassytown by China Miéville (Macmillan / Del Rey)

Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey (Orbit)

Best Novella

Countdown by Mira Grant (Orbit)
“The Ice Owl” by Carolyn Ives Gilman (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction November/December 2011)
“Kiss Me Twice” by Mary Robinette Kowal (Asimov’s June 2011)
“The Man Who Bridged the Mist” by Kij Johnson (Asimov’s September/October 2011)
“The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary” by Ken Liu (Panverse 3)
Silently and Very Fast by Catherynne M. Valente (WSFA)

The Hugos continue to include a section celebrating comics works with SF&F elements and, I am rather relieved to see this year it features something other than Girl Genius! And before fans of that popular series take offence, I don’t mean any slight against that comic at all, but for the last few awards it seems to be the only comic those eligible to vote have any knowledge of and some were starting to question if it was really worth having a graphic award segment if those who could vote clearly weren’t reading widely enough in comics to make much of an informed decision (that’s not Girl Genius’s fault of course, but it was becoming depressing given how many other good relevant works there were to consider). This year, however, there are several comics works in the running, including three by major comics talents who also have a track record in genre prose fiction as well: Mike Carey, Bill Willingham and Joe Hill, so it looks as if it is slowly becoming more accepted and considered by Hugo voters:

Best Graphic Story

Digger by Ursula Vernon (Sofawolf Press)
Fables Volume 15: Rose Red by Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham (Vertigo)
Locke & Key Volume 4, Keys to the Kingdom written by Joe Hill, illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW)
Schlock Mercenary: Force Multiplication written and illustrated by Howard Tayler, colors by Travis Walton (The Tayler Corporation)
The Unwritten (Volume 4): Leviathan created by Mike Carey and Peter Gross. Written by Mike Carey, illustrated by Peter Gross (Vertigo)

In the Best Dramatic Presentation (Long form) we have the amusing situation of one of the nominees, Marty Scorcese’s wonderful Hugo, sharing the name of the award it is nominated for. I am a little surprised to see A Game of Thrones in the long form category though – usually TV goes into the short form category (in which this year Doctor Who has not one but three nominations, which is great but I hope it doesn’t split the vote) but in this case they seem to be nominating the entire season rather than a specific episode as is more common with television SF&F. To be honest though with a show like Game of Thrones that probably makes a lot more sense, I think, so fair enough.

Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form)

Captain America: The First Avenger, screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephan McFeely, directed by Joe Johnston (Marvel)
Game of Thrones (Season 1), created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss; written by David Benioff, D. B. Weiss, Bryan Cogman, Jane Espenson, and George R. R. Martin; directed by Brian Kirk, Daniel Minahan, Tim van Patten, and Alan Taylor (HBO)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, screenplay by Steve Kloves; directed by David Yates (Warner Bros.)
Hugo, screenplay by John Logan; directed by Martin Scorsese (Paramount)

Source Code, screenplay by Ben Ripley; directed by Duncan Jones (Vendome Pictures)

Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form)

“The Doctor’s Wife” (Doctor Who), written by Neil Gaiman; directed by Richard Clark (BBC Wales)

“The Drink Tank‘s Hugo Acceptance Speech,” Christopher J Garcia and James Bacon (Renovation)
“The Girl Who Waited” (Doctor Who), written by Tom MacRae; directed by Nick Hurran (BBC Wales)
“A Good Man Goes to War” (Doctor Who), written by Steven Moffat; directed by Peter Hoar (BBC Wales)
“Remedial Chaos Theory” (Community), written by Dan Harmon and Chris McKenna; directed by Jeff Melman (NBC)

And on a personal note all of the FP blog crew run up the geek flag and salute in the direction of a nominee who we’ve been very fortunate to have gracing these pages with some fine reviews and reports: yes, James Bacon, already a Hugo winner, is nominated again. In fact James is nominated four times this year! He’s in the short form Best Dramatic Presentation (it’s the top hat, award voters love a fine chap in a top hat), two in Best Fanzine (for Drink Tank and Journey Planet with Christopher J Garcia) and one in Best Fan Writer. Huge congrats to James for bagging himself such an impressive number of nominations. SF Awards Watch has the full list details, the winners will be announced at Worldcon this summer, best of luck to all nominees.

And this weekend at the annual Eastercon the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) awards were announced, with Christopher Priest winning the Best Novel gong for The Islanders, the excellent Paul Cornell won the Best Short Fiction for The Copenhagen Interpretation (published in Asimov’s – you can read it as a PDF here), Best Art went to Dominic Harman for the cover of Ian Whates’ The Noise Revealed (published Solaris), while the Best Non Fiction award, rather correctly I think, honoured the enormous years-in-the-making new third version of the SF Encyclopedia by John Clute, Dave Langford, Peter Nicholls, Graham Sleight et al on the Gollancz website. Congratulations to all the winners. (via the Ot-2 blog)

I also want to appeal to comics professionals to vote for the book; that means all you artists, writers, inkers, letterers, colourists, shop owners and retail managers. All of you in the comics industry are able to vote and can register here.

Normally, I’m not a great follower of awards; they are open to all sort of bias, groupthink, vagaries of jury and voters. They often reward something people love right now but in time may seem less worthy than others passed over – often raised are Citizen Kane losing out to How Green is my Valley or Raging Bull to Ordinary People. What they do, however, is attract attention to winners, which can have a great commercial value and certainly, for a short time at least, give the nod of artistic merit.

In an English-speaking comics world, the USA is almost monopolistically dominant on a publishing level. Our creators have, of course, done well, with Nick Abadzis, Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Sean Phillips and more winning in recent years, but UK comics publishers have been almost invisible. Only Fanfare have had 3 or 4 nominations, on each occasion for a translation of Japanese material. It could be that Nelson is one of the few comics that you can feel the British stamp on from creator, through subject matter to publisher. A British comic nominated in the most important English-speaking awards.

There isn’t much poetry in commerce; it’s more often than not about promotion irrespective of artistic quality, and winning an award and moreover wanting to win one, as I do, is often more about commerce than art. I think for Nelson though, the impetus to vote for those of us in the UK industry is much more worthy. To those yet to read it, Nelson may appear as just another anthology of comics stories on one level, but on another it’s more – it’s a calling card for a whole industry wanting to come into being as legitimate and sustainable. With no native awards to give our books credence – the once relevant Eagles having dissipated their impact in too many years of disorganisation and the sometimes wild results of an open popular vote – UK comics have had no way of making a book something that could be promoted just as hard as Habibi or the latest Clowes.

Should Nelson win this award, the industry will have that chance.

Given that Nelson is a showcase for the talent of over 50 artists, a win here is something that could help each of those artists – and the building of a comics-making field in the UK – move onwards and upwards. I’m sure all the other nominees are worthy but I would doubt that any is quite as important to as many people as Nelson is, might be, could be.

So, if, like me, you rarely bother to vote, I’d ask you to think again. If you have friends in comics, encourage them to read the book, encourage them to vote for something that is a proxy for voting for the whole of UK comics, A win for Nelson is also a win for NoBrow, SelfMadeHero, Fanfare, Accent UK and others; a win for all the artists involved in the book but also for all those who aren’t. Sometimes that first foot through the door is all you need for the door to swing wide open.

We’ve all been out here waiting, waiting for a long time for a moment to come. Never quite able to bring it into focus, always knowing there will be something that could change things but never able to grasp it or recognise it. We’ve been Joseph Cotton standing alone in the fog of a New York City park waiting for Jennifer Jones to grow up, to change from that childlike sketch into a Portrait of Jennie. It could be UK comics Jennie moment – as she says “I was hurrying, hurrying to grow up” – with your vote cast in the Eisner’s we can all take that next step towards maturity.

Some Nelson reviews:

Rachel Cooke in the Guardian

Jamie Smart in the Guardian

Deborah Vankin in the LA Times Hero Complex

Cara Fielder in Starburst

Johanna in Comics Worth Reading

Richard Bruton on the Forbiddden Planet Blog

Joe Gordon on the Forbidden Planet Blog

Okay, I’ll admit, we do have some biases – we know and are friends with the folks in Blank Slate and many of the writers an artists involved in this very unusual project (an anthology featuring some fifty odd creators but telling the same story, each doing a different date in the life of one woman’s journey from childhood to middle age), but when we raved about this book I hope most of our readers know when we say something is good we mean it, we always try to stay honest in our reviews, regardless of who is involved in a particular book. And it’s not just us – Nelson featured a lot in our extensive guest Best of the Year series with numerous writers and artists picking it out; for my part I thought it the best graphic novel I read last year, describing it as “a fascinating, unusual landmark publication in Brit comics, a moving tale that works not only as a snapshot of a woman’s life but as a snapshot of the finest comics talent working in the UK right now.”.

And I stand by that – it’s a bold experiment that pays off handsomely, as well as a showcase of some of the best comics talent in the UK right now (including many we’ve told you about previously for their own excellent projects) and the profits have been going to homelessness charity Shelter too, so what’s not to love here? If you still haven’t read it then please do – you get a brilliant, award-nominated read and into the bargain you get to support the British independent comics industry and give to charity. And given that the British comics awards, the Eagles, didn’t have a single British entry in the Publisher’s section, despite a bumper year for quality Indy Brit comics publications (for shame), it is even more rewarding to see Nelson being Eisner nominated.

Now those Eisner nominations:

Best Short Story

“A Brief History of the Art Form Known as Hortisculpture,” by Adrian Tomine, in Optic Nerve #12 (Drawn & Quarterly)
“Harvest of Fear,” by Jim Woodring, in The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror #17 (Bongo)
“The Seventh,” by Darwyn Cooke, in Richard Stark’s Parker: The Martini Edition (IDW)
“The Speaker,” by Brandon Graham, in Dark Horse Presents #7 (Dark Horse)

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)

Daredevil #7, by Mark Waid, Paolo Rivera, and Joe Rivera (Marvel)
Ganges #4, by Kevin Huizenga (Fantagraphics)
Locke & Key: Guide to the Known Keys, by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW)
Princeless #3, by Jeremy Whitley and M. Goodwin (Action Lab)
The Unwritten #24: “Stairway to Heaven” by Mike Carey, Peter Gross, and Al Davison (Vertigo/DC)

Best Continuing Series

Daredevil, by Mark Waid, Marcos Martin, Paolo Rivera, and Joe Rivera (Marvel)
Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, by Naoki Urasawa (VIZ Media)
Rachel Rising, by Terry Moore (Abstract Studio)
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli (Marvel)
Usagi Yojimbo, by Stan Sakai (Dark Horse)

Best Limited Series

Atomic Robo and the Ghost of Station X, by Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener (Red 5)
Criminal: The Last of the Innocent, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Marvel Icon)
Flashpoint: Batman – Knight of Vengeance, by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso (Vertigo/DC)
The New York Five, by Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly (Vertigo/DC)
Who Is Jake Ellis? by Nathan Edmondson & Tonci Zonjic (Image)

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 7)

Beauty and the Squat Bears, by Émile Bravo (Yen Press)
Benjamin Bear in Fuzzy Thinking, by Philippe Coudray (Candlewick/Toon Books)
Dragon Puncher Island, by James Kochalka (Top Shelf)

Nursery Rhyme Comics, edited by Chris Duffy (First Second)
Patrick in a Teddy Bear’s Picnic, by Geoffrey Hayes (Candlewick/Toon Books)

Best Publication for Kids (ages 8-12)

The All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold, by Sholly Fisch, Rick Burchett, and Dan Davis (DC)
Amelia Rules: The Meaning of Life … And Other Stuff, by Jimmy Gownley (Atheneum)
The Ferret’s a Foot, by Colleen AF Venable and Stephanie Yue (Graphic Universe/Lerner)
Princeless, by Jeremy Whitley and M. Goodwin (Action Lab)
Snarked, by Roger Langridge (kaboom!)
Zita the Space Girl, by Ben Hatke (First Second)

Best Publication for Young Adults (Ages 12-17)

Anya’s Ghost, by Vera Brosgol (First Second)
Around the World, by Matt Phelan (Candlewick)
Level Up, by Gene Yang and Thien Pham (First Second)
Life with Archie, by Paul Kupperberg, Fernando Ruiz, Pat & Tim Kennedy, Norm Breyfogle et al. (Archie)
Mystic, by G. Willow Wilson and David Lopez (Marvel)

Best Anthology

Dark Horse Presents, edited by Mike Richardson (Dark Horse)
Nelson, edited by Rob Davis and Woodrow Phoenix (Blank Slate)
Nursery Rhyme Comics, edited by Chris Duffy (First Second)
The Someday Funnies, edited by Michel Choquette (Abrams ComicArts)
Yiddishkeit: Jewish Vernacular and the New Land, edited by Harvey Pekar and Paul Buhle (Abrams ComicArts)

Best Humor Publication

The Art of Doug Sneyd: A Collection of Playboy Cartoons (Dark Horse Books)
Chimichanga, by Eric Powell (Dark Horse)
Coffee: It’s What’s for Dinner, by Dave Kellett (Small Fish)
Kinky & Cosy, by Nix (NBM)
Milk & Cheese: Dairy Products Gone Bad, by Evan Dorkin (Dark Horse Books)

Best Digital Comic

Bahrain, by Josh Neufeld, www.cartoonmovement.com/comic/24
Battlepug, by Mike Norton, www.battlepug.com
Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant, by Tony Cliff, www.delilahdirk.com
Outfoxed, by Dylan Meconis, www.dylanmeconis.com/outfoxed
Sarah and the Seed, by Ryan Andrews, www.ryan-a.com/comics/sarahandtheseed01.htm

Best Reality-Based Work

Around the World, by Matt Phelan (Candlewick)
Green River Killer: A True Detective Story, by Jeff Jensen and Jonathan Case (Dark Horse Books)
Marzi: A Memoir, by Marzena Sowa and Sylvain Savoia (Vertigo/DC)
Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, by Shigeru Mizuki (Drawn & Quarterly)
Vietnamerica, by GB Tran (Villard)

Best Graphic Album – New

Bubbles & Gondola, by Renaud Dillies (NBM)
Freeway, by Mark Kalesniko (Fantagraphics)
Habibi, by Craig Thompson (Pantheon)
Ivy, by Sarah Olekysk (Oni)
Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand, adapted by Ramón K. Pérez (Archaia)
One Soul, by Ray Fawkes (Oni)

Best Graphic Album – Reprint

Big Questions, by Anders Nilsen (Drawn & Quarterly)
The Death Ray, by Dan Clowes (Drawn & Quarterly)
Richard Stark’s Parker: The Martini Edition, by Darwyn Cooke (IDW)
WE3: The Deluxe Edition, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (Vertigo/DC)
Zahra’s Paradise, by Amir and Khalil (First Second)

Best Archival Collection/Project – Strips

Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim, by Alex Raymond and Don Moore, edited by Dean Mullaney (IDW/Library of American Comics)
Forgotten Fantasy: Sunday Comics 1900-1915, edited by Peter Maresca (Sunday Press)
Prince Valiant vols. 3-4, by Hal Foster, edited by Kim Thompson (Fantagraphics)
Tarpé Mills’s Miss Fury Sensational Sundays, 1944-1949, edited by Trina Robbins (IDW/Library of American Comics)
Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse vols. 1-2, by Floyd Gottfredson, edited by David Gerstein and Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)

Best Archival Collection/Project – Comic Books

Government Issue: Comics for the People: 1940s-2000s, edited by Richard L. Graham (Abrams ComicArts)
The MAD Fold-In Collection, by Al Jaffee (Chronicle)
PS Magazine: The Best of Preventive Maintenance Monthly, by Will Eisner (Abrams ComicArts)
The Sugar and Spike Archives, vol. 1, by Sheldon Mayer (DC)
Walt Simonson’s The Mighty Thor Artist’s Edition (IDW)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material

Bubbles & Gondola, by Renaud Dillies (NBM)
Isle of 100,000 Graves, by Fabien Vehlmann and Jason (Fantagraphics)
Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot, by Jacques Tardi and Jean-Patrick Manchette (Fantagraphics)

The Manara Library, vol. 1: Indian Summer and Other Stories, by Milo Manara with Hugo Pratt (Dark Horse Books)
Night Animals: A Diptych About What Rushes Through the Bushes, by Brecht Evens (Top Shelf)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material – Asia

A Bride’s Story, by Kaoru Mori (Yen Press)
Drops of God, by Tadashi Agi and Shu Okimoto (Vertical)
Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, by Shigeru Mizuki (Drawn & Quarterly)
Saturn Apartments, vols. 3-4, by Hisae Iwaoka (VIZ Media)
Stargazing Dog, by Takashi Murakami (NBM)
Wandering Son, vol. 1, by Shimura Takako (Fantagraphics)

Best Writer

Cullen Bunn, The Sixth Gun (Oni)
Mike Carey, The Unwritten (Vertigo/DC)
Jeff Jensen, Green River Killer: A True Detective Story (Dark Horse Books)
Jeff Lemire, Animal Man, Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown, Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. (DC); Sweet Tooth (Vertigo/DC)
Mark Waid, Irredeemable, Incorruptible (BOOM!); Daredevil (Marvel)

Best Writer/Artist

Rick Geary, The Lives of Sacco and Vanzetti (NBM)
Terry Moore, Rachel Rising (Abstract Studio)
Sarah Oleksyk, Ivy (Oni)
Craig Thompson, Habibi (Pantheon)
Jim Woodring, Congress of the Animals (Fantagraphics), “Harvest of Fear,” in The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror #17 (Bongo)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team

Michael Allred, iZombie (Vertigo/DC); Madman All-New Giant-Size Super-Ginchy Special (Image)
Ramón K. Pérez, Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand (Archaia)
Chris Samnee, Captain America and Bucky, Ultimate Spider-Man #155 (Marvel)
Marcos Martin, Daredevil (Marvel)
Paolo Rivera/Joe Rivera, Daredevil (Marvel)

Best Cover Artist

Michael Allred, iZombie (Vertigo/DC)
Francesco Francavilla, Black Panther (Marvel); Lone Ranger, Lone Ranger/Zorro, Dark Shadows, Warlord of Mars (Dynamite); Archie Meets Kiss (Archie)
Victor Kalvachev, Blue Estate (Image)
Marcos Martin, Daredevil, Amazing Spider-Man (Marvel)
Sean Phillips, Criminal: The Last of the Innocent (Marvel Icon)
Yuko Shimizu, The Unwritten (Vertigo/DC)

Best Coloring

Laura Allred, iZombie (Vertigo/DC); Madman All-New Giant-Size Super-Ginchy Special (Image)
Bill Crabtree, The Sixth Gun (Oni)
Ian Herring and Ramón K. Pérez, Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand (Archaia)
Victor Kalvachev, Blue Estate (Image)
Cris Peter, Casanova: Avaritia, Casanova: Gula (Marvel Icon)

Best Lettering

Deron Bennett, Billy Fog, Jim Henson’s Dark Crystal, Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand, Mr. Murder Is Dead (Archaia); Helldorado, Puss N Boots, Richie Rich (APE Entertainment)
Jimmy Gownley, Amelia Rules! The Meaning of Life … And Other Stuff (Atheneum)
Laura Lee Gulledge, Page by Paige (Amulet Books/Abrams)
Tom Orzechowski, Manara Library, with L. Lois Buholis(Dark Horse); Manga Man (Houghton Mifflin); Savage Dragon (Image)
Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo (Dark Horse)

Best Comics-Related Journalism

The AV Club Comics Panel, by Noel Murray, Oliver Sava et al., www.avclub.com/features/comics-panel/
The Beat, produced by Heidi MacDonald et al., www.comicsbeat.com
The Comics Journal, edited by Gary Groth, and The Comics Journal website, www.tcj.com, edited by Timothy Hodler and Dan Nadel (Fantagraphics)
The Comics Reporter, produced by Tom Spurgeon, www.comicsreporter.com
TwoMorrows Publications: Alter Ego edited by Roy Thomas, Back Issue edited by Michael Eury, Draw edited by Mike Manley, and Jack Kirby Collector edited by John Morrow

Best Educational/Academic Work

Alan Moore: Conversations, ed. by Eric Berlatsky (University Press of Mississippi)
Cartooning: Philosophy & Practice, by Ivan Brunetti (Yale University Press)
Critical Approaches to Comics: Theories and Methods, edited by Matthew J. Smith and Randy Duncan (Routledge)
Hand of Fire: The Comics Art of Jack Kirby, by Charles Hatfield (University Press of Mississippi)
Projections: Comics and the History of 21st Century Storytelling, by Jared Gardner (Stanford University Press)

Best Comics-Related Book

Archie: A Celebration of America’s Favorite Teenagers, edited by Craig Yoe (IDW/Yoe Books)
Caniff: A Visual Biography, edited by Dean Mullaney (IDW/Library of American Comics)
Drawing Power: A Compendium of Cartoon Advertising, edited by Rick Marschall and Warren Bernard (Fantagraphics/Marschall Books)
Genius Isolated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth, designed by Dean Mullaney (IDW/Library of American Comics)
MetaMaus, by Art Spiegelman (Pantheon)

Best Publication Design

Genius Isolated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth, designed by Dean Mullaney (IDW/Library of American Comics)
Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand, designed by Eric Skillman (Archaia)
Kinky & Cosy, designed by Nix (NBM)
The MAD Fold-In Collection, designed by Michael Morris (Chronicle)
Richard Stark’s Parker: The Martini Edition, designed by Darwyn Cooke (IDW)

Greg Bear, Hull Zero Three (Gollancz)

Drew Magary, The End Specialist (Harper Voyager)

China Miéville, Embassytown (Macmillan)

Jane Rogers, The Testament of Jessie Lamb (Sandstone Press)

Charles Stross, Rule 34 (Orbit)

Sheri S.Tepper, The Waters Rising (Gollancz)

I haven’t read all six yet, although I have managed to take in several of them; again, looking at the longer list of books that were put forward for consideration – some sixty-odd novels from large and Indy publishers alike, including such authors as Christopher Priest, Neal Asher, Dan Abnett, Gary Gibson, David Goyer,  Al Ewing, Greg Egan, Stephen Baxter, James Lovegrove, Simon Ings, TC McCarthy, Sarah Pinborough, Justina Robson and Adam Roberts among them – I really do not envy the panel of judges trying to whittle that down to a final shortlist of six nominees, let alone pick a single winner (which will be announced on May 2nd in partnership with Sci-Fi London.

Still, it isn’t a genre award until someone starts arguing about it, is it? And this year it seems to have gone beyond the usual carping about someone’s personal favourites not being picked (which we could all do, I see some I loved which didn’t make the final cut, but that’s how it goes) and descended into a much harsher criticism which comes from no less a figure than highly respected and gifted writer Christopher Priest. Now of course there is always debate over award nominations – why was this author’s book chosen over that one? – but with either a panel of judges or a public voting approach you still rely on personal, subjective taste at the end of the day. We can all talk about trying to cast a critical eye over the works in terms of plot construction, use of language, structure, how well the writer creates a character and so on, but let’s be honest, while anyone giving serious consideration to their reading will take those elements into account, a large part of their choices will be made simply because a work connects to them in a personal and so totally subjective way. It’s taste. And while I respect Mr Priest’s right to hold and express his opinions on the nominees I have to say his post on it, to my eyes anyway, doesn’t sound like constructive criticism but rather like a very biting and unhelpfully bitter attack on various writers, personally attacking the integrity of the judges to do their appointed task and the entire award itself.

Referring to one author – Charles Stross, as it happens – as writing “like an internet puppy: energetically, egotistically, sometimes amusingly, sometimes affectingly, but always irritatingly, and goes on being energetic and egotistical and amusing for far too long. You wait nervously for the unattractive exhaustion which will lead to a piss-soaked carpet.” well, that sounds less like criticism of a writing style and more like a petulant and rather personal attack. Again it is individual taste and clearly Charlie’s work isn’t to Mr Priest’s liking, fair enough, but to start name-calling another prominent writer is not helpful, far from it. And on the personal taste note, I’ve been reading Charlie’s work for years – in fact before his first proper novel publication – and always found him to be inventive, clever and amusingly sarcastic and satirical in taking elements of generic SF and elements of current society and trends then fusing them into a cracking and intelligent read (and that includes his Rule 34 which is the target of such ire for daring to be liked by the judges). But that’s just my taste, some may not care for it, but most who don’t aren’t usually moved to make personally abusive attacks in public.

Of the highly respected Greg Bear he comments “The paragraphs are short, to suit the expected attention-span of the reader.” That isn’t just insulting to Greg, Priest here is insulting the intelligence and taste of the readers too, which frankly for a writer is unforgivable hubris. Excuse me, Mr Priest, have you talked to every reader of that book? Have you measured their intellectual capacity? No? Then such a claim has no validity and is merely insulting writer and reader for no good reason – you don’t like that so infer anyone who did must be a little dim. I read an enormous amount of books and comics in a year; some will be incredibly wordy, with long paragraphs, long chapters, others are shorter, punchier; in either case the length of the paragraphs and chapters and rhythm of the words has been decided by the writer (and doubtless with words from the editor) to match the atmosphere and pace the writer is trying to create and sustain, not because they think their readers are idiots who can’t concentrate for too long. I really find myself shaking my head that any author, let alone a fine one like Christopher Priest, would make such an allegation against readers. His attack on the judges and call for them to be dismissed from their roles and the awards to be scrapped and re-organised till next year also seems very odd to me and even if events were redone as he suggests would that make everything fine in his view for next year or might we find ourselves in a similar situation if the new judges didn’t agree with his personal views again?  That’s the major problem with that idea, I think…

As I said, whenever award season beckons in science fiction and fantasy, or in comics, there is always some debate, sometimes quite heated arguments, but this is something else again – personal attacks on the judges, some of the writers and insulting the intelligence of the readers, all by a noted author. None of that is constructive or helpful and I find it upsetting that a writer I have so enjoyed over the years would launch such an extraordinary attack. Meanwhile I am told that Charlie Stross is having t-shirts made up with “internet puppy” on them.

But let’s not let this unusually bitter attack detract – if that is Chris’ opinion then fine, but as a bookseller, reader and reviewer with a couple of decades of experience under my professional belt, my opinion is the same as it is pretty much every year: another fine year with some damned fine reading. I say that pretty much every year at awards time and also when I try to select just a few titles from my annual reading for my Best of the Year choices and you know what? I still mean it. I don’t say it to be nice, I say it because every year UK publishers, large and small, have put out some brilliant books which I have loved reading; our current crop of SF releases here remains impressively strong and diverse, covering a great range of styles and subjects and I am delighted about that and that so many of them are in demand to be published abroad too. And for any of you looking for good SF reading suggestions, regardless of what Mr Priest may think, I certainly recommend having a look at those shortlist authors and, frankly, if you need more reading, have a gander at that original list of sixty contender to give you some good suggested authors to pick up on.

I Will Bite You! And Other Stories, Joseph Lambert (Secret Acres)

Celluloid, Dave McKean (Fantagraphics)

Finder: Voice, Carla Speed McNeil (Dark Horse)

Congress of the Animals, Jim Woodring (Fantagraphics)

Garden, Yuichi Yokoyama (PictureBox)

The brilliant Jim Woodring is now a two-time veteran of the prize, which is pretty impressive given the category has only existed for three years. (via Tom at Comics Reporter)

Novel

Among Others, Jo Walton (Tor)

Embassytown, China Miéville (Macmillan UK; Del Rey; Subterranean Press)

Firebird, Jack McDevitt (Ace Books)

God’s War, Kameron Hurley (Night Shade Books)

Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti, Genevieve Valentine (Prime Books)

The Kingdom of Gods, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)

Novella

“Kiss Me Twice,” Mary Robinette Kowal (Asimov’s Science Fiction, June 2011)

“Silently and Very Fast,” Catherynne M. Valente (WFSA Press; Clarkesworld Magazine, October 2011)

“The Ice Owl,” Carolyn Ives Gilman (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, November/December 2011)

“The Man Who Bridged the Mist,” Kij Johnson (Asimov’s Science Fiction, October/November 2011)

“The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary,” Ken Liu (Panverse Three, Panverse Publishing)

“With Unclean Hands,” Adam-Troy Castro (Analog Science Fiction and Fact, November 2011)

Novelette

“Fields of Gold,” Rachel Swirsky (Eclipse 4, Night Shade Books)

“Ray of Light,” Brad R. Torgersen (Analog Science Fiction and Fact, December 2011)

“Sauerkraut Station,” Ferrett Steinmetz (Giganotosaurus, November 2011)

“Six Months, Three Days,” Charlie Jane Anders (Tor.com, June 2011)

“The Migratory Pattern of Dancers,” Katherine Sparrow (Giganotosaurus, July 2011)

“The Old Equations,” Jake Kerr (Lightspeed Magazine, July 2011)

“What We Found,” Geoff Ryman (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September/October 2011)

Short Story

“Her Husband’s Hands,” Adam-Troy Castro (Lightspeed Magazine, October 2011)

“Mama, We are Zhenya, Your Son,” Tom Crosshill (Lightspeed Magazine, April 2011)

“Movement,” Nancy Fulda (Asimov’s Science Fiction, March 2011)

“Shipbirth,” Aliette de Bodard (Asimov’s Science Fiction, February 2011)

“The Axiom of Choice,” David W. Goldman (New Haven Review, Winter 2011)

“The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees,” E. Lily Yu (Clarkesworld Magazine, April 2011)

“The Paper Menagerie,” Ken Liu (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March/April 2011)

Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation

Attack the Block, Joe Cornish (writer/director) (Optimum Releasing; Screen Gems)

Captain America: The First Avenger, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely (writers), Joe Johnston (director) (Paramount)

Doctor Who: “The Doctor’s Wife,” Neil Gaiman (writer), Richard Clark (director) (BBC Wales)

Hugo, John Logan (writer), Martin Scorsese (director) (Paramount)

Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen (writer/director) (Sony)

Source Code, Ben Ripley (writer), Duncan Jones (director) (Summit)

The Adjustment Bureau, George Nolfi (writer/director) (Universal)

Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Book

Akata Witch, Nnedi Okorafor (Viking Juvenile)

Chime, Franny Billingsley (Dial Books; Bloomsbury)

Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Laini Taylor (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Hodder & Stoughton)

Everybody Sees the Ants, A.S. King (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

The Boy at the End of the World, Greg van Eekhout (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)

The Freedom Maze, Delia Sherman (Big Mouth House)

The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Rae Carson (Greenwillow Books)

Ultraviolet, R.J. Anderson (Orchard Books; Carolrhoda Books)

Nice to see Doctor Who on the Dramatic Presentation category (well done, Neil!) and it’s nice to see them including Woody Allen’s delightful Midnight in Paris as a contender there too (and yes, with the time travel aspect it does qualify, besides it is a lovely film). Of the contenders for Novel I’m afraid the only one there I have read so far is China Mieville’s brilliant Embassytown, in which he creates a remarkably alien civilisation and way of thinking and being. The winners will be announced at the SFWA’s 47th Annual Nebula Awards Weekend which takes place from May 17th to 20th in Arlington, Virginia; Connie Willis will be the recipient of the 2011 Damon Knight Grand Master Award for lifetime contributions to the field.

The winners in full were:

1st Miss Elena Vitagliano, “The Deep Needs Train”

2nd Mr Lorenzo Fruzza, “Heart’s Orbit”

3rd Mr Dean McKnight & Miss Jade Sarson, “Shear Brilliance”

4th Miss Vivian Truong, “Moving On”

5th Mr Byron Reynolds, “Crash Course”

6th Miss Gillian Sein Ying Ha, “To The Girl With The Butterfly Ears”

7th Ms Anya Zhuravskaya, “Storyteller Sisters”

8th Miss Ami Clark, “The Flower That Held Its Breath”

9th Miss Rebecca Burgess, “Letters From England”

10th Miss Sarah Burgess, “The Man and his Shadow”

Special Prize for most impressive Manga by entrant aged 14-16: Miss Megan Wheeler, “A Harvest Love”

(pages from The Deep Need Train by and (c) Elena Vitagliano)

As I mentioned the other week, the winning works will also be exhibited free in the Japanese Embassy in London (entry is free but being a sensitive location you will need photographic ID for entry) – the exhibition runs until the 28th of February and for those of us not in or near London we can read the entries in E-book form online here (great move!).