E.C. Blake's Blog, page 3

My Edward Willett novel Worldshaper long-listed for Sunburst Award for best young-adult novel

Amazon U.S. | Amazon Canada | Indigo | Barnes & Noble | Penguin Random House | Indiebound | Powell’s
Buy an autographed copy from my online bookstore!

My Edward Willett-bylined novel Worldshaper (DAW Books) has been long-listed for this years Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, in the Young Adult Fiction category. (A bit of a surprise since it wasn’t published as YA, but much like Masks, it’s YA-friendly.) I’m very pleased! The full press release listing all the long-listed works is below–congratulations to everyone!

Toronto, Ontario (June 10, 2019): The Sunburst Award Committee is pleased to announce the 2019 longlist for the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic. This year’s lists are comprised of a mixture of established authors, talented newcomers, and past nominees.  Below are the longlisted works, with links where available:

Adult Fiction

Amber Dawn, Sodom Road Exit [Arsenal Pulp Press]Craig DiLouie, One of Us [Orbit/Hachette Book Group]Kate Heartfield, Armed in Her Fashion [Chizine Publications]Tyrell Johnson, The Wolves of Winter [Simon & Schuster Canada]Derek Künsken, The Quantum Magician [Simon & Schuster Canada]Larissa Lai, The Tiger Flu [Arsenal Pulp Press]Rich Larson, Annex [Orbit/Hachette Book Group]Thea Lim, An Ocean of Minutes [Penguin Random House Canada]C.L. Polk, Witchmark [Tor]Iain Reid, Foe [Simon & Schuster Canada]Eden Robinson, Trickster Drift [Penguin Random House Canada]Andromeda Romano-Lax, Plum Rains [Penguin Random House Canada]Tanya Tagaq, Split Tooth [Penguin Random House Canada]Dania Tomlinson, Our Animal Hearts [Penguin Random House Canada]

Young Adult Fiction

Jennifer Chen, Super! [Insomniac Press]Meghan Crewe, Ruthless Magic [Another World Press]Alan Cumyn, North to Benjamin [Simon & Schuster Canada]Sebastian de Castell, Spellslinger [Orbit, Hachette Book Group]Rachel Hartman, Tess of the Road [Penguin Random House Canada]Wesley King, A World Below [Simon & Schuster Canada]Regan McDonell, Black Chuck [Orca Book Publishers]Rebecca Schaeffer, Not Even Bones [Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]Caighlan Smith, Children of Daedela [Capstone]Kate Story, Antilia: Sword and Song [Chizine Publications]Patrick Weekes, Feeder [Simon & Schuster Canada]Edward Willett, Worldshaper [Penguin Random House Canada]Tim Wynne-Jones, The Ruinous Sweep [Penguin Random House Canada]

Short Story Fiction   

Senaa Ahmad, “The Glow-In-The-Dark Girls” [Strange Horizons, 15 Jan 2018]Madeline Ashby, “Domestic Violence” [Slate, 26 March 2018]Phedra Deonarine, “The Douen King of the Mangrove” [The Golden Key, 5 June 2018]Malon Edwards, “Candied Sweets, Cornbread, and Black-Eyed Peas” [Sword and Sonnet, Ate Bit Bear]Erin Evans, “The Hub” [Pulp Literature, Issue 20, Autumn 2018]Kate Heartfield, “A Threadbare Carpet” [Nevertheless, Tesseracts Twenty-One, Hades Publications]Chris Kuriata, “Auntie Jane VS The Nine Fingers” [Deciduous Tales Issue 2: Tales Darkness and Horror]Rich Larson, “Meat And Salt And Sparks” [Tor.com 6 June 2018]Matt Moore, “Only At The End Do You See What Follows” [It’s Not the End and Other Lies, Chizine Publications]Dominik Parisien, “The River Street Witch” [Alice Unbound, Exile Editions]Karl Schroeder, “The Ravine” [Toronto2033.com]Kate Story, “Martinis, My Dear, Are Dangerous” [Exile Quarterly, number 42.2]Amanda Sun, “The Travellers” [Shades Within Us, Laksa Media]Andrew Wilmot, “Lasciare Suonare” [Augur Magazine, number 1.1]A.C. Wise, “The Time Traveler’s Husband” [Shimmerzine #46, Nov 2018]

The Sunburst Award official shortlist will be announced in late June. Sunburst Award winners will be announced in Fall 2019.

The Jurors for the 2019 Sunburst awards are:

Novel Jury: Greg Bechtel, Janie Chang, Susan Forest, Kari Maaren, and Susan Reynolds.

Short Story Jury: S.M. Beiko, David Demchuk, and Gemma Files.

The Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic is an annual award celebrating the best in Canadian fantastika published during the previous calendar year. Winners receive a medallion that incorporates the Sunburst logo. Winners of both the Adult and Young Adult Sunburst Award also receive a cash prize of $1,000, while winners of the Short Story Sunburst Award receive a cash prize of $500.

The Sunburst Award takes its name from the debut novel of the late Phyllis Gotlieb, one of the first published authors of contemporary Canadian speculative fiction. Past winners of the Sunburst Award include Ruth Ozeki, Guy Gavriel Kay, Cory Doctorow, Nalo Hopkinson, Charles de Lint, Thomas King, and last year’s winners David Demchuk and Cherie Dimaline.

For additional information about the Sunburst Award, the nominees, juries, as well as previous awards, eligibility, and the selection process, please visit the official website at www.sunburstaward.org. 

I’m the new writer-in-residence for the Saskatoon Public Library

I’ve known about this for a while, obviously, but it just became official today with the sending out of a press release by the library. Which I humbly (or, possibly not-so-humbly) copy below. (I would have liked to have mentioned the Masks of Aygrima trilogy in it, but you can’t list everything, and the E.C. Blake/Edward Willett thing is hard to explain in a press release, never mind the Lee Arthur Chane connection…)

SPL announces Edward Willett as 2019/20 Writer in Residence

One of Saskatchewan’s most prolific authors, Edward Willett, is looking forward to sharing his expertise and passion for prose with the Saskatoon-and-area writing community through Saskatoon Public Library’s Writer-in-Residence program.  

An award-winning author based in Regina, Willett has published more than 60 books of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction for children, teens and adults.  Willett also hosts The Worldshapers podcast, which focuses on the creative processes of other fantasy and science fiction writers. 

“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity serve as writer-in-residence at SPL,” said Willett. “Over the years I’ve taught creative writing, mentored writers, and worked as an editor, and I look forward to helping Saskatoon-area writers in any way I can, from discussing ideas to offering advice based on my experience as a published writer to helping edit and improve manuscripts. It’s going to be a great few months and I can’t wait to get started.”

Willett’s novel Marseguro(published by DAW Books in New York) won the 2009 Aurora Award for best English-language science fiction or fantasy book by a Canadian author. He also won a Saskatchewan Book Award for his young-adult fantasy novel Spirit Singer, which was just re-released through Willett’s own recently established publishing company, Shadowpaw Press. He has won or been shortlisted for numerous other awards and his next novel, Master of the World (book number two in his Worldshapers fantasy series), will be released in Sept. 2019. He served as the Writer in Residence at Regina Public Library in 2011/12.

“The Writer-in-Residence program has deep roots in Saskatoon and is always an extremely popular service at SPL,” said Carol Cooley, SPL’s Director of Libraries and CEO. “As one of Saskatchewan’s most productive authors who has published such a wide array of work for all demographics, we very excited to be welcoming Edward Willett to this position. I am confident he will be a valuable resource for our writing community over the coming months.”

Willett’s term as SPL’s Writer in Residence begins in September 2019 and will run until April 2020. He will be SPL’s 39thWriter in Residence since the program was established in 1981. For more information, visit: www.saskatoonlibrary.ca/wir. 

***

A bit more detail from the website:

About the Program

The Writer in Residence acts as a mentor to writers in the community, reviewing manuscripts and providing criticism and advice about publishing. The Writer offers individual consultations, group workshops and programs, author readings and participates in other special events during their residency.

Working With the Writer in Residence 

Edward Willett is available to meet with adults and teens who want feedback and advice about a writing project. His residency at SPL will begin in September 2019.

First, contact Edward by phone or by email to arrange a meeting at his office in the main library:

306 975-7598 / writer@saskatoonlibrary.ca

Edward will offer you a one-hour appointment. His office hours are:

Tuesdays / 11 am – 9 pm
Wednesdays / 10 am – 4 pm

Additional meeting times can be arranged.

Next, send Edward a maximum of 10 typewritten pages (or 2,500 words, double spaced) at least five days prior to your meeting. You can email the work to him or you can deliver a hard copy to the library by leaving your work (in an envelope) at the front desk.

Finally, give some thought to ways in which you’d like your writing to grow or change, and come prepared to talk about these aspirations in the context of your writing sample. 

Please note that all meetings with the Writer in Residence are treated as confidential.

Previous Writers in Residence



Anne Szumigalski, 1981 – 82 Patrick Lane, 1982 – 83Guy Vanderhaeghe, 1983 – 84Geoffrey Ursell, 1984 – 85Joe Rosenblatt, 1985 – 86Gertrude Story, 1986 – 87Lois Simmie, 1987 – 88Glen Sorestad, 1988 – 89Samuel Selvon, 1989 – 90 Candace Savage, 1990 – 91Sean Virgo, 1991 – 92Armin Wiebe, 1992 – 93Betsy Warland, 1993 – 94Robert Minhinnick, 1994 – 95Sandra Birdsell, 1995 – 96Steven Ross Smith, 1996 – 97Harry Rintoul, 1997 – 98Elisabeth Harvor, 1998 – 99John Livingstone Clark, 1999 – 2000Edna Alford, 2000 – 2001Dave Margoshes, 2001 – 2002Myrna Kostash, 2002 – 2003Yann Martel, 2003 – 2004J. Jill Robinson, 2004 – 2005Jeanette Lynes, 2005 – 2006Curtis Peeteetuce, 2006 – 2007Terry Jordan, 2007 – 2008John Barton, 2008 – 2009Anne Simpson, 2009 – 2010Alice Kuipers, 2010 – 2011Yvette Nolan, 2011 – 2012David Poulsen, 2012 – 2013Rosemary Nixon, 2013 – 2014John Donlan, 2014 – 2015Dee Hobsbawn-Smith, 2015 – 2016Arthur Slade, 2016 – 2017Katherine Lawrence, 2017 – 18Elizabeth Philips, 2018 – 19 

The Worldshapers podcast an Aurora Award finalist for Best Fan Related work

The podcast I host (as Edward Willett), The Worldshapers (“Conversations with science fiction and fantasy authors about the creative process”) is a finalist for this year’s Aurora Awards (honouring the best in Canadian science fiction and fantasy), in the Best Fan Related Work category (a first for me!).

Lots of great work nominated in all the categories–check out the complete ballot below, and visit the Aurora Awards website to buy your (very inexpensive) membership allowing you to vote (and to receive a remarkable voters’ package of nominated work).

The Aurora Awards will be presented this year at Can*Con in Ottawa, October 18-20 at the Sheraton Hotel. I’ll be there in person (I was already planning to go), so it’ll be exciting.

Best Novel

Armed in Her Fashion by Kate Heartfield, ChiZine PublicationsGraveyard Mind by Chadwick Ginther, ChiZine PublicationsOne of Us by Craig DiLouie, OrbitThe Quantum Magician by Derek Künsken, Solaris Books and Analog Science Fiction and FactThey Promised Me The Gun Wasn’t Loaded by James Alan Gardner, TorWitchmark by C. L. Polk, Tor.com Publications

Best Young Adult Novel

Children of the Bloodlands: The Realms of Ancient, Book 2 by S.M. Beiko, ECW PressCross Fire: An Exo Novel by Fonda Lee, Scholastic PressExit Plans for Teenage Freaks by ‘Nathan Burgoine, Bold Strokes BooksFinding Atlantis by J.M. Dover, Evil Alter Ego PressLegacy of Light by Sarah Raughley, Simon PulseThe Emerald Cloth by Clare C Marshall, Faery Ink PressThe Sign of Faust by Éric Desmarais, Renaissance PressTimefall by Alison Lohans, Five Rivers Publishing

Best Short Fiction

“A Hold Full of Truffles” by Julie E. Czerneda, Tales from Plexis, DAW Books“Alice Payne Arrives” by Kate Heartfield, Tor.com Publications“Critical Mass” by Liz Westbrook-Trenholm, Shades Within Us: Tales of Migrations and Fractured Borders, Laksa Media“For A Rich Man to Enter” by Susan Forest, InterGalactic Medicine Show, Issue 62“Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach” by Kelly Robson, Tor.com Publications

Best Graphic Novel

Crash and Burn by Finn Lucullan and Kate Larking, Astres PressFUTILITY: Orange Planet Horror by Rick Overwater and Cam Hayden, Coffin Hop PressIt Never Rains by Kari Maaren, WebcomicKrampus Is My Boyfriend! by S.M. Beiko, WebcomicWoman World by Aminder Dhaliwal, Drawn and Quarterly

Best Poem/Song

“Echos” by Shannon Allen, By the Light of Camelot, EDGE“How My Life Will End” by Vanessa Cardui, Shades Within Us: Tales of Migrations and Fractured Borders, Laksa Media“Osiris” by Leah Bobet, Uncanny Magazine“Trips to Impossible Cities” by Sandra Kasturi, Amazing Stories Magazine, issue #2, Winter 2018“Ursula Le Guin in the Underworld” by Sarah Tolmie, On Spec issue 107 vol 28.4

Best Related Work

By the Light of Camelot edited by J. R. Campbell and Shannon Allen, EDGE  Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction edited by Dominik Parisien and Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, Uncanny MagazineGaslight Gothic: Strange Tales of Sherlock Holmes edited by J. R. Campbell and Charles Prepolec, EDGE  Shades Within Us: Tales of Migrations and Fractured Borders edited by Susan Forest and Lucas K. Law, Laksa MediaWe Shall Be Monsters: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein 200 years on edited by Derek Newman-Stille, Renaissance Press

Best Visual Presentation

Bao, written and directed by Domee Shi , Pixar Animation StudiosDeadpool 2, written and produced by Ryan Reynolds, Twentieth Century FoxMurdoch Mysteries, 2018 episodes, Peter Mitchell and Christina Jennings, Shaftesbury FilmsTravelers, Season 3, Brad Wright, Carrie Mudd, John G. Lenic, and Eric McCormack, Peacock Alley EntertainmentWynonna Earp, Season 3, Emily Andras, Seven24 Films Calgary

Best Artist

Lily Author, cover art for Polar Borealis Magazine #8, Dragon LabSamantha M. Beiko, covers for Laksa MediaJames F. Beveridge, cover art for Tyche booksRoger Czerneda, cover for Tales from Plexis, DAW BooksDan O’Driscoll, covers for Bundoran PressLynne Taylor Fahnestalk, cartoons for Amazing Stories Magazine 

Best Fan Writing and Publications

Adios Cowboy, Adam ShaftoeBooks and Tea, Christina Vasilevski Constructing the Future, Derek Newman-Stille, Uncanny MagazineMars vs. Titan, Ron S. Friedman, QuoraShe Wrote It But…Revisiting Joanna Russ’ “How to Suppress Women’s Writing” 35 Years Later, Krista D. BallTravelling TARDIS, Jen Desmarais, JenEric Designs

Best Fan Organizational

Sandra Kasturi, chair Chiaroscuro Reading Series: TorontoDerek Künsken and Marie Bilodeau, co-chairs, Can*Con, OttawaMatt Moore, Marie Bilodeau, and Nicole Lavigne, co-chairs, Chiaroscuro Reading Series: OttawaRandy McCharles, chair, When Words Collide, CalgarySandra Wickham, chair, Creative Ink Festival, Burnaby, BC

Best Fan Related Work

S.M. Beiko and Clare C. Marshall, Business BFFs (Podcast)Kari Maaren, ChiSeries Toronto, monthly musical performancesJoshua Pantalleresco, Just Joshing (Podcast)Derek Newman-Stille, Speculating CanadaEdward Willett, The Worldshapers (Podcast)

Here’s what I have eligible for the Aurora Awards

Nominations are now open for the Aurora Awards, which honour the best in Canadian science fiction and fantasy each year. As Edward Willett, I’ve been shortlisted several times over the years and won the award for Best Long Form Work in English for Marseguro (DAW Books) in 2009,

Any Canadian citizen or permanent resident is eligible to nominate and vote in the Aurora Awards: all you have to do is join the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association, for a nominal membership fee of $10. You can join, nominate, and vote on the Aurora Awards website.

If you’re a Canadian reader of science fiction and fantasy, I urge you to nominate your favourites from the last year, and check out and vote for your favourites among the eventual nominees. As a CSFFA member, you also receive a voters’ package containing many of the nominated works, so it’s also a great way to find out about Canadian authors and artists you may not be aware of.

And, of course, if you think any of my eligible work is worthy of an Aurora nomination, I humbly thank you for your support.

Here are my eligible works, all written as Edward Willett, with links. As well, Wendi Nordell, who did the cover art for I Tumble Through the Diamond Dust, is eligible for the Best Artist award.

Best Novel

Worldshaper  (DAW Books)

Best Related Work

Paths to the Stars: Twenty-two Fantastical Tales of Imagination  (Shadowpaw Press)

I Tumble Through the Diamond Dust: A Collection of Fantastical Poems  (Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing)

Best Fan Related Work

The Worldshapers Podcast

Best Poem or Song

Any poem from I Tumble Through the Diamond Dust

A new, revised edition of my award-winning young adult fantasy, Spirit Singer

Through Shadowpaw Press, I’ve released a new, revised edition of Spirit Singer, my young adult fantasy, first published in 2002, that won multiple awards: a Saskatchewan Book Award (the Regina Book Award for best book by a Regina author), an EPPIE Award for best electronically published young adult novel, and a Dream Realm Award (young adult category) for best electronically published science fiction, fantasy, or horror.

Spirit Singer was first published in 2002 by Awe-Struck E-Books, and brought out in a print edition by their offshoot, Earthling Press. In 2013, a new edition, published by Tyche Books, was released. I regained the rights to the book last year and decided to make it the third title released by Shadowpaw Press, in the hope that a new generation of readers will find and enjoy it.

I also took the opportunity to make some minor revisions, cleaning up the writing with the benefit of another twenty years’ of experience since it was first drafted. The result is a book I’m proud to re-release into the wild.

Spirit Singer is available in in all ebook formats now, either directly from Shadowpaw Press or your favorite online retailer, and the new 244-page paperback edition will be available April 30, again through all online bookstores or through your own local bookstore–or direct from Shadowpaw Press.

Here’s the synopsis:

AMARYNTH IS A SPIRIT SINGER, gifted – or cursed, as she  sometimes thinks – with the ability to lead the spirits of the dead from the Lower World through the Between World to the Gate of the Upper World and the Light that lies beyond it.

While she is still an apprentice. her grandfather and tutor is slain by a mysterious creature in the Between World, an evil Beast blocking access to the Upper World’s Gate. Without a Spirit Singer, her village cannot survive, so Amarynth embarks on a hazardous quest to find out what the Beast is, how it can be defeated, and how she can become a full-fledged Spirit Singer – a quest that takes her not only from her tiny seacoast home to the city of Havenheart and the haunted mountains of the south, but across the even more rugged terrain of her own soul.

It had some nice reviews when it first came out (and later):

Praise from Canadian Literature magazine…

“…deserved the Saskatchewan Book Award it won. Aimed for the early to mid-teen group, Spirit Singer is a strong, well-written book with great adventure and sympathetic characters. Willett’s book has fast-paced adventure, sword-play, ghostly help, kidnappings, automatons who serve pure evil, royalty and brave commoners…Spirit Singer holds more than just solid characters and an exciting plot. It is about deception, both external and internal, in the eternal search for love and acceptance. It is about the need to accept oneself to be able to move forward and achieve great things and the need to be wise and discerning about others.” – Lynn (J.R.) Wytenbroek

…and the 2002 Saskatchewan Book Awards jurors…

“This is a fast-paced, spiritual quest book, full of narrow escapes, evil masquerading as good, good appearing in nasty people (just like in real life!), adventure, dreams and bits of wisdom. The writing is spare and the words well-chosen, so that complex characters and interesting places emerge full-blown in the reader’s mind, and the plot moves apace. I felt always in the story, and not a mere spectator/reader. Written for teenagers, but this 50-something guy had a great time.” – David Waltner-Toews

“Clearly defined characters, setting & plot carry a reader eagerly from page to page through adventure-filled chapters that deftly conclude with cliff-hangers…The plot is fast-paced and clever, the writing never disappoints and the author clearly keeps his target audience in mind. A great read from start to finish.” – Shirlee Matheson

…and from SF Site..

“…a fun novel with engaging characters and having all the basic elements of a good fantasy…young readers would likely get much more out of this book in terms of good succinct plotting and writing than they’d ever be likely to from the droves of role-playing game tie-ins and fat fantasy trilogies.” – Georges T. Dodds

…and from MyShelf.com…

“This book takes the reader on a magical journey to a mystical land, and all within a hundred pages…It is a quick, but very satisfying read; I spent any free time I had reading over the two days it took me to read the story. I recommend this book for anyone that is in the mood for an adventure… Spirit Singer  definitely does not disappoint.” – Amy Mehta

…and The Word on Romance…

“ Spirit Singer  is a magical, mystical journey…very satisfying. The talented Mr. Willett has given us a well-written fantasy that you won’t want to put down. I highly recommend  Spirit Singer  to young and old alike.” – Carol Durfee, Senior Editor

Buy a copy for yourself or get one for a young person in your life!

Read the first two chapters of Worldshapers Book 2: Master of the World

Master of the World, Book 2 of my Worldshapers series, doesn’t come out until September, but you can get a sneak peek right now: over on my Edward Willett website, I’ve posted the first two chapters (with the caveat that final copyediting and page proofing has not yet been done, so there might be some differences between these and the finished book).

You can pre-order Master of the World now from these fine online sources:

Amazon U.S. | Amazon Canada | Indigo | Barnes & Noble | Penguin Random House |Indiebound

Here’s the opening sentence:

Buffeted by swirling winds, I clung to the rope ladder lifting me from the mysterious—and rapidly disintegrating—island in the ocean below toward the giant flying ship in the sky above, and reflected on what a lousy week I was having.

Read the rest of the first two chapters!

Worldshaper, Book 1 in the series, came out in audiobook at the end of February. It’s also currently available in trade paperback and ebook formats: it will come out in mass-market paperback in August, just a month before Master of the World.

It had some great reviews, including a starred review from Publishers Weekly:

“This rollicking secondary-world contemporary fantasy opens with a bang…(the characters) grapple with the ethics of changing the world, the question of what makes people ‘real’ when the worldshapers can change everything about them with nothing more than a thought, and the need to save the universe. Willett…meticulously includes small details that make the constantly changing scenery feel solid and real…This novel sets up a fascinating, fluctuating universe with plenty of room for growth for the main characters, and readers will eagerly join their journey.” –  Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Willett’s series starter is fun, quirky, and highly enjoyable, nicely laying the groundwork for future volumes.” – Booklist

Here are some places you can buy it:

Amazon U.S. | Amazon Canada | Indigo | Barnes & Noble | Penguin Random House |Indiebound | Powell’s | My Bookstore

I’m working on the proposal for Book 3 even as I post this! (Well, more or less.)

Audiobook of Worldshaper now available

The audiobook of Worldshaper, Book 1 in my new Worldshapers series from DAW Books (written as Edward Willett), is now available through Brilliance Audio, narrated by the fabulous Saskia Maarleveld.

Worldshaper is downloadable directly from Audible or through Amazon: at Amazon, you can also order physical media for it, in MP3 or Audio CD formats.

I’m thrilled to say that Saskia Maarleveld will also be narrating Book 2 in the series, Master of the World: the audiobook for that will come out concurrently with the trade paperback release September 10, 2019, which is just a month after the re-release of Worldshaper in mass-market paperback.

Here’s a bit more about Saskia:

Saskia Maarleveld is an award winning narrator of 100+ audiobooks, living in New York City and working full-time in voice over. Saskia switches seamlessly between accents, and can often be heard speaking in British, Australian, New Zealand and various European accents, in addition to her native American accent. She can also be heard in various cartoons and commercials.

And, just for good measure, a reminder about what Worldshaper is all about:

“This rollicking secondary-world contemporary fantasy opens with a bang…(the characters) grapple with the ethics of changing the world, the question of what makes people ‘real’ when the worldshapers can change everything about them with nothing more than a thought, and the need to save the universe. Willett…meticulously includes small details that make the constantly changing scenery feel solid and real…This novel sets up a fascinating, fluctuating universe with plenty of room for growth for the main characters, and readers will eagerly join their journey.” –  Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Willett’s series starter is fun, quirky, and highly enjoyable, nicely laying the groundwork for future volumes.” – Booklist

“There is so much to love about this book. Like the fact it references Tolkien at least three times, if not more. Or perhaps the fact it referenced  Doctor Who . Or maybe the fact that it’s got a sarcastic wiseass smartmouthed main female character who actually stops to think ‘what-if’ every once and a while. Or perhaps there’s the fact that there are so many interesting ideas in this book that it’ll make your world spin….Edward Willett is fast becoming my favorite author.” – Ria P., NetGalley reviewer

From an Aurora Award-winning author comes the first book in a new portal fantasy series in which one woman’s powers open the way to a labyrinth of new dimensions.

For Shawna Keys, the world is almost perfect. She’s just opened a pottery studio in a beautiful city. She’s in love with a wonderful man. She has good friends.

But one shattering moment of violence changes everything. Mysterious attackers kill her best friend. They’re about to kill Shawna. She can’t believe it’s happening–and just like that, it isn’t. It hasn’t. No one else remembers the attack, or her friend. To everyone else, Shawna’s friend never existed…

Everyone, that is, except the mysterious stranger who shows up in Shawna’s shop. He claims her world has been perfect because she Shaped it to be perfect; that it is only one of uncounted Shaped worlds in a great Labyrinth; and that all those worlds are under threat from the Adversary who has now invaded hers. She cannot save her world, he says, but she might be able to save others–if she will follow him from world to world, learning their secrets and carrying them to Ygrair, the mysterious Lady at the Labyrinth’s heart.

Frightened and hounded, Shawna sets off on a desperate journey, uncertain whom she can trust, how to use her newfound power, and what awaits her in the myriad worlds beyond her own.

Short-story collection Paths to the Stars shortlisted for Saskatchewan Book Award!

I’m thrilled to announce that Paths to the Stars, my collection of science fiction and fantasy short stories (written as Edward Willett), the initial release from my own Shadowpaw Press, has been shortlisted in two categories for this year’s Saskatchewan Book Awards.

The book, which features twenty-two short stories, most previously published but a few published for the first time, was shortlisted for the City of Regina Book Award, for best book by a Regina author, and the Muslims for Peace and Justice Fiction Award, for best work of fiction.

Here’s the shortlist for both categories:

Muslims for Peace and Justice Fiction Award 

Hummingbird by Devin Krukoff (Freehand Books)Paths to the Stars by Edward Willett (Shadowpaw Press)Polly Diamond and the Magic Book by Alice Kuipers (illustrated by Diana Toledano) (Chronicle Books)The Small Things That End the World by Jeanette Lynes (Coteau Books)Thorn-Field by James Trettwer (Thistledown Press)

City of Regina Book Award 

In Another Air by gillian harding-russell (Radiant Press)Paths to the Stars by Edward Willett (Shadowpaw Press)Sedley by Chelsea Coupal (Coteau Books)The Prairie Populist by J.F. Conway (University of Regina Press)Thorn-Field by James Trettwer (Thistledown Press)

The awards will be presented at a gala dinner in Regina on April 27. Each award comes with a $2,000 cash prize.

The complete shortlist can be found here.

Cover art for Worldshapers Book 2: Master of the World

I’ve turned in the manuscript for Book 2 in my Edward Willett-penned series Worldshapers to DAW Books (publishers of The Masks of Aygrima), and the cover art is already out and about on bookstore sites everywhere. Pretty cool, huh? Like the art for Worldshaper, Book 1 in the series, it’s by Julia Kolesova.

Here’s the description of Master of the World, which is already available for pre-order at the sites below:

Amazon U.S. | Amazon Canada | Indigo | Barnes & Noble | Penguin Random House |Indiebound

From an Aurora Award-winning author comes the second book in a gripping portal fantasy series in which one woman’s powers open the way to a labyrinth of new dimensions.

Shawna Keys has fled the world she only recently discovered she Shaped, narrowly escaping death at the hands of the Adversary who seized control of it…and losing her only guide, Karl Yatsar, in the process.

Now she finds herself alone in some other Shaper’s world, where, in her first two hours, she’s rescued from a disintegrating island by an improbable flying machine she recognizes from Jules Verne’s Robur the Conqueror, then seized from it by raiders flying tiny personal helicopters, and finally taken to a submarine that bears a strong resemblance to Captain Nemo’s Nautilus. Oh, and accused of being both a spy and a witch.

Shawna expects–hopes!–Karl Yatsar will eventually follow her into this new steampunky realm, but exactly where and when he’ll show up, she hasn’t a clue.

In the meantime, she has to navigate a world where two factions fanatically devoted to their respective leaders are locked in perpetual combat, figure out who the Shaper of the world is, find him or her, and obtain the secret knowledge of this world’s Shaping. Then she has to somehow reconnect with Karl Yatsar, and escape to the next Shaped world in the Labyrinth…through a Portal she has no idea how to open.

In the meantime, she has to navigate a world where two factions fanatically devoted to their respective leaders are locked in perpetual combat, figure out who the Shaper of the world is, find him or her, and obtain the secret knowledge of this world’s Shaping. Then she has to somehow reconnect with Karl Yatsar, and escape to the next Shaped world in the Labyrinth…through a Portal she has no idea how to open.

All five Shards of Excalibur YA fantasy novels now in audiobook!

With the release of  Door into Faerie , all five of the Shards of Excalibur novels are now available in audiobook format through Audible!

All of the books are narrated by the fabulous Elizabeth Klett, who does a great job with voices and accents–I couldn’t be happier with the results.

If you’ve never read the books, the audiobooks are a great way to discover them. And if you have read the books, you’ll love hearing Elizabeth bring the characters to life, with all their warmth and humour.

And if you’ve never signed up for Audible, now’s your chance: any of these books is free with a 30-day trial.

Here are the individual links to Audible.com). If you’re in Canada, you can find the books on Audible.ca. Enjoy!

Song of the Sword
Twist of the Blade
Lake in the Clouds
Cave Beneath the Sea
Door into Faerie

And, of course, you can still buy the books in print at your favorite online bookstore, directly from Coteau Books, or (if you want an autographed copy) from my online bookstore.

I have a limited number of download codes available for all five books: if you’ll promise to write reviews, I’ll be happy to provide them. Just email me.