The Valkyrie wins the Aurora! Plus: upcoming events

There’s a trick to make award ceremonies (a little) easier on the nerves: pick another writer on the ballot and root for them with all your heart. I first learned this trick from the wonderful (and multiple-award-winning) Sarah Pinsker, and I do it every time. On Sunday, at the Aurora Awards, I didn’t even have to make the slightest effort to root for someone else. Indeed, I was rooting for all the other writers on the list to various degrees.

I never think it’s likely I’ll win an award I’ve been nominated for, but my level of expectation runs on a spectrum to “hell no, never going to happen” to “probably not.” On Sunday, I was way over at the “hell no” end of the spectrum. For one thing, I won the same award last year, for The Embroidered Book, and I thought back-to-back victories for best novel would be unlikely, especially for someone still fairly early in their career, as I am. (I haven’t won any awards other than the Aurora, although I’ve been nominated for some.) For another, The Valkyrie, while it has done well, hasn’t made the same splash or reached the same level of sales as The Embroidered Book. Most importantly, I was sharing the ballot with successful writers I greatly admire, any one of whom would have been a completely unsurprising winner (Waubgeshig Rice, Jessica Johns, Andrew F. Sullivan and Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Go read their work!)

So I don’t think I’ve ever been as surprised in my life as I was when the fabulous hosts announced that The Valkyrie won. You can watch my acceptance here at about 1:22. It’s hilarious — that 10-second pause after they say my name, when I’m just blinking and looking around and it looks like I can’t find the right browser window, or I’m trying to get off mute, or my feed’s delayed? Yeah, none of that was happening. My total lack of reaction is apparently what happens to my face when I am utterly stunned. I was sure that I had misheard, my audio had stuttered, something like that. (Being a writer, I have now filed this look on my face away for the next time I need to write someone’s stunned reaction. Everything goes into the pot!) It was a very different reaction from last year’s gasp of joy when I won for The Embroidered Book, which was also surprising, but this one, for some reason, just totally bowled me over and made me unable to speak or react.

I’m really pleased and honoured to be, now, a three-time winner of the Aurora Award for Best Novel. Bonkers! (I also won for my debut novel, Armed In Her Fashion/The Chatelaine, in 2019. That acceptance speech was in person, with my kid in the audience, and included some blubbering.) My third win has been an interesting moment, and one that has triggered a lot of thinking for me (and discussion with wise friends) about how we creative workers see ourselves and the shadows we cast in our fields, and how to send the elevator down while we’re still going up.

Thank you to everyone who read The Valkyrie, mentioned it to a friend, nominated or voted — even if you nominated or voted for something else! Every participant makes the award and community stronger. And as I said in my speech, thanks so much to Jane Johnson, my editor, and my agent Jennie Goloboy, and the teams of people behind this book at HarperCollins. Also, I forgot to shout out the cover artist, Andrew Davis! This is what happens when you don’t write a speech but just jot down a few names after the ceremony begins because you’re sure you won’t need a speech but have made it an article of faith to always at least jot down your editor’s name in case you find yourself blinking in shock!

I should mention that the paperback of The Valkyrie is coming out in October, so if you’re a paperback person who’s been waiting for that format, it’s on the way! Pre-orders are available now from anywhere you buy books. Pre-ordering makes a huge difference to the fortunes of the book, and that holds true for paperback releases too, which are treated by publishers as second chances to make a first impression.

I’ve got some events coming up in September and October to let you know about.

On Sept. 7, I’ll be giving a 90-minute online workshop on revision for the Eden Mills Writers Festival, which you can sign up for here.

I’ll be in Toronto in person for the Toronto International Festival of Authors, where I’m sharing a stage with Anna Rasche on Sat. Sept. 28, at 11:30 a.m., with a book signing after (a chance to get copies of The Tapestry of Time, which comes out in Canadian bookstores two days later.) You can find out more and get a Saturday pass here. I’ve never been to this festival before, and I would love to see friendly faces in the crowd! I’ll also be giving a masterclass the following day, so check the TIFA site in the coming days for details on that if you’re interested (or my next newsletter.)

In October/November, I’ll be in Ottawa for the Ottawa International Writers Festival (details coming on that very soon) and in Niagara Falls for the World Fantasy Convention. And in November, I’ll be at Can*Con here in Ottawa.