The Washington Science Fiction Association is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2013 WSFA Small Press Award for Short Fiction (published in 2012):

“Astrophilia” by Carrie Vaughn, published in Clarkesworld Magazine, edited by Neil Clarke (July 2012).

“The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species” by Ken Liu, published in Lightspeed Magazine, edited by John Joseph Adams (August 2012).

“Bottled Spirits” by Pamela K. Kinney, published in Buzzy Mag, edited by Laura Anne Gilman (June, 2012).

“Coca Xocolatl” by Lawrence M. Schoen, published in ReDeus: Divine Tales, edited by Robert Greenberger and Aaron Rosenberg (Crazy Eight Press 2012).

“Good Hunting” by Ken Liu, published in Strange Horizons, edited by Brit Mandelo, An Owomoyela, and Julia Rios (October 2012).

“Mornington Ride” by Jason Nahrung, published in Epilogue, edited by Tehani Wessely (Fablecroft Publishing June 2012).

“The Six Million Dollar Mermaid” by Hildy Silverman, published in Mermaids 13: Tales from the Sea, edited by John L. French (Padwolf Publishing Inc. December 2012)

The award honors the efforts of small press publishers in providing a critical venue for short fiction in the area of speculative fiction. The award showcases the best original short fiction published by small presses in the previous year (2012). An unusual feature of the selection process is that all voting is done with the identity of the author and publisher hidden so that the final choice is based solely on the quality of the story.

The winner is chosen by the members of the Washington Science Fiction Association (wsfa.org) and will be presented at their annual convention, Capclave (capclave.org), held this year on October 11-13 in Gaithersburg, Maryland.