Former Clarion director Lister  Matheson, 63, died January 19, 2012 of complications from a form of aplastic anemia.

Born May 19, 1948 in Glasgow, Scotland, Matheson spent nearly a decade as director of the Clarion Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers’ Workshop when it was held at Michigan State University in East Lansing MI. He retired as director August 1, 2005. Matheson was also Professor of English and Medieval Studies at Michigan State University, and the author of several works of non-fiction.

A public memorial service will be held on (Saturday) April 7, at 2 pm, in the MSU Alumni Chapel.

See the March issue of Locus for a complete obituary.

Genevieve Valentine was named winner of the 2012 William L. Crawford Fantasy Award for her 2011 novel Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti (Prime).

The award, which includes a cash prize, is presented annually at the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, and is designated for an exceptionally promising writer whose first fantasy book was published the preceding year. Prior winners include Jonathan Lethem, Charles de Lint, Greer Gilman, Judith Tarr, Kij Johnson, Joe Hill, M. Rickert, Daryl Gregory, Christopher Barzak, Jedediah Berry and, last year, Karen Lord.

The nominators for this year’s award also shortlisted Erin Morgenstern for The Night Circus, Téa Obreht for The Tiger’s Wife, Stina Leicht for Of Blood and Honey, and Ransom Riggs for Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Those participating in the selection included Stacie Hanes, Niall Harrison, Ellen Klages, Kelly Link, Cheryl Morgan, Graham Sleight, and Paul Witcover.

The 2012 International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts will take place March 21-25 in Orlando FL. Further details are at www.iafa.org.

The British Science Fiction Association has announced finalists for their 2011 BSFA Awards. The nominees are:

Best Novel:

• Cyber Circus, Kim Lakin-Smith (Newcon Press)
• Embassytown, China Miéville (Macmillan)
• The Islanders, Christopher Priest (Gollancz)
• By Light Alone, Adam Roberts (Gollancz)
• Osama, Lavie Tidhar (PS Publishing)

Best Short Fiction

• “The Silver Wind”, Nina Allan (Interzone #233)
• “The Copenhagen Interpretation”, Paul Cornell (Asimov’s, July 2011)
• “Afterbirth”, Kameron Hurley (www.kameronhurley.com)
• “Covehithe”, China Miéville (The Guardian)
• “Of Dawn”, Al Robertson (Interzone #235)

Best Non-Fiction

• Out of This World: Science Fiction But Not as We Know It, Mike Ashley (British Library)
• The SF Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition, John Clute, Peter Nicholls, & David Langford, eds. (SF Gateway)
• Review of Arslan, M.J. Engh & Abigail Nussbaum (Asking the Wrong Questions blog)
• SF Mistressworks, Ian Sales, ed. (SF Mistressworks)
• Pornokitsch, Jared Shurin & Anne Perry, eds. (Pornokitsch)
• The Unsilent Library: Essays on the Russell T. Davies Era of the New Doctor Who, Graham Sleight, Tony Keen, & Simon Bradshaw (Science Fiction Foundation)

Best Art

• Cover of Ian Whates’s The Noise Revealed, Dominic Harman (Solaris)
• Cover and illustrations of Patrick Ness’s A Monster Calls, Jim Kay (Walker)
• Cover of Lavie Tidhar’s Osama, Pedro Marques (PS Publishing)
• Cover of Liz Williams’s A Glass of Shadow, Anne Sudworth (Newcon Press)

According to Donna Scott, BSFA Awards Administrator, this year “we have had some very diverse nominations on the list, from filmed installations and exhibitions to podcasts and pocket books.” One example that did not make the list was the British Library’s Out of This World exhibition for the Non-Fiction Award, so “in recognition of the support it has received and its success in encouraging people to explore and enjoy science fiction… [BSFA] will be giving it the status of Specially Commended.”

Voting is open to all current members of the BSFA and Eastercon. Winners will be announced at the 2012 Eastercon, to be held April 6-9, 2012 at the Radisson Edwardian Hotel, Heathrow, London.

In honor of fan Rusty Hevelin, the pulp magazine convention PulpFest is renaming its Munsey Award to the Rusty Hevelin Service Award (or Rusty, for short). Hevelin, who died December 27, 2011, was a major figure in pulp and science fiction fandom, and had been an active participant since the 1930s.

The award is given to a person who has worked towards “the improvement, elevation, and continuance of keeping the pulps alive and well for this generation and future generations.” Nominations for the First Annual Rusty Hevelin Service Award are now open, and the deadline for nominations ends April 30, 2012. See the PulpFest site for more information.

The Con or Bust auction, to raise funds for people of color to attend the SF convention of their choice, is currently open for offers from people interested in donating items for auction, and is also accepting direct donations.

In memoriam of the 100th anniversary of Bram Stoker’s death, the Horror Writers Association (HWA) is presenting the Bram Stoker Vampire Novel of the Century Award for the vampire novel that has had the greatest impact on the horror genre since the publication of Dracula in 1897. Nominees, chosen by a jury of scholars and writers, are:

• The Soft Whisper of the Dead, Charles L. Grant (1983)
• Salem’s Lot, Stephen King (1975)
• I Am Legend, Richard Matheson (1954)
• Anno Dracula, Kim Newman (1992)
• Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice (1976)
• Hotel Transylvania, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (1978)

To be considered, eligible works had to have been published in English between 1912 and 2011. The winning work will be announced at the World Horror Convention in Salt Lake City UT, March 31, 2012.

Finalists for the 2011 Kitschies, awarded to “the year’s most progressive, intelligent, and entertaining works of genre literature published in the U.K.” have been announced.

Red Tentacle (Novel)

• The Enterprise of Death, Jesse Bullington (Orbit)
• Embassytown, China Miéville (Del Rey; Tor UK)
• A Monster Calls, Patrick Ness & Siobhan Dowd (Walker)
• The Testament of Jesse Lamb, Jane Rogers (Sandstone)
• Osama, Lavie Tidhar (PS)

Golden Tentacle (Debut Novel)

• Among Thieves, Douglas Hulick (Tor)
• God’s War, Kameron Hurley (Night Shade)
• The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern (Doubleday; Harvill Secker)
• Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs (Quirk)
• The Samaritan, Fred Venturini (Blank Slate)

Inky Tentacle (Cover Art)

• Rivers of London, Ben Aaronovitch, illustration by Stephen Walter, design by Patrick Knowles/TAG Fine Arts (Gollancz)
• The Last Werewolf, Glen Duncan, design by Peter Mendelsund (Canongate)
• The Prague Cemetery, Umberto Eco, illustration by John Spencer, design by Suzanne Dean (Harvill Secker)
• Equations of Life, Simon Morden, design by Lauren Panepinto (Orbit)
• A Monster Calls, Patrick Ness & Siobhan Dowd, illustration by Jim Kay (Walker)

The winner of the Red Tentacle will receive £750, and winners of the Golden Tentacle and Inky Tentacle will win £250 each. All finalists will receive a bottle of rum from award sponsor The Kraken Rum.

Finalists were chosen from over 150 submissions sent by 38 publishers/imprints. Fiction winners will be selected by judges Lauren Beukes, Rebecca Levene, Anne C. Perry, and Jared Shurin. Judges for the art award are Darren Banks, Hayley Campbell, Catherine Hemelryk, Craig Kennedy, and Anne C. Perry.

Awards will be presented February 3, 2012 in a ceremony at the SFX Weekender 3 held at the Prestatyn Sands holiday camp in Wales. For more: www.thekitschies.com.

The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America named Connie Willis the recipient of the 2011 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award. Willis has written fifteen novels, many short stories, and has previously won seven Nebulas, eleven Hugos, and four Locus Awards, among others. Willis is also beloved in the field for her generosity and sense of humor.

The award, given for “lifetime achievement in science fiction and/or fantasy,” will be presented at the 47th Annual Nebula Awards Weekend in Arlington, VA, May 17-20, 2012. Previous recipients of the award include such luminaries as Ursula K. LeGuin, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Anne McCaffrey and Joe Haldeman.

The judges for the 2011 World Fantasy Awards have been empaneled. All forms of fantasy qualify; only living authors and editors are eligible; all books must have a 2011 publication date and all magazines a 2011 cover date.

To be considered for awards, all materials must be received by all five judges and the convention by June 1, 2012:

John Berlyne
Zeno Agency Ltd
Primrose Hill Business Centre
110 Gloucester Avenue
London NW1 8HX
United Kingdom

James P. Blaylock
157 N. Pine Street
Orange CA 92666
USA

Stephen Gallagher
St Judes Cottage
Abbott Brow
Mellor
Blackburn BB2 7HT
United Kingdom

Mary Kay Kare
908 15th Avenue East
Seattle WA 98112
USA

Jacques Post
Tjaskerlaan 20
3052 HP Rotterdam
The Netherlands

A copy should also go to:

Peter Dennis Pautz, President
World Fantasy Awards Association
PO Box 43
Mukilteo WA 98275-0043

Packages should be labeled “Promotional materials — not for sale or resale — no commercial value — World Fantasy Awards materials.” Winners will be announced at the 2012 World Fantasy Awards Banquet and Ceremony during the 38th World Fantasy Convention, November 1 – 4, 2012, at the Sheraton Parkway Toronto North Hotel in Ontario, Canada. (Life Achievement nominees will not be released; the winner will be announced in advance of the banquet.)

See the World Fantasy 2012 site for more.