2015 Darrell Awards Finalists Announced

The 2015 Darrell Awards Jury completed its work earlier tonight and turned in the following list of Finalists for the 2015 Darrell Awards.

The Darrell Awards are given annually to support literacy in the greater Memphis area (the Midsouth) by recognizing the best published Science Fiction, Fantasy and/or Horror fiction. Annual categories include Novel, Novella, and Short Story. Other Media and Young Adult alternate on a 2 year cycle; this year we considered Other Media, which includes plays, audio presentations, podcasts, movies, games, comics, and other non-book and non-ebook forms of SF/F/H. As we have done in some previous years, the Jury chose not to award in the Novella category this time.

The Finalists are:

The Five Faces by Frank Tuttle (Novel)

Valkyrie’s Daughter by John E. Siers (Novel)

Dream Thief # 4 by Jai Nitz (Other Media; book 4 of 5 in comic book series)

Barry by Matthew Graves (Other Media; a free online film)

Eat Your Peas by Robert J. Krog (Short Story seen in Luna’s Children: Full Moon Mayhem)

Hello I, This is H by Bill M. Tracer (Short Story)

Stolen Thunder by H. David Blalock (Short Story seen in Realms of Imagination)

The Serpent and the Dagger by Robert J. Krog (Short Story seen in A Tall Ship, a Star, and Plunder) and

Thursday Morrow: The Self-Winding Mechanical Man by Robert J. Krog (Short Story seen in Capes & Clockwork) .

In addition to the 2015 Darrell Awards Finalists, the Jury has previously announced that the 2015 Dal Coger Memorial Hall of Fame Winner is Jeff Crook.

Each of the authors listed above will be contacted as soon as possible to invite them to attend MidSouthCon 33 on Saturday, March 21 as a free guest of the Jury so that they can participate in the Meet the Darrell Awards Authors panel and enjoy the Banquet later that same day, at which time the Winners and Runners-Up will be bestowed.

Congratulations to the Finalists!  Now, go buy their works!

 

2015 Coger Hall of Fame Winner Announced

The Darrell Awards Jury is pleased to announce that the 2015 Dal Coger Memorial Hall of Fame Award Winner is JEFF CROOK.

This Award is for his extraordinary contributions to Midsouth literacy, including the novel _the sleeping and the dead_, the first book in his recently-launched series about Jackie Lyons, a former Memphis Police Department vice detective who sees ghosts; as well as his many fantasy novels and his 2003 anthology, The Best of Memphis.

Congratulations to Jeff Crook !

Please check back here in March for the list of Finalists for the 2015 Darrell Awards. They will be invited to join Jeff at the Saturday afternoon Darrell Awards panel at MidSouthCon 33, as well as the Banquet that evening, where the Winners in each category will be presented.

 

2015 Darrell Awards Nominations Closed

The deadline for Nominations for the 2015 Darrell Awards was 1-1-15. That means that Nominations are now closed.

We have an interesting and eclectic group of nominated works this time and the Jury has been meeting for months to read and discuss the possibilities. Now that nominations are closed, we can focus in on what is good enough to be a Finalist or Winner in each category.

When the list of Finalists becomes available, it will be posted here on the Darrell Awards blog.

The 2015 Darrell Awards will be presented during the Banquet at MidSouthCon. Please see http://www.midsouthcon.org for details of the convention.

 

 

The Darrell Awards Runs on Three Deadlines

The Darrell Awards runs on 3 deadlines. They are:

1) Publication Deadline. In order to qualify, a work has to be published (made available to the public) no later than October 31 of the year under consideration. So, for the 2015 Darrell Awards (which is what the Jury is evaluating now), this deadline is October 31, 2014. In other words, Halloween — 15 days from now.

2) Nomination Deadline. In order to be considered, a work has to be Nominated no later than January 1st of the year under consideration. For the 2015 Darrell Awards, that deadline is 1-1-15. Please visit our website at http://darrellawards.org for the Nomination form in multiple formats and NOMINATE all eligible works.

3) Reporting Deadline. We have to tell MidSouthCon’s Registration Department who we have chosen as Finalists by March 1st so they can be included as pre-registered for their one free Saturday pass and their one free Banquet ticket. We generally hit this deadline and we will release a list of Finalists as soon as the list is set.

The next meeting of the Darrell Awards Jury is this weekend. Please NOMINATE as soon as you can.

 

Nominations Are Now Open for the 2015 Darrell Awards

Nominations are now open for the 2015 Darrell Awards, which are slated to be presented at MidSouthCon 33 in March of 2015.

Please see our website at darrellawards.org for full details and the 2015 Nomination Form in several formats.

Deadline for Nominations is 1-1-2015. The Jury does appreciate receiving the Nominations as early as possible in order to have the maximum time to consider them.

As with previous years, even if your work is qualified, it will NOT be considered unless it is Nominated — and anyone can Nominate, including the author, publisher, friend, or a fan of the work.

 

2014 Darrell Awards Winners & Other Honored Works

The 2014 Darrell Awards Jury is pleased to announce the 2014 Darrell Award winners & other honored works as presented at the Banquet at MidSouthCon 32 on Saturday, March 22, 2014.

2014 Dal Coger Memorial Hall of Fame Winner — Frank Tuttle for his Extraordinary Contributions to Midsouth Literacy for his many published works

2014 Darrell Award for Best Midsouth SF/F Novel
Winner — Someday The Stars by John E. Siers

First Runner Up: Brown River Queen by Frank Tuttle

Finalists: The Moon and Beyond by John E. Siers

The Skies Roared by Steve Bradshaw

Best Midsouth SF/F Young Adult Work

Winner — Vanished by Christina L. Holt

First Runner-Up:Sela by Jackie Gamber

Finalist: Omni by Andrea Murray

Best Midsouth SF/F Short Story
Winner — Angels in Gas Stations by Victor Lorthos (as seen in Zombie Strippers and Other Strange Words)

First Runner-Up: The Finder’s Keeper by Jason Cordova (as seen in Dreams of Steam 4: Gizmos)

Finalists:
Eclipse Over Elmwood by H. David Blalock (as seen in Southern Haunts)

The Bone Garden by Robert J. Krog (as seen in Ten Reasons To Cross The Moat)

The Clockwork Gunslingers by Robert J. Krog (as seen in Dreams of Steam 4: Gizmos)

CONGRATULATIONS to the Winners!

 

MidSouthCon 32 is Happening NOW

While the Opening Ceremonies will not take place until later today, MidSouthCon 32 is happening now. At 2pm the Art Show will open, other rooms are already open and Registration is in full swing.

The Darrell Awards and MidSouthCon have a common parent — the late, lamented Memphis SF Association, which gave birth to both and which folded several years ago. Also, MidSouthCon has been the single largest sponsor of the Darrell Awards since day one, providing the funding needed to pay for the plaques as well as an excellent event at which to present them. For most of the years that the Darrell Awards have been presented, we have had a panel about them and about our honored authors as part of the programming at the con.

And there is the fact that members of the Jury have served on the ConComm or the Board of Directors of MidSouthCon (or both) from the very beginning of these Awards.

So, we the Jury have reason to celebrate whenever another MidSouthCon rolls around.

Please join us at the Convention, going on from now until Sunday afternoon. And be sure to stop by Promenade 2 at 3pm on Saturday for the Darrell Awards Panel — and the Banquet (wherever it is held) at 5pm for the Presentation of the 2014 Darrell Awards.