Been a Long Time

I haven't written in a long time. My 9 to 5 job is as the secretary of the Sewanee Writers' Conference. Things get crazy once the summer arrives. I stop sleeping. I get agitated at the slightest thing. I don't update my blog. But I'm clear of it for a little while and back to getting other work done.

I had some good news:

1) I was the co-winner of the Shirley Jackson Award for a short story collection. I tied with Robert Shearman; his work is amazing, so I'm really happy to be mentioned alongside him. Shirley Jackson is one of my all-time favorite writers, so this was an amazing thing. We Have Always Lived in the Castle is one of my top five books I've ever read. I got a really cool award with my name on it, as well as a black rock.

2) A story I wrote, "Housewarming", appeared in the 2010 edition of New Stories from the South. It's the fourth time I've been in NSFTS. Amy Hempel chose the stories this year and that made me very, very happy.

3) A story I wrote, "Skin", appeared in Best of the Web 2010. My wife was in the first BotW, so I was excited to be included. It's got a ton of amazing writers in it.

I have two copies of New Stories From the South 2010 and if you want a copy, leave your name in the comments of this post and I'll randomize the names at 12:00 pm on September 6th and send the two winners a copy.