Harvey Awards eligibility of Chicks Dig Comics

The Harvey Awards are:

“presented annually to those creators and publications that receive the most votes from their peers in the comics industry. At the beginning of each year, nominating ballots are sent to comics professionals and publishers. Qualifying professionals are able to nominate up to five entries in each category. The top five nominees, plus ties, in each category are placed on the final ballot, which is mailed in the Spring. Final ballots are returned one month later and the votes are tabulated. Winners are announced each year at the Harvey Awards banquet.” [from the website]

Chicks Dig Comics, the book I co-edited with Lynne Thomas and published by Mad Norwegian Press, is eligible for a Harvey Award. Specifically, for the Best Biographical, Historical, or Journalistic Presentation (Any Book, Magazine, Film, or Video That Contributes to the Understanding of Comics as an Artform) Harvey Award.

If you are a comics professional qualified to vote in the Harveys, and if you have read Chicks Dig Comics and believe it to be worthy of industry recognition, please consider including Chicks Dig Comics among your nominations.

Thank you.

.
.

Hugo nomination eligibility

With the new year nomination season for the Hugos is upon us.

The Hugo nomination period is open until March 10th. If you were a member of Chicon last year, or are already a member of LoneStarCon this year (2013 Worldcon) or Loncon 3 (the 2014 Worldcon), you can nominate your favorite works or people from last year. If you have not yet bought a Worldcon membership, supporting or full, you only have until January 31 to do so and get nominating rights.

I have one work in 2012, eligible in two categories. If you are someone who plans to nominate, please feel free to consider my work, along with the other fantastic works by others.

My eligibility is:

Best Related Work:
Chicks Dig Comics (Co-editor)

Best Editor, Short Form:
My work on Chicks Dig Comics

Thanks.

.
.

June 11 2012

1. Work was very work-like this weekend. Not enough people, lots of weather, lots of busy traffic.

It can be frustrating, working when it’s busy. There are a lot of people who all want something from you right now. It could be easy to forget that they don’t hear or see all the other people asking for your attention at a given moment. They’re not being irritating on purpose.

I say that to my son a lot, who has some trouble with attributing motivation to others. “They’re not doing anything to you on purpose!” I tell him. “Things happen, that you don’t want, and no-one is out to get you.” It’s a downside of human self-centeredness. We are at the center of our own narratives, after all. Why should we not be the center of eveyone else’s?

But, we’re not. The three pilots who all called on different frequencies at the same time wanting clearances, they are not out to get me. They are just people flying home after a weekend at the cabin up north, with their kids and their dogs and their dirty laundry and their fishing gear. I don’t know what sort of weekend they had, whether the fish were biting or they bickered with their spouse or their kids got into a fight as they were loading the plane. I can’t give the pilot who is calling me a good weekend all by myself.

But I could certainly make the trip home unpleasant, if I wanted to. I could be snippy and insulting, I could make the three hour flight home in gorgeous sunshine something to be endured rather than enjoyed.

I could, but I try to avoid it.

If I do my job right, the pilot doesn’t think about me in the slightest once they have landed. If I do my job right, they don’t think of me again. If I do my job right it’s not personal, not petty, not mean and vindictive.

I tell my kids that every time someone does something irritating, you have a chance to either make things better or worse. When three pilots call at once, and they talk so damn slowly, and they have bad radios, and they have tons of questions, I become irritated. But while I can’t control what they do, I can control what I do. I can choose the sort of person I want to be. I can choose to make things better or make them worse.

I don’t always make the choice that I respect later. I’m not some paragon of virtue. But I try to be pleasant, to be calm, to be helpful and clear and maintain a good tone. I think about the pilots and their passengers and what I would want were I in their place.

It doesn’t make the work any less complicated. But it sometimes makes it less frustrating.

2. The gasps and cries of pain in many animated shows sound rather … sexual. I notice it more in anime. I don’t know if that’s because there’s more of this sort of … ambiguity … in anime, or if I merely notice it more there.

3. To the people who put Chicks Dig Comics up on the internet, and to the people who are downloading and reading it illegally —

I am so glad you love the book. I am so glad you love comics, and you want to read more from some of the women who love comics the way you do. If Chicks Dig Comics is not available where you are, I understand your frustration. I, too, am irritated when I *want* to spend my money on something and am not able to buy the thing in question.I hope that you love the pirated copy you are reading. I hope you tell your friends how great the book is.

And I hope that, when you are given the opportunity to buy a copy of Chicks Dig Comics, you do so. Buy a copy for your local library! Or send a copy to a friend. Buy a copy and write “LENDING COPY” in really big letters on the back cover and leave it in your local coffee shop.

I hope that you spread the word and encourage people to buy copies of Chicks Dig Comics.

4. In other news, I am watching Sailor Moon S for the first time. See point 2, above. Erm.

At any rate, the English dub and the English subtitles do not match AT ALL. There are two almost entirely different stories going on, here. (I’ve read up on the situation on TV Tropes and various wikis, and I understand this is A Thing with Sailor Moon. But, SHEESH.)

Also, we can put this in the same category with Seventh-Doctor-and-Ace Doctor Who in the sense that, if I had seen this when it originally aired, I might have come out sooner. I didn’t see Ace until a couple years ago, but she is exactly what I would have had a raging crush on when I was younger. Ditto Sailor Uranus.

5. I have gotten up to the rise of Augustus in The History of Rome podcast (which I am still loving.) And it’s making me want to re-watch HBO’s Rome series. Despite the historical inaccuracies of the show.

.
.

April 24 2012

1. Two more great reviews of Chicks Dig Comics –

Here’s one at Fangirl Confessions.

And Ruth at CrimeSpree Magazine has some lovely things to say, here.

2. The CONvergence schedule is up! I need to look at that.

3. I’m sending a short story I wrote around to various places for publication. Let me say, I truly and without any sarcasm appreciate quick rejection letters.

4. I may have to quit Fitocracy, which I was loving for a bit. But they redesigned their website and interface, put intrusive ads all over everything, and put all the content on the far right and the ads on the left. I’m not sure I have the patience for hovering lean-power fat-burning supplement ads every time I want to record a workout.

5. K’s cold, it turns out, is pneumonia! A very, very walking level of pneumonia, it seems, because she hasn’t missed anything or really even been that sick. Just a lot of sniffing.

6. Circus dress/tech rehearsals start next week for the spring shows!

7. The washing machine has been broken for a couple of days. The repairperson is coming out today, which is none too soon. J does the laundry in our household, and I believe the maintenance rate requirement is two loads a day, every day. We’re behind, is what I’m saying. Clean clothes reserves are starting to drop.

8. Does anybody have any recommendations for bands/artists who perform traditional Middle Eastern folk music? Recordings of same, you understand. That I can buy on the internets.

9. Today is, I think, going to be a day of working on my breaks at work. In addition to editorial and authorial tasks, there is the self-assigned homework pre-Wiscon — reading articles and books that people are talking about. It’s homework I truly enjoy, and no-one is making me do it but *me*, yet if I want it done I have to do it.

.
.

Chicks Dig Comics discussions and other news

1. In the week since C2E2 the internet has seen a couple mentions of Chicks Dig Comics.

ComicBuzz reviewed the C2E2 panel and book.

Corrina Lawson wrote up the panel for Wired’s GeekDad feature.

Christian Lipski of the Portland Examiner covered the Chicks Dig Comics launch at Bridge City Comics. I, personally, was happy to see the slideshow of event photos, since I was unable to get to Portland.

2. I was grumpy and irritable all weekend. I finally realized it’s probably because I haven’t worked out really hard in over a week. This is due to travel and tendonitis. I am working on finding things I can do that give me the same satisfaction as heavy barbell lifting and jogging. So far … no real luck. But I’m working on it!

3. This week my schedule switches from winter to summer. I am back on five eight-hour days instead of four ten-hour days. I am not keen on this, and look forward to the resumption of my tens in the autumn. I am especially not keen on the fact that I now have two mornings of getting up before five a.m.

4. I like a lot of fictional properties that my family calls Bad Decision Theater. Shows like Game of Thrones, where everyone is being who and what they are, and making terrible decisions as a result. But sometimes I like shows about how good people can be. Flawed, but good.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is one of those shows.

I’m not saying it’s great dramatic theater. The plots are very straightforward. The dialog is reasonably simple. And every character on the show, regardless of depicted color, is white — a point highlighted when the exotic folk-magic-using stranger with an accent is portrayed by a zebra. (Horses are white, zebras are black?)

But MLP:FiM seems determined to show that there are a variety of ways to be a girl or woman and be successful. That there are a variety of ways for women to be friends. That different skills and interests all have value, and that, more importantly, that value is never derived from making others feel small or weak or less.

I’m not saying the show is deep, or not for kids. (Though I do appreciate the adult-aimed pop culture references, such as Sondheim, Andy Warhol, and Galadriel.) But there’s nothing nasty in it, nothing sarcastic or wry or edgy. It’s clean and hopeful, and sometimes that’s the kind of story I like.

.
.

C2E2 and Chicks Dig Comics

1. The book launch for Chicks Dig Comics went great. The panel was held on Sunday at noon, before an enthusiastic audience.

About that audience, for a moment. About you all. You are the reason for the book. We wanted to make a thing that spoke, in some way, about you. For you, if that’s possible. (It’s not. We can’t speak for you. But we can speak for ourselves, and by extension remind people that you, the women and girls who love comics, are real.) Thank you for your support, your enthusiasm, and … And for being real.

The panel itself was a delight. My thanks to all the participants! Highlights included one panelists discussing her crush on Jughead, and an exploration of the difference between editorial support for change versus institutional resistance to same.

Speaking purely personally, I was honored to be a participant, to share the stage with the amazing women of the panel.

2. The convention itself was a good one. The panel spaces were of a good size, and well-managed. McCormick Center has good parking, good signage, and decent amenities. I also found the main floor to be decent, with lots of space for getting past lines and clogs.

3. It was great to see all my long-distance friends and acquaintances. I’m not going to name everyone, because I am CERTAIN to forget someone. But it was wonderful.

4. I missed my kids so very much. I bought them, um, rather more in the way of presents than they really need.

Chicks Dig Comics on the internet

People are talking about Chicks Dig Comics, and what they are saying makes me very happy.

Gail Simone mentioned it.

The Mary Sue liked it.

John Scalzi let Lynne talk about the Big Idea of Chicks Dig Comics.

Doctor Her interviews Lynne and Deb Stanish about various Mad Norwegian books, including the Hugo-award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords and Chicks Dig Comics.

My thanks to everyone who is supporting and talking about the book. I truly appreciate it. I hope to meet some of you this weekend at C2E2! I will be on the Chicks Dig Comics panel on Sunday at noon, in N426a, and then at the signing at 1:00, scheduled for Autograph Table 3. I look forward to it!

April 9 2012

1. We are trying a new English language curriculum for the kids. Because English is a RIDICULOUS language, full of various abominations against common sense, and it’s hard to remember to teach all of its insanity. We’re using The Logic of English, a title which makes me laaaauuuuuuugh. So far — after merely a couple of days — so good. The kids seem to like it, as do I.

2. For the record, we use one other curriculum, Singapore Math, which is working very well for us.

3. New tattoos hurt, until they stop hurting and start itching.

4. I have a deep fondness for the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. I particularly like how all of the main characters grow and change, yet remain true to their core characteristics. And the part in At World’s End where Elizabeth exhorts the various crews and they all raise their colors always give me chills.

Though I do wonder — what’s to prevent Will from stopping by Elizabeth’s ship every few weeks to say hello? Why do they have to only meet on land?

I also find it terrifically amusing that the Disney Pirates’ franchise manages to remain largely faithful to The Invisible Hook — a treatise revealing the secret economics of piracy.

5. A number of nifty people have been nominated for Hugo Awards! Including some friends and acquaintances of mine, so I am feeling gleeful by proxy. Here’s the list of nominees at the Chicon site.

6. The lovely folks at Outer Alliance are running my Chicks Dig Comics essay, “Kitty Queer,” on their website. Go ye forth and check it out! Chicks Dig Comics launches this weekend at C2E2, and you can buy it at online retailers now.

7. I will be at C2E2! In a few days! I am a little bit hyper and excited about this! I am also a huge ball of subterranean stress, apparently, because I haven’t been able to sleep for two days. Too busy dreaming about packing for the trip.

That there is my book

Well, it’s not my book. My saying that is more an expression of astonishment, not sole ownership. This book is the work of Lynne, me, all the contributors, the publisher, the assistant editors –

But for purposes of pure astonishment, and telling my grandmother, this here is my book.

The box arrived, I opened it, and J and I both sniffed the books. Yep. New book smell, all right. I babbled at her for a few minutes, then set out on some errands. First to the library, when I got the contact information for how to get my local library system to stock Chicks Dig Comics. Then to my local independent bookstore, where the clerk pre-ordered copies. He placed the order, then looked up at me.

“You’re from the neighborhood, right?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said, “five blocks up.”

“Good,” he said. He hadn’t asked my name.

The whole exchange left me giggling, and thinking of Agnes Nutter, Witch, from the novel Good Omens. Particularly the part where her publishers can’t sell any copies of her book of prophecy, not even when they put out a nice placard reading “Local Authoress”. I walked away from the store muttering “Local Authoress” to myself.

Then I stopped by the post office, where I mailed one of my copies of Chicks Dig Comics to my grandmother.

My grandmother always said she hoped I would be a teacher or a writer. She was a teacher herself, for more decades than I know. She loved teaching, she loves learning, and she has always been proud of me. Editing a book isn’t the same as writing one, but it’s work that I’m proud of. I don’t know if my grandmother will read the book, or what she’ll make of it if she does. But that doesn’t matter. She can show it off to everyone in her facility and tell them what her grand-daughter has done.

As I type this, I am staring at a stack of fourteen copies of my book. It’s a real thing.

I like it that I make my grandmother proud.

.
.

Chicks Dig Comics Table of Contents

The time has come when I can reveal the full splendor of the contributors for the forthcoming Chicks Dig Comics.

Introduction by Mark Waid
Editors’ Foreword, by Lynne M. Thomas and Sigrid Ellis
Mary Batson and the Chimera Society, by Gail Simone
Summers and Winters, Frost and Fire, by Seanan McGuire
Cosplay, Creation, and Community, by Erica McGillivray
An Interview with Amanda Conner
A Matter of When, by Carla Speed McNeil
The Other Side of the Desk, by Rachel Edidin
An Interview with Terry Moore
Nineteen Panels about Me and Comics, by Sara Ryan
I’m Batman, by Tammy Garrison
An Interview with Alisa Bendis
My Secret Identity, by Caroline Pruett
The Green Lantern Mythos: A Metaphor for My (Comic Book) Life, by Jill Pantozzi
Vampirella, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Page Turn, by Jen Van Meter
Confessions of a (Former) Unicorn, by Tara O’Shea
The Evolution of a Tart, by Sheena McNeil
Kitty Queer, by Sigrid Ellis
The Captain in the Capitol: Invoking the Superhero in Daily Life by, Jennifer Margret Smith
Burn, Baby Burn, by Lloyd Rose
Tune in Tomorrow, by Sue DCWKA
An Interview with Greg Rucka
Comic Book Junkie, by Jill Thompson
From Pogo to Girl Genius, by Delia Sherman
I am Sisyphus, and I am Happy, by Kelly Thompson
Captain America’s Next Top Model, by Anika Dane Milik
An Interview with Louise Simonson
Me Vs. Me, by Sarah Kuhn
A Road That has No Ending: Revenge in Sandman, by Sarah Monette
Mutants, by Marjorie Liu
You’re on the Global Frequency, by Elizabeth Bear
Crush on a Superhero, by Colleen Doran

When I have dropped irritatingly coy hints about how proud I am of our contributors, how pleased I am with the book, well, now you understand why. The essays in Chicks Dig Comics are from some of the brightest, most passionate, most articulate lovers of comics books I have the pleasure to know. I am proud of their work, and of this book.

You can pre-order Chicks Dig Comics.

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Powell’s
Indiebound
Diamond

Spread the word, if you can. Tell your local comic store about the book, about the fact that Diamond is shipping it. Tell your friends, your LiveJournal or Dreamwidth, tell your blog. Tell your Facebook and Google+ acquaintances. Look at that table of contents and pre-order a copy for your mom, your sister, the girl who sits next to you in Greek Lit and doodles Wonder Woman during lecture.

If this book is anything at all, it’s a love letter. Glance up at that Table of Contents again, will you? If you love comics, just look at the company you keep.