Two SWG Members on the Final Ballot for the 2014 Aurora Awards

This year, two of the members of the Stop-Watch Gang have short stories on the final ballot for the Aurora Awards.

If you pay the small fee to join CSFFA, you'll have access to the voters' package which includes free samples of all of the nominated works.

Voting closes at 11:59PM ET, Saturday, September 6, 2014.

"A Bunny Hug for Karl" by Mike Rimar was published in Masked Mosaic, Canadian Super Stories (Tyche Books).

"Living Bargains" by Suzanne Church was published in When the Hero Comes Home 2 (Dragon Moon Press).

Read "Living Bargains" on Suzanne's blog.

Click here for a full list of all the 2014 Aurora Award nominated works.

It's time to nominate for the Aurora Awards

The Prix Aurora Awards celebrate speculative fiction in Canada.

Click on the link for A Full List of Eligible Works

All nominations must be made by 11:59PM, Saturday, April 12, 2014

Stop-Watch Gang members have the following stories available for nomination.

In the BEST SHORT FICTION – ENGLISH category:

Suzanne Church

Living Bargains,
When the Hero Comes Home 2, edited by Gabrielle Harbowy and Ed Greenwood, Dragon Moon Press, 2013.

Costi Gurgu

Secret Recipes,
Tesseracts Seventeen: Speculating Canada from Coast to Coast to Coast, edited by Colleen Anderson and Steve Vernon, EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing, 2013.

Mike Rimar

A Bunny Hug for Karl,
Masked Mosaic: Canadian Super Stories, edited by Claude Lalumiere and Camille Alexa, Tyche Books, 2013.

Stop-Watch Gang members's schedules for Can-Con

Stop-Watch Gang members Suzanne Church, Costi Gurgu, and Mike Rimar will be attending Can-Con this weekend.

Suzanne's schedule:
Saturday, October 5th
11:00 to 11:55 AM The Writing Life Suzanne Church(m), S.M. Carriere, Kate Heartfield, Caroline Frechette, Karen Dudley - Room #2
12:00 to 12:55 PM The Business of Writing Suzanne Church(m), Jean-Louis Trudel, Karen Dudley, Chadwick Ginther - Room #2
2:00 to 2:55 PM Stop-Watch Gang Reading Suzanne Church, Costi Gurgu, Mike Rimar - Reading Room -- come for the candy, stay for the stories!
6:00 to 6:55 PM Horror Elements of Future Technologies Matt Moore, Geoff Gander, Sean Moreland(m), Suzanne Church - Room #2
8:00 to 8:55 PM You're Qualified for SFWA: Should You Join? Matthew Johnson(m), Derek Künsken, Suzanne Church, Andrew Barton - Room #2
Sunday, October 6th
11:00 AM to 2:00? PM Aurora Banquet and Awards - Reading Room

Mike's schedule:
Friday, October 4th
9:00 to 9:55 PM Humour in Science Fiction Ira Nayman(m), Matthew Johnson, Mike Rimar - Room #3
Saturday, October 5th
1:00 to 1:55 PM YA Fiction Neil Godbout, Mike Rimar(m), Jean-Louis Trudel, Lory Kaufman - Room #3
2:00 to 2:55 PM Stop-Watch Gang Reading Suzanne Church, Costi Gurgu, Mike Rimar - Reading Room -- come for the candy, stay for the stories!
5:00 to 5:55 PM Critiquing Groups Alice Black, Nicole Lavigne, John Park, Mary Pletsch, Mike Rimar(m) - Room #2
6:00 to 6:55 PM Researching for Fantasy Stories Matthew Johnson(m), Karen Dudley, Mike Rimar - Room #3
Sunday, October 6th
1:00 to 1:55 PM Making Predictions: Looking Into the Future as a Science Fiction Writer Jean-Louis Trudel(m), Mike Rimar, John Park, Andrew Barton - Room #3

Costi's schedule:
Saturday, October 5th
2:00 to 2:55 PM Stop-Watch Gang Reading Suzanne Church, Costi Gurgu, Mike Rimar - Reading Room -- come for the candy, stay for the stories!

Gang News

We had a lively meeting on Sunday, April 28th.

Too bad Stephen Kotowich couldn't attend, as he usually keep track of critquotes.

The Big News:

Two of our members made the final ballot for the Aurora Awards.

Costi Gurgu is nominated in the Best Artist category
for the cover art for Inner Diverse, (Starfire World Syndicate).

Suzanne Church is nominated in the Best Short Fiction – English category for
"Synch Me, Kiss Me, Drop" in Clarkesworld, Issue #68, May 2012.

The voting opens May 6th and closes at 11:59:59 PM PST on September 13, 2013.
Cast your vote for the Aurora Awards.

The ballot is available online at: Prix Aurora Award Ballot

Awards season is nearly done!

Here are some of the stories published by Stop-Watch Gang members in 2012 that are eligible for the World Fantasy and the Aurora Award.

Short story category:
Carson, Brad. "Mr. Go Away", Danse Macabre: Close Encounters with the Reaper, EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing, October 2012.
Click here to listen to Stop-Watch Gang member Richard Baldwin reading "Mr. Go Away"

Church, Suzanne. "Synch Me, Kiss Me, Drop", Clarkesworld Magazine, May 2012.
Click here for information on reading a review copy of "Synch Me, Kiss Me, Drop"

Church, Suzanne. "Death Over Easy", Danse Macabre: Close Encounters with the Reaper, EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing, October 2012.
Click here for information on reading a review copy of "Death Over Easy"

Pi, Tony. "Remains of the Witch", Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show #26, January 2012.
Learn more about Tony on his blog.

Pi, Tony. "The Miscible Imp," When the Villain Comes Home, Dragon Moon Press, July 2012.
Learn more about Tony on his blog.

Pi, Tony. "Susumu Must Fold," Daily Science Fiction, October 2012.
Learn more about Tony on his blog.


Illustration category:
Click here to see the cover of Inner Diverse
Gurgu, Costi. Cover art for Nina Munteanu‘s Inner Diverse, (Starfire World Syndicate) December 2012.
Check out Costi's 2012 illustrations at his website.

And the award goes to...

I am very honoured and elated to announce that my short story, "The Needle's Eye" won the Aurora Award in the Short Fiction English Publications category.

Check the Aurora website for the full list of winners.

Aurora Nominees

I am very pleased to announce that TWO members of the Stop-Watch Gang have been nominated for an Aurora Award.

In the artist/illustration category,
Costi Gurgu is nominated for his cover of Nina Munteanu's novel, "Outer Diverse."
Check out Costi's Artwork

In the short fiction category,
Suzanne Church (yours truly) is nominated for her story, "The Needle's Eye," published in Chilling Tales: Evil Did I Dwell; Lewd I Did Live, Edited by Michael Kelly and published by EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing.
Read Suzanne's story for consideration

Check out the full listing of all nominees in all categories

Note: I'm also pleased to see that ChiZine Publications has multiple nominations this year!

To vote for the Aurora Awards, you must be a Canadian Citizen or Landed Immigrant and be a member of CSFFA. Go to the CSFFA Website to join/vote.