(no subject)

Anyone remember long, long ago? Last year. We forget things that happen to other people when they are as long ago as last year. When hurricane season produced Katrina and Rita in rapid succession? Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and eastern Texas were devasted. Louisiana was worst hit - in the east New Orleans and in the west the region around Lake Charles. Rita hit Lake Charles on September 24 with almost full force: Lake Charles suffered enormous damage.

Now, I have a big interest in Lake Charles. If anyone has a copy of my book and looks on the jacket it will be obvious why. I spent quite a bit of time there during my book-tour-thing and it was agonising last year to see the places I had walked covered in feet of water and the buildings where I had met people flattened and torn.

Lake Charles was not given much aid. It has had to pick itself up from the debris and rebuild slowly and slowly and slowly. Finally, there is some good news. Their public library is operational again. They have sent out emails to all their borrowers telling them so.

My publisher and I are doing happy dances. Please join us.

(Here are a couple of links to recent reports - not about the library though:
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0604528.htm
http://www.thetandd.com/articles/2006/08/07/news/doc44d7ec305a435157161851.txt )

Aurealis

Last year when the Aurealis shortlist came out people complained that this work was missing from the final deliberations or that work wasn't even nominated. I'm discovering some of the reasons why. I had a long list of why publishers nominate according to certain patterns and how easy it is for us here not to know about important pieces published outside Australia, but it's too early in the judging year to know how much of my list is valid. What isn't too early to know is that no-one asnwered my plea for help a few days ago. No-one has so much suggested a short story that could be looked at by the YA committee. I have chased up a few myself and the rest of the committee will no doubt locate more, but what publishers and writers and friends don't nominate in in danger of not being noticed, especially if we don't see the publications the stories are in.

So, let me ask again. What speculative fiction stories that could conceivably be classified as young adult have recently been published or are due to be published soon?