The British Science Fiction Association seeks nominations from its members for its annual awards. As my short story collection was published in 2008, three of the stories in it are eligible for the Short Fiction category, as their appearance in the book marked their first time in print:

• Flotsam
• Hot Rain
• Arches

If you’re a member of the BSFA and you enjoyed the book, you might consider nominating one of the stories. If you haven’t read it yet, you can buy it as a printed copy on Amazon or as an ebook via Fictionwise.

(Those of you who enjoyed the book’s title story The Last Reef when it appeared in Interzone, may be interested to learn that Flotsam and Hot Rain are both sequels to that story.)

The new issue of Interzone is here, including the results of the 2007 Readers’ Poll.

As you already know, my story “Ack-Ack Macaque” came first in the poll, closely followed by stories from Grace Dugan and Alastair Reynolds.

Included with the results in the magazine this year are a selection of comments from the voters. There were a couple of complimentary ones about “Ack-Ack Macaque” - and only one negative one, which made me laugh out loud because it described the characters as “petty and unpleasant hipsters“.

Coming first in this poll means a great deal to me, as it was my ambition for many years to sell a story to Interzone, and I’m absolutely delighted that now I’ve had two featured in the magazine, both have enjoyed an overwhelmingly enthusiastic response from the readership.

If you are a member of the British Fantasy Society, you may like to know that my short story “Ack-Ack Macaque” is eligible to be recommended in the short fiction category for a BFS Award…

If you missed the printed version, you can read my short story “Ack-Ack Macaque” by purchasing an electronic copy of Interzone 212 from Fictionwise.

I’m very proud and pleased to say that my short story “Ack-Ack Macaque” has been nominated for a British Science Fiction Association award for best short story of 2007. This is the second consecutive year that one of my stories has been nominated for this prestigious award.

Nominations are now open for this year’s BSFA awards. All current members of the BSFA are eligible to nominate and vote for the awards, which will be presented at next year’s British national science fiction convention (Eastercon). Members of the Eastercon will also be eligible to vote for the awards.

Although my story The Last Reef was recommended for a British Fantasy Society award, it has failed to make the final shortlist, which was announced this week.

My congratulations go to Elastic Press, TTA Press and Pendragon Press for their inclusion in various categories, and to Vincent Chong, illustrator of The Last Reef, for his inclusion in the Best Artist category.

A full list of recommendations for the BFS Awards is now up at: http://www.britishfantasysociety.org/news/?p=111. Any votes for my short story ‘The Last Reef‘ will be appreciated.

‘The Last Reef’ has been recommended for a BFS Award in the short fiction category. The voting by BFS members will be taking place over the next few weeks.

I’m trying something I’ve never tried before - I’m writing a direct sequel to one of my short stories, picking up the characters from the award-winning ‘Sunsets and Hamburgers‘ three years after we last saw them.

The story’s called ‘Movies and Bottled Beer’ and it’s been inspired by Alice Dragoon’s superb reading of ‘Sunsets and Hamburgers’. I listened to it in the car this morning and it’s left me desperately wanting to revisit the characters in order to find out what happens next…