Report from the 2010 Nebula Awards

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) held its annual Nebula Awards this weekend in Cocoa Beach, Florida. It was an eventful weekend, and this is my necessarily impressionistic account of a few highlights.

I haven’t been to Florida since I was in Fort Lauderdale for a few days sometime in 1979 with the Coast Guard Cutter Gallatin. I should have come back sooner—to Cocoa Beach, especially. Beautiful, and mostly empty, beaches, warm weather and lush vegetation. You can see right away why every third New Yorker lives here.

On Friday, the SWFA attendees were packed up in buses for a theoretically short trip to the NASA Causeway to watch the launch of the shuttle Atlantis (STS-132). I was sitting in the back of the bus with geoffrey_landis and maryturzillo, SFWA volunteer Chris Hanson and some other very friendly folks. We spent more time waiting to leave the hotel parking lot than we did enroute to the causeway. A NASA employee came aboard shortly before we departed from the parking lot and recorded everyone’s name from (picture ID required). It didn’t occur to me afterward that the reason was at least partially so that the dead could be identified if, in NASA-speak, “a flight anomaly occurred,” and the STS or one of its components slammed into the viewing area.

We arrived at the causeway at about 11 a.m. for a 2:20 p.m. launch, and I proceeded to work on my sunburn. I would be in the hospital if it wasn’t for Mary, who’d brought along sunscreen, and who had purchased a very attractive Florida ballcap for me. Geoff and Mary and I all attended Clarion together in 1985, and though we’ve gotten together over the years, we hadn’t had a chance lately. It was nice to catch up. Not too long before launch time, I came across Jerry and Kathy Oltion, writers I knew from my Eugene days. Old home week on the causeway.

There really aren’t words to describe the launch itself. It’s very bright, very loud (even from 7 miles away) and it’s over very fast. It was spectacular. (Images here.). As I said elsewhere, I had never seen a launch before, and this was one of the few opportunities to do so before the shuttles are retired. The causeway was thronged with people, but for a New Yorker, it was a very odd crowd: very polite and very caucasian. Imagine the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Salt Lake City.

SFWA elected its new officers last month, and the results were announced at the business meeting this weekend: John Scalzi is the new president, replacing a grateful Russell Davis; Mary Robinette Kowal (maryrobinette), the current secretary, will be the new vice president, replacing Michael Capobianco; I will replace Mary as the new secretary; Amy Sterling Casil will remain on as treasurer; Sean Williams is the new overseas regional director; and former ombudsman Lee Martindale is the new south/central regional director, replacing Paul Melko.

The award banquet and ceremony was fun in a particularly long and drawn out way. Joe Haldeman was given the Grand Master award, and gave a killer speech. A number of my friends were on the ballot this year, including Rick Bowes, saladinahmed, suricattus and kijjohnson, who won for “Spar” (if you haven’t read it, click on the link and do so now-seriously).

I’m packing up my crayons this morning and heading back to New York and eleanor, who tells me the dog and cat misbehaved in my absence.