My Nebula Trip

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No, it wasn’t to the Mutara Nebula.

A few weeks ago, I got an email from Trevor Quachri, managing editor of Analog, asking if I would be interested in attending the Nebula Awards Weekend as a guest of Analog.  (The Nebulas are like the Oscars for science fiction writing.)  I jumped at the chance.

So last Friday, I flew out to Austin.  During a layover in Phoenix, I realized I had forgotten to print out the information about my rental car reservation, and I had forgotten which rental car company it was with.  Fortunately, I was able to access the internet and locate the information.

Here’s the really embarrassing part: considering that I was going to Texas, I really should not have forgotten the rental car company’s name.

I arrived in Austin a little after noon and waited at the baggage carousel for my suitcase to arrive.  And waited.  And waited.  Eventually I reported it missing and went off to the hotel where the Nebulas were being held.

After registering and getting my two bags of free books, I went to the hospitality suite, where they had a lot of very tasty free food.  (The vast majority of my nutrition during this trip was obtained in the hospitality suite.)

More than eight hours after I arrived, I finally got a call saying that my suitcase had arrived.  Notably, that call came only nine minutes after I posted a message venting about my lost luggage on the Codex Writers Forum.  Obviously, Codex has a lot of power.

Speaking of Codex, here’s a picture of the Codex members at the Nebulas:
Tobias Buckell, Mary Robinette Kowal, Eric James Stone, Caroline Yoachim, Ellen Van Hensbergen 
Left to right: Tobias Buckell (Nebula award nominee), Mary Robinette Kowal (professional puppeteer and newly elected SFWA  Secretary), moi, Caroline Yoachim, and Ellen Van Hensbergen (one of my Odyssey Workshop classmates).  Ellen and her husband were generous enough to let me stay at their house so I wouldn’t have to pay for a hotel.

A few of the highlights of the weekend:

  • Talking with Stan Schmidt, editor of Analog, about the most recent story I had submitted to him.  He wants a few changes, but it looks like he’s going to buy it.
  • Sitting at the Dell Magazines table at the awards banquet with Stan and his wife, Joyce; Jack Skillingstead; Nancy Kress (who won a Nebula); Sheila Williams (Asimov’s editor); Karen Joy Fowler (who won a Nebula); Trevor; William Gleason (a new Analog author) and Paula Jameson.
  • Getting to know some delightful people, including Amy Sisson, Paul Abell, Jennifer Whitson, Allen Wise, and several others whom I hope to see again at future conventions.

To finish things off, a few more pics, featuring the people at my banquet table:

Joyce and Stanley Schmidt
Joyce and Stanley Schmidt

Paula Jameson and William Gleason 
Paula Jameson and William Gleason

Trevor Quachri, Karen Joy Fowler, and Sheila Williams
Trevor Quachri, Karen Joy Fowler, and Sheila Williams

Nancy Kress, Jack Skillingstead, and Eric James Stone
Nancy Kress, Jack Skillingstead, and me