THE SIPPY AWARDS 2017! The "Where We're Going We Won't Need Categories" Sippy for Excellent I Don't Know What in Short SFF

Welcome back to the fifth and final category of the Third Annual Sippy Awards! It’s doesn’t have the history or prestige of the Hugos or Nebulas or...well, any other award, but I like to think the Sippys represent a much needed niche in the award season. For me, at least, it’s a chance to celebrate the stories I loved from 2017 and remind myself that not everything is about the Big Awards. Sometimes it’s rewarding to just love what you love, and make no excuses for it. In that vein, the Sippys were born, and I definitely encourage everyone: don’t be shy about celebrating the stories you loved. Make awards for them, write reviews about them—have fun and add a bit of joy into the universe.

But I digress. I’ve shipped my favorite relationships, hidden under the covers from the scariest horror, wept until the world was awash in my tears at biggest heartbreaks, and drove fast and took chances with the most pulse-pounding action! Which leaves just one category to go, and it’s...

The “Where We’re Going We Won’t Need Categories” 

Sippy Awards for Excellent I Don’t Know What in Short SFF

What does it mean? Well, part of the point of this category is...I’m not sure. These are stories that defy conventional definitions and categorization. These are the ones that slip between genres and expectations. They’re...well, a lot of them are weird, but beautiful. Haunting, but fun. Deep and complex and brilliant in the ways they innovate and inspire. So without further delay...

THE SIPPY AWARDS 2017! The "Time to Run Some Red Lights" Sippy for Excellent Action!!! in SFF

Welcome back to the Third Annual Sippy Awards! Some part of you might be wondering, “why?” The answer: to celebrate short SFF across different styles that make excellent use of various elements to shine as examples of why I love this field. There’s no panel of judges or voting population, just me and my inflated ego and love of short SFF. Given how most short SFF awards focus on length, I wanted to look instead at how stories use different elements to stand out and be powerful. This year I’ve already shipped some excellent relationship, cowered before some excellent horror, and bawled from the some emotionally devastating reads. Which means today it’s time to put the pedal to the metal with...

The “Time to Run Some Red Lights” Sippy Awards 

for Excellent Action! in Short SFF

The name comes courtesy of the outrage that followed the original release of The Fast and The Furious. No joke, I remember a bunch of articles about how, upon leaving the movie, people were basically much more likely to speed and engage in...not good decisions. Likewise, I’ve seen studies about how listening to music effects how we drive. So I wanted to find the stories that left me feeling amped up. That made me to go fast and take chances. In a weird sort of surprise, most of them are from the very beginning of 2017. Not sure what that means, but there you are. In any event, please make sure your seat belts are securely buckled and that your tray tables are in their full and upright position. In 3...2...1...GO!!!!

THE SIPPY AWARDS 2017! The "There's Something in My Eye" Sippy for Excellent Making Me Ugly-Cry in Short SFF

The 3rd Annual Sippy Awards keep right on moving! That’s right, the SFF awards that no one asked for and few pay attention to is back! I’ve shipped my favorite relationships, and I’ve cowered in fear before my favorite horror stories. Which means that it’s week it’s time to reduce myself to a small puddle of tears somewhat resembling a functioning human being. yes, it’s time for...

The “There’s Something in My Eye” Sippy Award 

for Excellent Making Me Ugly-Cry in Short SFF

I’m something of an emotive reader, which means that there are times when reading that a story just hits me right in the feels and I need to take a moment to recover. These are stories that, for me, are defined most by their emotional weight. By the impact they have, the ability to completely destroy all the careful emotional shields we use to keep the rest of the world at bay. These are the stories that pry open the shell of control I try surround myself in and leave me little more than a blubbering mess. So joining me in smiling through the tears and celebrating this year’s winners!

THE SIPPY AWARDS 2017! The "I'm Sleeping with the Lights On" Sippy for Excellent Horror in Short SFF

Welcome back to the 2017 Sippy Awards! For those just tuning in, the Sippys are the coveted awards no one knows about, celebrating short SFF across five categories grouped by theme. Last week I revealed my favorite relationships in short SFF, and this week I’m going in a much darker, direction. So make sure your night light is working, tell yourself that noise you hear is probably just the cats, and get ready for...

The “I’m Sleeping with the Lights On” Sippy Award 

for Excellent Horror in Short SFF

Now horror to me has to do a lot with feeling. About fear, particularly. And stories, especially SFF stories, can approach fear in many different ways. They can get us to look at the mundane differently by treating with teh supernatural. They can remind us of the terror of the unknown, and the unknowable. They can present us with a situation and setting where the rules as we know them don’t apply. Where anything might happen. 2017 was, perhaps aptly, a great year for SFF horror. The world has done a thorough job of showing us all just what a dark and forbidding place it can be, and a bit of that can be seen reflected in the horrors crafted in these tales. But for most of them the stories don’t stop at the revelation of horror. They keep going, reaching past that horror and to a place where ghosts are put to rest, hungers are fed, and we can all live in a better place. So please join me is celebrating this year’s winners!

THE SIPPY AWARDS 2017! The "I'd Ship That" Sippy for Excellent Relationships in Short SFF

It’s 2018! Which means that I’m already behind on reviews! But it also means that it’s time for me to pay homage to all of 2017’s amazing short SFF with the THIRD ANNUAL SIPPY AWARDS!!! It’s truly the awards that no one asked for, but I’ve never really let that stop me. There are five categories in the Sippy Awards, bunched around themes rather than length. I’m kicking things off today with one of my favorites. It’s time for the 2017…

“I’d Ship That” Sippy Award for Excellent Relationships is Short SFF

I’m a bit of a sap at heart. I mean, I write ridiculous and super-queer superhero romances, so that might be obvious. But relationships go beyond just romance, beyond just romantic partnerships. Friendships, family, and more help to make relationships one of the most important aspects of storytelling, and short SFF is no exception to that. So today I’ll be highlighting stories from 2017 that I think did an exceptional job with regards to relationships of all sorts. So without further delay…

Quick Sip Reviews 2017 Recommended Reading List

[This list is now complete through December 2017. There are currently 78 stories from 23 publications, by 72 authors]

Hi all! It's that time of year, so I'm going to be posting up my recommended reading list. Just some wonky details first, though, so I'm up front about the limitations of the list. This comes courtesy of my monthly recommendation column, The Monthly Round. The rules are fairly easy, in that the stories must come from publications I regularly read. It's the single greatest limiting factor for the list, because I do not read everything, but this prevents me from essentially cherry-picking stories from other publications. So there are my favorite stories published at the places I read regularly and have reviewed. There's a whole wide world of other stories out there, but I did dearly love these. So I hope that, even with that limitation in mind, the list is helpful for finding some truly awesome short SFF. If you want more info on any of the stories, there are links to each or you can do a search of this blog to find my more in-depth reviews. Okay, enough preamble. To the list!!!!

Charles Payseur 2017 Awards Eligibility Post

Hi all! Going to keep this rather brief, but here it is, the things I've done in 2017.

Short Stories

Special attention to:

"The Sound of" from Nightmare Magazine #56 (May 2017)
Science fiction horror; bi main character; themes of erasure, self-censor, defeat.

Other stories:

"A Lumberjack's Guide to Dryad Spotting" from Flash Fiction Online (January 2017)
"Snow Devils" from Persistent Visions (January 2017)
"Feathers and Void" from Shimmer Magazine #37 (May 2017)
"Rivers Run Free" from Beneath Ceaseless Skies #230 (July 2017)
"Shoots and Ladders" from Diabolical Plots #33B (November 2017)

Poetry

"Those I found in the dark" from Twisted Moon #2
"becoming, c. a. 2000" from Glittership

Other things

I am NOT eligible for the Campbell

I very much am eligible for fan writer-type awards for my work on Quick Sip Reviews, Nerds of a Feather, and much more.

Oh, and projects are eligible for Best Related Work (I would say The Year of Garak with Nicasio Andres Reed is actually maybe worth checking out for that).

Cheers!