Tag Archives: Samantha Beiko

Where to Find Me at Central Canada Comic Con and a Fun Announcement!

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So another Central Canada Comic Con has come to Winnipeg, and that means I want to have something new on my table.

But what is it?

IT’S BOOKS!

Fine, not really a surprise, but I’m excited.

Announcing Wolf and Wing: A Thunder Road Collection!

Return to the world of the Thunder Road trilogy in this first collection of tales from award-winning author, Chadwick Ginther. 

Two ravens are drawn into solving an unusual murder. A descendant of Loki faces threats from his estranged family. Dodging werewolf hunters brings a wolfish giant an even more implacable foe, and an unexpected ally. In Wolf and Wing, myth and monsters collide with modern-day Winnipeg once more, so gear up and get ready to hit the wilder side of Thunder Road before the road hits back.

Wolf and Wing contains the following stories: “Runt of the Litter,” “Murder Mystery,” and “On the Hunt.” “Runt of the Litter” originally appeared in OnSpec; “Murder Mystery” and “On the Hunt” are original to this collection. And of course, for you trickster fans out there, Wolf and Wing includes a new entry in Loki’s Guide to Norse Mythology.

I had a blast getting this collection ready for print. It also gave me a chance to work with two of my favourite freelancers! Samantha Beiko did the edits on the stories and the book’s interior layout and design while Clare C. Marshall did my cover layout design. I can’t recommend these two highly enough. If you want to make a book, talk to Sam or Clare.

Come and find me in Writer’s Row at Booth A241.

Prairie Comics Festival

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I’m exhibiting at Prairie Comics Festival this weekend! Prairie Comics Festival really snuck up on me this year, but I can’t wait to hang out with some of the amazing local comics talent that Winnipeg has to offer.

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I’ll have lots of copies of Mythfits, the comic Samantha Beiko and I created, limited copies of Spacepig Hamadeus and the Captive Planet featuring a story by me and Nyco Rudolph, and of course, the Thunder Road trilogy will be represented as well.

Hope to see you there!

C4 2016 Roundup

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Another Central Canada Comic Con has come and gone.

Me and my boothmates! Clare C. Marshall and Samantha Beiko! (Photo by Scott Henderson)

2016 wasn’t my best year at C4, and I’ve been hearing that from a lot of other vendors, despite record attendance, anecdotally speaking, most folks I’ve talked to were down in sales from last year. I imagine those of us in Artist’s Alley were hit the hardest. The last two years, Artist’s Alley was on a separate floor than the Exhibitor Hall, and that worked out great (for me at least) as almost every attendee walked through Artist’s Alley before getting to the Exhibitor’s Hall. This year, not so much.

It was the first year in the newly renovated convention centre, so we’ll have to see. Just as in Saskatoon at Sask Expo, my booth was facing out into a very wide aisle, and there wasn’t much directly across from us, which didn’t help in encouraging people to slow down and linger. A reminder that table placement is always important and unfortunately, not something you can really control. I suppose I could shell out for an endcap booth, but the costs of those are definitely prohibitive for what I’m likely to recoup at one of these events. Maybe if two or three authors pooled to take it on, that would work. Or it might be too many books all in competition in too small of a space.

This year presented me with a lot of variables to think about before next year’s con. C4 wasn’t a disastrous weekend by any stretch, I covered all my costs, made a bit of extra scratch, and got to talk to some returning readers and make some new ones, but it sure didn’t meet expectations.

I hate to be doom and gloom, because I did have a ton of fun. I got to rub elbows with some awesome creative folks I’m fortunate to call friends. On the plus side, I got to share a booth with good friends Clare and Sam, and lots of my convention pals were nearby, even if we were all too busy to hang out much during the show. I was also right beside Shared World colloborators GMB Chomichuk and James Gillespie, who are an amazing font of creativity and energy. Jonathan Ball, the elusive fourth creator in Shared World 2, joined us on Sunday. It’s always nice to have great neighbours.

Also, huge congrats to Scott Henderson for winning a C4 Storyteller Award at C4’s Industry Night celebration!

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(Photo by Scott Henderson)

Scott’s been a huge supporter of my work from pretty much day one of Thunder Road’s life, I’ve commissioned a bunch of artwork from him, and I’m sure to ask him to do more in the future.

Shared World authors put their editor to work numbering the limited edition print copies.

Halloween hats courtesy of Sam’s mom. Thanks, Mrs. B!

We formed Knife Club, which was mostly wearing promotional temporary tattoos for Jonathan Ball’s The Politics of Knives, and pantomime knifing each other when we weren’t jug banding (sans jug).

Also amazing, Sam and I launched Mythfits #1 and people bought it!

So cool to have a comic we created together out in the world! It was birthed a couple of years ago at C4 when Sam and I shared an Artist’s Alley table, so it was cool to launch the book here as well.

Having a booth instead of a table required a different setup than I normally use, and led to more stress and consternation than I would’ve liked on Thursday night, but I thought I had the problem licked, and the table looked good.

By mid-Saturday, I wasn’t happy with it. Despite being a bookseller for more than a decade, I am not a natural “active” seller. I’ve known this for years, that I’m more comfortable selling other people’s work than my own. It’s a different sort of taxing, and being “on” when you’re inviting people into the booth instead of having the separation of the table between you. It’s something I’ll think on for next year, or the next show I do.

I did an emergency rebuild of my table on Saturday. I think it helped. It’s hard to say, but I was happier with the result, and sales did appear to tick up from that point on.

After my redesign:

I didn’t have as much time as I’d like to peruse the floor and see what everyone else was doing, but I did still come home with a few gems:

It’s like Jessica at Sweet Adeline cross-stiched this just for me!

My contributor’s copies of Spacepig Hamadeus and the Captive Planet, which in addition to several talented creators, includes my story “The Great Martian Train Robbery”  featuring art by Nyco Rudolph! Collectors take note, this is the first sequential comic work for both of us. We were over the damned moon to finally hold the book.

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Photo by my official-unoffical convention photographer, Andrew Lorenz.

Still getting caught up on Andrew Lorenz’ Legacy but I’m really digging what September17 productions are putting out. Also, can’t wait for Canadian Corps #2!

Once again, C4 fell on the same weekend as the World Fantasy Convention, and as I’ve been to a WFC in Columbus before, I chose the home con to try and make some money rather than spending it. On the plus side, it looks like next year’s conventions will be back to back weekends, not simultaneous, so that’s good (especially since I’ve already bought my membership for World Fantasy in San Antonio)!

Okay, now, for the cosplay photos!

Amazing Deadpool and Wonder Woman!

I am back on a Venture Brothers tear, and the Season Six Blu-Ray was my gift to myself for making it through C4, so it was cool to see The Monarch and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch representing.

Killer Zatanna and Constantine. Zatanna has always been one of my favourite DC characters, and this duo was great.

Holy shitsnacks, it’s Pam!

There was somebody inside that Tardis, slowly shuffling around the convention floor.

The sons of Lugh were there in force.

This Hawkgirl was amazing. Easily my favourite costume of the year. Her wings could unfurl to probably 15′ across.

Fun Potter family cosplay!

Don’t see a lot of Scientist Princess Bubblegum costumes, and I love that Marceline chose to wear the floppy hat (she was out in the daytime).

R2-D2! I know it’s just a remote controlled giant toy, but it’s still damned hard to resist giving the bucket of bolts a hug.

Lots of Manitoba Ghostbusters out and about this year.

Not as much Thor and Loki cosplay as I’ve seen in previous years, (hopefully I’ll see more when Thor:Ragnarok releases…) but these two were great!

And let’s end the post with a sweet ride, it’s no GTO, but then, my first car was an Impala, so…it’ll do. What a beauty!

Write on!

Central Canada Comic Con This Weekend!

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C4 is just around the corner!

I’ll be tabling with Clare Marshall again which should be a blast. We had a lot of fun being side by side at Sask Expo last month.

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(Here we are so you know who to look for! Disclaimer: Authors may not appear exactly as shown)

We went halfsies on a booth instead of getting side-by-side tables, so set up might be a bit different than I’m used to. Samantha Beiko will be hanging around a bunch too, and lucky us, we’re right by GMB Chomichuk and Nyco Rudolph, so that’s awesome!

You can find us at Booth A903. Do stop by and say hello!

I’m debuting four (FOUR!) new things at C4.

First up:

Mythfits!

mythfits

The comic that Samantha and I created together. It’s been a long time coming for the first issue, and Sam did wonderful work on the art. This book had its genesis at C4 a couple years ago, so I’m glad this’ll be it’s first foray out into the public. Make sure you ask Sam for a sketch!

Spacepig Hamadeus and the Captive Planet!

spacepig-hamadeus-and-the-captive-planet

I’m the writer of one of four stories set in Donovan Yaciuk’s Spacepig universe. Nyco Rudolph did the art, and man, it looks fucking amazing. I can’t wait to see the rest of the stories. I’m going to try and have some of these on my table, but your best bet is to track down Donovan at Table A308 at C4. I will happy sign any copies you bring my way.

Shared World 2!

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GMB Chomichuk and James Gillespie and I were crazy enough to try and do another last minute book before C4, just like last year, only this year we brought Jonathan Ball along for the ride. My story takes place in Khyber, the city I’ve explored so far in “When the Gods Send You Rats” (Shared World) and “First They Came for the Pigs” (Fungi). Shared World 2 has cover and interior art by GMB Chomichuk, with an introduction by our editor, Samantha Beiko. As with volume one, this is a limit print run, there’s billions of humans but there will only ever be 100 copies of Shared World 2, so come to C4 and make sure you get yours!

Those Who Make Us!

Those Who Make Us Cover

Those Who Make Us contains a brand new Thunder Road ‘verse story, “A Door in the Rock” and heads back to Flin Flon where a young dwarf woman must clean up some of the mess that Ted Callan left behind him in Thunder Road (I could probably write an entire book of short stories of other characters cleaning up after Ted). There’s lots of other great stories in this anthology, and I’m super-chuffed to be included.

I’ll also have copies of my novels (of course) and I’m bringing a limited number of copies of most of my other magazine and anthology appearances if you’ve missed a story.

See you in Artist’s Alley!

Write on!

 

An Embarrassingly Late Prairie Comics Festival Roundup

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Prairie Comics Festival was a blast! Sorry it took me so long to write about it.

I’m so glad to hear that it’ll be happening again in 2017. The library really got behind the festival, which certainly helped.

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(My photo doesn’t do it justice, but the display person turned this poster into a 3D cutout. So cool!)

I didn’t take in any of the programming, so I can’t speak to that, but the exhibition room was fantastic. There was a great energy in the room and even in times of slower foot traffic there always seemed to be patrons perusing the tables. I appreciated that there was a break between panels which not every convention or festival thinks to do. Hope Nicholson’s commitment to keeping admission and exhibition free is also admirable. It really takes the pressure off when you’re not worried about covering your table, and I think that relaxed atmosphere lead to more substantial interactions between exhibitors and patrons.

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I did manage to sell some books, but I was mostly there to raise the profile of Mythfits. Me and Sam had some ashcan pages available for folks to peruse, and some cover prints, and the patrons I talked to seemed pretty excited about the comic. Can’t wait to unveil that first issue!

mythfits

It was amazing to see so many people come out on the strength of predominantly local talent. Even if I’m not asked to be an exhibitor next year, I’ll be back as a fan for sure!

Write on!

An Embarrassingly Late When Words Collide 2016 Roundup

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Sorry for the delay on this roundup, folks!

Another year, another trip to Cowtown!

This trip was a little different. Samantha Beiko and I decided to drive to the con instead of flying. A supposedly fun thing I don’t think I’ll ever do again. Because of my car, not the company.

Roughly two hours into a thirteen hour drive, as Sam was joking about not getting stranded in Brandon again, my battery light came on. Rather than risking the car dying on the road, we pulled into Brandon for repairs. What had initially sounded like a one or two-hour delay became closer to four after waiting for the part to arrive, but new alternator installed, we journeyed on. Despite therapeutic cowch outside of Canadian Tire this development was…so disheartening.

Not gonna lie, the temptation to just give up on the trip then and there was pretty high. But! We were both on programming, both up for Aurora Awards, and, both really excited to visit our friend Clare for her birthday.

So we soldiered on, but that thirteen hour drive ended up being closer to nineteen, door to door.

There is a lot of Saskatchewan to get through. It’s not that the province isn’t pretty, but when you start roughly halfway through Manitoba, and are going halfway into Alberta, crossing the entirety of Saskatchewan just feels like forever. It takes the time it takes, but the perception of that time…that I could’ve done without.

We managed to dodge most of the thunderstorms, and had good weather at least.

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This one only caught us for about thirty seconds, but we were completely blindied by the sun shining through the downpour. Sweet little Bifrost though waving us onward though.

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The skies were amazing. I do love those big damn prairie skies. I am glad I got to see these clouds from a bit of a distance rather than having to drive through them.

Okay on to the con itself:

Calgary has a way of causing me headaches. Whether it’s the altitude, or the pressure changes, or what…I dunno. I’m batting 3 for 8 when it comes to Cowtown visits that give me a headache so bad I vomit (take your whiskey jokes and walk, folks) so I’m always a little bit on edge wondering if it’ll happen again. It’s one of the reasons I program lightly at WWC. No vomiting this time. YAY! But the length of the drive and the stress of car repairs did end up giving me a pretty wicked tension headache (thanks, Jill Flanagan for sorting that out!).

I had no programming on Friday. Which is nice for me. I like to catch up with folks at When Words Collide, and I have a lot of folks to catch up with there! We rolled in early, and helped Clare get her table set up and then got our membership badges.

And then I enjoyed a Basil Hayden’s bourbon, which until recently, I wasn’t able to buy in Manitoba. It’s always a treat when the convention bar has it on the shelf.

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Saturday I participated in a Myth and Folklore panel moderated wonderfully by S.G. Wong (check out her latest, Death Takes the Hindmost when it releases, I got to read an advance copy. Very nice!) and thanks to fellow panelists Rhonda Parrish, and Nancy M. Bell for the lively discussion.

I found some copies of this on the freebie table:

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My friend Chris Smith (an inaugural and long-suffering member of my writing group) has a story in this one. The Crow Maiden. Very cool story. You should read it. I brought a few copies home for him.

Saturday also meant running around to grab things for the Post-Apocalyptic Four party I was co-hosting with friends and fellow Aurora nominees Randy McCharles, Eileen Bell, Ryan McFadden and Billie Milholland. By things I, of course, mean whiskey (and whisky).

The Prix Auroras were handed out. This is no longer news, but I still want to give a shout out to the worthy winners. Neither I nor ChiSeries Winnipeg were awarded in our categories, but there were a lot of great works being celebrated, so that’s okay. Looking at the stats, Too Far Gone came in second in the novel category, so that’s pretty cool too. Thank you to everyone who nominated and voted,and congratulations to all the winners!

  • Best English Novel: A Daughter of No Nation by A.M. Dellamonica, Tor Books
  • Best English YA Novel: An Inheritance of Ashes by Leah Bobet, Scholastic Canada/Clarion Books
  • Best English Short Fiction: “Waters of Versailles” by Kelly Robson, Tor.com
  • Best English Poem/Song: “Origami Crane / Light Defying Spaceship” by Naru Dames Sundar, Liminality, Issue 5 Autumn
  • Best English Graphic Novel: The Lady ParaNorma by Vincent Marcone, ChiZine Publications
  • Best English Related Work: Second Contacts edited by Michael Rimar & Hayden Trenholm, Bundoran Press
  • Best Visual Presentation: Orphan Black, Season 3, John Fawcett and Graeme Manson, Temple Street Productions
  • Best Artist: Erik Mohr, covers for ChiZine Publications
  • Best Fan Publication: Speculating Canada edited by Derek Newman-Stille
  • Best Fan Organizational: Randy McCharles, Chair, When Words Collide, Calgary
  • Best Fan Related Work: Derek Newman-Stille, Speculating, Canada on Trent Radio 92.7 FM

We went out for supper and cake after the awards to celebrate Clare’s birthday.

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BIRFDAE! BIRFDAE! BIRFDAE!

After consuming my weight in Indian food and gluten-free vegan chocolate cake, I had to rush back to the hotel for the room party. It’s been four years since I’ve thrown a con party. It’ll probably be at least that many more until the next one. Lots of folks came out for it, but while I enjoy the parties, it’s another matter throwing one. It also means you can’t leave when you want to if you get overwhelmed by the crowd.

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Look at this room.

There was nowhere to put anybody.

Which was awesome and terrifying.

Huge thanks to everyone who came out to drink our whiskey and beer, and hang out and talk writing, or just talk–loud and crowded as it was. You’re all great. I still can’t fucking believe we weren’t shut down within the hour.

Early on Sunday I was on Susan MacGregor’s panel on writing trilogies. Great batch of panelists and questions from Susan. Thanks to Susan, and fellow panelists Gerald Brandt, Samantha Beiko, Barb Galler-Smith and to everyone who came out.

Once again Sandra Wickham presented her “Writing About Fighting” presentation. And I got to be her fight dummy. Another packed room! Sandra does a great job with this so you really should check it out if you’re at a con where she’s presenting it (and not just to see me get kicked in the stomach).

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Photo by S.G. Wong.

(One of these days I’m going to beak off too much on Twitter and Sandra will just straight up murder me in front of her audience)

I skipped the dead dog to hang out with Sam and Clare, decompress, and watched Dragon Heart.

The drive home wasn’t as long as the drive to Calgary, but it was long enough.

Still, a rainbow that crossed the entire sky was a nice welcome home when we pulled over in Brandon to swap out the driver’s seat.

The drive home was especially long the last hour of thunderstormin’. Poor Sam had to drive. What a trooper!

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I tried multiple times to catch a lightning strike. Not easy with a cell phone camera.

I also really wanted an image of a lightning strike behind the Halfway Tree. For reasons.

And once we got fully into the shit, it was dark.

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But, we made it home okay, and you couldn’t ask for a better driving partner than Sam Beiko. 12/10 would road trip with Sam again.

See you again next year, When Words Collide!

Write on!

Mythfits! (A.K.A. Making Comics With Samantha Beiko)

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So I’ve mentioned a few times that Samantha Beiko and I are doing a comic together. Looks like things are official! Mythfits will be debuting at the inaugural Prairie Comics Festival. Very cool to see some press about our first issue!

Pictured below is concept art of Veronica, AKA “Ronnie” who plays the role of axe and artillery. Sam is crushing this book. I can’t wait for folks to read it.

Ronnie

Art: Samantha Beiko

Mythfits grew out of C4 2014 when I shared a table with Samantha in artist’s alley and talked about all the things. So I hope GMB Chomichuk (who kept telling us to “Join the fight, make comics!”) is happy. We sure are.

Write on!

Too Far Gone Shortlisted For Two Manitoba Book Awards!

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The awards in question: The Mary Scorer Award for Best Book by a Manitoba Publisher, and the Michael Van Rooy Award for Genre Fiction!

Sadly, I won’t be able to attend the awards gala, as I’m on the program at Ad Astra in Toronto that weekend, but the indomitable Samantha Beiko has agreed to be my acceptee should I be fortunate enough to be honoured.

Congrats to all the nominees, and thank you to the Manitoba Writers’ Guild and Association of Manitoba Publishers for always putting on a great night. Here’s the press release, and full list of all nominees and categories.

Write on!

WINNIPEG, April 7, 2016 – This year we are awarding accolades, some small amount of fame, and over $30 000 to Manitoba writers, illustrators/designers, and publishers through the Manitoba Book Awards.

The writing and publishing industry is thriving sector of the economy in Manitoba and the Manitoba Book Awards strives to acknowledge the wit, the art, and the profound dedication of all of those who fill our pages with “made in Manitoba” literature.

This year’s shortlists exemplify the diverse talent that exists here in Manitoba. We can see in the words and lines of each shortlisted book an illustration of local lives and stories.

Join us in honouring the literary community of Manitoba at this year’s Gala event:

Life Lines | Lignes de Vies

April 30, 7-10pm

The Radisson Hotel Downtown, Ambassador Ballroom

Tickets: $10+agency fees, available at Eventbrite.ca

Une averse printanière de prix sur la littérature manitobaine :

Dévoilement de la liste des candidats aux Prix du livre du Manitoba 2016

Winnipeg, 7 avril 2016 – Grâce aux Prix du livre du Manitoba, nous félicitons des écrivains, des illustrateurs/concepteurs et des éditeurs, nous leur offrons aussi un peu de célébrité et leur octroyons plus de 30 000 $.

Le secteur de l’édition est une part vibrante de l’économie manitobaine et les Prix du livre du Manitoba s’évertuent à faire valoir l’esprit, l’art et le profond dévouement de toutes celles et de tous ceux qui couvrent nos pages d’une littérature typique au Manitoba.

Cette année, la liste des candidats révèle la diversité des talents d’ici. Les mots et les lignes de chacun des livres sélectionnés illustrent les vies et les histoires du Manitoba.

Retrouvez-nous au Gala où nous honorerons la communauté littéraire manitobaine :

Life Lines | Lignes de Vies

Le 30 avril 2016, de 19h à 22h

Hôtel Radisson du centre-ville, salle Ambassador

Billets : 10$ + frais, disponibles à Eventbrite.ca

Manitoba Book Awards | Les Prix du livre du Manitoba

Shortlists | Les Listes de candidats sélectionnés

Lansdowne Prize for Poetry | Prix Lansdowne de poésie

  • Calling Down the Sky by Rosanna Deerchild, published by BookLand Press
  • Monologue Dogs by Méira Cook, published by Brick Books
  • Niche by Basma Kavanagh, published by Frontenac House Poetry

Manuela Dias Book Design and Illustration Awards

Prix Manuela-Dias de conception graphique et d’illustration en édition

Design Category

  • Exquisite Monsters by K.I. Press, design by Jamis Paulson, published by Turnstone Press
  • The Idea of a Human Rights Museum, edited by Karen Busby, Adam Muller and Andrew Woolford, design by Jess Koroscil, published by University of Manitoba Press
  • The Land We Are: Artists & Writers Unsettle the Politics of Reconciliation, edited by Gabrielle L’Hirondelle-Hill and Sophie McCall, cover design by Sébastien Aubin, interior design by Relish New Brand Experience, published by ARP Books

General Illustrated Category

  • A Daytripper’s Guide to Manitoba: Exploring Canada’s Undiscovered Province by Bartley Kives, design and typography by Relish New Brand Experience, published by Great Plains Publications
  • Warehouse Journal Volume 24, edited and cover design by Amanda Austin and Ainsley Johnston, published by University of Manitoba Faculty of Architecture
  • Wish You Were Here: Hand-Tinted Postcards from Winnipeg’s Halcyon Days by Stan Milosevic, design and typography by Relish New Brand Experience, published by Great Plains Publications

Children’s Illustrator Category

  • Alexia Wants to Fly by Talia Pura, illustrated by Wai Tien, published by Lily Star Press
  • Fur Is Only Fur Deep by Julia Schettler, illustrated by Sarah Neville, published by Peasantry Press
  • Misaabe’s Stories: A Story of Honesty by Katherena Vermette, illustrated by Irene Kuziw, published by Portage & Main Press

Graphic Novel Category

The Graphic Novel Category will be awarded for the first time in 2017. For the first year (2017) we will accept entries published in 2015 and 2016. In following years entries will only be accepted from the current publishing year.

Mary Scorer Award for Best Book by a Manitoba Publisher

Prix Mary-Scorer pour le meilleur livre par un éditeur du Manitoba

  • After Light by Catherine Hunter, cover design by Doowah Design, published by Signature Editions
  • Indigenous Men and Masculinities: Legacies, Identities, Regeneration, edited by Robert Alexander Innes and Kim Anderson, cover photo by Thosh Collins, cover design by Marvin Harder, interior design by Karen Armstrong Graphic Design, published by University of Manitoba Press
  • Life Among the Qallunaat by Mini Aodla Freeman, edited and with an afterword by Keavy Martin and Julie Rak, with Norma Dunning, cover design by Mike Carroll, interior design by Jess Koroscil, published by University of Manitoba Press
  • The Road to Atlantis by Leo Brent Robillard, cover design by Jamis Paulson, interior design by Sharon Caseburg, published by Turnstone Press
  • Too Far Gone by Chadwick Ginther, cover design by Jamis Paulson, interior design by Sharon Caseburg, published by Ravenstone, an imprint of Turnstone Press

Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction

  • After Light by Catherine Hunter, published by Signature Editions
  • Last Known Whereabouts by Margaret Riddell, published by Margaret Riddell
  • Lessons from a Nude Man by Donna Besel, published by Hagios Press
  • Let Us Be True by Erna Buffie, published by Coteau Books
  • Nightwatching by Méira Cook, published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

Alexander Kennedy Isbister Award for Non-Fiction

Prix Alexander-Kennedy-Isbister pour les études et les essais

  • Decolonizing Employment: Aboriginal Inclusion in Canada’s Labour Market by Shauna MacKinnon, published by University of Manitoba Press
  • Letters to Brian: A Year of Living and Remembrance by Martha Brooks, published by Turnstone Press
  • The Reason You Walk by Wab Kinew, published by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Canada
  • This Benevolent Experiment: Indigenous Boarding Schools, Genocide, and Redress in Canada and the United States by Andrew Woolford, published by University of Manitoba Press
  • We’re Going to Run This City: Winnipeg’s Political Left after the General Strike by Stefan Epp-Koop, published by University of Manitoba Press

Beatrice Mosionier Award for Aboriginal Writer of the Year

Prix Beatrice-Mosionier pour l’écrivain.e autochtone de l’année

  • Chantal Fiola (Rekindling the Sacred Fire: Métis Ancestry and Anishinaabe Spirituality, published by University of Manitoba Press)
  • David Alexander Robertson (Betty: The Helen Betty Osborne Story,illustrated by Scott B Henderson, published by HighWater Press, an imprint of Portage & Main Press)
  • Roland Vandal (Off the Ropes: My Story, as told to Carlene Rummery, published by J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing Inc.)

Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award

Prix littéraire Carol-Shields de la ville de Winnipeg

  • 100 Things Jets Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die by Jon Waldman, published by Triumph Books
  • After Light by Catherine Hunter, published by Signature Editions
  • The Reason You Walk by Wab Kinew, published by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Canada
  • We’re Going to Run This City: Winnipeg’s Political Left after the General Strike by Stefan Epp-Koop, published by University of Manitoba Press
  • Winnipeg Cooks: Signature Recipes from the City’s Top Chefs by Robin Summerfield, published by Figure 1 Publishing

Eileen McTavish Sykes Award for Best First Book

  • From the Barren Lands: Fur Trade, First Nations and a Life in Northern Canada by Leonard G. Flett, published by Great Plains Publications
  • Let Us Be True by Erna Buffie, published by Coteau Books
  • Street Sex Work and Canadian Cities: Restoring a Dangerous Orderby Shawna Ferris, published by the University of Alberta Press
  • We’re Going to Run This City: Winnipeg’s Political Left after the General Strike by Stefan Epp-Koop, published by University of Manitoba Press

John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer

Prix John-Hirsch pour L’écrivain.e manitobain le plus prometteur

  • Donna Besel
  • Jodi Carmichael
  • G.M.B. Chomichuk
  • Joanne Epp
  • Chantal Fiola
  • Alix Sobler

Michael Van Rooy Award for Genre Fiction

  • Blue Vengeance by Alison Preston, published Signature Editions
  • Infinitum by G.M.B. Chomichuk, published by ChiGraphic, an imprint of ChiZine Publications
  • Kraken Bake by Karen Dudley, published by Ravenstone, an imprint of Turnstone Press
  • Put on the Armour of Light by Catherine Macdonald, published by Dundurn
  • Too Far Gone by Chadwick Ginther, published by Ravenstone, an imprint of Turnstone Press

McNally Robinson Books for Young People Awards (younger)

  • Alexia Wants to Fly by Talia Pura, illustrated by Wai Tien, published by Lilly Star Press
  • Fur Is Only Fur Deep by Julia Schettler, illustrated by Sarah Neville, published by Peasantry Press
  • InvisiBill by Maureen Fergus, illustrated by Dušan Petričić, published by Tundra Books
  • Misaabe’s Stories: A Story of Honesty by Katherena Vermette, illustrated by Irene Kuziw, published by Portage & Main Press
  • Nana and Me by Kathy Knowles, illustrated by Edmund Opare, published by Osu Children’s Library Fund

McNally Robinson Books for Young People Awards (older)

  • Betty: The Helen Betty Osborne Story by David Alexander Robertson, illustrated by Scott B Henderson, published by HighWater Press, an imprint of Portage & Main Press
  • Broken Stone by Gabriele Goldstone, published by Rebelight Publishing Inc.
  • Forever Julia by Jodi Carmichael, published by Great Plains Teen Fiction, an imprint of Great Plains Publications
  • Ghost Most Foul by Patti Grayson, published by Coteau Books

McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award

  • After Light by Catherine Hunter, published by Signature Editions
  • Calling Down the Sky by Rosanna Deerchild, published by BookLand Press
  • Monologue Dogs by Méira Cook, published by Brick Books
  • The Reason You Walk by Wab Kinew, published by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Canada Books Inc.
  • We’re Going to Run This City: Winnipeg’s Political Left after the General Strike by Stefan Epp-Koop, published by University of Manitoba Press

 

Too Far Gone Prix Aurora Finalist For Best Novel

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Thrilled to finally be able to announce that Too Far Gone is a finalist for the Prix Aurora Award!

Loki Yeah

Ahem.

Samantha Beiko and myself were also nominated for our work with the Winnipeg arm of the Chiaroscuro Reading Series!

John Oliver FIRE

I’m so happy to be able to share a ballot with so many of my talented friends. Congratulations to everyone, and thank you to everyone who read my work, or attended ChiSeries.

You all rock.

Write on!

The awards will be given out at Canvention 36, hosted by When Words Collide in Calgary, Alberta on the weekend of August 12–14th.  Full details about CSFFA, the awards and voting can be found at www.prixaurorawards.ca.

 

Best English Novel

 

Cursed: Black Swan by Ryan T. McFadden, Dragon Moon Press

A Daughter of No Nation by A.M. Dellamonica, Tor Books

Drowning in Amber by E.C. Bell, Tyche Books

Much Ado about Macbeth by Randy McCharles, Tyche Books

Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Solaris

Too Far Gone by Chadwick Ginther, Ravenstone Books

 

Best English Young Adult Novel

 

The Flame in the Maze by Caitlin Sweet, ChiZine Publications

The Fountain by Suzy Vadori, Evil Alter Ego Press

An Inheritance of Ashes by Leah Bobet, Scholastic Canada/Clarion Books US

Mabel the Mafioso Dwarf by Sherry Peters, Dwarvenamazon

Maddie Hatter and the Deadly Diamond by Jayne Barnard, Tyche Books

 

Best English Short Fiction

 

“Cosmobotica” by Costi Gurgu & Tony Pi, Running Press

“Game Not Over” by Ron Friedman, Galaxy’s Edge, January

“La Héron” by Charlotte Ashley, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, March/April 2015

“Looking for Gordo” by Robert J. Sawyer, Future Visions: Original Science Fiction Inspired by Microsoft

“Super Frenemies” by Stephen Kotowych, Caped: An Anthology of Superhero Tales, Local Hero Press

“Waters of Versailles” by Kelly Robson, Tor.com

 

Best English Poem/Song

 

“Elegy for WLC” by David Clink, The Dalhousie Review

“Origami Crane / Light Defying Spaceship” by Naru Dames Sundar, Liminality, Issue 5 Autumn

“Portrait” by David Clink, On Spec Winter/Spring

“Typhon & Echidna: A Love Story” by Sandra Kasturi, Gods, Memes and Monsters: A 21st Century Bestiary

“Venice Letting Go” by Sandra Kasturi, If the World were to Stop Spinning (Chapbook)

 

Best English Graphic Novel

 

Bloodsuckers written by J.M. Frey, illustrated by Ryan Cole; Toronto Comics, Vol 2 (ed. Steven Andrews)

Crash and Burn: Prologue by Kate Larking & Finn Lucullan, Astres Press

Infinitum by GMB Chomichuk, ChiZine Publications

The Lady ParaNorma by Vincent Marcone, ChiZine Publications

West of Bathurst: The Complete Collection by Kari Maaren

 

Best English Related Work

 

Licence Expired: The Unauthorized James Bond edited by Madeline Ashby and David Nickle, ChiZine Publications

nEvermore! Tales of Murder, Mystery & the Macabre edited by Nancy Kilpatrick and Caro Soles, EDGE

Playground of Lost Toys edited by Colleen Anderson and Ursula Pflug, Exile Editions

Professor Challenger: New Worlds, Lost Places edited by J R Campbell and Charles Prepolec, EDGE

Second Contacts edited by Michael Rimar & Hayden Trenholm, Bundoran Press

 

Best Visual Presentation

 

Bitten, Season 2, Daegan Fryklind, No Equal/eOne/Hoodwink

Continuum, Season 4, Simon Barry, Reunion Pictures

Dark Matter, Season 1, Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, Prodigy Pictures

Killjoys, Season 1, Michelle Lovretta, Temple Street Productions

Orphan Black, Season 3, John Fawcett and Graeme Manson, Temple Street Productions

 

Best Artist

 

James Beveridge, covers and poster art

Erik Mohr, covers for ChiZine Publications

Jeff Minkevics, covers for Five Rivers Press

Dan O’Driscoll, covers for Bundoran Press

Lynne Taylor Fahnestalk, body of work: Robot sculptures made from upcycled metal objects

 

Best Fan Publication

 

Broken Toys edited by Taral Wayne

Ecdysis edited by Jonathan Crowe

The Page of Reviews edited by Adam Shaftoe-Durrant

Speculating Canada edited by Derek Newman-Stille

WARP, issues 90-93 edited by Cathy Palmer-Lister

 

Best Fan Organizational

 

Samantha Beiko and Chadwick Ginther, Chair, Chiaroscuro Reading Series: Winnipeg

Derek Künsken and Marie Bilodeau, Executive, Can*Con 2015, Ottawa

Randy McCharles, Chair, When Words Collide, Calgary

Matt Moore, Marie Bilodeau and Nicole Lavigne, Co-chairs, Chiaroscuro Reading Series: Ottawa

Alana Otis and Paul Roberts, Co-chairs, Ad Astra 34 Convention, Toronto

 

Best Fan Related Work

 

Morva Bowman and Alan Pollard, Halsway Con Concert, Somerset, UK

Keith Braithwaite, The Doctor and his Companion, Montreal Science Fiction & Fantasy Association (WARP)

Steve Fahnestalk, weekly column in Amazing Stories Magazine

Kari Maaren, Everbody Hates Elves (album), Bandcamp and CD

Derek Newman-Stille, Speculating, Canada on Trent Radio 92.7 FM

 

Note: No award will be given out for the Best Music category this year due to insufficient eligible nominees.  Eligible nominees were incorporated into the Best Fan Related Work.

Prix Aurora Award Nominations

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Nominations opened for the Prix Aurora Awards (and a whole mess of other awards too–though it’s the Auroras that are most likely to impact ’round Thunder Road Way) while I had my head down trying to finish my latest novel.

Instruction for how to nominate a story are available on the Canadian Science Fiction & Fantasy Association’s site. But why should you vote? Ottawa author Matt Moore wrote an excellent blog post on why we should participate in the Aurora Awards. The more people participate, and the more they care, the more these awards will matter.

If you’re so inclined, here’s what I did in 2015:

  • Too Far Gone, Ravenstone Books, October 2015, eligible in the Novel category.
  • The Last Good Look, The Exile Book of New Canadian Noir, March 2015, eligible in the Short Fiction category.
  • When the Gods Send You Rats, Shared World Volume One, October 2015, eligible in the Short Fiction category.
  • Co-Chair/Artistic Director ChiSeries Winnipeg with Samantha Beiko: “Fan Organizational” category.

Eligibility Lists are here:

I also want to mention the people that helped me create in 2015:

In addition to being my co-conspirator for the Winnipeg arm of ChiSeries, Samantha Beiko steps up every single time I give her a weird ass request, such as: I want to make story cards, or can you draw me a giant, evil cat? Even I want to put a new book together less than a month before Comic Con.

Sam did this great picture of Ted Callan for my story, “New Year’s Eve”

Ted New Year's Eve by SM Beiko

She also illustrated this super fun (and super creepy) Jólakötturinn, the Christmas Cat.

Christmas Cat by Samantha Beiko

and she edited and laid out Shared World.

Sam is awesomesauce. Check out her stuff, and her dream book store, Valkyrie Books.

GMB Chomichuk and James Gillespie also wrote a short story for Shared World. “Kaa-Rokaan.”

SharedWorldposter1

In addtion to being a great writer, Gregory is an amazing artist. His Infinitum was a wonderful, weird read. Time travel noir!

infinitum

He also illustrated Underworld, written by another Winnipeg comics mainstay, Lovern Kindzierski. Greek mythology in modern Winnipeg.

Underworld-Cover

Silvia Moreno-Garcia wrote my favourite book of 2015, her novel debut, Signal to Noise. Silvia’s knows her Lovecraft, and everyone involved in Shared World was chuffed when she agreed to write us a kickass introduction.

signal-to-noise-9781781082997_hr

Michael Matheson was my editor for Too Far Gone. Michael was new to editing the series, anddid a bang up job. I’d love to have a chance to work with Michael again. In the meantime, checkout this anthology published by ChiZine Publications:

Boy Eating

David Jón Fuller was my copy editor for Too Far Gone (and the entire Thunder Road Trilogy) and kept all my umlauts in the right spots. David is also a damn fine short story writer.

His story “Caged” appeared in Guns and Romances, and “In Open Air” appeared in Accessing the Future.

Scott Henderson did this gorgeous piece inspired by Too Far Gone.

TOOFARGONE

Scott also illustrated Richard Van Camp’s graphic novel, A Blanket of Butterflies.

Blanket of Butterflies

Claude Lalumière and David Nickle were my editors for The Exile Book of New Canadian Noir and bought my story, “The Last Good Look.”

New Canadian Noir Cover

This is a killer anthology. I enjoyed reading every story in it.

Sandra Wickham and I are currently writing a novel together. She’s also sort of taken on the Herculean task of getting me back in shape. Her book Health and Fitness for Creative People is a great start.

HealthandFitnessCoverblurb

Kevin Madison has done tons of Thunder Road illustrations for me over the course of the series’ life. Here’s one of his most recent:

Ted with Ravens

Kevin also wrote a comic last year, which was a lot of fun. Different artists illustrating various points in a superhero’s career.

american Eagle2

Here’s some other stuff I really dug throughout 2015, heavily weighted towards comics, because that seemed to be the majority of my reading lately.

I helped back Canadian Corps on Kickstarter. Andrew Lorenz’s writing definitely hit me right in the Alpha Flight feels.

CC1 Front-Exterior-Cover

Donovan Yaciuk did the colours for Canadian Corps, but he also writes this sweet indie comic:

Spacepig Hamadeus

A space-faring pig. ‘Nuff said.

Justin Shauf is the artist on Spacepig Hamadeus and Canadian Corps. He also drew me this SWEET Dr. Fate.

20151101_153443

Rat Queens is written by Kurtis Wiebe, and its one of the highlights of my comic pull list ever time an issue drops.

Rat Queens

I adore Fiona Staples’ art on Saga. Another book that’s never disappointed me.

Saga Staples

Jim Zub’s Wayward is another great fantasy comic.

Wayward01A-585x900-web

No matter how much I read, it still seems like it’s never enough! I feel like I’ve got a lot of cramming to do before I put in my nominations. What have you created or read that I should check out before nominations close?

Write on!