The Otherwise Award is pleased to announce that the award ceremony for the 2012 Otherwise Award winner(s) has been held, and the winners have received their award and accolades.

Award Information

Conference Information

  • Award Year: 2012
  • Award Year Number: Year 22
  • Conference: Wiscon 37
  • Date: 27-05-2013
  • Location: Madison, WI

Award Winners

The 2012 jury chose 2 works for the Otherwise Award.

The Drowning Girl by Caitlin R. Kiernan (Roc / New American Library, 2012)

Caitlin R. Kiernan’s The Drowning Girl probably couldn’t have been written without its multifaceted consideration of gender roles and its extraordinary management of an unreliable narrator who doesn’t even trust herself. For India Morgan Phelps (aka Imp), the act of telling the story parallels the act of choosing a path or an identity as she makes her way through a maze of false memories and blurred realities. Using myth, art, and mental illness, this beautifully written novel explores the boundaries between reality and fantasy, sanity and insanity, and art and dream. It’s complex in its plot, metaphor, and style as well as in its thinking about one’s role as a woman and a daughter. In its characters, lesbian, straight, and transgender, old and young, this novel recognizes the complexity of human beings as well.

Work Information

Title: The Drowning GirlAuthor:
Publisher:
Publisher Name: Roc / New American LibraryCountry: USYear: 2012
Work Type: NovelOriginal Language: English
Caitlín R. Kiernan — The Drowning Girl
Caitlín R. Kiernan — The Drowning Girl

Ancient, Ancient by Kiini Ibura Salaam (Aqueduct Press, 2012)

In Ancient, Ancient, Kiini Ibura Salaam’s startling stories combine science fiction, fantasy, and mythology in a sensuous exploration of what it means to live while struggling to define self and other. Salaam’s language is poetic and sensuous — a unique and original voice. The stories are ambitious and challenging, demonstrating excellent range in both storytelling style and imagery, from the mundane to the fully fantastical. Salaam is particularly interested in agency in oppressive social realities and explores how oppression works on our gendered bodies.

Work Information

Title: Ancient, AncientAuthor:
Publisher:
Publisher Name: Aqueduct PressCountry: USYear: 2012
Work Type: CollectionOriginal Language: English
Kiini Ibura Salaam — Ancient, Ancient
Kiini Ibura Salaam — Ancient, Ancient

Award Honor List

The 2012 jury chose 7 works for the Honor List

Range of Ghosts, The Eternal Sky (Volume 1), (Tor, US, 2012)

Work Information

Title: Range of GhostsSeries: Eternal Sky TrilogySeries Number: 1Author: Work Type: NovelOriginal Language: EnglishPublisher: TorCountry: USYear: 2012View on ISFDB

Rituals, Rhapsody of Blood: Volume One, (Plus One Press, US, 2012)

Work Information

Title: RitualsSeries: Rhapsody of BloodSeries Number: 1Author: Work Type: NovelOriginal Language: EnglishPublisher: Plus One PressCountry: USYear: 2012View on ISFDB

Up Against It, (Tor, US, 2011)

Work Information

Title: Up Against ItAuthor: Work Type: NovelOriginal Language: EnglishPublisher: TorCountry: USYear: 2011View on ISFDB

2312, (Orbit, UK, 2012)

Work Information

Title: 2312Author: Work Type: NovelOriginal Language: EnglishPublisher: OrbitCountry: UKYear: 2012View on ISFDB

Jagannath: Stories, (Cheeky Frawg Books, US, 2012)

Work Information

Title: Jagannath: StoriesAuthor: Work Type: CollectionOriginal Language: EnglishPublisher: Cheeky Frawg BooksCountry: USYear: 2012View on ISFDB

Firebrand, (Epicon Press, UK, 2012)

Work Information

Title: FirebrandAuthor: Work Type: NovelOriginal Language: EnglishPublisher: Epicon PressCountry: UKYear: 2012View on ISFDB

The Receptionist and Other Tales, (Aqueduct Press, US, 2012)

Work Information

Title: The Receptionist and Other TalesAuthor: Work Type: CollectionOriginal Language: EnglishPublisher: Aqueduct PressCountry: USYear: 2012View on ISFDB

Jurors

Each year, a panel of five jurors selects the Otherwise Award winner. The 2012 jurors were:

  • Joan Gordon (chair)
  • Andrea Hairston
  • Lesley Hall
  • Karen Lord
  • Gary K. Wolfe

Award Ceremony

Otherwise Award was given to Kiini Ibura Salaam and Caitlín R. Kiernan at WisCon 37, May 27, 2013, in Madison, Wisconsin.