Jennifer Jackson – Literary Agent

The ballot for works in 2009 has been announced. The awards will be presented in Columbus OH, October 28-31, 2010. Congratulations to client Genevieve Valentine for “Light on the Water” (Fantasy Magazine 10/09) in the short story category!

49 loved the hotel across the river, and that spring, when fog covered her, he knew he had to tell her.

She was all by herself on that side of the river, just her and the rocky shore and the long highway that wound in a ribbon far behind her, and she seemed always so lonely he wanted her to know she was not unloved.

He thought maybe he could court her, but all the life in him left at 5pm, and by the time the sun set all 49 could do was sit in the dark and watch her lights blinking on and off like the notes of a song.

See the amazing and talented list of nominees here.

The Sky That Wraps by Jay Lake

Lake writes extraordinary short stories, with note-perfect world building as strong as that in his novels. This collection, which focuses on more recent work, opens with “The Sky That Wraps the World Around, Past the Blue and into the Black,” in which the narrator paints ancient shards end-of-the-universe blue. “Achilles, Sulking in His Buick” is a delightful street-racing interpretation of the Trojan War’s key events. There are two new stories as well: “Coming for Green,” which tells of an agent of the Lily Goddess sent to retrieve Green, and “To This Their Late Escape,” which is part of Lake’s satisfying take on space opera. There are also a number of stories set in what Lake calls the Portland wizards arc, including the first one, “The Number of the Bus,” which focuses on a wizard whose power comes from a city bus. Lake covers quite a bit of ground, from the mythic to the futuristic, and does it all with a strong take on the human element and genuinely fantastic tales. –Booklist

Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal

If Jane Austen had written a fantasy novel, Shades of Milk and Honey would have been the result. Written with painstaking attention to detail, Kowal’s prose is serenely evocative of the time period, and the fantastic elements are a seamless fit. The characterization is extremely well done and Jane is a sympathetic, strong and intelligent heroine whose devotion to her family trumps nearly every other concern. Give this one a try!

In an alternate Regency England where magic exists, young women practice manipulating glamour in their quests to land eligible bachelors. Both Jane and her sister Melody are well-practiced in this womanly art, and Jane’s ability in particular is remarkable. However, it is Melody who is fair of face and who gets most of the masculine attention while Jane, at the age of 28, is on the shelf. When Jane realizes that one of Melody’s suitors is up to no good and is getting into position to take advantage of her, she pushes her skills to their very limits and, quite accidentally, finds her very own happy ever after.

— Romantic Times, 4-1/2 Star Top Pick

The Sky That Wraps by Jay Lake

Lake’s sixth collection offers 25 tales written since 2007’s The River Knows Its Own. The collection is bookended by popular favorites: the haunting “The American Dead” and “The Sky That Wraps the World Round, past the Blue and into the Black,” a moody meditation on mistakes and the end of the universe. One of Lake’s strengths is his ability to channel classic writers and styles, such as the heroic fantasy of Robert E. Howard in “The Leopard’s Paw,” Cordwainer Smith in the baroque “The Man with One Bright Eye,” pulp SF in “Lehr, Rex,” and space opera adventure in “To Raise a Mutiny Betwixt Yourselves.” Fans of Lake’s novels will especially appreciate the tie-ins to Green, Mainspring, and Trial of Flowers, while the diversity of settings and styles makes this a nice introduction to Lake’s stylish craftsmanship. –Publishers Weekly

Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal

Readers will be disappointed only when they finish this enchanting story, which is suffused with genteel charm. The author’s judicious and effective changes to aspects of daily life clearly communicate how similar but different this world is from ours. With the grace of SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, a touch of classic fairy tale magic, and an action-packed ending, this debut novel by an award-winning short story writer will appeal to fans of Jane Austen, Jane Yolen, Patricia Wrede, Susannah Clarke, and even Jasper Fforde. –Library Journal