There's something deeply satisfying about taking a day or two at year's end to regroup, reorganize, reflect. In high school and college, I used to set aside time at New Year's to re-read all of my old journals and diaries; that tradition stopped when I stopped keeping a diary, but I still like the idea. Now I just reorganize my file cabinets.
I did forget, though, to post links to the Strange Horizons Christmas stories of years past and present. (I meant to do this Christmas Day, but ended up not even opening my computer that day. Which is all for the best.) We don't seek out Christmas stories or hold a publication slot for them, but we've had quite a few nonetheless.
2000: "War of the Lights" by Madeleine Rose Reardon Diamond.
2001: "Carol for Mixed Voices" by Madeleine Rose Reardon Diamond, part 1 and part 2.
2002: "Christmas Season" by Jay Lake. (actually published in June, but who's counting?)
2002: "Emergency Claus" by Ken Brady. (published in October! What were we up to in 2002, I wonder?)
2003: "In the Late December" by Greg van Eekhout.
2007: "R3" by Dennis Danvers, part 1 and part 2.
They're all very different types of stories--both of Madeleine's are kind of madcap comedies, and "Carol for Mixed Voices" in particular reminds me of the best of Connie Willis's Christmas novellas. Greg's (Nebula-nominated, and rebroadcast this week on Escape Pod) story lures you in with science-fiction children and sneaks up on you with the Christmas spirit. Jay's and Dennis's are just weird, in a very very good way.
Unrelated to Christmas, but maybe worth drawing your attention to, is this gallery of beautiful libraries.
Don't forget "Emergency Claus".
Posted by: David Moles | 27 December 2007 at 05:02 PM
Eep! How did I miss that? I've updated the links to include it, because it's a great one.
Posted by: Susan Marie Groppi | 28 December 2007 at 08:50 AM