… and you’re back in the room.

There's no graceful way to apologise for falling internet-silent for a long time, so I'll hurry past that, mumbling and looking at the floor. Instead let's concentrate on:

NEWS!

1. I won my first ever award! Jack Glass won the BSFA Best Novel award, which thrilled me more than I can easily say. The shortlist was bruisingly good, and I was genuinely pleased to be nominated in an of-course-I'll-never-win sort of way; so the news bowled me over. Blacksheep won the Best Artwork award for the cover to Jack Glass, which, though I can take no personal credit for it, also pleased me mightily.

2. New Genre Army happened, at the University of Lincoln. I went, and it was most excellent. Really -- I had a marvellous time; Christos Callow and Caroline Edwards deserve All The Kudos In The World. (This was the event I mentioned on this very website, here). Glyphi are publishing the papers in a volume of Critical Essays, it seems. Hurrah.

More news tomorrow.