Antiticaption, the 2009 Hugos held in Montreal, has opened the doors for Hugo nominations today, so I thought I’d mention which of my stories came out in 2008.

Evil Robot Monkey — The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction Vol. 2 (2008)

Sliding his hands over the clay, Sly relished the moisture oozing around his fingers. The clay matted down the hair on the back of his hands making them look almost human. He turned the potter's wheel with his prehensile feet as he shaped the vase. Pinching the clay between his fingers he lifted the wall of the vase, spinning it higher.

"Mary Robinette Kowal's Evil Robot Monkey is very short and bitterly moving, about an uplifted chimp." -- Rich Horton, Locus

(“Evil Robot Monkey” will be appearing in both Rich Horton’s Science Fiction Best of the Year and Gardner Dozois’s The Year’s Best Science-Fiction)

Waiting for Rain — Subterranean Magazine (Fall 2008)

The sun peeking through the grapevines felt hotter on Bharat Mundari's neck than twenty-four degrees. Another perfect day. Bharat scowled and worked his way down the row of vines, thinning the grapes so the remaining Shiraz crop would become fuller and riper.

I’d also like to point out that the Campbell nominations are open as well.  Receiving this award at the Hugos last year was one of the most amazing experiences and I’m looking forward to passing the tiara on to the next recipient.

Please swing by the Campbell award page to look at the eligible authors.  In particular, allow me to point out that Jon Armstrong and David Anthony Durham are eligible again this year for the award.  They were both nominated last year and I’ve had the pleasure of not only meeting both gentlemen but also reading their work. Good stuff, folks.

One of my favorite podcasts is Jon Armstrong’s If You’re Just Joining Us . This episode he interviews Deborah Duchon, a nutritional anthropologist and it is utterly fascinating stuff. I highly recommend this episode.

Deborah Duchon is a noted nutritional anthropologist, teacher, author and speaker, best known for her work on the hit TV show, Good Eats. She served as director of the Nutrition Education for New Americans Project at Georgia State University, in Atlanta. These days, she is studying the exotic origins of everyday foods, by investigating their un-domesticated beginnings and working forward to the present day.

Deborah and I talked about onions, Hmong refugees, black night-shade, potatoes, theater, and women in anthropology.

Jon Armstrong has an interview up with David Anthony Durham at his podcast, If You’re Just Joining Us. It’s  really wonderful.  David talks about his journey to being a writer, being naked in the desert, and fiction.

I’m reading his book, Acacia, right now.  Listen to him and then check out his books.

Jon Armstrong continues his series of interviews with Campbell nominees on If You’re Just Joining Us

David Louis Edelman is a science fiction novelist, blogger, and web programmer. His first book, Infoquake, was nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best Novel and named Barnes & Noble’s Top SF Novel of 2006. His latest novel, MultiReal, was released by Pyr in Summer 2008. He is a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Science Fiction Writer for 2008. He spoke about super heroes, his dad, and foreign toilets, among other things.

Jon Armstrong has an interview with Joe Abercrombie. It’s a great chance to listen to two of my fellow Campbell Nominees.

Joe Abercrombie is the author of an trilogy of epic fantasy novels based around the misadventures of the thinking man’s barbarian, Logen Ninefingers.

Just a reminder, votes for the Hugos and the Campbell award are due tomorrow.

It’s raining audio!

My fellow Campbell nominee, Jon Armstrong, interviewed me for his podcastIf You’re Just Joining Us.

if you’re just joining us is a podcast about books, culture, media, ideas, and cheese. You know, the important things.

Jon is a charming host, and I had a great time talking with him. We mostly talked about puppets, with brief forays into writing. This is the first of a series he’s doing, interviewing the other nominees.

You should check out his book, Grey, which is a science-fiction novel filled with fashion intrigue, including competitive ironing. Squee!