INTERACTION

Vote Now For Your Favourite Stories and Art of 2009

We're asking you to let us know what you enjoyed (and what you didn't) during 2009. To be eligible the story or artwork must have been published in Interzone issues 220 to 225 inclusive. A list of eligible stories and artworks is below. As always, we're as keen to hear your opinions of the magazine as we are to get your votes, so don't be shy in letting us know what you think – and we may publish the most interesting comments.

There are various ways to cast your votes:

• Use the form on the website's Readers'Poll page
• Post or email them to Martin McGrath using the addresses given in IZ226
• Leave comments on this thread

As usual with the Interzone poll you can vote both positively for the stories and artworks you liked and negatively for those you didn't, and we'll rank the final choice according to the aggregate score. You can vote for as many or as few stories as you like.

The results will be published in issue 228, so please make sure your votes are in before March 31st.

Eligible Stories and Artworks:

A Clown Escapes From Circus Town (221)
Will McIntosh
illustrated by Warwick Fraser-Coombe

After Everything Woke Up (220)
Rudy Rucker

Black Swan (221)
Bruce Sterling
illustrated by Paul Drummond

Bone Island (225)
Shannon Page & Jay Lake
illustrated by Mark Pexton

Butterfly Bomb (223)
Dominic Green
illustrated by Daniel Bristow-Bailey

By Starlight (225)
Rebecca J. Payne

Coat of Many Colours (223)
Dominic Green
illustrated by Daniel Bristow-Bailey

Cover Art (220)
Adam Tredowski

Cover Art (221)
Adam Tredowski

Cover Art (222)
Adam Tredowski

Cover Art (223)
Adam Tredowski

Cover Art (224)
Adam Tredowski

Cover Art (225)
Adam Tredowski

Far and Deep (221)
Alaya Dawn Johnson
illustrated by Lisa Konrad

Fishermen (221)
Al Robertson
illustrated by Geoffrey Grisso

Funny Pages (225)
Lavie Tidhar
illustrated by Warwick Fraser-Coombe

Glister (223)
Dominic Green
illustrated by Daniel Bristow-Bailey

Here We Are, Falling Through Shadows (225)
Jason Sanford
illustrated by Mark Pexton

Home Again (221)
Paul M. Berger

Johnny and Emmie-Lou Get Married (222)
Kim Lakin-Smith
illustrated by Warwick Fraser-Coombe

Lady of the White-Spired City (222)
Sarah L. Edwards
illustrated by Martin Bland

Memory Dust (220)
Gareth L. Powell
illustrated by Daniel Bristow-Bailey

Microcosmos (222)
Nina Allan

Miles to Isengard (220)
Leah Bobet
illustrated by Warwick Fraser-Coombe

Monetized (220)
Jason Stoddard
illustrated by Paul Drummond

Mother of Champions (222)
Sean McMullen
illustrated by Anne Stone-Coyote

No Longer You (224)
Katherine Sparrow & Rachel Swirsky
illustrated by Mark Pexton

Saving Diego (221)
Matthew Kressel
illustrated by David Gentry

Shucked (224)
Adrian Joyce
illustrated by Dave Senecal

Silence & Roses (223)
Suzanne Palmer
illustrated by Mark Pexton

Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast (220)
Eugie Foster
illustrated by Geoffrey Grisso

Spy vs Spy (220)
Neil Williamson

Sublimation Angels (224)
Jason Sanford
illustrated by Paul Drummond

The Festival of Tethselem (224)
Chris Butler
illustrated by Martin Bland

The Godfall’s Chemsong (224)
Jeremiah Tolbert
illustrated by Martin Bland

The Killing Streets (225)
Colin Harvey
illustrated by Mark Pexton

The Transmigration of Aishwarya Desai (223)
Eric Gregory
illustrated by Arthur Wang

Unexpected Outcomes (222)
Tim Pratt

Ys (222)
Aliette de Bodard
illustrated by Mark Pexton

I think that should read Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast. Otherwise we might be considered to be biast. (Sorry about that last)
Roy

Oops!

Oooh! I get the first vote!

My favourite stories (vote based on basic enjoyment, not technical matters) were:

Mother of Champions (222)
Sean McMullen
illustrated by Anne Stone-Coyote

The Godfall’s Chemsong (224)
Jeremiah Tolbert
illustrated by Martin Bland

On a more technical note, I wish I'd thought of Sean's story myself. I loved the premise. I'm very jealous.

In addition, I'd like to put in a special mention for Alliette de Bodard's story, Ys (222). I didn't enjoy it as much as her stories published in IZ last year but her name on the cover (thanks to last year's) would have been enough to make me buy the issue. The magazine and her writing in combination are rapidly turning me into a fan-girl. (Yeah, guess who's got her book pre-ordered, too).

No negative comments to make about story choices. As I've said before, I don't always like all the stories in an issue but they are picked and combined in such a way that they make a fantastic reading experience.

And for covers, I vote for IZ 224 although all of Adam Tredowski's work was great. What's swung it for me is the green / implied inclusion of Nature.

_________________
Jo Thomas
http://www.journeymouse.net/

My favourite stories were:

Ys
There was a lovely dovetailing of the modern and the ancient

Sublimation Angels
Totally monumental

By Starlight
sailing ships in the sky - what more can you ask for?

Favourite artwork:

the cover for 224
crisp and clear

I don't feel quite so passionate about my favorites this year but for the first year there are none I feel compelled to vote against.

Stories
Bone Island (225)
Shannon Page & Jay Lake

Fishermen (221)
Al Robertson

Microcosmos (222)
Nina Allan

Saving Diego (221)
Matthew Kressel

No Longer You (224)
Katherine Sparrow & Rachel Swirsky

I'd like to add an honorable mention for By Starlight which was a hugely promising debut.

Art
Bone Island (225)
illustrated by Mark Pexton

The Godfall’s Chemsong (224)
illustrated by Martin Bland

As Hugo nomination season is open, is there an easy way to tell if a story is 'short story', 'novelette' or 'novella'?

The "Story Acceptances" page has wordcounts on it - you can look up the length there to check which category any given story falls into...

http://ttapress.com/interzone/acceptances/

... for the Hugo awards the divide between short story and novelette seems to be 7,500 words, and novelette to novella 17,500 words.

The short-story / novelette divide is 8500 words for Hugo purposes, 7500 for Nebula. No idea why.

_________________
http://www.colin-harvey.com

Novels:
Winter Song -- US launch May 2010
Damage Time -- UK launch May 2010
-- US launch June 2010

Thanks for the tip.

My positive votes for stories are:

* "Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast" by Eugie Foster, which made the BSFA Award shortlist for best short fiction and is doing well in nominations in the Nebula Award's novelette category. (Note to Nebula and BSFA voters: Read this story and vote for it!). This was one of my favorite stories of 2009. This is the story I expect to win the Readers' Poll.
* "No Longer You" by Katherine Sparrow and Rachel Swirsky.
* "The Festival of Tethselem" by Chris Butler.
* "The Godfall's Chemsong" by Jeremiah Tolbert.
* "The Killing Streets" by Colin Harvey.
* "Memory Dust" by Gareth L. Powell.
* "By Starlight" by Rebecca J. Payne.

My positive votes for the art are

* Adam Tredowski's amazing cover for Interzone 224.
* Mark Pexton's art for "Here We Are, Falling Through Shadows".
* Paul Drummond's art for "Sublimation Angels". (And yes, I realize I'm voting for both of the artists who illustrated my stories, but that's an easy thing to do when you love their work. If anyone doesn't like this, feel free to write me a nasty email.

I could have voted for more stories, but decided to limit myself to seven. I also decided not to cast any negative votes this year because none of the Interzone stories really rubbed me wrong. Interzone remains my favorite SF/F magazine, and 2009 will go down as one of their best years ever.

Positive vote for the following stories:
"Unexpected Outcomes" Tim Pratt
"Glister" Dominic Green
"Silence & Roses" Suzanne Palmer
"Sublimation Angels" Jason Sanford
"The Festival of Tethselem" Chris Butler
"Funny Pages" Lavie Tidhar

Positive vote for the following art:
Mark Pexton "Here We Are, Falling Through Shadows"
Mark Pexton "The Killing Streets"
Warwick Fraser-Coombe "Johnny and Emmie-Lou Get Married"
Paul Drummond "Sublimation Angels"
All of Adam Tredowski's covers: absolutely gorgeous!

My positive votes are as follows:

"Sublimation Angels" Jason Sanford
"The Festival of Tethselem" by Chris Butler.
"The Godfall's Chemsong" by Jeremiah Tolbert.
"Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast" by Eugie Foster
"By Starlight" by Rebecca J. Payne
"Saving Diego" Matthew Kressel

Art:

Mark Pexton's art for "Here We Are, Falling Through Shadows".
Paul Drummond's art for "Sublimation Angels"

Cover Art (224)
Adam Tredowski (In fact, all of his covers. He is so brilliant!)

This was a particularly strong year for Interzone, even by the magazine's usual high standards. For me, Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast and Sublimation Angels are the outstanding stories and they richly deserve their place on the award shortlists.

Other stories that stuck in my mind were A Clown Escapes From Circus Town, Glister, Saving Diego and Ys.

The cover art by Adam Tredowski was stunning throughout. I'd be hard-pressed to pick a favourite![/b]

I particularly liked:

"Coat of Many Colours" by Dominic Green
"Glister" by Dominic Green
"Here We Are, Falling Through Shadows" by Jason Sanford
"By Starlight" by Rebecca J. Payne

And for art I have to pick Adam Tredowski's amazing cover art for issue 224.