************************************************************
          Segment 2: Our Host Vonda Arrives (484 lines)


<Moderator> Hi everybody, I guess we're officially "on" now. 
     Thanks for dropping by, feel free to discuss the nominees
     and such until some of our guests start arriving.
<Christoph> No, I mean the EE "Doc" Smith stuff. I read a lot of
     the magazines, so I'm pretty up to date on Allen, though.
<Marilee> Ah, okay. :)
<MMF> Yeah, I understood.
<Moderator> At that time, we'll go to a semi-protocol method in
     this room.  Just begin your messages with "??" to highlight
     any questions you may have to anybody. :-)
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<Marilee> Hi Vonda!
<Abbey> Again, we have the problem of not being able to access
     the mags readily here although I'm in the process of trying
     to order a couple of them
<Fox> Vonda!
<Vonda> Hi all
<Abbey> hi
<MMF> I sympathize, Abbey -- I live in the Netherlands.
<Moderator> Hi Vonda!
<Robt> hello Vonda, thanks for coming.
<Vonda> Heya Mod is that you Jim? This is weasels & mole rats.
<Marilee> Ah, Melanie, is that you?
<Abbey> even tougher for you, MMF, I would imagine
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<MMF> Yup, tis me.
<Moderator> Yep, that's me behind the fancy suit. :-)
<Vonda> My pleasure. 
<Lorrie> You got here, terry!
<Vonda> I have to run off for a bit -- back soon.
<Terry> :)
<MMF> I've learned to save up for fast dashes to England and
     Forbidden Planet.
<Moderator> ok, later. :-)
<Marilee> LOL
<MMF> Go VONDA!
* MMF does a cheer.
<Abbey> England's a bit far for me to go, MMF :-)
<Info> Her come the Novelette nominees:
<Info> ******************************************************
<Info> *          Nominees for 1997 Nebula Award:           *
<Info> *                 Best Novelette                     *
<Info> *                                                    *
<Info> * "The Copyright Notice Case", Paul Levinson         *
<Info> *       (Analog, Apr96)                              *
<Info> * "The Dog's Story", Eleanor Arneson                 *
<Info> *       (Asimov's, May96)                            *
<Info> * "The Flowers of Aulit Prison", Nancy Kress         *
<Info> *       (Asimovs, Oct/Nov96)                         *
<Info> * "The Miracle of Ivar Avenue", John Kessel          *
<Info> *       (Intersections, Tor, Feb96 & Asimov's, Sep96)*
<Info> * "The Undiscovered", William Sanders                *
<Info> *       (Asimov's, Mar97)                            *
<Info> * "Three Hearings on the Existence of Snakes in the  *
<Info> *    Human Bloodstream", James Alan Gardner          *
<Info> *       (Asimov's, Feb97)                            *
<Info> * "We Will Drink A Fish Together...", Bill Johnson   *
<Info> *       (Asimov's, May97)                            *
<Info> *                                                    *
<Info> ******************************************************
<Christoph> I'm now experiencing a moderately severe
     thunder/lightning storm here.
<Christoph> I've gotta go.
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<LaurieM> HI, folks
<Moderator> Anbody have a favorite among the Novelette nominees?
<Moderator> Hi Laurie :-)
<MMF> Oh, God, I'm feeling so out of touch -- I haven't read ANY
     of these.
<Robt> Jim, I've already made too many comments :)
<Moderator> :-)
<Marilee> I know it probably shows my weird sense of humor, but I
     really liked "We'll Drink a Fish Together."
<Marilee> Hi Laurie!
<Ziggy> :)
<bullet> thats the only one I've read
<Lorrie> Don't feel bad, Melanie.  I haven't read a single nominee
     in any of the categories.  
<Moderator> So did I Marilee, a good combo of down-home
     sensibilities and SF
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<pff3> yo vonda
<Ferragus> I think she's AFK pat
<Info> Vonda's busy at the moment, she'll be back with us. :-)
<pff3> ok
<Info> OK, Shorts nominees coming down...
<Info> ******************************************************
<Info> *          Nominees for 1997 Nebula Award:           *
<Info> *                Best Short Story                    *
<Info> *                                                    *
<Info> * "Burning Bright", K.D. Wentworth                   *
<Info> *          (Aboriginal SF, Summer 96)                *
<Info> * "Itsy Bitsy Spider", James Patrick Kelly           *
<Info> *          (Asimov's, Jun97)                         *
<Info> * "Sister Emily's Lightship", Jane Yolen             *
<Info> *          (Starlight 1, Tor, Sep96)                 *
<Info> * "The Crab Lice", Gregory Feeley                    *
<Info> *          (Alternate Tyrants, Tor, Mar97)           *
<Info> * "The Dead", Michael Swanwick                       *
<Info> *          (Starlight 1, Tor, Sep96)                 *
<Info> * "The Elizabeth Complex", Karen Joy Fowler          *
<Info> *          (Crank! 6, Apr96)                         *
<Info> *                                                    *
<Info> ******************************************************
<MMF> PNH has got to be pleased about this lineup.
<LaurieM> Absolutely...
<Robt> If Feeley wins the award, this will be my last year in
     SFWA.
<Info> Yeah, half the field from Tor
<Marilee> Yeah, I like a lot of those, too, but I really loved
     "Sister Emily's Lightship."
<MMF> That was a beautiful one.
<Info> But also a couple of off-the-beaten track noms too, Abo and
     CRANK!
<Robt> The Abo story is a very strong contender considering its
     venue.
<Moderator> right, usually overlooked.
<LaurieM> I heard Michael read The Dead...a great story....
<Marilee> One of the reasons I like the Hartwell Year's Best -- he
     looks further afield than Dozois.
<Moderator> That's cool.
<Robt> And both anthos will be available within the next several
     months.
<Moderator> There's a lot of good material out there, the problem
     is always finding it.
<Moderator> I suppose right now, all the people in Santa Fe are
     chowing down on the banquet. :-)
<MMF> Most likely.  Video would be fun right about now.
<Marilee> LOL
<Moderator> "SFWAns at the Trough" <g>
<pff3> yeah!
<LaurieM> Mebbe next year... ;->
<MMF> Well, hey, I dunno about y'all, but I'm sitting here in my
     jammies and a baseball cap.
<Ferragus> So what's on the Menu tonight in Santa Fe?
<MMF> I'd love to toast 'em all.
<pff3> 'Luminaries' with soup dribbling in their beards
<Vonda> I'll be back and forth. It will be a while before the
     ceremony starts.
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<pff3> refox
<Moderator> OK, thanks Vonda. :-)
<Fox> Yo
<MMF> Heya Vonda.  Excited?
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<LaurieM> Yeah, it's still early out there...
<Moderator> Hi Keith!
<Vonda> Heya Melanie. Actually not really. It was extremely cool
     to be on the ballot. 
<Moderator> Glad you made it.
<Ziggy> re Keith
<Vonda> I don't expect to win. I'm in pretty incredible company.
<Marilee> Hi Keith!
<Moderator> Jade has fixed the server to let more people on.
<Vonda> Thanks, Jim.
<sfreader> Thanks, I was one of the folks over the 20 limit.
<Vonda> Excellent. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get on.
     (Couldn't for a while!)
<LaurieM> Ouch, there's a 20 person limit?
<MMF> THAT would be a bit problematic.  :-)
<sfreader> there was
<Moderator> I've heard a lot of people say good things about your
     novel, though Vonda, so who knows. :-)
<sfreader> now its 200
<MMF> Yup, V.  I think you have an excellent shot.
<Moderator> right, that should be plenty.
<Robt> It is an honor just to be nominated.
<MMF> It's even more of an honor to win.  :-)
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<Robt> That too. :)
<MMF> Then again, I'm a competitive cuss.
<Moderator> Hi Adrienne, glad you could join us. :-)
<pff3> yo adrienne
<Robt> Vonda: how do you feel right now?
<Ziggy> re Adrienne
<Christina> I almost do think that being nominated is as good as
     winning.  I know as a purchaser, I weight them identically.
<Moderator> True, Christina, you know that the odds are that
     they're all good, and that the winner is probably more a
     matter of taste.
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<RuthS> Hi John.   John & I are here.
<Moderator> Hi Djonn, Welcome. :-)
<Robt> Moderator, that is quite true, in almost all of the
     categories.
<sfreader> Actually, I've bought books because they were
     nominated, but I'm not sure that I've bought any because they
     won.
<Robt> sfreader: exactly right.
<Christina> Yes, sfreader, exactly my case, too.
<Christina> Can I ask a stupid question, or should I go to the
     lounge for that?
<Moderator> no, fire away
<Christina> Who picks the winners?
<Moderator> We're still under control here.
<Moderator> SFWA members vote in a 3 stage process
<Vonda> The members of SFWA
<Robt> There are no stupid questions.
<Vonda> The Hugo is awarded by the members of the World SF
     Convention.
<Vonda> So one is a writers' award and one is a readers' award.
     Pretty cool, both of them.
<Moderator> Right.
<Fox> Who here is actually at the ceremony at the moment then?
<LaurieM> The Hugo was about the first "consumer" award. 
<Christina> Oh, Rob't, give me an hour alone with you and I bet I
     could ask you a stupid question eventually.
<LaurieM> Predated "People's Choice" by about 20 years.
<sfreader> Vonda, any coments on the first stage of SFWA's
     nomination process? Is it too political?
<Moderator> And I find it great that both have high recongnition
     in the field
<Vonda> I'm in Santa Fe at the ceremoy.
<Robt> Christine, it doesnt count if you're trying. :)
<Vonda> I don't know about the politics, to tell you the truth.
     I'm on a little withered tendril of the grapevine. ...
<Djonn> At home in Portland.  Learning IRC via trial-by-Nebula.
<Vonda> I think most people vote for work they genuinely like.
<Vonda> Agree completely, Jim (Mod)
<sfreader> Vonda, I was talking about the exchange of nominations
     and active campaigning
<Moderator> Cool, Djonn, glad to have you and all the other new
     folks here. :-)
<Christina> How can you play politics in writing, anyway?  I mean,
     isn't everybody squirrelled up in their disparate nests?
     It's not like hollywood where the people have to be close to
     each other to put out the product.
<Vonda> I've never been asked to exchange recommendations, and the
     most "campaigning" I've encountered is ...
<Vonda> making one's book available to other members. Since I
     think a perk of SFWA ...
<Moderator> There's a little politicking, exchanging of
     recommendations at the early stage, but I don't think it can
     really influence the outcome at the higher levels.
<Vonda> membership should be free books, I don't have a big huge
     problem with this.
<sfreader> <grin>
<Vonda> I agree with Jim.
<Robt> Moderator: I agree with you.
<Vonda> (Back in a bit.)
<Moderator> ok
<pff3> ok
<pff3> :)
<Christina> Yes, that's what I was imagining.  
<Moderator> OK, let me run through the nominees again, refresh our
     memories, and show off my nifty macros. ;-)
<Djonn> I haven't been asked to exchange recs either (having very
     few stories in print affects this, of course <g>).
<Info> ******************************************************
<Info> *          Nominees for 1997 Nebula Award:           *
<Info> *                     Best Novel                     *
<Info> *                                                    *
<Info> * _A Game of Thrones_, George R.R. Martin            *
<Info> *          (Bantam Spectra, Aug96)                   *
<Info> * _Ancient Shores_, Jack McDevitt                    *
<Info> *          (HarperPrism, Apr96)                      *
<Info> * _Bellwether_, Connie Willis                        *
<Info> *          (Bantam Spectra, Apr96)                   *
<Info> * _City On Fire_, Walter Jon Williams                *
<Info> *          (HarperPrism, Jan97)                      *
<Info> * _King's Dragon_, Kate Elliot                       *
<Info> *          (DAW, Feb97)                              *
<Info> * _Memory_, Lois McMaster Bujold                     *
<Info> *          (Baen, Oct96)                             *
<Info> * _The Moon and the Sun_, Vonda N. McIntyre          *
<Info> *          (Pocket Books, Sep97)                     *
<Info> *                                                    *
<Info> ******************************************************
<MMF> Amazing, innit, Djonn.  :-)
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<Christina> I expect the Nobel prize for literature is a _lot_
     more political.
<Moderator> Right Christina, there's MONEY involved there. <g>
* Christina blushes furiously!
<Christina> I'm sorry, Moderator, I didn't mean to write into the
     list.
<Moderator> Don't worry about interrupting those, hard to avoid
     it.
<sfreader> Christina, in the first stage of the SFWA process they
     need 10 nominations, and individual members can make as many
     nominations as they want.  The later stages are different
<Moderator> Right.
<Djonn> OTOH, I'd grant, I think, that my protocols for
     recommending at the Prelim stage vary a bit from what I think
     about on final balloting.
<Moderator> All the nominees with 10 of these recommendations get
     put on a prelim ballot.
<Moderator> How does the voting work at that stage, one vote per
     member, or five?
<Robt> Djonn: I think that's common.
<Djonn> For the Preliminary Ballot, you get five choices.
<Moderator> OK, thanks.
<Djonn> Although you don't *have* to use them all.
<Moderator> Then the top 5, plus perhaps an additional choice from
     a jury of peers, gets onto the final ballot.
<sfreader> If I'm not mistaken, the first level nominations are
     public, the next two levels are private
<Robt> sfreader, they are all private.
<sfreader> Thanks Robert
<LaurieM> ?Is this before the Preliminary Ballot? Because that's
     public...
<Djonn> Sort of.  The ongoing recommendation tally for the Prelim
     does list names of recommenders, whereas the Prelim and Final
     ballots are secret ballot.
<Moderator> I think they mean the votes.
<Vonda> I'm going to go say hi to the SF Channel and see who I can
     get to come talk to us.
<Moderator> Right, so there could be leaks of recommendations, but
     not of actual prelim and final votes.
<Robt> Laurie, yes this is before the Preliminary Ballot.
<Moderator> OK, Vonda. :-)
<sfreader> Thanks Djonn, thats what I ment.
<Djonn> Technically, the NAR information is labeled
     not-for-distribution in the Forum.  But that's honored mostly
     in the breach these days.
<Moderator> True, Djonn.
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<jnfr> Whoa!
<Djonn> And I think it used to be that the Preliminary Ballot
     itself wasn't supposed to be circulated outside SFWA, but I
     believe that's been explicitly reversed in recent years.
<pff3> reyo jnfr
<Ziggy> re jnfr
<jnfr> HI all
<LaurieM> Djonn - I think you're right.  I don't remember commonly
     seeing the prelim ballot before about three years ago...
<Moderator> Yes, last year I remember it posted in a couple of
     forums, this year, it was only posted unofficially IIRC.
<Robt> Laurie: yes, but trust me, you dont want to see the stages
     before the Preliminary Ballot :)
<Moderator> :-)
<LaurieM> I beleve you.... The prelim ballot is much longer than I
     would have expected.
<Djonn> That has varied from year to year, and the Prelim ballot
     this year was a good deal longer than in many past years.
<Djonn> (Popular wisdom is that it's an artifact of a rules change
     from calendar-year to 12-month rolling eligibility.)
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<bullet> Then making the final ballot was even more difficult this
     year?
<Moderator> Hi Kent
<Kent> Hi, gang.
<sfreader> Mod- DO we have a list of tonight's Presenters?
<Fox> Yo Kent
<Moderator> No, just that Vonda is Novelette presenter.
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<Moderator> When she gets back, I'll ask
<Ziggy> hi Rev
<Rev> hi
<Djonn> Bullet: depends on the category.  Novels, probably yes.
     Novellas, rather less so.
<jnfr> Hi rev
<Fox> Rev!
<Moderator> Right, there aren't that many Novellas published a
     year.
<Moderator> But it is a strong field IMO.
<bullet> Djonn: Why's that?
<bullet> Oh.
<Vonda> Back again.
<Kent> Hi again, Vonda.
<Moderator> Hi, do you know who the presenters will be? (beside
     yourself)
<Fox> Torn them up on the SciFi site then? *8)
<Vonda> You know, that's a good question. I don't.
<Moderator> :-)
<Djonn> Bullet: like the Moderator said.  I think there were about
     seven novellas on the Prelim this year.  That makes it hard
     *not* to make the final ballot, relatively.
<Vonda> Right. All sorts of news i didn't reveal here. (Not.)
<Djonn> By contrast, there were something like forty novels on the
     Novel Prelim ballot.
<bullet> Impressive!
<Moderator> Vonda, did you have a tough time deciding your own
     votes?  (don't have to reveal them obviously)
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<Robt> Djonn, thats secret information.
<jnfr> ?? Who publishes novellas these days? 
<Ziggy> hi Bruce
<bullet> E-Zines and Magazines.
<Robt> jnfr Analog, Asimovs, F&SF, SFAge, RoF.
<Djonn> Robt: Whoops, right.  <wry <g>>  Actually, I'm not sure
     that's true nowadays.
<Moderator> jnfr: The digests, SF Age, a couple of semi-pro zines,
     and a few anthologies, that's about it I believe.
<LaurieM> SFWA site doesn't list the presenters but does list the
     following:
<jnfr> Thx
<LaurieM> Grand Master: Poul Anderson
<LaurieM> Toastmaster: Michael Cassutt
<LaurieM> Author Emeritus: Nelson S. Bond
<Moderator> Cool, thanks Laurie.
<Djonn> I *think* SFWA has been releasing the Prelim Ballot for
     the last year or so.
<Moderator> Let me pop on my macro about Nelson S. Bond. :-)
<Info> PROFILE:
<Info> Nelson Bond (Author emeritus of the 1998 Nebula Awards)
<Info> Charles N. Brown has done an extensive interview with Mr.
     Bond, from his boyhood in grammar school when he started
     writing, through his start as a professional writer in 1945,
     to the present.
<Info> Check the Locus web page for publication information.
<Info> Mr. Bond is retired, and enjoying his retirement as he has
     enjoyed his entire life. He wrote fiction for the major
     slicks for thirty years, then had another career as an
     antiquarian book dealer beginning in 1965. His stage
     adaptation of Animal Farm (George Orwell) is still in print,
     and exists also as a musical. 
<Info> Mr. & Mrs. Bond are in Santa Fe as guests of the 1998
     Nebula Awards, where he is Author Emeritus.
<Info> Mr. Bond's wife Betty Bond, who says she is "just along for
     the ride" in Santa Fe, is a talent in her own right. Mr. Bond
     took great pride in speaking of her accomplishments. 
<Info> "That looks easy," she said when Mr. Bond began writing
     short stories. She wrote one and sold it. When he began
     writing radio plays, she said, "That looks easy," and wrote
     two and produced them both, and both won awards.
<Info> In Roanoke, where they make their home, she hosted the
     Betty Bond show on radio and TV for many years.
<Info> Mr. and Mrs. Bond have been married since 1935. They have
     two children -- one in business, the other the production
     manager for the Rockettes.
<Info> Mr. Bond gets email from his nine year old great
     grandchild: she has just won her school's short story
     contest.
<Info> He communicates with most of his family, including his nine
     great-grandchildren, by email.
<LaurieM> Oops, forgot one: Keynote Speaker: Chris Crawford
<Moderator> Thanks again, Laurie. :-)
<MMF> You gotta love technology.
<Moderator> yep
<Kent> Chris Crawford has been working on something called the
     Erasmatron for the last couple of years ... interesting new
     story-telling technology.
<LaurieM> yup
<Vonda> Jim, you asked about my votes. There were a lot of good
     stories. Hard to decide.
<Moderator> Yeah, I can imagine, I had at least 3 strong favs in
     each category.
<Moderator> The one that I really liked, though, was Jerry
     Oltion's "Abandon in Place"
<Bruce> ??Vonda, in the eating part of the banquet over yet, and
     were you able to eat?
<Bruce> is
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<Kent> Buffalo steak, Vonda?
<Vonda> No, dinner is still going on. 
<Vonda> Yes, as a matter of fact.
<Moderator> That's good. :-)
<Kent> I hear the rattlesnake fritters were a Bad Idea.
<Adrienne> Heh.
<Vonda> It's when you put the rattles in the fritters...
<MMF> Rattlesnake fritters -- and me without my Bowie knife.
<Vonda> This is a really nice hotel, by the way. Hotel Santa Fe.
     They've been really welcoming.
<Adrienne> That would be a tad crunchy, wouldn't it, Vonda?
<Robt> When you put rattles in the fritters they start to play the
     song "Trouble" from the Music Man
<MMF> You could always form your own rhythm section after dinner,
     though.
<Moderator> Excellent.
* MMF imagining a conga line of SFWA luminaries lurching around
     the room, rattles shaking
<Kent> "Lurching" ... that may be too refined a term.
<MMF> Staggering blindly?
<MMF> While throwing champagne glasses at the electric lights?
<Ferragus> question from Chat, was there a veggie meal?
<Vonda> Yes.
<Vonda> Two of them, depending on if you're a vegetarian who
     considers salmon a vegetable.
<Vonda> But we haven't gotten that far yet.
<Kent> Grows on trees, dunnit?
<Vonda> Salmon? Yes, famous salmon-berries.
<Vonda> (Really.)
<Lorrie> salmon berries are good
<Robt> ??Has anything unusually amusing been said in any of the
     speeches so far? 
<LaurieM> It sounds like people are still eating...?
<Ferragus> Debra Doyle says Hi Djonn, Hi all too:)
<Robt> ??Are people still eating?
<Fox> What on earth do Salmon-Berries taste like?