As you may know, last month during the Nebula Awards banquet, I accepted the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation on behalf of Guardians of the Galaxy. And in doing so, I used only three words.

Though I was allowed to hang on to the beautiful (and extremely heavy) trophy during the evening to pose for post-ceremony photos, I eventually had to relinquish the thing so it could be sent on to the folks who’d actually created the film. Which is a shame, because it’s one of more beautiful trophies I’ve had the privilege to accept on behalf of others.

Which is why, when I saw director James Gunn announce yesterday that he’d received the award from SFWA, I couldn’t resist cobbling together this …

Sometimes, being Groot just has to be its own reward …

Last Friday was National Doughnut Day. Last Friday was also a part of SFWA’s Nebula Awards weekend. Surely there had to be some way to celebrate both?

There was!

Since there was no programming that morning I felt like witnessing, I took off—with Wayne Rambo, husband of incoming SFWA president Cat Rambo—in search of some of Chicago’s best donuts to bring back to for several hundred of my closest friends. And to see some of the city at the same time, of course. It was a walk meant to be around 2-1/2 miles, but thanks to the vagaries of National Doughnut Day, by the time we were done, we’d hiked nearly five.

First stop—Firecakes, at which my favorite donut has always been their butterscotch-praline variety.

But, this being National Doughnut Day, they were sold out of them. Still, I bought as many donuts as could fit into one of their boxes, and then it was off to our second stop—the Doughnut Vault.

Which is where the weirdness began. (more…)

The first reservation I made for dinner during the Nebula Awards weekend way back when I started planning my trip to Chicago has a science fictional connection of which you’re probably not aware—because Beverly Kim, co-owner of Parachute with husband Johnny Clark, is the sister-in-law of Wesley Chu, author of The Lives of Tao.

So a John W. Campbell Award-nominated writer is related to a James Beard Award-nominated chef. See, the Venn diagram of food and science fiction overlaps even more than you thought!

So last Friday night, Barry Goldblatt, Kate Milford, Fran Wilde and I headed over to Parachute—a Korean American restaurant named Restaurant of the Year by Eater Chicago in 2014 which recently celebrated its one-year anniversary—to find out what all the fuss was about. That’s Fran Wilde and me (and a little bit of lens flare) above. I wish Wes could have joined us, but he had to head off to the Cayman Islands with his wife so they could celebrate their anniversary. What kind of priorities are those?

And the meal was pretty much perfect, with but a single flaw—due to competition from that night’s mass autographing (the early part of which I skipped in order to be able to make this dinner), our party dropped from six to four at the last minute, which meant we couldn’t eat ALL the food on the menu! I guess that will have to be our goal when the Nebulas return to Chicago again in 2016. (more…)

I hate, hate, hate eating in hotel restaurants. And given the number of hotels I overnight in while traveling the convention circuit each year, I’m given many opportunities to do so. But I scorn those restaurants with the heat of a dying star.

There’s only one meal a year I’m forced to eat in one of those usually little more than competent dining establishments which tell you nothing about the city in which they’re located but instead represent both everywhere and nowhere. And that’s to breakfast with an elder in the science fiction field (because the conversation is worth it) whom I can never seem to dislodge from the site where the convention is being hosted. But other than that lone annual encounter, I bolt from hotels for all other meals.

Some have said to me, hey, aren’t you missing out on the convention itself that way? But I don’t see it that way.If I wander off for multiple meals with three or four different con attendees each time, I see myself as taking a part of the con with me while experiencing food that represents a city, rather than a chain.

Which is how I ended up Sunday afternoon at the Pilsen Food Truck Social, which was being held about three miles from the Palmer House. I’d found out about it from a squib in Eater, which is a site I always hit before visiting a city to make sure I miss nothing I’d regret. I wasn’t sure who’d end up joining me for that roving lunch, but five of my friends ended up tagging along—Greg and Astrid Bear, Francesca Myman, Arley Sorg, and Jacob Weisman. (more…)

Though the majority of my posts about last weekend’s trip will end up reporting on various foodie expeditions (such as my already-shared visit to Next), I should note that food wasn’t the main reason I was in Chicago. (Though it sometimes seemed as if it was.)

It was SFWA’s annual Nebula Awards that brought me to town, where I got to hang with old friends, make new friends, and channel Groot.

So for those who would rather focus on the people than the food porn, I’ve uploaded all the non-culinary pics here.

As, for example, this one, in which Matthew Kressel and I posed post-ceremony, each cradling a trophy that wasn’t ours—me, the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation which I’d accepted on behalf of Guardians of the Galaxy; him, Alaya Dawn Johnson’s Best Novelette Nebula.

Sadly, we were not allowed to keep these. OH, SFWA, YOU TEASE.

I just arrived home from the Nebula Awards weekend in Chicago, which was—because I was around friends old and new—about so much more than only the Nebula Awards. I’ll tell you of what mischief I got up to once I recover, but for now … hey, how about that banquet?

I had an unexpected role to play Saturday night, because I was chosen to accept the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation on behalf of the creators of Guardians of the Galaxy. And my acceptance speech was somewhat … unconventional.

If you weren’t one of those in the room that night, or watching the lifestream at home, you can see what I mean below, starting at 56:34. Make sure you hang on after I’m done to see how Toastmaster Nick Offerman interprets what I’ve said.

‘Tis a good thing to be Groot. I’ve always wanted to branch out …

I love to time travel, but since I can’t do it in real life, I have to fake it. Which is why each year, when the Nebula Awards weekend rolls around, I take a look back at the one that occurred exactly ten years earlier, to see who we used to be back then.

So in 2013 I travelled to 2003, and last year, I relived 2004.

This year, with the Nebulas being held in Chicago, let’s take a look back at 2005, when the Nebulas were held in … Chicago. (And, as you’ll see, there was more of me than there is now.)

Joe Haldeman and I smooch that year’s SFWA Grand Master, Anne McCaffrey

(more…)

I’ll be heading off to Chicago in a few days for my third consecutive convention weekend. First it was Balticon, then AwesomeCon, and coming up is the Nebula Awards weekend. Once there, I hadn’t planned to do anything but schmooze and listen to the wisdom of others, but as it turns out, I’ve been chosen to take part in one of the weekend’s panels.

So when I’m not in the Palmer House bar, or in the audience listening to others pontificate, here’s where you’ll be able to find me—

Writing Other Genres
Sunday 11:00-Noon, Salon 8
Another way to diversify your income is to write in other genres. Mysteries seem to lend themselves to SF authors, as they share many qualities associated with sf. What other genres are good for sf authors? What do authors need to know about other genres before starting their own parallel career?
with Russell Davis, Charles Gannon, and Laura J. Mixon

My main words of advice will likely be that if you want a successful career, don’t do as I did. That’s right—I’m there to be a dreadful warning. But perhaps there’ll be something useful to be learned from others.

Check out the full schedule for the weekend here. Lots of great programming! I can easily see a minimum of 3-4 panels I plan to attend.

Hope to see (some of) you there!

Daniel Keyes, author of the classic short story “Flowers for Algernon” as well as the best-selling novel that followed, died Sunday at age 86. He deserves accolades not just for the tale itself, but also for his determination to resist those who wanted him to turn its tragic ending into an upbeat one, a change which would have robbed the story of its power.

I was privileged to have met him in 2000 when I was Toastmaster at that year’s Nebula Awards weekend, where he was presented with SFWA’s Author Emeritus award.

When I learned earlier today of his passing, I suddenly remembered that though I had a recording of that night and had previously shared with you the presentation of the Best Short Story, Best Novella, and Best Novel awards, as well as my introduction of then-president Paul Levinson and my singing of an Elvis standard, I had never uploaded any video of Keyes being given that honor.

Sadly, it’s now time to correct that omission. Watch as he explains how the character of Charlie Gordon came to be …

“P.S. please if you get a chanse put some flowrs on Algernons grave in the bak yard.”

R.I.P. Daniel Keyes.

Two weeks ago, right around this time, I was in the midst of dining at the Los Gatos restaurant Manresa. I’d meant to tell you all about the meal long before now, but first I had to survive and recover from the Nebula Awards weekend, then complete my second new short story of the year, then host Geoff Landis and Mary Turzillo as they stopped here for a night on the way to Balticon, then start in on another new story. But before any more time passes, let’s get to it!

I’d made my reservation at Manresa having no idea who might join me, but sure that I’d find three other foodies at the Nebula weekend who’d want to take part. I’ve done that before with restaurants I trusted would deliver peak dining experiences, and haven’t been left with an empty seat yet. Based on what I’d been told, if I could eat only one meal in San Jose, it should be at David Kinch’s restaurant, so I knew that there’d be eager co-conspirators.

Joining me two weeks ago were Jenn Reese, her agent Barry Goldbatt (who snapped the picture above), and Jaym Gates. This was taken after we returned from our meal. Can you tell that we’re happy and satiated? Well, after spending five hours and 12 minutes at Manresa … we’d better be! (more…)