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Here you can find my blog, fiction, and other writings. Click around, and thanks for visiting.

To contact me about my stories or anything else, please email me at ken [AT] kenliu.name.

Stories I Should Have Read in 2011

It’s awards season, and I want to know what stories I should be nominating.

I didn’t read nearly enough in 2011, and I want to remedy that. So please tell me what you wrote in 2011 that you were proud of, what really got your attention, what you think I ought to read. I’ll try to keep a list here.

So far, these are the ones that I liked and would recommend:

  • “The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees”, by E. Lily Yu, at Clarkesworld (April). A complex, beautiful political fable with a sting as sharp as those of the titular insects. Picked up by two of the Year’s Best anthologies. Easy to see why.
  • “Her Husband’s Hands”, by Adam-Troy Castro, at Lightspeed (October). I loved Castro’s Arvies from last year, and this one was just as good. A moving story about love, even in pieces.
  • “The Fish of Lijiang”, by Chen Qiufan, at Clarkesworld (August). I translated this story into English, so I’m somewhat biased. But Chen is one of the most talented writers I know, and I wish I managed to convey some of the beauty of his words in my translation of this tale about dislocation, modernity, and the search for authenticity.

I’ll add to this list as I read more in the coming weeks. So let me know what I should be reading! Thank you.

More recs (based on suggestions):

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Nominating My Stories for Awards

If you’d like to nominate one of my stories published in 2011 for an award (Nebula, Hugo, Most Improved in Attendance, etc.), I’ve listed my eligible works below (the bolded ones are those that I have a particular soft spot for). I’ve also included some links to awards sites for your convenience (thanks to John Joseph Adams).

Nebulas (nomination period: 11/15/2011 to 2/15/2012). Active and Associate SFWA members may nominate. (1) SFWA’s how to vote page; (2) SFWA suggested reading list (not a nomination); (3) Nominate a story online.

Hugos (nomination period: until 3/31/2012). Anyone who has a supporting or full membership of Chicon 7 as of January 31, 2012 and all members of Renovation (last year’s Worldcon) may nominate. (1) Purchase a supporting membership; (2) Nominate a story online.

When my stories are available online, I’ve included links. If you’d like to read a work that isn’t available online, please email me [ken at kenliu dot name].

Thank you, for taking the time to read my work, for telling me when you think I’ve done well, and when I haven’t, for being in the community of readers and writers, for everything.

Eligible works:

Short Story

Novella

Recent Publications

  • 1/26/2012, “Seven Haikus by Ye Xian” and “Mother, I Always Knew It Was You” are out at Scape ((read).
  • 1/24/2012, “The Five Elements of the Heart Mind” is out in Lightspeed (read, listen).
  • 1/14/2012, audio version of “Beidou” is out in Tales of Old (listen).
  • 1/13/2012, 《播种》(Chinese translation of “The Last Seed”) is out at Guokr.com (read).
  • 1/1/2012, “The Last Summer” is out in the January issue of 10Flash (read).
  • 12/24/2011, 《天籁之音》(Chinese translation of “The Music of the Spheres”) is out in the January issue of Science Fiction World.
  • 12/24/2011, “Maxwell’s Demon” is out in the January/February issue of F&SF.
  • 12/24/2011, “The People of Pele” is out in the February issue of Asimov’s.

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Recent Sales

  • 1/23/2012, sold “The Messenger’s Tale” to Aoife’s Kiss.
  • 1/20/2012, sold “Monkeys” to Nature.
  • 1/19/2012, sold “Real Faces” to F&SF.
  • 1/18/2012, sold “A Hundred Ghosts Parade Tonight,” my translation of 《百鬼夜行街》, by 夏笳 (Xia Jia), to Clarkesworld.
  • 1/18/2012, sold “To the Moon” to Fireside.
  • 1/17/2012, sold “The Tome of Tormaline” to Daily Science Fiction.
  • 1/16/2012, sold “The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary,” as a reprint to The Year’s Top Short SF Novels 2, edited by Allan Kaster.
  • 1/4/2012, sold “Mother, I Always Knew It Was You,” a poem, to Scape.
  • 1/2/2012, sold “The Silk Merchant” to Apex.

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Other News

  • 1/24/2012, Christie Yant of Lightspeed interviews me (read).
  • 12/14/2011, Fireside interviews me (read). Please consider supporting the magazine getting off the ground by making a pledge.
  • 12/2/2011, TRSF is now available for the kindle.
  • 11/23/2011, Slava Heretz and I interview each other (here and here).
  • 11/19/2011, PickPix Tot now available on the Amazon App Store (check it out).
  • 11/10/2011, my wife and I have released an Android version of PickPix Tot, a fun picture card game for toddlers. We hope you like it.
  • 11/08/2011, Dagan Books announced the TOC for FISH. I’m the last last story in the anthology. (TOC)
  • 10/22/2011, my wife and I have released a new iPhone/iPad app: PickPix Chinese. It’s a fun picture card game for teaching children Chinese. Hope you like it.

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