Bad Habit, Good News
I have a bad habit -- occasionally I Google myself. It sounds so self-centered, but since I have fairly high exposure writing for my day job, I sometimes get a little worried that I'm being savaged on the Internet for some of my commentary. It still feels a bit self-centered though, like I'm some kind of closet egomaniac, but oh well, I do it and it's one of those dirty little secrets.
So, last night I indulged in the bad habit, and found out that one of my short stories apparently has been nominated for storySouth's Million Writers Award for 2004. Finalists are chosen on Feb. 15, I think, and I can't say I know all that much about the contest other than what I read here.
I suspect that the editor for the magazine that the story appeared in nominated the story, but it's funny that she didn't inform me (of course, there's always the possibility that it accidentally got swept up in spam deletions, I get a ton of spam in my inbox here at home). It's awfully nice of her though.
Anyway, the award itself is interesting on a big-picture level, when you take into account one of the issues facing modern literature, i.e., print vs. online -- it's definitely a bit of an "eff you" to all the "best of" anthologies. It was started with the premise that the most well-known "best of" anthologies largely ignore quality fiction that's published on the Web; that print is still considered the vanguard or whatever. Beyond that kind of controversy, it's a very nice idea to try to give some exposure to authors who have mostly been published on the Web.
Write on,
LLB
So, last night I indulged in the bad habit, and found out that one of my short stories apparently has been nominated for storySouth's Million Writers Award for 2004. Finalists are chosen on Feb. 15, I think, and I can't say I know all that much about the contest other than what I read here.
I suspect that the editor for the magazine that the story appeared in nominated the story, but it's funny that she didn't inform me (of course, there's always the possibility that it accidentally got swept up in spam deletions, I get a ton of spam in my inbox here at home). It's awfully nice of her though.
Anyway, the award itself is interesting on a big-picture level, when you take into account one of the issues facing modern literature, i.e., print vs. online -- it's definitely a bit of an "eff you" to all the "best of" anthologies. It was started with the premise that the most well-known "best of" anthologies largely ignore quality fiction that's published on the Web; that print is still considered the vanguard or whatever. Beyond that kind of controversy, it's a very nice idea to try to give some exposure to authors who have mostly been published on the Web.
Write on,
LLB
posted by LadyLitBlitzin at 1:00 PM
7 Comments:
Wow! Congratulations!
Thanks Maktaaq! It was a big surprise, I have to say.
That's great news! I wish you luck with the contest now that you're in the running!
Thanks Hebdomeros! I'm kinda glad I only just found out about it now... so I don't have to be on tenterhooks for too long since the finalists are announced Tuesday. :)
It was good news for my rejection-weary soul! ;)
Oh, and I forgot to add that I, too, google myself. It's scary how comments I made in 1998 are still online - that seems so long ago in terms of internet activities!
Congrats!! Which story was it?
Ha, Maktaaq, I'm glad I'm not the only one who googles myself. :) You know, you just get so you want to make sure all's well... you know?
Actually I've got some old stuff that still pops up too, stuff from a job that was like, 4 or 5 jobs ago. Weird. (Lord, come to think of it, I was quite a job hopper!)
Jen, it was that story, I Ching, if you remember that one...
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