The Girl in the Road is eligible to be nominated for a Nebula Award.
Posted: December 9, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized 8 Comments
Photo: the hardcover and paperback covers of The Girl in the Road, published by Crown/Random House, May 2014.
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I’ve had an ongoing conversation with a friend about self-promotion. His point to me—at least, in the beginning—was that artists whose works are good don’t need to self-promote, because the work speaks for itself. My point to him was, and remains, that sitting back and assuming good work will be recognized is actually a reflection of privilege. The VIDA Count gives plenty of data on that. In addition, lots of authors—regardless of their phenotype or standing—present their work to the voting public when awards season comes around.
That said, I’m here to tell you that my first novel The Girl in the Road—published by Penguin Random House and set in future India and Africa—is eligible to be nominated for a Nebula Award. The critical response has been overwhelmingly positive, including from The Wall Street Journal, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, PopMatters, Kirkus, Library Journal, NPR, LA Review of Books, The Rumpus, Dawn, and Strange Horizons.
Voters must be members of SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America). The Girl in the Road has already been added to the Nebula reading list (thank you so much to those who suggested it). So, please upvote if you feel so inclined, so it gets on readers’ radar; and, of course, read it. Then nominate if you feel it deserving.
As for my own first year of voting as an SFWA member: I loved The Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer, Lock In by John Scalzi, and “The Fisher Queen” by Alyssa Wong. Upcoming reads include Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor, My Real Children by Jo Walton, and Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie—all also on the Nebula reading list—and I’m very excited for them. Do you have any recommendations of other things I should read published in the last year? Let me know.
And thank you for your consideration. Truly.
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monica byrne 
Hey Monica, just wanted to say that it was I who wrote that Popmatters review and I’m glad the positive feedback got to you. Found it very hard to write that without flinging superlatives all over the place but being hopelessly vague so as not to spoil anything. Still been trying to get the good word out for you. Best of luck with the second book!
Hi Stefan! Ah, I loved that review so much—it was art in and of itself.
And thank you for getting the news out. I deeply appreciate it. These things spread by word of mouth better than anything.
My pleasure. As to book recs, top of the list would probably be Richard Powers’ *Orfeo*, which is now my favourite by him, and that’s saying something after *The Time Of Our Singing*. Other books you’ve probably heard too much about already: *Station Eleven*, *The Goblin Emperor*, *Boy, Snow, Bird* and Jeff VDM, Max Gladstone and Lev Grossman completing their trilogies (although I have no idea how far Max is going with his series). Also loved *Broken Monsters*, *Memory of Water*, and KJ Parker’s *Academic Exercises* all for very different reasons. Finally, if you haven’t read Haruki Marukami’s older novella *After Dark* I’m reading it at the moment and it might be the best thing I’ve read by him other than *Hardboiled Wonderland…*
I like the new cover much better. Loaned out my old copy to a friend, waiting to see how she liked it.
Thank you. I really love the new cover too. And let me know how your friend liked it—and spread the word!
Reblogged this on Attaullahkha Welcomes You.
Ride On Monica!!
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