There are few things more thrilling for a publisher than the chance to yell “STOP THE PRESSES!”

We’ve always known that Marie Vibbert, author of nearly 100 short stories in all the biggest science fiction magazines, was just this side of making it big.

And now she has! This year, Marie not only got nominated for the Nebula Award, for her story “We Built this City”, but as of this month, that story has also made her a finalist for the Hugo Award!

The Nebula was already a big deal–it’s the annual awards given out by the Science Fiction Writers of America. But the Hugos…those are the “Oscars of Science Fiction”. Marie, my friends, has made it.

So, of course, we had to change the cover!

Folks are likening The Gods Awoke to Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, but Marie’s sublime fantasy tale, skewering organized religion even while being sympathetic to its practitioners is really one of a kind. Give it a read–with the new cover!

Janice L. Newman (At First Contact) and Gideon Marcus (the Kitra Saga) got their first Hugo nominations back in 2018. Every year since then save for 2021, their landmark time travel project, Galactic Journey, has been nominated for Best Fanzine. I don’t know that calling this sprawling endeavor, what Olav Rockne calls, “The most ambitious, immersive, and extensive project in modern science fiction,” a ‘fanzine’ quite does it justice. After all, the Journey includes not just coverage of science fiction and fact, day-by-day, from the perspective of people living 55 years ago, but it also boasts a radio station, an online lounge for in-person kibbitzing and Star Trek watching, and even live shows!

Nevertheless, Newman and Marcus are honored to be selected, delighted with their fellow nominees, and whomever wins, it’s already a happy circumstance.

Here’s hoping all three of them bring home the big rocket ship come September!

Sirena longlisted for the Lodestar

At the 80th annual Worldcon, held in Chicago, Sirena (Book #2 in the Kitra saga) got 8th place in the Lodestar (YA award) nominations. That means it was just two slots from being on the ballot!

We are infinitely grateful that Sirena has gotten such a positive reception. From a recent review:

“If you enjoyed the pacey mild peril of Kitra, with interpersonal tensions mixed equally with spaceship shenanigans, this will be a similarly satisfying read. Really, I feel like I’m just repeating what I said in my earlier review, but it all still stands, because this is a very consistent sequel in terms of tone and enjoyability! ” _{~Asha – A Cat, A Book, And A Cup Of Tea}

Kitra Illustrator Lorelei Esther made history

Did you see the news? Lorelei Esther, who has drawn the illustrations for all three Kitra novels, was up for a Hugo this year! In case you don’t know, the Hugos are like the Oscars of science fiction. Given out since 1953, they represent the very best our genre has to offer.

This year, Lorelei was nominated in the Best Fan Artist category for her non-professional work. Great pieces like these, drawn in honor of Robin and Superboy coming out as officially queer:

At just 18 years old, Lorelei is the youngest Hugo Finalist in the history of the award. And while she didn’t ultimately win (there was some excellent competition), as they say, it’s an honor to be nominated…and she didn’t come in last!

You can follow Lorelei’s work at her Instagram account.

Kitra, Book 3, is our next release!

If you haven’t read Kitra and Sirena, now is a good time to pick them up, because there will soon be three books in the Kitra saga!

Hyvilma will come out at the end of February 2023, and it’s the most “space-opera” entry in the series. But don’t worry–it’s still got the found family, Pinky jokes, and hard science elements that charmed readers of the first two books. And, of course, Lorelei’s illustrations.

Next up, we’ll be talking about what’s up with the amazing Marie Vibbert. Stay tuned!

Comic artist Lorelei Esther, illustrator for The Kitra Saga, is the youngest Hugo Finalist in the history of the award.  On April 7, 2022, Lorelei was selected for the Fan Artist category for her unpaid works, including her celebratory pictures of DC Comics characters Tim Drake and Jon Kent’s official coming out.

The Hugo Awards are the Oscars of Science Fiction. Regularly since 1955, science fiction fans have cast their votes for their favorite authors and artists in categories like Best Novel, Best Short Story, etc. The Fan Artist category dates back to 1967, when fan/pro artist Jack Gaughan got the first award.

There have been young Hugo Finalists before – Robert Silverberg, who was 20 in 1956 when he was nominated for (and won) Most Promising New Writer, and Ron Smith, who was 19 when he was nominated for Best Fan Writer the same year. For 65 years, their record stood.

But Lorelei has set a new record, one which isn’t likely to be topped any time soon. She just turned 18 last month, which means the work that qualified her for this prestigious honor was all done before she’d even reached majority!

It is perhaps no surprise that she is receiving such laurels so young – Lorelei had an early start. By the time she was 7, she had already composed the comic Blue Bird. This first work impressed the folks at DC so much that Scott Snyder, the writer for Batman, created a superhero named Bluebird in honor of Lorelei’s creation!

Since then, Lorelei has worked tirelessly to improve her skills, even as physical disabilities affecting her hands impaired the creative process. At the age of 15, she embarked on her professional career, illustrating the YA novel, Kitra. Her work can also be found in Sirena and the upcoming Rogues in the House fantasy anthology, as well as the bookplate and shelf talker art that accompanies Journey Press titles.

It is likely that this Hugo nomination will be just the first of many honors. Lorelei has also secured many fans with her singer-songwriting skills as well as her writing. In fact, Lorelei was a co-Hugo Finalist last year in the Best Fanzine category for her work on the 4x Hugo nominee, Galactic Journey. 

We at Journey Press are honored as anything to have Lorelei associated with our publishing house!

Authors Gideon Marcus, Janice L. Newman celebrate 4th Hugo nom

For the fourth time since 2018, the time-travel website Galactic Journey, founded by Gideon Marcus, and edited/contributed to by Janice L. Newman, has been nominated for the Best Fanzine Hugo.

Galactic Journey is a time machine to 55 years ago. Its writers live in the past, day-by-day, writing about science fiction, the space race, and much more. For them, today is April 10, 1967; yesterday was the 9th, tomorrow will be the 11th.

Crammed with entertaining articles written by some of the most knowledgeable folks in the genre, including professional space historian Kerrie Dougherty (Order of Australia), Gwyn Conaway (Design Guild member), Cora Buhlert (three-time Hugo Finalist for Fan Writer), and John Boston (Big Name Fan since the 1960s), Galactic Journey offers an insightful look into the past while shining sidewise a spotlight on issues of the present.

That’s because the website is not just a comprehensive historical archive–its purpose is also to rediscover the forgotten greats of the era who wrote works that still appeal today. It was thanks to the Galactic Journey that Journey Press encountered the great books I Want the Stars and Sibyl Sue Blue, and found the works to publish in Rediscovery: Science Fiction by Women (1958-1963). Journeyers also came together to help curate the selection for Rediscovery, Volume 2.

Gideon and Janice (and Lorelei) previously won the Serling Award for their coverage of The Twilight Zone. They also were awarded the Space Cowboy in 2020 for their work with Galactic Journey.

Congratulations to Gideon at Janice! Good luck at the awards ceremony!

Nearly seventy years ago, a group of several hundred science fiction fans got together in Philadelphia for the annual World Science Fiction convention. Though this was the eleventh time a global conclave of fans had gathered, “Philcon II” marked the beginning of a grand tradition: the nomination and selection by the attendees of the previous year’s best science fiction — quickly dubbed the “Hugos” after SF pioneer Hugo Gernsback.

2021 marks the 68th time the fans will select the Hugo award finalists and winners, and while other awards have been created in the last seven decades, the Hugos remain arguably the most prestigious honors a science fiction creator can receive. Originally, Hugos were just given out for a handful of categories. But the awards have evolved with the times, and these days, the number of awards has nearly doubled. This is partly because there are simply more people creating in the genre, and partly because technology has afforded new ways to create.

For instance, there are now Hugos given for best video game and best fancast. Best fanzine has evolved to include blogs and websites. There are now several “not Hugo” awards given out at the same ceremony, including the Lodestar for best YA SF novel and the Astounding for best new author. Even just being a Hugo Finalist is a tremendous honor and thrill. It has also, especially recently, been a way for routinely marginalized creators to get a leg up in the publishing world.

It is traditional for folks who create science fiction to make a Hugo eligibility post describing their works of the prior year that could be nominated for the award by members/attendees of that year’s Worldcon. And so, it is my pleasure and delight to present the Hugo-eligible works created by Journey Press authors:

Best Novel

Gideon Marcus’ Kitra, a space adventure featuring found family and the virtues of teamwork, has been a big hit. It’s even been called the antidote to 2020! We hope you like it enough to nominate it for the Hugo.

Lodestar

As a young adult novel, Kitra is also eligible for the Lodestar. Created in the style of the classic “juveniles” by Andre Norton and Robert Heinlein, but updated for the 21st Century, we would be delighted if this book got the award!

Astounding

Kitra is Gideon’s first published science fiction novel, making this the first year he is eligible for the Astounding (an author is eligible for each of the two years after first publication). He would be absolutely gobsmacked to receive this honor.

Best Short Story

Tom Purdom has remained a heavy hitter since his debut in 1957. He was a finalist for the Hugo in 2000, and he still frequently appears in the magazine, Asimov’s Science Fiction. While his classic I Want the Stars is not up for a Hugo this year (it was first published in 1964; reprinted by Journey Press in 2020), two of his stories were published in Asimov’s just last year and are eligible:

• So Long as We Both
• We All Lose if They Take Mizuba

Best Fanzine

Journey Press owes much of its existence to the success of Gideon Marcus’ first (and still ongoing) project Galactic Journey, and so it is fitting that we include it in this eligibility post.

Galactic Journey is more than a site or a zine. It’s a time machine. The 20+ writers for the Journey produce an article every other day from the context of SF fans (and professionals) living exactly 55 years ago. Thus, when it turned January 1, 2021 in your world, we rang in the new year of 1966. When we started eight years ago, in “1958”, we were just covering the three big American SF mags: Fantasy and Science Fiction, Galaxy, and Analog, as well as the space shots — Pioneer 1 had just gone halfway to the moon. Very quickly, as more people became associated with the Journey, we expanded our coverage to all the SF mags, current SF movies and TV shows (we’ve reviewed every episode of Twilight Zone, the Outer Limits, and Doctor Who that have been aired thus far), comics, fashion, art, music, politics, counter-culture…you name it!

Since 2018, Galactic Journey, something of a predecessor to Journey Press, has been on the Hugo ballot three times. This is an honor I share equally with my twenty-odd associates, who represent a broad range of demographics: age, ethnicity, and orientation.

So check out the Journey. There’s sure to be something you like!

Best Fancast

It was perhaps inevitable that the Journey experience would go on to include a live broadcast. In 2020, we produced 15 episodes of The Journey Show on topics ranging from Women in Science Fiction to the Space Race, fashion to wargames, SF films to Japanese manga and anime — all from the perspective of fans living in 1965.

Our stellar lineup of guests included Hugo Finalist cover illustrator Alyssa Winans, Georgia Tech science fiction professor Dr. Lisa Yaszek, wargame designer Lew Pulsipher, Hugo Finalist author Tom Purdom, Besame Cosmetics CEO Gabriela Hernandez, F&SF regular Marie Vibbert, as well as Journey-associated luminaries like Cora Buhlert, Jason Sacks, Gwyn Conaway, Erica Frank, Kerrie Dougherty, and many more. The Journey Show will start its second season on February 6, 2021, but all of the episodes have been saved for rewatching. Give it a watch!

Best Fan Writer

While they are not strictly affiliated with Journey Press, the following folks have been ardent supporters of the principles we espouse at both of our Journeys, and they are absolutely worthy picks:

Cora Buhlert

James Davis Nicoll

Alasdair Stuart

Thanks for reading, and we hope you enjoy all of these works. If you purchased a membership, supporting or attending, to Discon III as of December 31, 2020, we would be grateful for your nomination!

AND, there’s this lovely list of a whole lot of potential nominees (and you can even add to it).