FIRE AND HEIST on Truman Readers Award Longlist!

So honored and thrilled that my YA were-dragon heist novel, FIRE AND HEIST, is on the longlist for the Truman Readers Award! Thanks so much, Missouri school librarians!!! You made my day! Congrats to all the other nominees! 

https://maslonline.org/2020-2021-masl-readers-awards-preliminary-nominees/

 

THE STONE GIRL'S STORY is a Mythopoeic Award Finalist!

Got some wonderful news: my book, THE STONE GIRL'S STORY, is a finalist for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature! I'm so thrilled, honored, and grateful! Thank you, Mythopoeic Society! You made my day! And congratulations to all the other finalists!

http://www.mythsoc.org/news/news-2019-06-05.htm

GIRL Selected as 3rd Place Winner of Florida SSYRA Award!

Wow!!! Thank you so much, Florida SSYRA and Florida readers, for selecting THE GIRL WHO COULD NOT DREAM as the 3rd place winner of the Sunshine State Young Readers Award! I'm thrilled and honored! And big congrats to Gordon Korman and Jason Reynolds!

If you can't see the video above, you can view it here: https://www.facebook.com/FLSSYRA/videos/813663489015433/

ALA Alex Award Medal

Look what came in the mail! My ALA Alex Award medal for THE QUEEN OF BLOOD! It's so cool, and heavy! Thanks, American Library Association!

 

THE QUEEN OF BLOOD won an Alex Award!!!

My book, THE QUEEN OF BLOOD, just won an Alex Award!!!!! It's an American Library Association (ALA) award given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults. I am so honored, grateful, and thrilled! Thank you to ALA and the Alex committee!!! And congratulations to the other winners!

*Snoopy dance of joy*

http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2017/01/american-library-association-announces-2017-youth-media-award-winners

Vessel Paperback Release (Plus a Lion!)

Today is the release day for the paperback edition of Vessel!!!

This book is really special to me because writing it was such a magical experience.  Every time I sat down to write it felt like stepping through a portal. 

Vessel is my first novel set entirely in a fantasy world -- a desert land filled with wolves made of sand that hunt within storms, sky serpents made of unbreakable glass that fly through the sky, and gods that walk the desert in human bodies.  It's about Liyana, who is destined to be a vessel, to sacrifice herself so her clan's goddess can inhabit her body... but her goddess never comes.

More information about Vessel, including the first two chapters, can be found here.

Vessel is also special to me because LION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Earlier this summer, I was thrilled and honored to learn that Vessel had been awarded the 2013 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature.  And just a few days ago, I received the loveliest thing I've ever gotten in the mail: the gorgeous lion-shaped Mythopoeic Award statuette!!!!!

I wasn't home when it arrived.  I was on a train to NYC to meet up with a bevy of YA authors to see Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments: City of Bones on the big screen.  While I was on the train, this happened:

And then about fifteen minutes later, this happened:

The award (called an Aslan, in honor of the most awesome lion in English literature) is now sitting on my desk next to my laptop.  OMG, he's so pretty!!!

I am keeping him near me so I can pet him as I write.....  Kind of like Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget.....

.....but less with the evil and much more with the awesome!

VESSEL Won the Mythopoeic Award!

I have AMAZING news to share!

My book, Vessel, just won the 2013 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature!!!!!  Winners from prior years include Kristin Cashore, J.K. Rowling, Michael Chabon, Grace Lin, Franny Billingsley, Diana Wynne Jones, Jane Yolen, and Salman Rushdie.  And now -- via what I can only imagine was some sort of clerical error -- me.  This, my friends, is crazy-sauce!!!  It goes without saying that I'm over-the-moon excited!

I was thrilled just to be nominated for this award alongside such wonderful authors -- Merrie Haskell, Christopher Healy, Sherwood Smith, Jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado -- and am so grateful to the award committee for this honor.

And to top it all off, the award itself is a gorgeous statuette of Aslan (the lion from C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia).  So.  Ridiculously.  Awesome.  I've already picked out a place of honor for him on my writing desk.

The one pictured above is Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess's.  Mine should be arriving in the mail sometime soon.  I plan to stalk the mailman daily.....

The Mythopoeic Society announced the winners of this year's awards (there's an adult literature award and two scholarship awards in addition to the children's literature award) during an awards banquet on Sunday at Mythcon, held this year at Michigan State University.

Click here to read the press release.

Though I wasn't able to attend the awards banquet in person, I was given the opportunity to send in some acceptance remarks ahead of time.  Here's what I said:

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature
Acceptance Speech
Sarah Beth Durst

When I was little, I never thought there were monsters in my closet.  The monsters were all under the bed, along with the venomous snakes.  The closet was for Narnia.  I used to check it every single night, pushing aside all the clothes, digging through the shoes and stuffed animals, looking for a way to the woods with the lone lamppost.  Winning this award makes me feel like I found the way into Narnia.  I am so honored and so delighted, and I know my ten-year-old self would be too.

I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was that ten-year-old girl.  I believed—and still believe—that being a writer is the closest you can get in this world to being a wizard.  You’re trying to cast a spell that lets you touch the minds and hearts of people you’ll never meet.  You’re trying to transport people out of their lives and take them on a journey and then bring them safely back, maybe a little changed.

I love the journeys that you find in fantasy books.  I love the way that fantasy is (or can be) a literature of hope and empowerment.  When I close a fantasy book, I feel as though the world is a little more magical, a little more wonderful, and a little larger than it was before. 

I write fantasy because, quite simply, it is what I love to read.  After I received the news that VESSEL had been nominated for this award, I looked at the full list of nominees and winners of the Mythopoeic Award since its inception.  It’s a list of every author that I’ve ever loved.  I started crying when I realized my name would be on that list of wizards.

So I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to the Mythopoeic Society, to my fabulous agent Andrea Somberg who has believed in me from the beginning, to my wonderful editor Karen Wojtyla at McElderry and all the other fantastic people at Simon & Schuster who helped bring VESSEL into the world.  And especially thanks to my family, my children who are my world, and my amazing husband Adam who made my dream his dream and who shares every step of every journey with me. 

I wish I could go back in time and tell my ten-year-old self, "Keep looking in that closet for Narnia because, someday, you’ll find your Aslan.  Or, more accurately, in the case of this beautiful award… he’ll find you."

Thank you so very, very much!

Junior Library Guild Selection and Kirkus Review

Got some really lovely news today:

Conjured is a Junior Library Guild selection!!!

Junior Library Guild (JLG) is a collection development service for libraries.  Their mission is to read through the thousands of books published each year and select books that they believe will best enhance library collections.  This service is used by libraries all across the country, which means that Conjured will find its way onto lots of library shelves!  This makes me a very, very happy Sarah.  I feel so honored and so thrilled that Conjured was selected!

And in other really lovely news:

The first trade review of Conjured is out, and it's a great review!!  It appears in the July 1st issue of Kirkus.  The full review is on their site, but here's a snippet:

"Durst excels at describing grotesque violence and gorgeous magical transformations alike, painting a touching portrait of first love against a backdrop of Twilight Zone–type terrors." -- Kirkus

*shoots off confetti fireworks and does Snoopy Dance of Joy*

Thank you so much, JLG and Kirkus!!!

Nebula Awards Weekend 2013

This weekend, I flew to San Jose, California, for Nebula Awards Weekend. Vessel was a finalist for the Andre Norton Award, and I was not missing out on the free unicorns. (As everyone knows, all award nominees automatically receive three free unicorns. If you show up, you are given the ones that are housebroken. If you don't, they ship you the leftover unicorns, and believe me, the bill for cleaning rainbows out of carpets is HUGE.)

Seriously though, I was -- and am -- so thrilled and honored that Vessel was nominated, and I was delighted to be able to attend.

I arrived late on Thursday night and woke up on Friday bright, chipper, and ready to say hello, hello, hello to people... at 4am. (Or at least that's the time the crazy west-coast clock said it was.  My east-coast body begged to differ...) I tried again at 6am. And then at 7am. And then 8am... at which point my paranoid side started to whisper maybe I was in the wrong hotel or the wrong state or had the wrong weekend, but then I spotted some people that I knew and all was well with the world, at least until I trotted off in search of registration and walked straight into a dental hygiene seminar. Sadly, they did not have any unicorns.

Anyway, I found my badge eventually, and then I viewed a mummified fish, joined a posse, got pinned, got photographed, got dressed up, and ate a salad while waving at my husband on the other side of the country. In that order.

I didn't see much of San Jose on this trip, but here is the view from my hotel room:

My one big trip out of the hotel was to tour the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum. I went with a dozen other attendees in a stretch limo that boasted broken window controls, dusty glass decanters, and a dubious odor. We were fairly certain we were all going to die. Or be taken back in time to a 1980s prom. But we arrived safely at the Egyptian museum...

... where we saw a mummified fish...

... and toured a reproduction of a tomb, which was pretty much one of the coolest things I've ever seen in a museum. Once we were allowed off on our own, I promptly went back in and spent many lovely moments imagining it was real and that I was an ancient Egyptian.

Okay, that's not really true. I totally imagined I was the goddess Isis. She so rocks. Did you know she was one of the first kickass heroines? She quested through Egypt with her pack of awesome giant scorpions in search of the pieces of her slain husband's body. But I digress.

After the fish and the tomb came the posse.

The Friday night of Nebula Awards Weekend has always been my favorite part. It starts with a mass autographing at the hotel and concludes with the Nominee Reception. Not to be missed. This year, the Norton nominees who were there on Friday (Leah Bobet, Alethea Kontis, Eugene Myers, and me) claimed a table and formed the Norton posse. (Jenn Reese joined us on Saturday.) In all seriousness, they were a large part of what made the weekend great, and I adore them.

After a break for dinner with additional fabulous people, I went to the Nominee Reception, which was held in a room lit by green lights and decorated with glowing white roses. It also had exit signs near the floor, which Eugene claimed were there to guide crawling people in case of a fire, but I was convinced were there to guide the rescue hedgehogs in case of any emergency. For the record, Alethea agreed with me.

During the reception, the nominees were all awarded certificates and "Nebula Nominee" pins. Here's my snazzy certificate:

And we were taken into a non-green room for professional photographs of the entire group. The photographers told us to come back later if we wanted additional shots. I don't think they actually expected anyone to take them up on that, but the Norton posse is all about defying expectations. We returned and much fun was had taking all sorts of pictures.

We then returned to the reception for more discussion of hedgehogs, and I performed a maneuver not unlike Cinderella taking the unbroken glass slipper from her pocket and pulled my other two Norton nominee pins (from when Into the Wild and Ice were nominated) out of my purse and put all three on my badge. They make me very happy, and when else do I ever get the chance to wear them?

 
On Saturday, I again woke early (though thankfully not as insanely early as on Friday), and I did some writing. Appropriately, the artwork in the hotel room featured old typewriters. Here's my desk in the hotel room:

Saturday officially started with a SFWA Business Meeting, which I enjoyed. (I mean that seriously. The first thing I did after signing my first book contract was mail in my membership application to SFWA, and I enjoy being a member and doing memberly things.) Plus this meeting had lots of food.

I had my second interview of the weekend after that, a joint one with Leah Bobet (conducted by Carrie of the fabulous blogs Smart Bitches Read Trashy Books and Geek Girl in Love).  The first interview was for the SFWA website, and I believe it will be posted soon as a podcast.  Both interviews were really fun.

In the afternoon, Leah Bobet, Steven Gould, Eugene Myers, and I did a panel called "Writing for YA," which began with Steven demonstrating his skill with falling and rolling and included my oversharing the fact that as a child, I didn't realize that Bambi's mother died. I thought his parents had simply divorced and it was time for him to go live with his dad for a while.

And then at night... the banquet!

Time for my dress!  I’d actually starting regretting the fact that I’d gone with a cocktail dress rather than a ball gown or a floor-length evening gown for the banquet.  Alethea even kindly offered me a tiara to make me feel better -- thank you, Alethea! -- but I decided to stick with my own jewelry and once I put on my dress, I remembered why I'd picked it. It makes my eyes look totally Fremen blue.

I don't have any photos of the reception or the banquet itself, but there were many glorious dresses and tuxes and sparkles and sequins. Even Barry, Lawrence Schoen's little pet buffalo, was dressed up all dapper. I was seated at a great table filled with fabulous people, one of whom (thank you, Dawn!) was kind enough to discover for me that there was a live stream of the event. I promptly texted my husband back home, and he promptly found it and proceeded to watch all of us eat food for the next hour and a half.

I love that SFWA did the live stream. It made me feel like my husband was right there with me, and that made the whole evening extra special. Like the true professional I am, I of course waved and blew kisses at him via the video camera at every opportunity.

When they announce the awards, it really feels like the Oscars. They project the names of the nominees on a big screen and read the names, and it's all really exhilarating. Steven Gould introduced the Andre Norton Award, and it was a lovely intro. He read the opening lines of a dozen classic MG/YA novels, and those sentences alone said everything. They encapsulate why YA and all of children's literature is important: because it touches that bit of you that is eternally young and full of wonder. I think he's planning to post it online soon, and I dare you to read that list and not be filled with memories.

In the end, I didn't win. The winner of this year's Andre Norton Award was Eugene Myers for Fair Coin from Pyr. But I am really, really thrilled for Eugene! He's a great guy, and it's a great book. (I blurbed it, in fact.) Yay, Eugene!

And I'd like to say congratulations to all the winners:

Kim Stanley Robinson (Nebula for Best Novel)
Nancy Kress (Nebula for Best Novella)
Andy Duncan (Nebula for Best Novellette)
Aliette de Bodard (Nebula for Best Short Story)
Benh Zeitlin and Lucy Abilar (Ray Bradbury Award)
E.C. Myers (Andre Norton Award)
Gene Wolfe (Grand Master Award)
Ginjer Buchanan (Solistice Award)
Carl Sagan (Solistice Award)
Michael H. Payne (Service to SFWA Award)

*cheers, applauds, and does Snoopy Dance*

It was really so much fun to be a part of this event. I had such a big smile on my face through the whole thing that after the ceremony, Robert Silverberg (the MC) said to me, "You should win a Nebula for your smile. It lights up the room," which only served to make me smile all the more.

Thank you to SFWA and to all the organizers and volunteers who made the Nebula Weekend possible. I had a fantastic time! And I love my three unicorns.

VESSEL is a Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Finalist!

Got some wonderful news today!

Vessel has been selected as a finalist for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award!!!

I am so very thrilled and honored.  In years past, I've used the list of Mythopoeic finalists to find books to add to my far-too-long-already books-to-read list, and now my book is on that list!  Squeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

Info about the award and the full list of finalists can be found here, on the Mythopoeic Society website.

In the Children's Literature category, the finalists are:

Jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado, Giants Beware! (First Second)
Sarah Beth Durst, Vessel (Margaret K. McElderry)
Merrie Haskell, The Princess Curse (HarperCollins)
Christopher Healy, The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom (Walden Pond Press)
Sherwood Smith, The Spy Princess (Viking Juvenile)

I feel so honored to be mentioned in the company of these other great authors.  The winner will be announced at an awards banquet on July 14th.  Fingers crossed!!!

Thank you so very, very much to the Mythopoeic Society, and congratulations to all the other finalists!  Cue the Snoopy dance of joy!!!

(Disclaimer: No exclamation points were harmed in the making of this post.)

Boston Authors Club Award Ceremony

So I'm driving down the Mass Pike, heading back from Boston, and my cell phone rings.

BROTHER: Hey.

ME: I'm so sorry that I didn't get to see you! Really short trip.

BROTHER: Where are you?

ME: Driving on the Mass Pike.

BROTHER: Where on the Mass Pike?

ME: Near the Framingham rest stop. Where are you?

BROTHER: On the Mass Pike. Are you in between some 18-wheelers?

ME: Um, yes. Closest one is called Iron Mountain.

BROTHER: I'm five cars behind you.

So we both turn off at the rest stop and have a mini family reunion right there in the parking lot. It was so lucky as to be nearly freaky.

Also by crazy coincidence, earlier that day, while walking around Newbery Street, I heard someone call my name, turned, and saw my cousin, whom I hadn't seen in years.

Either Massachusetts is suddenly a LOT smaller than it used to be, or I was having a very lucky day.

I'm voting the latter because the reason I was in Massachusetts at all that day was to receive this:


ICE was named a 2010 Finalist for the Boston Authors Club Award for Young Readers!!! And now I have this lovely certificate to prove it!

The ceremony was held in the Boston Public Library, which was cool because BPL is one of my favorite libraries. When I lived in Somerville, I used to fill up giant bags of books and nearly break my back hauling them home on the T. Somehow it never occurred to me while I was in the library that I'd have to lug the books home...

It was a really lovely ceremony. The members of the judging committee took turns introducing each book and explaining why they had chosen it, and then several of us talked about why/how we'd written our books. The honored books covered quite a wide range (see list below or click here) -- nonfiction, poetry, and a short story collection, in addition to novels spanning various genres -- and it was fascinating to hear how the different books came to be. I love hearing about other writers' processes.

In case you're curious, here is approximately what I said:

Thank you so much! This really, really means a lot to me.

ICE is a novel that's very close to my heart. I wrote it as a love letter to my husband. It's about true love. Not the fairy-tale love-at-first-sight kind of love where the girl dances with the prince and he doesn't bother to find out anything about her other than her shoe size... but it's about real love, the kind of love where you face the world united as a team, where you'd go beyond the ends of the earth for your love.

One of the reasons that I write fantasy is that it allows you to explore themes like true love in an extreme sort of way. You can explore what sort of person, what sort of relationship would lead a person to literally go east of the sun and west of the moon, beyond the known world.

Another reason that I write fantasy is pure wish fulfillment. I want to ride a talking polar bear! Through writing, I can experience things that aren't actually possible. Growing up, I was the kid who always wanted something magical to happen. I was always searching for dragon's eggs in the backyard or waiting for the portrait in the hall to speak. Every year for much, much too long, I would put on my wish list for Santa: magic wand. (Though I have to say, I still think this was more practical than my brother, who at age six, would put Ferrari on the theory that he could just save it until he was sixteen.)

The third reason that I write fantasy is because I believe that fantasy literature is a very important kind of literature. It directly fulfills what I see as one of the primary purposes of books, which is: escape. To take you someplace else, someplace you will never go, could never go. To let you live inside the skin of someone who is utterly unlike you.

I think that being a writer is the closest you can get in this world to being a wizard. You... we... try to cast spells. You try to create this kind of telepathy where you put your dream into the head of someone you have never met and will never meet: you try to create a shared dream. You shape the reader's imagination. You take them on a journey.

ICE took me on a journey to the Arctic. I've never actually been to the Arctic. I'm a lousy traveler. I always overpack. I don't like to be too hot or too cold. I hate bugs. But I've always thought of the Arctic as a magical, dangerous, beautiful place, and by writing this book, I got to go there.

I did a TON of research for this book. I read nature guides, explorer memoirs, polar bear books, everything I could get my hands on. I think I can safely say that I am the only person I know who owns a North Slope Barrow dialect Inupiaq to English dictionary. At one point, I could tell you what kind of lichen were on the rocks that Cassie would walk past as she trekked across the Arctic. I could tell you where the sun would be on a particular day at a particular time at a particular latitude. It varies that far north, you know. In the middle of summer, at the top of the world, the sun just circles above the horizon all day and all night.

I learned details like if you cry in the Arctic, your eyelashes will freeze and break off, and I got to explore what that would do to a person's character, learning to hold that emotion in. And things like if you walk across the ice of the Arctic, you're walking over frozen sea, not land, and any minute, the ice could shift and drop you into water that could kill you in fifteen minutes -- how that would affect a person.

One of my favorite things about being a writer is that it is the ultimate in armchair traveling. I got to travel vicariously with Cassie.

I'd like to thank you for traveling with me. Thank you for liking ICE. And thank you for this wonderful honor!

And after we all spoke, we ate sandwiches. :) All in all, it was a lovely, lucky day.

If you're a member of the Boston Authors Club and you're reading this, thank you so much for giving me such a nice memory along with such a wonderful honor! And if you're my father and you're reading this (hi, Dad!), thank you so much for coming! It really meant a lot to have you there. Lastly, if you're one of the other authors who was honored on Thursday, congratulations!!!

THE BOSTON AUTHORS CLUB BOOK AWARDS

YOUNG READERS BOOK AWARDS

First Prize:
Jacqueline Davies for LOST

Finalists:
Pat Lowery Collins for HIDDEN VOICES
Sarah Beth Durst for ICE
Francisco X. Stork for MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD

Highly Recommended Titles:
Pam Bachorz for CANDOR
Liza Ketchum for NEWSGIRL
Glenna Lang & Marjory Wunsch for GENIUS OF COMMON SENSE
Grace Lin for WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON

TRADE BOOK AWARDS

Julia Ward Howe Prize:
Nancy Rappaport for IN HER WAKE

Finalists:
Jay Mathews for WORK HARD; BE NICE
Ann Snodgrass for FIELDS ACROSS WHICH NO BIRDS FLY
Tracy Winn for MRS. SOMEBODY SOMEBODY

Highly Recommended Titles:
Janice Y. K. Lee for THE PIANO TEACHER
Ben Mezrich for ACCIDENTAL BILLIONAIRES
Matthew Pearl for THE LAST DICKENS
Francine Prose for ANNE FRANK
John J. Ronan for MARROWBONE LANE

Boston Authors Club Award Finalist

Happy news here!!!

ICE has been selected as a finalist for the Boston Authors Club Young Readers Award!

So exciting! I get to attend a fancy awards ceremony and everything -- May 6th at the Boston Public Library. Until then, I'll be doing the Snoopy Dance of Joy:



This is yet another reason for me to love Boston. With no disrespect meant to my current home, I'm a Massachusetts girl at heart. I grew up near Worcester. (That's pronounced "wis-tah." Also, sprinkles are jimmies. Water fountains are bubblers. You pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd, and it's all wicked good... though I should point out that no actual Massachusetts person would ever say "pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd" because everyone knows it's virtually impossible to find an open parking spot in Harvard Square. Much better to just take the T.)

After college, I lived in the Boston area for five years, and I loved it. I loved the Au Bon Pains on every block. I loved the Make Way for Duckling statues in Public Garden. I loved all the bookstores in Harvard Square. And of course I loved the Boston Public Library. I used to take an enormous LL Bean tote bag to that library and lug huge piles of books all the way back to Somerville. I think my arms are still sore.

Anyway, I am very, very excited and thrilled. Thank you so much, Boston Authors Club!

ICE is an Andre Norton Award Finalist!!!

Eeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

Snoopy Dance of Joy!!!!!!!!

*pant, pant*

*composes self to look more professional... pats down hair, straightens shirt, pinches cheeks, sits up straight, puts away noise-makers and maracas*

I haz news. :)

I am very pleased (and very, very excited) to report that ICE is a finalist for SFWA's 2009 Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy!

It will appear on the final ballot with the following books:

LEVIATHAN, Scott Westerfeld
EYES LIKE STARS, Lisa Mantchev
ICE, Sarah Beth Durst (me!)
ASH, Malinda Lo
WHEN YOU REACH ME, Rebecca Stead
ZOE'S TALE, John Scalzi
HOTEL UNDER THE SAND, Kage Baker
THE GIRL WHO CIRCUMNAVIGATED FAIRYLAND, Catherynne M. Valente

Members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America will vote throughout the month of March to select a winner, which will be announced as part of the Nebula Awards Banquet, held this year at the Cocoa Beach Hilton in Cape Canaveral, FL, on May 15th. (Click here for information about the event.)

I will be there. I will sooo be there. With bells on. Or at least a pretty dress.

Coolest part about being shortlisted was how I found out...

On Wednesday, my phone rang. (This was remarkable because no one ever calls me except my family and some dude who refuses to believe that the previous owner of our house doesn't live here any more.) I answered, "Hello?"

"Is this Sarah Beth Durst?" a woman's voice said.

Telemarketers don't know my middle name. Only people who are contacting me because of my writing use my middle name. Everyone else calls me just Sarah. (Or, if you're the dude who keeps calling, "Cho-Chang.") So I knew immediately this was writing-related, and I wittily said, "Yes, it is." And then I worried that I should have said, "This is she," and then I decided that that sounds a bit too formal so what I said was fine... By this point, of course, she'd moved on in the conversation.

She said, "This is Madeleine E. Robins, calling on behalf of the Nebula committee, to inform you that ICE has been nominated for the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy. Do you accept the nomination?"

To which I should have said, "Yes, I would be delighted to accept the nomination."

But what I really said was more like, "What?! Really? Yes, yes, YES! Whoo-hoo!"

Smooth, Sarah. Very smooth.

At that point, the words "Andre Norton Award Finalist" started flashing inside my head like some garish Las Vegas hotel sign... which caused me to promptly forget my caller's name.

(This is rather inexcusable because it's not like I didn't know the name -- she wrote THE STONE WAR, which I'd read and enjoyed and was sitting on my bookshelf about two feet away from the phone.)

As a result, when I then called my husband a few minutes later, the best I could do was, "I got the CALL! Andre Norton! Yippee!"

"Who called?" he asked.

Long pause.

"I have no idea," I said.

"Are you sure they didn't call for Cho-Chang?"

We then spent the next ten minutes searching the SFWA website with me going, "Maybe Darlene? Arlene? Robinson? Rob-Something?" My clever husband figured it out, thus confirming that I hadn't hallucinated the entire thing. Always a relief.

After that, I began my Snoopy Dance of Joy, and I have been dancing ever since.

Congratulations to all my fellow Norton finalists, as well as to all the finalists for the Nebula Awards! Hope to see you in Florida!

For those who are interested, here's the official press release from SFWA:

The Nebula Awards are voted on, and presented by, active members of SFWA. The awards will be announced at the Nebula Awards Banquet the evening of May 15 at the Hilton Cocoa Beach Oceanfront, just 20 minutes from the Kennedy Space Center in Fla. Other awards to be presented are the Andre Norton Award for Excellence in Science Fiction or Fantasy for Young Adults, the Bradbury Award for excellence in screenwriting and the Solstice Award for outstanding contribution to the field.

Short story
"Hooves and the Hovel of Abdel Jameela," Saladin Ahmed (Clockwork Phoenix 2, Norilana Press, Jul09)
"I Remember the Future," Michael A. Burstein (I Remember the Future, Apex Press, Nov08)
"Non-Zero Probabilities," N. K. Jemisin (Clarkesworld, Nov09)
"Spar," Kij Johnson (Clarkesworld, Oct09)
"Going Deep," James Patrick Kelly (Asimov's Science Fiction, Jun09)
"Bridesicle," Will McIntosh (Asimov's Science Fiction, Jan09)

Novelette
"The Gambler," Paolo Bacigalupi (Fast Forward 2, Pyr Books, Oct08)
"Vinegar Peace, or the Wrong-Way Used-Adult Orphanage," Michael Bishop (Asimov's Science Fiction, Jul08)
"I Needs Must Part, The Policeman Said," Richard Bowes (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Dec09)
"Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast," Eugie Foster (Apex Online, Nov09)
"Divining Light," Ted Kosmatka (Asimov's Science Fiction, Aug08)
"A Memory of Wind," Rachel Swirsky (Tor.com, Nov09)

Novella
The Women of Nell Gwynne's, Kage Baker (Subterranean Press, Jun09)
"Arkfall," Carolyn Ives Gilman (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Sep09)
"Act One," Nancy Kress (Asimov's Science Fiction, Mar09)
Shambling Towards Hiroshima, James Morrow (Tachyon, Feb09)
"Sublimation Angels," Jason Sanford (Jason Sanford, Nov09)
The God Engines, John Scalzi (Subterranean Press, Dec09)

Novel
The Windup Girl, Paolo Bacigalupi (Nightshade, Sep09)
The Love We Share Without Knowing, Christopher Barzak (Bantam, Nov08)
Flesh and Fire, Laura Anne Gilman (Pocket, Oct09)
The City & The City, China Miéville (Del Rey, May09)
Boneshaker, Cherie Priest (Tor, Sep09)
Finch, Jeff VanderMeer (Underland Press, Oct09)

Bradbury Award
Star Trek, JJ Abrams (Paramount, May09)
District 9, Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell (Tri-Star, Aug09)
Avatar, James Cameron (Fox, Dec 09)
Moon, Duncan Jones and Nathan Parker (Sony, Jun09)
Up, Bob Peterson and Pete Docter (Disney/Pixar, May09)
Coraline, Henry Selick (Laika/Focus Feb09)

Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy
Hotel Under the Sand, Kage Baker (Tachyon, Jul09)
Ice, Sarah Beth Durst (Simon and Schuster, Oct09)
Ash, by Malinda Lo (Little, Brown & Company, Sep09)
Eyes Like Stars, Lisa Mantchev (Feiwel and Friends, Jul09)
Zoe's Tale, John Scalzi (Tor Aug08)
When You Reach Me, Rebecca Stead (Wendy Lamb Books, 2009)
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In A Ship Of Her Own Making, Catherynne M. Valente (Catherynne M. Valente, Jun09)
Leviathan, Scott Westerfeld (Simon, Oct09)

For more information, visit www.nebulaawards.com or www.sfwa.org

About SFWA

Founded in 1965 by the late Damon Knight, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America brings together the most successful and daring writers of speculative fiction throughout the world.

Since its inception, SFWA® has grown in numbers and influence until it is now widely recognized as one of the most effective non-profit writers' organizations in existence, boasting a membership of approximately 1,500 science fiction and fantasy writers as well as artists, editors and allied professionals. Each year the organization presents the prestigious Nebula Awards® for the year’s best literary and dramatic works of speculative fiction.

Sunshine State Young Readers Award

Feeling lots of love for Florida.

Into the Wild made the master list for Florida's Sunshine State Young Readers Award! I am so thrilled and grateful.

In fact, you might say I'm walking on sunshine...



Or perhaps you'd prefer this version...



Thank you, Florida!!!

In related news, I'm suddenly craving orange juice...

Polar Bears, Northboro, and Missouri

Thank you, everyone, for all your kind words about ICE and IVY! You guys rock.

As a thank-you, here's a new Random Arctic Fact: a male polar bear's neck is broader than his head. This means it's very tough to put radio collars on them -- collars slip off. So do necklaces, neckties, and cravats, which explains why you seldom see polar bears in fancy restaurants.

Another polar-bear-related tidbit: the mascot for my old elementary school (Lincoln Street School in Northboro, MA) is a polar bear. We didn't have a mascot while I was there. (We also didn't have plastic slides. We had a metal slide that heated to approximately 1,000 degrees in the sun. And we had a jungle gym composed of steel bars over concrete so that if you fell, you were guaranteed to seriously injure yourself.) Anyway, I love the new mascot. I think it's a sign.

The reason that I'm thinking about my elementary school now is that I was there on Tuesday. I also visited the Marion E. Zeh School in Northboro the same day. Zeh's mascot is a zebra, but I love them anyway because they put this on their sign:


That was so cool of them to do. Yes, I know they left off my "h"... But they tell me it was only because they ran out of h's for the sign, which is a pretty awesome excuse, so I totally forgive them, especially given the overall awesomeness of the sign!

I talked with the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades at Lincoln Street and the 5th grade at Zeh, and I had such a wonderful day. All the students were fantastic. And really creative too. For my talk, I read a scene from OUT OF THE WILD and then did a writing workshop about a way to generate story ideas. They all came up with such awesome ideas. My personal favorite involved flying tacos.

And I have some other non-polar-bear-related news to share too: INTO THE WILD has been nominated for a 2009-2010 Truman Readers Award from the Missouri Association of School Librarians!! Huge thanks to GreenBeanTeenQueen for letting me know about this! I'm so excited, and am now feeling especially fond of Missouri, despite the state's distinct lack of polar bears...

Nebula Awards Weekend 2008 Trip Report (Part 2 of 2)

Last weekend, I attended the 2008 Nebula Awards Weekend in Austin, Texas, as a finalist for the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Fantasy and Science Fiction. Click here for the first half of my trip report, or just keep on reading for the second half...

SATURDAY

Saturday of Nebula Weekend involved a lot more talking to fabulous people. I started the day with an in-depth discussion on the Return of the Jedi with the super-awesome Shanna Swendson and Elizabeth Wein. I then went out for a lovely lunch with Shanna. The weather was perfect, and we ate Mexican food outside at one of Shanna's old college haunts. So much fun!

Returned to the hotel in time (almost) for the SFWA Business Meeting. All the active members had to sign in. You should have seen this attendance sheet. My name was sandwiched between Joe Haldeman and Shanna Swendson. Hee-hee! I felt like a vandal who had sneaked in and added her name to the signatures on the Declaration of Independence. And then discovered there were secret clues on the back of the Declaration that were only visible with Ben Franklin's special glasses and... Sorry, bad movie reference. Couldn't resist.

Anyway, I chatted with more super-awesome people after the meeting: Rosemary Clement-Moore, Candace Havens, Amy Sisson, Paul Abell... (The ellipsis equals "and many other fabulous people".) Now, let's fast-forward... talk, talk, talk, walk, walk, walk, up the elevator, change the clothes, yada yada until...

The Nebula Awards Ceremony.

Okay, wait, back up a bit... yep, just there, to the elevator after I finished putting on my black-and-white vine dress. I walk over to the elevator, and there's a man standing there in coat and tie and jeans. He's not wearing a name tag, but he seems to know what my name tag means, so I guess that he's connected to the event and I say, "Hi, I'm Sarah Beth Durst." And he shakes my hand and says, "I'm Michael Chabon."

Yep, Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Chabon, who later that night went on to win the Nebula for Best Novel.

We chatted on the way down the elevator, and I led him to registration. He was so super sweet. Plus he seemed genuinely excited to be there. (I mean, at the event, not just the registration desk, though I'm sure he was glad... oh, never mind.) At any rate, I really enjoyed talking with him.

Me and Michael Chabon

Everyone began to arrive, and yes, I talked with more fabulous people but this time all the fabulous people were in fabulous outfits: Kij Johnson (in a gorgeous blue velvet gown), Nancy Kress (in glamorous black and white chiffon), Mary Robinette Kowal (in an elegant pants suit), Amy Sisson (in shimmery mermaid green), Diane Turnshek (in a white and gold gown), Shanna Swendson (in the red stilleto pumps that appear in her awesome Katie Chandler books), Delia Sherman (in a lovely embroidered Victorian-like dress), Rosemary Clement-Moore (in green taffeta), Candace Havens (in glamorous black), John Moore (in a tux), A. Lee Martinez (in a Futurama T-shirt and jeans because, as he said, part of the writing gig is that you don't have to dress up if you don't want to -- and he did point out that the shirt was new)...

Candy, Me, and Rosemary all dressed up

After we'd all sufficiently admired each other, we commenced to the banquet. I had an awesome table. Starting on my left: Elizabeth Wein, Gay Haldeman, Joe Haldeman, Diana Gill, Candace Havens, Rosemary Clement-Moore, Anne Sowards, Jack McDevitt, and Liza Groen Trombi. I had a particularly great conversation with Liza, whom I'd never met before.

And then after dinner... the awards.

Oddly, during dinner, I hadn't thought much about the awards. (I say "oddly" because I was only a few feet away from the trophies. If I hadn't been in heels and, y'know, trying to look professional and all that, I could have grabbed one, tucked it under my arm like a football, and bolted out of the room. Not that the thought crossed my mind or anything.) Anyway, as soon as the emcee stepped on stage, my heart started to pound in this really fast and cliched way. It wasn't a scary sort of nervousness. I knew my chances were astronomically small -- seriously, folks, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the most popular YA fantasy book since, like, EVER was on the list -- but astronomically small is still not zero.

John Moore introduced the award, and Amy Sisson and Chris McKitterick walked across the stage to present. John handed them a black envelope with silver writing on the outside. My heart was thumping so fast and loud that I felt like my skin was vibrating. And they said, "And the nominees for the Andre Norton Award are..." And then they got to my name, "... Sarah Beth Durst for Into the Wild..." and they said it just like that, like the presenters do at the Academy Awards. Hearing those words, I nearly started to levitate.

A moment later, they sliced open the envelope with a sword-shaped letter opener and read the name "J.K. Rowling." The funny thing was that I kept smiling. I still felt like flying. My name had been announced as a finalist! I had to remind myself to quit smiling for at least a couple of seconds so that I didn't look like one of those idiots on award shows that acts overly-excited when someone else wins.

Don't get me wrong -- I wanted that award. (See above plan for grabbing the trophy and bolting.) But how could I be sad? I was there! I got to be a finalist! The only thing I was sad about was that the announcement of the award meant the experience was nearly over.

My heart rate calmed as I listened to the rest of the awards and speeches. In addition to J.K. Rowling for the Norton, the 2007 Nebula winners were Michael Chabon for Best Novel, Nancy Kress for Best Novella, Ted Chiang for Best Novelette, Karen Joy Fowler for Best Short Story, Guillermo del Toro for Best Script, and Michael Moorcock as SFWA Grand Master.

Afterwards, everyone gathered in the hospitality suite to talk, shoot pool, and bean each other with the foam moon-like balls given as party favors at the banquet. Really, I think it shows remarkable decorum and self-restraint that we didn't pelt each other with those balls during the banquet.

In keeping with the theme of the weekend, I talked to more fabulous people, including many already mentioned, plus Connie Willis, John Picacio, David Watson, Michael Marano, Michael Ehart, David Levine, Sheila Williams, Tobias Buckell...

SUNDAY

Next morning, I checked out. By lucky coincidence, the super-sweet Sean Fodera was on the same flight as I was so I got to continue my streak of talking-with-fabulous-people all the way back to New York.

Really, the weekend was all about the people (and pins, certificates, ribbons, and pretty dresses, of course). In addition to everyone already mentioned in today and yesterday's posts, I also got to say hello to Jennifer Pelland, Betsy Mitchell, Beth Meacham, Peter Heck, Mary Turzillo, Bert Chamberlain, Neal Barrett, A.C. Crispin, C.J. Mills, Jessica Reisman, Milaka Falk, Eric James Stone, Scott Edelman... and many, many more. (If I didn't list you, please know that I still think you're fabulous!)

And last but certainly not least, a shout-out to the awesome Austin science fiction community... Karen Meschke (the fearless leader of the Nebula Awards Weekend committee), Sandy Del Monte (the tireless Hospitality Suite Goddess), Laura Domitz, Lillian Butler, Lee Martindale, Beverly Hale, Cherly DuCoin, Stina Leicht, and all the other wonderful people who organized everything for this event. Thank you for an incredible weekend!

Nebula Awards Weekend 2008 Trip Report (Part 1 of 2)

I'm back from Nebula Awards Weekend. The results are in. And alas, I did not win the Andre Norton Award. J.K. Rowling did. (Isn't it wonderful to finally see good things happening for her career?) But as I'd hoped, I had an absolutely awesome time losing in person. Plus, now I have a better idea what it's like to be Voldemort. Both of us were beaten by Harry Potter. And we were both wearing little black dresses when it happened. (Okay, so he called his a "wizard's robe". Whatever.) And like Voldemort, it turns out that I can also summon fireballs in the palm of my hand:

Mwah-ha-ha-ha

(Especially while I'm trying to take a flash photo of myself in the mirror.) And yes, that is the dress, though the picture above is (for obvious reasons) not the best. Here's a better one:

The Dress

Anyway, Voldemort did not attend the 2008 Nebula Awards Weekend in Austin. But lots of really amazing people did attend, and I talked to anyone who was foolish enough to make eye contract with the curly-haired girl who was grinning as broadly as a dolphin all weekend.

Let me recap...

THURSDAY

Arrived late. The hotel was overbooked, so they upgraded me to a suite! And this was a "Texas-sized" suite. You entered in Austin, and by the time you reached the bedroom, you were in Houston. It had a living room (with two couches and a dining room table for six), a kitchen (full refrigerator plus washer and dryer), a walk-in closet, two bedrooms, and three bathrooms. Significantly larger than many apartments I've lived in.

Texas-sized Hotel Room

FRIDAY

Woke early and fetched my name badge. It came with a black ribbon that said "NOMINEE" in gold letters. Because I am a total dork, I immediately ran back to my room, hiked across the living room, and tried to take photos of myself with the badge by stretching my arm out with the camera. I am NOT posting those photos. Turns out that taking photos of yourself by stretching your arm out is an even worse idea than taking a flash photo of yourself in a mirror. Who knew? So here is just a photo of the name badge with ribbon:

The Badge

I then returned downstairs and tried to keep from doing cartwheels across the hotel lobby while the little Sarah inside my head was shrieking, "Nom-i-nee! Nom-i-nee! Nom-i-nee!" in a very cheerleader-esque fashion.

I then proceeded to talk to many, many fabulous people, including Vera Nazarian, Russell Davis, Jane Jewell, Gay and Joe Haldeman...

Late afternoon, I checked out the room for that night's mass autographing. The booksellers from BookPeople were all set up, and they had two giant stacks of the paperback edition of Into the Wild. I didn't even know the paperback existed yet! It's not due out until May 29th. But there it was! I did a little Snoopy Dance of Joy before remembering that I'm supposed to look professional. Oops.

I talked with more fabulous people: Delia Sherman, Ellen Kushner, Rosemary Clement-Moore, Candace Havens, Shanna Swendson, Elizabeth Wein, Geoffrey Landis, Gordon Van Gelder... I'll show pictures in just a second, but first... the Nominee Ceremony!

During the Nominee Ceremony, Jane Jewell announced the name of each nominee, Michael Capobianco presented the certificates, and Cheryl DuCoin affixed the "Nebula Nominee" pins. And I grinned like a deranged dolphin the entire time. A very, very happy deranged dolphin. Here's a photo of me receiving my certificate:

The Certificate

And here's a photo of all the nominees:

The Nominees

After the ceremony, I was lucky enough to sit between Delia and Ellen for the autographing session.

Ellen Kushner, Me, and Delia Sherman

I was also lucky enough to score a giant chocolate chip cookie, as seen in above photo. Certificates, pins, fabulous writers, and chocolate chip cookies... what more can a little Sarah ask for? Here's a photo of me with more fabulous writers:

Me, Rosemary Clement-Moore, Candace Havens, and Shanna Swendson

The answer to "what more can a little Sarah ask for" turned out to be dinner. Candace (Candy), Rosemary, Elizabeth Wein, A. Lee Martinez (Alex), and I ventured out into Austin for dinner, and I had the most fantastic time. I adored my dinner companions. I even got extra bonus time with them -- after dinner, it began to rain. And when I say "rain," I mean that the Hoover Dam broke over our heads, and the entire Colorado River crashed down on Austin in a torrent of water. We hid out in the restaurant lobby until the dove, the rainbow, and Noah said it was safe again.

And then came Saturday, the day of the awards ceremony itself, which I promise to tell you all about. But for now, I am exhausted and must sleep. Much more coming soon...

Nebula Awards Weekend 2008

It's finally here!!!

Tomorrow, I am hopping on a plane (and by "hopping" I mean that I'm arriving at the airport several hours early and staring fixedly at the Arrival/Departure board in hopes that by sheer force of will, I can prevent the flight from being delayed or cancelled -- I am not what you'd call a relaxed traveler) and flying to Austin, Texas, for the 2008 Nebula Awards Weekend.

As I think I've mentioned (only about a hundred times), Into the Wild is a finalist for SFWA's Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Fantasy and Science Fiction. I am really, really, really excited about this. In fact, as soon as I got the news, I booked my flight to Austin, where they will be announcing the winner, live, at the awards ceremony! Just like the Oscars! Sorta.

Don't misunderstand -- I am not expecting to win. I am up against some really stiff competition (Elizabeth Wein, Ysabeau Wilce, Steve Berman, Adam Rex, Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu, and some unknown writer by the name of J.K. Rowling). But I am ridiculously excited to lose in person.

And to wear a pretty dress.

I can't remember the last time I wore a dress. Writing isn't really a dress-wearing sort of job, which is probably a good thing because I can't walk in high heels for more than five minutes at a time and I haven't the faintest idea how to put on makeup. (Last time I wore makeup was at my wedding ten years ago. I still own that makeup. It's probably all turned toxic by now.) But I went to the mall five times to find the perfect dress for this weekend. Finally found it last week. Snoopy Dance of Joy!

Some Random Model Wearing My New Dress

Do ya like it? Do ya? Do ya? Now I just need to make it through the banquet without spilling anything on myself. So not going to happen.

On the Friday of Nebula Awards Weekend (this Friday), there's a massive book signing event at the hotel. I'll be signing along with a huge collection of other authors (click here for the full participant list). Should be a lot of fun. Here's the key info:

Friday April 25th from 5:30 to 8pm
Omni Austin Hotel Downtown
Longhorn Room (3rd floor)
700 San Jacinto at 8th Street
Austin, Texas

It's open to everyone, regardless of whether you're attending the awards ceremony, so if you're in Austin this weekend, I hope you'll stop by!

Some Pig!

Just got some lovely news from Ms. Editor... Into the Wild has been nominated for the E. B. White Award! Snoopy Dance of Joy!!!

The award is presented by the Association of Booksellers for Children (ABC) and its full name is the E. B. White Read Aloud Award for Older Readers (they give another award for picture books). I am so, so, so excited to be nominated.

For one thing, being nominated for an award is tangible evidence that someone out there likes me (or at least likes my book). And this makes me really, really happy for I am a needy and neurotic person in constant need of affirmation to fuel my self-worth. Second, I'm particularly excited because nominations for this award are submitted by children's booksellers, who are (practically by definition) experts in children's books. Third, it's named after E. B. White, as in the author of Charlotte's Web! What could be more awesome than Charlotte's Web?! And finally, I love that the award is meant to honor works that are terrific books to read aloud. I love thinking about people reading Into the Wild to each other. Sometimes I get emails from readers that talk about reading the book together as a family, or with friends, or in class, or at bed-time... and I just think that is so cool. As I think I've mentioned before, my absolute favorite Amazon.com customer review is this one, reproduced below:

Dear Sarah-

Me and my dad had a great time reading this book. Although I'm only eight, my dad is REALLY old, so he qualifies to help me with this review! I love stories about mysteries, and I thought Puss 'n Boots was really funny.

My dad and I read this over a couple of weeks, a little bit every night. My favorite part was when Julie was a princess, and they had the test. That was really funny.

I think you did a great job, this being your first book and all. I also liked the part when the wild escaped. Another part is when she met her dad. I liked when her bike came alive, too.

We live in Shrewsbury, next to Northboro. I liked when Spag's was the wizard's house, the ogre's castle was Higgins Armory. I liked it when you used places that I knew in your book. Keep up the good work!

Pam and her Dad

Thank you, Pam. And thank you, ABC booksellers!

The winner will be announced in early April. Please keep your fingers crossed for me!

Upcoming Event

If you're in or near NYC... I will be doing a reading this Tuesday night (March 4th at 7pm) as part of The New York Review of Science Fiction Readings at the Melville Gallery of the South Street Seaport Museum. Felix Gilman, author of Thunderer, will be reading as well. Should be a fun night. I hope you'll come join us! I will be reading scenes from both Into the Wild and Out of the Wild.