Blood Magic and Nights of Sin Nominated for Gaylactic Spectrum Award

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I was on Juno Books' site last night and saw an announcement that both Blood Magic and Nights of Sin were nominated for the 2009 Gaylactic Spectrum Award. If you haven't heard about this award (I hadn't - sorry), it is:

The Gaylactic Spectrum Awards honor outstanding works of science fiction, fantasy and horror which include significant positive explorations of gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered characters, themes, or issues.

The Gaylactic Network, the premiere organization for gay and lesbian fandom, created the Awards in 1998 because there was no existing avenue for the recognition of outstanding gay-positive work within the genre. In 2002, the Awards struck out on their own, under the auspices of the newly created Gaylactic Spectrum Awards Foundation. The Gaylactic Network remains a primary partner for the Awards. The Gaylactic Spectrum Awards Foundation is working on its own incorporation and is seeking to obtain charitable organization status to enhance its ability to inform and educate.

Oftentimes, books and other works can be overlooked - and publishers, authors and artists need to know that their inclusion of gay issues, characters and themes is appreciated. Before the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards, no award had been developed that honored works for both genre content AND gay content. Because speculative fiction offers an opportunity to explore complex and sometimes unpopular issues through the distance of other worlds, times and cultures, we hope the award will encourage professionals working in science fiction, fantasy and horror to use the genre to explore characters and issues of importance to the gay community.

I know it sounds very corny to say that I'm honored to be nominated, but I really, really am. I'm up against some really wonderful writers, so hoping to win is likely nothing but pure hubris, but in this case I truly am honored that someone out there not only read the novels but also thought that the depictions of Kirin and Lia were compelling and positive enough to merit the nomination. Whoever you are - thank you.

The award will be given at this year's Gaylaxicon in Minneapolis on October 9-11. I'm writing the con organizers now to see if I can work out a way to attend - I'm still looking for a full-time job, and money is tight, so a trip to Minneapolis might not be in the cards for me, but we'll see. Either way, wish me luck!

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