Awards Eligibility 2023, V.M. Ayala
I know this is a bit late, but there’s still a few days left to nominate for the Nebula Awards (the deadline is February 29th)! With that in mind, here are my two short stories eligible for awards this year since they were published in 2023.
- “The Void Door” - Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #378 (March 2023)
“Luz tried everything to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge. Hammers, axes, magic, saws, more magic, fire, even more magic (and magic explosions). Still, the door refused her. Why? After all this time and effort, why wouldn’t the damn thing open?
Sure, it was an enchanted door that would open the path to a potentially catastrophic amount of magic pouring back into the universe, causing endless natural disasters that would drown or bury most cities from existence. But! There was an equally high chance that wouldn’t happen and that the magic had been sealed away by ignorant fools for nothing.
She had to believe there was a reason why she could tap into a sliver of the magic locked behind the door; that this was it, her singular life purpose: open the door, restore its magic back to everyone like it used to be in the stories, where anyone could use magic, for good or bad.”
- “Emotional Resonance” - Escape Pod Episode 919 (December 2023)
“The incoming mech’s sharp metal angles were humanoid like Arbor’s. Two hands, two feet. This model’s design was new, its frame less bulky and more streamlined. It was freshly painted blue and silver with huge blue, glass eye sensors—a contrast to Arbor’s dented weathered shell and red eyes.
The other mech’s MIND—a cute corporate acronym for Monitoring Interface Neural Driver—blipped into existence, a projected hologram of faded colors and warped outlines, and peered over the edge of her robot’s helmet plate in awe. She was listed as Crowe, her name and ID hovering above her. She wore a pink bomber jacket with glowing white lines. Her curly hair was a gradient of pink, white, and blue, her skin just a shade darker than Arbor’s own dark brown. She was super cute.
Arbor was relieved they still felt infatuation, simulated or not.
“Sorry!” Crowe said. “I was admiring the view and found myself drifting.””
I appreciate any consideration for nominations—especially the Nebula and the Ignyte Awards. This post is so late because I got deeply insecure and anxious about it right up until the Nebula nomination deadline, in true ADHD/anxiety fashion. Imposter syndrome is far too loud sometimes.
But thank you for reading my work—2023 was my debut short story publication year, which is kind of a big deal! So if you enjoyed the stories, it means a lot.
