Echoes advances to the CYGNUS Semi-finals
I was thrilled when I learned Echoes of the Storm advanced to the long-list of the CYGNUS Book Awards for Science Fiction. It then advanced to the short-list.
But it gets better! Echoes has moved to the semi-finals!
CYGNUS recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in sci-fi, steampunk, alternative history, and speculative fiction. To be included on a list like this is so heartening. It's one thing when your relatives and friends say you tell a great story, but when an anonymous group of reviewers singles you out from hundreds (or thousands?) of entries - now THAT is a great feeling.
The CYGNUS award is one of many sponsored by Chanticleer Book Reviews. Submitted books go through several rounds of judging to get to the finals:
- slush pile - chapter 1 read: if it gets a 'yes', it advances to the long list
- long-list - 60-80 more pages read; a 'yes' moves you forward
- short-list - book reviewers and editors read the book; 'yes' advances it to semis
- semi-finals - another round of reviews; a 'yes' will move the book to the finals
- finals - from the finalists, Chanticleer will name the 'first in category'