Hello everyone! April is here, and with it comes the June issue of ANALOG and the announcement of the Hugo nominations. And both of those are relevant to this newsletter, as you'll see if you keep reading...
The June 2004 ANALOG contains my novella "Time Ablaze," which is the cover story for the issue, with artwork by W. K. Gilbert. The story commemorates the 100th anniversary of a real but largely forgotten event. Before 9/11/01, the fire that destroyed the steamboat General Slocum was the worst disaster in the history of New York City, claiming approximately a thousand lives. Historians, of course, like to make past events as real as possible, and future science and technology may provide new ways to do that. But when you really get into such things, it can be hard to maintain professional detachment...
This story marks a milestone for me. It's the longest piece of fiction I've ever published, and as noted, it commemorates a real event that I've become fascinated with over the past few years. I hope people will find it a worthy memorial.
I am delighted to be able to announce that "Paying It Forward" (ANALOG, September 2003) has been nominated for the Hugo Award. In an odd twist, although the story was published as a novelette, the Hugo Administrators decided that the story belonged in the Short Story category instead. So that's where it is.
As always, my deep thanks to any and all who considered the story worthy of nomination. For more information, check out http://www.noreascon.org/hugos/nominees.html. I look forward to losing to Neil Gaiman in September.
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