Science Fiction Writer
ROBERT J. SAWYER
Hugo and Nebula Winner

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Robert J. Sawyer isn't just a double nominee for the Hugo Award this year — he's also a double nominee for the Crime Writers of Canada's Arthur Ellis Award.

And Edo van Belkom isn't just a current finalist for the Bram Stoker Award — he's shortlisted for an Arthur, too.

The Arthur Ellis Awards, often called "The Canadian Edgars," are juried awards given annually since 1983 by Canada's national association of mystery-fiction writers. The final ballot was unveiled today; winners will be announced Thursday, May 21, 1998, at a gala banquet at the University of Toronto's Faculty Club — the highlight of Canada's National Crime Writing Week. Jurors' names are kept secret until after the winners are announced, but are all active members of the Crime Writers of Canada.

Sawyer's Illegal Alien is one of six finalists for the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel of the Year, and his "The Hand You're Dealt" — the same story that's up for the Hugo — is one of five finalists for the Arthur for Best Short Story of the Year. Sawyer's story originally appeared in the Tor anthology Free Space edited by Brad Linaweaver and Edward E. Kramer.

Meanwhile, van Belkom, who shares a current Stoker nomination with his collaborator David Nickle for their story "Rat Food," is a solo finalist for the Arthur for Best Short Story of the Year for "The Rug," first published in the Horror Writers Association-sponsored anthology Robert Bloch's Psychos (Pocket Books).

The Best Novel finalists are:

• Free Reign by Rosemary Aubert (Bridge Works)
• Death at Sandringham House by C. C. Benison (Bantam)
• Trial of Passion by William Deverell (McClelland & Stewart)
• Ghirlandaio's Daughter by John Spencer Hill (McClelland & Stewart)
• Dead Right by Peter Robinson (Viking)
• Illegal Alien by Robert J. Sawyer (Ace)

The Best Short Story finalists are:

• "Rigged to Blow" by John Ballem (from Secret Tails of the Arctic Trails, Simon & Pierre)
• "The Rug" by Edo van Belkom (from Robert Bloch's Psychos, Pocket Books)
• "Widow's Weeds" by Sue Pike (from Cottage Country Killers, General Store Publishing)
• "Two Ladies of Rose Cottage" by Peter Robinson (Pocket Books)
• "The Hand You're Dealt" by Robert J. Sawyer (from Free Space, Tor Books)

"Arthur Ellis" was the pseudonym used by Canada's last official hangman before Canada abolished capital punishment in 1976. The award trophy is extremely unusual: it features an articulated wooden figure of a man, hanging from a brass noose. When a cord is pulled, the poor fellow does death spasms . . .

Illegal Alien is a courtroom drama with an extraterrestrial defendant. The Globe and Mail: Canada's National Newspaper has already name it "the best Canadian mystery of 1997."

"The Hand You're Dealt" follows a detective investigating the murder of a geneticist aboard a space habitat.

In "The Rug," an old woman finds a unique — and terrifying — way to deal with unwanted visitors.

Sawyer previously won the Arthur for Best Short Story of 1993 for his SF crime story "Just Like Old Times," first published in On Spec and reprinted in the Tor anthology Northern Stars (David G. Hartwell and Glenn Grant, editors, 1994).

Edo van Belkom was an Arthur finalist last year, as well, for his short story "The Piano Player Has No Fingers," from Palace Corbie.

Robert J. Sawyer (left) and Edo van Belkom

Rob Sawyer, 37, lives in Thornhill, Ontario; his tenth novel, Factoring Humanity, will be released next month by Tor. Edo van Belkom, 35, lives in Brampton, Ontario; his latest novel is Lord Soth, published by TSR.

More Good Reading

Press Release about Rob's 1998 Hugo Nomination
Information about Rob's 1993 Arthur Ellis Award win
Press Release index
Edo van Belkom's interview with Rob Sawyer
Rob Sawyer's 1997 profile of Edo van Belkom
Rob Sawyer's Author Guest of Honor tribute to Edo van Belkom

Full text of "The Hand You're Dealt"
More about Illegal Alien

Rob's Newsletter

My Very Occasional Newsletter