INTRODUCTION

We rock.

We do. The works and creators being honored in this year’s Showcase are amazing. My job as editor was more about rubbing my hands with glee than anything else. Why? Because this is our stuff, and it astonishes.

Ours? Oh, yes. Feel free to use your inner Gollum-voice. OURS! That’s how we roll in genre fiction. Whether we consume or create, we claim it, fiercely, to be our own. At least the bits that call to us. No problem. There’s something within science fiction and fantasy to pique the interest and snare the heart of any reader.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes that breadth is daunting. We can’t read it all.

We can celebrate it all, though. Awards like the Nebulas are how we spur on those who create for us and thank them, profoundly. Take a look through the past winners. Pick out those you remember—the ones that stuck in your head. Became yours, forever.

That’s what you’ll discover in these pages, by the way. Stories and their creators. Maybe new favorites. Certainly some familiar ones.

I have. Though when I accepted the invitation to edit this anthology, I innocently expected time-honored guidelines so I wouldn’t mess up. But no. This, I was informed, would be mine.

I love my life.

With great responsibility comes . . . the ability to email your favorite author on business! I discovered C. J. Cherryh’s work at a time in my life when SF seemed to have nothing new to offer me. I was delighted to be wrong then—and to continue to be wrong on that point since. I was beyond delighted when C. J. asked my opinion on what excerpts to include. (Editorial disclaimer: I accepted this before I knew C. J. Cherryh would be the Grand Master, thrilled just to be able to dedicate the book to her. To include her stuff? MINE!) I do love my life.

Thank you, SFWA. This has been a wonderful experience, and I’m grateful to my authors (it’s a theme, you realize) in this book, especially Betsy, Mark, and Michelle for contributing your fine essays. Everyone’s been enthused from the start; a great reassurance. My sincere gratitude to Eleanor Wood for her sage guidance, to Rene Sears for answering questions and help, and to the publishing staffers who blinked at me during their summer vacations but were very gracious indeed. No task like this is done alone.

Being done, I’ll get out of your way now, but first, a thought.

What you have in your hands is precious, not because the works here are being honored, but because they exist. Stories matter. Stories linger in the mind and change us. We want more. We need more—yes, from our beloved favorite authors but also, and this is vital, from those new to us. You never know who will become a favorite.

All?

Are ours.

Julie E. Czerneda, Ontario, Canada