Awards and such
Well, Eastercon has been and gone. Many splendid things happened there – I especially enjoyed moderating the Not the Clarke panel on Saturday. But I suppose I should particularly record two things.
On the Saturday evening, nominations for the Hugo Awards were announced. It was very flattering to hear that the SF Encyclopedia had been included in the nominations list for Best Related Work. David Langford and I were there on behalf of the editorial cadre, John Clute and Peter Nicholls being absent. Doubtless, David and I look suitably baffled in the many photos that were taken. I’m very much looking forward to being at Chicon 7, the Worldcon this summer at which the awards will be presented.
On the Sunday evening, the British Science Fiction Association presented its own awards. The SFE won in the category of Best Non-Fiction, and David and I attempted grateful speeches in response. I hope we managed to thank the many people who’ve contributed to the encyclopedia so far, but apologies to any we missed. The award itself was very splendid – see David’s picture above. For each category, a clutch of old sf paperbacks had been bolted together, with a plastic ray-gun mounted on top. (For comparison, see Paul Cornell’s short fiction award here.) Given my infinite capacity for clumsiness, I’m very glad that the award is safely in David’s custody…
Graham Sleight 