So, I was in the laundry room in the basement of our apartment building, after making a mess of some clothes, and then I got the email from Ellen Datlow telling me congratulations.
And I looked at the bottom of the email and I saw that SAINT DEATH’S DAUGHTER was nominated for the World Fantasy Award for Novel, with Nicola Griffith for SPEAR, Alex Jennings for THE BALLAD OF PERILOUS GRAVES, R.F. Kuang for BABLE, and Nghi Vo for SIREN QUEEN.
So I ran upstairs to tell Carlos, who was in the kitchen. So we danced around for a while.
And then he got all dreamy-eyed and beatific-looking, and his cheeks began to glow, and his curls sort of sparked with a bit of St. Elmo’s fire (like it does) (St. Elmo: patron saint of chaos muppets), and he said, “You know, you should check further down the list, just in case.”
And I was like, “What for?” and then I was like, “Nahhh.” And started shaking my head.
And he said, “Just in case!”
So then I checked, very dubious, and I saw that my book DARK BREAKERS was ALSO on the list, under Collections, along with our beloved Cassandra Khaw’s BREAKABLE THINGS, Tim Lebbon’s ALL NIGHTMARE LONG, the wonderful Sam J. Miller’s Boys, Beasts & Men, and Luigi Musolino’s A DIFFERENT DARKNESS AND OTHER ABOMINATIONS.
So then I shrieked a little. And hid my face. And then Carlos got smug as a SAINT and pulchritudinous as a PROPHET, and has been the MOST adorable ever since.
Basically, you get all the CELEBRATION PICS.
My stomach filled with happy-panic-pangs, which is like having a case of butterflies, only the butterflies have fangs. I am very happy and also all the other complicated feelings of FEELINGHOOD, so there you have it. A Tuesday night.
Congratulations to all the other nominees! You can read more at (and stop to support!) Locus Magazine! And then, if you wanna come to the World Fantasy Awards, check out the World Fantasy Convention website!
Best Novella
The Bruising of Qilwa, Naseem Jamnia (Tachyon)
The House of Drought, Dennis Mombauer (Stelliform)
Even Though I Knew the End, C.L. Polk (Tordotcom)
Helpmeet, Naben Ruthnum (Undertow)
Pomegranates, Priya Sharma (Absinthe)
Best Short Fiction
“The Devil Don’t Come with Horns”, Eugen Bacon (Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology)
“Incident at Bear Creek Lodge”, Tananarive Due (Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology)
“The Morning House”, Kate Heartfield (PodCastle 7/5/22)
“Telling the Bees”, Kat Howard (Sunday Morning Transport 1/30/22)
“Douen”, Suzan Palumbo (The Dark 3/22)
Best Anthology
Screams from the Dark: 29 Tales of Monsters and the Monstrous, Ellen Datlow, ed. (Nightfire)
Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology, Vince A. Liaguno & Rena Mason, eds. (Morrow)
Dark Stars: New Tales of Darkest Horror, John F.D. Taff, ed. (Nightfire)
Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction, Sheree Renée Thomas , Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, Zelda Knight, eds. (Tordotcom)
Trouble the Waters: Tales from the Deep Blue, Sheree Renée Thomas, Pan Morigan, Troy L. Wiggins, eds. (Third Man)
Best Artist
Kinuko Y. Craft Y. Craft
Galen Dara
Matt Ottley
Lauren Raye Snow
Charles Vess
Special Award – Professional
Irene Gallo, for Tor.com
Gavin J. Grant & Kelly Link, for Small Beer Press
Tim Lebbon & Daniele Serra, for Without Walls (PS)
Fiona Moore, for Management Lessons from Game of Thrones: Organization Theory and Strategy in Westeros (Edward Elgar)
Matt Ottley, for The Tree of Ecstasy and Unbearable Sadness (Dirt Lane)
Special Award – Non-Professional
Michael Kelly, for Undertow Publications
Cristina Macía, for The Celsius Festival
dave ring, for Neon Hemlock Press
Lynne Marie Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas, for Uncanny Magazine
E. Catherine Tobler, for editing The Deadlands
And thank you to the judges for all your EXCESSIVELY hard work:
Dale Bailey, Kelly Robson, Ginny Smith, A.C. Wise, and Ian Whates.
C.S.E. Cooney 
Congratulations & Good Luck!!!
Thank you! I’m really feeling just very happy and lucky RIGHT NOW.