My review of Tor.com’s January stories is up at The Portal.

I feel as though I’m particularly qualified to comment on these two stories – one is set in Japan and the other features clowns and monkeys.

http://sffportal.net/2011/03/tor-com-january-2011/

Great news: the wonderful Shaun Tan won an Oscar for the short film based on his book, The Lost Thing.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/28/3150766.htm

I had the chance to meet Shaun at WorldCon in September last year.  He illustrated a story of mine I had published in Aurealis years ago.  Now I can say I’ve had a story illustrated by an Oscar winner.

Sad news: Clarion South is on hold indefinitely.  I attended Clarion South in 2009.  It’s a 6-week writing workshop that provides a tremendous boost to anyone serious about writing speculative fiction.  The workshop was one of the best experiences of my life and I made some wonderful friends there.  The workshop was held ever two years, but due to financial plans the 2011 workshop was rescheduled for 2012.  Now that has been put on hold indefinitely.

http://www.clarionsouth.org/

Unfortunately we’ve been unable to lock in a viable venue option that would allow us to run the workshop at an acceptable cost to writers. The cheapest option would still more than double tuition fees.

So, with regret, we must tell you that at this stage the workshop is on hold indefinitely.

We know many of you will be disappointed, and so are we. Clarion South has been a great experience for us and we’re proud of the great writers in Australia and overseas that the workshop has helped.

In the meantime we will continue to look for a venue that enables to run the workshop in the format for which it has become famous. We will alsoinvestigate other configurations and opportunities that might give the workshop a future in Australia.

Sushi:

A new all-female sushi chef restaurant has opened in Tokyo.  Traditionally sushi chefs have always been men.  The excuse for this is:

The No. 1 reason most chefs cite as to why girls can’t make sushi: they’re too hot. “The temperature of a woman’s hands is higher, and when you’re handling fresh fish, this isn’t good…”

The new restaurant only employs female chefs.  As the restaurant is located in Akihabara, there is a catch…

Kazuya Nishikiori, the middle-aged owner of Nadeshico, says he wanted to create a new model for working women in Japan. But he later explains he’ll only hire women who are between the ages of 18 and 25 to work behind the counter. “After all, our slogan is ‘fresh and kawaii,”‘ he explains, invoking the ubiquitous word for “cute.” “If someone wanted to work here and was 30, I’d put her in the back.”

Hot Women Serving Cold Fish Make for Raw Feelings in Tokyo
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704254304576117193420193936.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#articleTabs=article

The Strange Horizons Readers’ Poll is almost closed.

http://strangehorizons.com/poll/

My story Hokkaido Green is eligible, as is The Duke of Vertumn’s Fingerling, by one of my fellow Clarionites, Elizabeth Carroll.

It is nomination season for speculative fiction awards.

My stories are eligible for a bunch of awards.  The Hugo Awards, the Ditmar Awards and the Chronos Awards are all open for nominations.

My eligible stories from last year include:

Hokkaido Green, Strange Horizons

Salary Ninja, Port Iris

Stone Flowers, Fantasy

Mr. Nine & the Gentleman Ghost, Weird Tales

Inksucker, Worlds Next Door

If I had to choose one story to recommend, then it would be Hokkaido Green.

Chronos Awards (for residents of Victoria)

Nomination form: http://continuum.org.au/chronos-awards/

There is a list of eligible works at http://confound.wikispot.org/2011_Chronos_Award_Eligibles

To my surprise, someone nominated for Best Fan Writer and my WorldCon report for best fan writing.

Ditmar Awards (for Australian citizens & residents)

Nomination form: http://ditmars.sf.org.au/2011/nominations.html

A long list of eligible works is at http://wiki.sf.org.au/2011_Ditmar_eligibility_list

I particularly enjoyed:

Novellas / Novelettes

• A Glimpse of the Marvellous Structure (and the threat it entails), Sean Williams, in Godlike Machines

Short Stories

• “All the Love in the World”, Cat Sparks, in Sprawl
• “The Duke of Vertumn’s Fingerling“, Elizabeth Carroll, in Strange Horizons

Collected Works

• Worlds Next Door
• Godlike Machines

Hugo Awards (only members of last year’s and this year’s World Con are able to nominate works).

Particular favorites include (in addition to works mentioned above):

Novelettes:

• The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers Beneath the Queen’s Window by Rachel Swirsky

Short Stories:

A Sweet Calling by Tony Pi

The Gold Silkworm by Tony Pi

Standard Loneliness Package by Charles Yu

Related Works:

• Packing For Mars by Mary Roach

Tangent Online has put out their recommended reading list for 2010

http://www.tangentonline.com/news-mainmenu-158

One of my fellow Clarionites, L.Hannett gets a mention for her Commonplace Sacrifices.

Hokkaido Green gets a 3-star mention.

“Hokkaido Green,” by Aidan Green (Strange Horizons, 11/10) F*** (CS)

First someone translates the story into Mandarin without my permission.  Now this Aidan Green has been stealing my stories.

I emailed the editors and informed them that although I was fond of the color green, I hadn’t considered changing my name yet. So perhaps they will update the list soon.

The Australian Shadow Horror Award Finalists have also been recently announced.  Another member of Clarion South 2009, Angela Slatter is shortlisted for her collection The Girl With No Hands and her short story Brisneyland By Night.

http://australianhorror.com/index.php?view=256