Saturday 14 June 2014

The Gemmell Awards - Best.Friday 13th.Ever.

James Long (Orbit Books), Ian Drury (Sheil Land), and Natasha Bardon (Voyager) with the Gemmell Morningstar, Legend, and Ravenheart Awards respectively, being received on behalf of Brian McClellan, me, and Jason Chan.


Last night (Friday 13th) the great and good of publishing gathered along with readers and genre fans at the Magic Circle in London for the 6th annual David Gemmell Awards ceremony.



The shortlists ran thusly:

Legend Award(Best novel)

The Daylight War by Peter V Brett (Harper Collins UK)
Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence (Harper Collins UK)
The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch (Gollancz)
A Memory of Light by Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan (Tor/Forge)
War Master's Gate by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tor UK)

Morningstar Award(Best debut novel)

The Garden of Stones by Mark T Barnes (47 North)
Headtaker by David Guymer (Black Library)
Promise of Blood by Brian McLellan (Orbit)
The Path of Anger by Antoine Rouaud (Gollancz)
The Grim Company by Luke Scull (Head of Zeus)

Ravenheart Award(Best cover art)
Benjamin Carre for the cover of The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch (Gollancz)
Jason Chan for the cover of Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence (Harper Collins UK)
Cheol Joo Lee for the cover of Skarsnik by Guy Haley (Black Library)
Gene Mollica and Michael  Frost for the cover of Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan (Orbit)
Rhett Podersoo for the cover of She Who Waits by Daniel Polansky (Hodder)


The prizes went to:

ME!!!

Brian McClellan for Promise of Blood (which I must read this year!)



And a hugely deserved Ravenheart award for Jason Chan for the Emperor of Thorns cover:



Jason will be getting this beauty:



Brian gets a chunk of glass, useful for braining intruders:



And I get:



I'm sorry that I couldn't be at the ceremony - the thought that I might win seriously never entered my thinking but even if they'd told me in advance I really need about 6 months notice and for the stars to align if I want to go more than 10 miles from my house. My duties caring for my very disabled daughter make attending any events nearly impossible.

To say I was incredibly surprised at the win would be gross understatement. I thought I had a decent chance at the Morningstar in 2012. I thought I had a small chance at the Legend in 2013, but this year, really no way.

The award means a great deal to me as a long time fan of David Gemmell's work. I've been keen that the world of fantasy have a lasting memorial to the man, and the success and growing impact of the Gemmell Awards is very heartening. It's great to have this vote of confidence from the readers, and on a personal note - this really is the only way I could ever get a battleaxe past my wife into the house - so thanks to all who helped me to get it!

Special thanks to my agent, Ian, for taking to the stage on in my stead. Each year he dutifully asks if I have a few words for him to say on my behalf, and in '12 & '13 I gave him some. He asked this year and I replied:

>uh ... it would be THESE AWARDS ARE FIXED! ...because there's no way Sanderson/Jordan won't win.
>
> Have a good time!

I've no idea what he did say, but thanks!


Here's a list of my fellow award wielding authors from years gone by


Andrzej Sapkowski     2009
Graham McNeill         2010
Brandon Sanderson    2011
Patrick Rothfuss         2012
Brent Weeks               2013
Mark Lawrence          2014

Read more about it on the Gemmell Award website.


8 comments:

  1. very well done, and richly deserved. A battle axe for those epic conflicts and a stabby for those intimate little bar room brawls. What award do you need to win next to get a decent missile weapon?

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  2. You deserve it completely!
    How big is the axe? :)

    ScarletBea

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  3. I still can't believe this really happened.
    For once my voice actually counted for something and my wish came true (twice!)
    Perhaps others will come true as well.
    Your success gives me hope I might be published myself one day.
    Thanks for that :)

    And thanks for writing such stunning novels!

    P.S.: You beat Sanderson, how cool is that! :D

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  4. Congratulations!!

    (I can't believe people are still reading Wheel of Time...)

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  5. Nice! Congratulations to both you and Brian.

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  6. Congratulations, Mark! Such a fabulous accomplishment!
    I hope you have many more adventures, both in your books and your world.
    Maybe next time, they'll give you some chain mail. Then, you would be ready for battle!

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