Are You Eligible For the John W. Campbell Award?

I don't think any of us write with the goal of being showered with awards. We write because we love words and we love stories.

On the other hand, if someone wants to give me an award, I'm not going to spit in their eye.

There are a ton of awards out there, most of which I have no knowledge of. But since I don't live under a rock, I at least know about the Big 3:

Before I die I'd like to be nominated for one of them. Hey, a guy can dream, right?

Now, I don't exactly follow the awards circuit with baited breath. But, you can be sure I'm going to check in on the nominees and winners on an annual basis to see what stories I need to read. After all, they're the best.

The last time I was on the Hugo site, I spotted a link for the John W. Campbell Award which, unbeknownst to me at the time, "is given to the best new science fiction or fantasy writer whose first work of science fiction or fantasy was published in a professional publication in the previous two years". They have a whole list of definitions for "professional publication" but the one that caught my eye was any publication that pays out a minimum of 3 cents/word and a total payment of at least $50. I've had a couple of those. Sure enough, I shot the administrator an email and my name was added to the list of 2015 eligible authors!

I'm not telling you this to brag (although I'm super honored to have my name listed with such talented folks, even though I don't have a snowball's chance of winning), I'm telling you so that you can check to see if you qualify! Check out the rules and the FAQ page! See if you qualify! If you don't look you'll never know!