The Best News of My Life So Far

This February, I received what is probably of the best news of my life so far. I’ve been waiting for my physical copy to arrive in the mail before sharing the news on here, and it arrived yesterday. So, here is the news…I have been nominated for a 2021 Rhysling Award for my poem “Penelope, the truth”, which was originally published in Corvid Queen last year and is now featured in this year’s Rhysling Anthology!

For those unfamiliar with the Rhysling Award, it is one of the major awards writers of scifi/fantasy/horror poetry can receive, comparing in stature to the Nebula Award for scifi/fantasy fiction. Many well-known writers have received the Rhysling Award in previous years, most notably among them the much-decorated Ursula K. Le Guin, whose work, as some of you may know, was THE REASON I began writing scifi and fantasy in the first place.

I still can’t believe it! Even with the anthology in my hand, it doesn’t feel real. I have looked over and over again at the printed pages and still find it hard to believe that I am featured alongside so many other writers that I have admired for so long and especially that my name is now featured within the same orbit as my heroine Ursula K. Le Guin. She truly is THE reason I began to seriously pursue writing and publishing when I was fourteen. For all these years, she has been my inspiration, my “blueprint” for the kind of writer I dreamed of being one day. To be included alongside her like this is really some of the best news I could have ever received.

Thank you so much to Alessandro Manzetti, who edited this year’s anthology, to all the SFPA members who made this possible, to Kay Allen, editor of Corvid Queen, for publishing “Penelope, the truth” last year, and a particularly huge, heartfelt thanks to the SFPA member who nominated my work for this year’s anthology. This nomination means so much to me, more than you could ever imagine.

You can check out this year’s Rhysling lineup here, and read my bio on the SFPA website here.

Thank you, again. I am truly honored and over the moon!