Nebula Deadline and Boskone Schedule

Nebula and Andre Norton Award Nomination Deadline

Attention SFWA Members: The deadline for nominating books for the 2009 Nebula Awards, including the Andre Norton Award for Outstanding Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy, is rapidly approaching -- February 15, 2010. Under the new rules, any active or associate member of SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America) may nominate books. And for the Norton, any YA fantasy/SF books published between July 2008 and December 2009 are eligible.

If you're a SFWA member, click here and enter your name and password to start nominating!

There are lots of wonderful YA books in the running for the Norton this year -- including one that is particularly dear to my heart :) -- so if you're a SFWA member and you love YA, please head over to the nomination site before it's too late.


Boskone Schedule

In other news, I'm very excited to be headed up to Boskone next weekend! Boskone is a wonderful fantasy/SF convention held every February in Boston. This year it takes place from February 12-14 at the Westin Waterfront hotel. I've been attending for many, many years and have been serving on panels and such ever since I got published. Really love this con. I think it's my favorite one. Very well organized, great panels, great people, and lots of fun. And I recently got my schedule! Check it out:

Friday 6pm Schools for Magicians
Bruce Coville
Sarah Beth Durst
Ethan Gilsdorf
Lev Grossman (M)
Jane Yolen
A Hogwarts degree isn't the only path from mundanity to magicianhood. Let's consider how writers have portrayed schools, including Roke, Unseen University, Brakebills, and more. Why a school setting (well, besides innate familiarity for both reader and writer, plus a built-in rationale for info-dumps? How do these fantastical academies compare to SF's schools for space cadets. As we look beyond (and before) Harry Potter, we'll examine the continue fascination with such sorcerous scholastic settings.

Saturday 10am Reading (0.5 hrs)
Sarah Beth Durst

Sunday 9am Kaffeeklatsch

Sunday 10am Autographing

Sunday 11am Reading for Kids (0.5 hrs)
Sarah Beth Durst

Sunday 1pm Why Adults Love YA
Bruce Coville
Michael J. Daley (M)
Sarah Beth Durst
Margaret Ronald
Navah Wolfe
Are grown-ups just trying to recapture their misspent youth, or is there something either more compelling about this kind of fiction? If so, what?

So in preparation for my Boskone panels, I pose the above questions to you. Any thoughts about wizard schools or adults reading YA? Please do share. My goal, as always, is to avoid sounding like an idiot. And tapping into the collective wisdom of all of you is a great way to do that!