We’re more than a little excited for Mercury Retrograde author Barbara Friend Ish: her debut novel, The Shadow of the Sun, has been nominated for the Compton Crook Award! From their website:
The Compton Crook Award is presented to the best first novel of the year written by a single author: collaborations are not eligible: in the field of Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror by the members of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society, Inc., at their annual Baltimore-area science fiction convention, Balticon, held on Memorial Day weekend in the Baltimore, MD area each year.
Wonder how the award process works? So did we. Here’s what we learned: the members of the award committee read the books that have been nominated. The committee presents a short-list of finalists to the BSFS membership early in March 2012. The membership then has a month to read any books they’ve missed and make their final scores. The winner is known early in April but kept from the membership in general, so they will be surprised at the convention when the winner is announced.
On her blog, Barbara had this to say:
It’s a cliche, but it’s true: it’s a huge honor just to have been nominated for the award, and I’m beyond thrilled. (And everyone who is nominated hopes to win!)
As is the norm with these things, Mercury Retrograde will be providing the BSFS with a number of copies of The Shadow of the Sun, in Trade Paper and eBook formats; so if you’re a member, this may be your chance to lay hands on a free copy.
