Finally, I seem to be Catching Up with the World

I see the Locus Awards have come out with the list of awardees here.

I normally don't consider awards when I buy books though I do notice if it has won the World Fantasy Award. Of course, I must admit that my first preference for reading is for fantasy-- including the weird side of speculative fiction (i.e. slipstream, magic realism, surrealism)-- before I start into science-fiction. On the other hand, I usually don't give up on an SF book as much as I do with a fantasy book since if I do pick up an SF book, it's something I really want.

Anyway, this time I saw that I've actually managed to read a couple of the awardees who won the Locus this year-- or are next to be read. Given how my backlog of books has slowly become monstrous, this is a first for me. Of those who won, the titles I've emphasized below were those I've actually read or have copies waiting in the wings.

• Best Science Fiction Novel Accelerando, Charles Stross (Ace; Orbit)
• Best Fantasy Novel Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman (Morrow; Review)
• Best First Novel Hammered/Scardown/Worldwired, Elizabeth Bear (Bantam Spectra)
• Best Young Adult Book Pay the Piper, Jane Yolen & Adam Stemple (Starscape)
• Best Novella "Magic for Beginners", Kelly Link (Magic for Beginners, F&SF 9/05)
• Best Novelette "I, Robot", Cory Doctorow (The Infinite Matrix, 2/15/05)
• Best Short Story "Sunbird", Neil Gaiman (Noisy Outlaws etc.)
• Best Anthology The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Eighteenth Annual Collection, Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link & Gavin Grant, eds. (St. Martin's)
• Best Collection Magic for Beginners, Kelly Link (Small Beer Press)
• Best Non-Fiction Storyteller: Writing Lessons and More from 27 Years of the Clarion Writers’ Workshop, Kate Wilhelm (Small Beer Press)
• Best Art Book Cathy & Arnie Fenner, eds. Spectrum 12: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art (Underwood)

Likewise, it seems like my fave writer Kelly Link and her husband, Gavin Grant, have had a good year considering a number of books published by their small press company Small Beer Press as well as an anthology they're currently editing won in the awards.

Good to know good writing as well as good publishing is being recognized.