I truly, without false modesty, did not expect to win this. I’m still in a state of utter giddy shock that I have the Campbell tiara on my head right now. It is so beautiful and I am deeply, deeply honored. I would have been happy to see any of the other nominees win, and I encourage you to pick up their novels.

Out of consideration for the audience, I did not take time to thank everyone that I wanted to thank. We would have been there forever. Here’s a partial list of people I want to thank.

My mom, who started my love for stories by reading to me.
Dad, who is my best story debugger.
My husband, of course, for reasons that I will enumerate to him in private.
My brother, niece and nephew, who got me writing again.
Mr. & Mrs. Kowal who have been so supportive, even though speculative fiction is a new and alien thing.
Ken Scholes, my literary dad, who believed in me enough to introduce me to his agent.
Who is now my uber-agent, Jennifer Jackson.
Joy Marchand who has brainstormed with me and shared the road.
Emily DeCola who lets me tell her stories.
Beth Wodzinski who doesn’t let me get away with crap.
Mr.Fisher, Mr. Allen and Miss Sarah who collectively give such insightful critiques that everyone makes me a better writer.
John Scalzi for being one of my dearest friends and being incredibly supportive.
Jay Lake and Elizabeth Bear for coming up with the idea of the Campbell tiara, which I love.
The three fellow nominees I’ve had the fortune to meet are David Louis Edelman (Infoquake), David Anthony Durham (Acacia) and Jon Armstrong (Grey). They are some of the classiest men I know. Go read their books.
Orson Scott Card, without whose Literary Bootcamp I would probably still be flailing trying to understand plot.
Damien Broderick from Cosmos, who bought “For Solo Cello, op. 12” and taught me what sensory detail meant to a story.
Jason Sizemore, for being an early and enthusiastic supporter of my short fiction.
The First Line, who bought my first story.
Strange Horizons, for buying “Portrait of Ari” which started my Campbell clock.
Everyone at Codex Writers Group.
All the Inkslingers.