The 2012 Dell Magazines Award

EDITORIAL Sheila Williams THE 2012 DELL MAGAZINES AWARD It was another record-breaking year for MFA program in the fall and is pursuing submissions to The Dell Magazines some entrepreneurial online ventures. Award for Undergraduate Excellence in She accepted her certificate for a chilling Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing. tale about “The Taste of Salt.” Once again, my co-judge Rick Wilber and Rick and I had such a hard time choos- I chose our finalists from a huge pool of ing stories this year that we ended up talented authors. And once again, we with a three-way tie for third runner-up. were delighted to have all the finalists in Once the decision was in, we discovered attendance at the 2012 International that two of the three recipients were Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts well known to us. Lara Donnelly is a in Orlando, Florida. The award, which fourth-time finalist for the award. A se- includes a five hundred dollar first prize, nior at Wright State University who had is co-sponsored by Dell Magazines and just been accepted into this summer’s the International Association for the Clarion Writers Workshop, she received Fantastic and is supported by the School her award for the dark, yet delightful of Mass Communications, University of “Case of the Smitten Magician.” Another South Florida. It is given out each year Wright State senior, Anthony Powers, at the conference. was a finalist two years ago and re- Top honors went to Rebekah turned to accept his award this year for Baldridge for her complex and moving “Opus 4: Duet for Expressionism and time travel tale, “Superpositions.” Re- Absinthe.” Anthony is a painter, fencer, bekah a junior at Newman University, is fire performer, and multi-instrumental- a student of English and philosophy. Her ist. At the conference’s request, he treat- love for improv is matched by her love ed us to a piano performance during the for the Classics. Rebekah studies writing evening’s cocktail reception. with Bryan A. Dietrich. Bryan’s name The third branch of this talented tri- may be familiar to readers of this maga- umvirate, Brit Mandelo is quickly be- zine because his poem “Edgar Alan Poe” coming a force in the SF field. Brit, who was the winner of our own 2010 Readers’ studies at the University of Louisville, Award Poll. blogs at Tor.com and has recently been Madeline Stevens, our first runner-up, appointed a fiction editor at Strange is a freshman at Bennington College. In Horizons. She received her award for the 2010, she attended Diane Turnshek’s Al- eerie “Writ of Years.” pha Writers’ Workshop for teens and she While Brit was new to our contest, our is returning to the program this summer two honorable mentions were known en- as a junior staff member. Madeline re- tities. Rebecca McNulty, another three- ceived her award certificate for the time finalist, is a senior at the College of heartbreaking “Halcyon Days.” New Jersey. Rebecca is an English major Although the awards’ final outcomes who has worked as a ghostwriter for on- are decided by a blind read, we were line media. She received her award for pleased to see familiar faces among the the bittersweet “Sister Kite.” Our other recipients. Our second runner-up Rachel honorable mention, and fellow three- Halpern is a three-time finalist. A senior time finalist, E. Lily Yu, received her at Grinnell College studying English award for the evocative “Ilse, Who Saw and Spanish, Rachel is considering an Clearly.” Lily is a senior at Princeton

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Photo credit: Francesca Myman, Locus Publications. Left to right: Anthony Powers, Rick Wilber, Lara Donnelly, Rebecca McNulty, Rebekah Baldridge, Madeline Stevens, E. Lily Yu, Brit Mandelo, Rachel Halpern, and Sheila Williams

University studying English and bio- tricia McKillip, Sandra McDonald, physics. In 2011, she was second runner- Rachel Swirsky, Peter Straub, Nick Ma- up with a captivating tale about “The matas, Delia Sherman, and Karen Joy Cartographer’s Wasp and the Anarchist Fowler. Bees.” Soon after last year’s conference, You can visit with previous finalists she sold a revised version of the story to and current writers at our Facebook site. Clarkesworld. The tale is now a finalist Search for the Dell Magazines Award for the Nebula and the Hugo, and Lily is or go directly to http://www.facebook. a finalist for the John W. Campbell com/pages/manage/#!/pages/Dell- Award for Best New Writer. We hope you Magazines-Award/177319923776 will join Rick and me in wishing Lily and We are actively looking for next year’s our other finalists the best of luck with winner. The deadline for submissions is all their future endeavors. Monday, January 8, 2013. All full-time As usual, the students were warmly undergraduate students at any accredit- welcomed by a number of leading au- ed university or college are eligible. thors. On Friday night, they had dinner Before entering the contest, contact with Nancy Kress, James Patrick Kelly, Rick Wilber for more information, rules, Kit Reed, and Joe Haldeman. At Satur- and manuscript guidelines. He can be day’s banquet they dined with Rob reached care of: Sawyer, Nick DiChario, and Kathleen Ann Goonan. Other writers at the con- Dell Magazines Award ference included Suzy McKee Charnas, School of Mass Communications Ted Chiang, Stephen R. Donaldson, University of South Florida Andy Duncan, Kij Johnson, Nalo Hop- Tampa, Florida 33620 kinson, China Miéville, John Kessel, Pa- [email protected]

Editorial: The 2012 Dell Magazines Award 5 August 2012 magazine, and on our website. Next year’s winner will be announced at the 2013 Conference on the Fantastic, Copyright © 2012 Sheila Williams in the pages of Asimov’s Science Fiction

Editor's Note: Dell Magazines invites you to take a peek into the publishing world. Join our four fiction titles at the Brooklyn Book Festival, NYC’s largest free literary event, for author signings, giveaways, subscription deals, writers’ guidelines, and more.

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