It’s that time of year again, folks, and this time there’s some interesting developments in the category department. Here’s the qualification blurb for novel form:
Best Speculative Fiction Story (Long Form)
* Novel-length stories containing elements of science fiction, fantasy or horror
* Story audio length (minus intro/promo) over 7 hours
* Uses only 1 or 2 people for the story presentation
* Work completed within the eligibility year and have not competed in a previous year
* Audio samples only, no video
It looks like I may have a chance to win a Parsec after all!
For reference, works completed between May 1, 2009, and April 30, 2010, are eligible for this year’s Parsec.
In my world, that’s two books — Captain’s Share (completed October 15, 2009 at something over 11 hours of audio), and Ravenwood (completed February , 2010 with more than 10 hours of audio). If they both make it to the finalist category, I’ll need to figure out which one to hold back. I made the mistake of competing against myself before and I think it was a strategic blunder.
Personally, I’m pleased to see these changes although I know that it puts some of my friends in an awkward spot. Well, we’ll see how it shakes out this year. I’ll still polish up my Susan Lucci Tiara for the ceremony.
