first chapters

If you don’t know what the SFWA First Chapters project is, it’s an effort to collect first chapters from F&SF novels published throughout the year in a single compendium. This should help with reading for awards in that you have a chance to sample books before figuring out what you want to read in its entirety. For writers, it should be a chance to get that first chapter in front of reader eyes in order to convince them they want to keep going. In 2018 the focus is getting indie writers up and running with the program, but if you’re a small publisher interested in participating, let me know.

As part of that project, I asked the group working on it to make sure that people uploading first chapters can keyword their work so, for example, if you just wanted to see chapters eligible for a specific award, like the Sideways, Prometheus, or Andre Norton Awards.

Here’s the list I just gave them. Any other awards you’d add? I didn’t include ones that are restricted by geographical area like the Aurora or Endeavour Awards.

List of all keywords:
Alternative history novel
Anthropomorphic novel
Fantasy novel
First novel
Game-related novel
Horror novel
Libertarian
Media tie-in novel
MG novel
Military SF novel
PKD eligible
SF novel
Urban fantasy novel
YA novel

Bram Stoker Award
http://www.horror.org/awards/stokers.htm#about

Keywords: First novel, horror novel, YA novel

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British Fantasy Awards
http://www.britishfantasysociety.org/british-fantasy-awards/

Keywords: fantasy novel, horror novel

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British Science Fiction Awards
https://www.bsfa.co.uk/

Keywords: SF novel

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Compton Crook Award
http://www.bsfs.org/CCA/bsfsccnu2014.htm

Keywords: First novel

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David Gemmell Awards for Fantasy
http://www.gemmellawards.com/award-voting-2017/

Keywords: fantasy novel, first novel

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Dragon Awards
http://awards.dragoncon.org/

Keywords: SF novel, fantasy novel, YA novel, MG novel, military SF novel, alternative history novel, media tie-in novel, horror novel
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Ennie Awards
http://www.ennie-awards.com/blog/

Keywords: game-related novel

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Hugo Awards
http://www.thehugoawards.org/
Keywords: SF novel, fantasy novel

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Keystroke Medium Awards
http://www.keystrokemedium.com/ksm-awards.html

Keywords: SF novel, military SF novel, post-apocalyptic novel, fantasy novel, epic fantasy novel, urban fantasy novel, horror novel
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Locus Awards
https://locusmag.com/

Keywords: SF novel, fantasy novel, first novel, YA novel

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Nebula Awards/Norton
http://nebulas.sfwa.org

Keywords: Fantasy novel, SF novel, YA novel, MG novel

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Philip K. Dick Award
http://www.philipkdickaward.org/

Keywords: PKD eligible (appeared in paperback rather than HB first)

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Prometheus Award
http://www.lfs.org/

Keywords: libertarian novel

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Sideways Awards
http://www.uchronia.net/sidewise/
Keywords: alternative history novel
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Ursa Major Awards
http://www.ursamajorawards.org/

Keywords: anthropomorphic novel

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World Fantasy Awards
http://www.worldfantasy.org/awards/

Keywords: fantasy novel

One of the nice things about having a lot of pots bubbling away, particularly when other people are supervising some of them, is knowing what’s coming up on the menu. So here, in no particular order, is a deeper look at three pet projects that are manifesting.

SFWA Ed will be online education via the web: an array of classes aimed at a range of writers, from new to professional. We’ve got a lot of members who teach, and I know our coordinator has been reaching out to as many as he can. That’s been rolling along splendidly thanks to the undauntable and indefatigable Jonathan Brazee. I believe it will be a mix of paid and free classes; we’re still figuring out all the details.

First Chapters is my attempt to answer the question: how can I know what to vote for in award season without reading every single book? That’s the biggest complaint I hear about any of the awards. Or one of them, now that I think about it. At any rate, this compendium will have a first chapter from eligible books, with the info you need to figure out what category or categories it fits in for awards like the Nebulas, Hugos, Norton, the Dragon Awards, etc. Using it should help someone find the books they want to read in their entirety. If you’re interested in making sure you’re contacted when we start taking chapters, please drop me a line. (If you have been asked not to contact me, please mail your interest to office@sfwa.org.) This project is rolling along thanks to the efforts of Dan Potter and the Publishing Committee.

The Preserve Your Legacy Campaign. So to talk about this one, I have to talk about a SFWA volunteer, Bud Webster, who was frickin’ tireless in working with the SFWA Estates Project, which works to connect authors’ estate with publishers, editors, scholars, etc. Bud was smart and funny and above all, kind. One of the good-hearted people that help keep the world running. This campaign is aimed at helping writers learn how to preserve their literary estate and archive their works. This one’s being driven by the excellent Lawrence Schoen.