You might well picked up a book because of its cover but you probably won’t know who was responsible. So below are my two individual sets of nominations but in an ideal world, they would single set of Best Artist nominations.Īnother unique feature of these categories is the relative anonymity of SF art, despite its ubiquity. In the only other categories that are awarded to individuals rather than works, the two Best Editor awards, the distinction is again the form of the content rather than the economic status of the producer of the content (this also brings us into semi-prozine territory – more on that later). So, for example, Seanan McGuire’s self- published story ‘In Sea-Salt Tears’ appeared on last year’s Best Novelette shortlist. Nor is it a distinction that makes any appearance in the awards for writing speculative fiction itself which are all based on word count. You can probably count the number of people who make a living from writing about SF on one of John Clute’s fingers. The only other time the word ‘fan’ appears is in Best Fan Writer and there it is as much a description of the type of writing being awarded (writing about speculative fiction) as it is the person being awarded. Not only is it a difficult distinction to draw, it is not present in the other categories. I see no reason why the issue of payment should come into it. The idea of both the Best Pro Artist and Best Fan Artist categories is to reward an artist for a body of work over a year. Seanan just knows how to get to me.Like Ian Sales, these are several Hugo categories that I have big problems with but I think these two categories should simply be merged. I did, and I would not consider myself an overly emotional type of person. Have tissues nearby if you're an emotional type, and even if you're not you might cry a bit. It's a lovely romance between two women who are what they are, what they must be, and what they choose to be - even if that means losing other parts of their lives. It gives more nuance and depth when you read it after. It's possible to read and love this before you know who they are. 'In Sea-Salt Tears' is a beautiful, sometimes breathtaking 20-page novella about Elizabeth and Annie, both characters any reader of Seanan McGuire's Toby Daye series will have met by other (and the same) names by the end of 'One Salt Sea'. I read this a while after learning and loving the song, and the references in the song hit me like a 2 by 4 when I read the novella.

It ties in perfectly to this, its companion story. Show More heard Seanan's music, I suggest you try to find the song 'In This Sea', from her album 'Stars Fall Home' (now sadly out of print).

In Sea-Salt Tears by Seanan McGuire