Guests at our reception included Connie Willis, whose story “Inside Job” tied for second place in the novella category with Ian McDonald’s “Little Goddess.” Both of these tales are currently finalists for the 2006 Hugo awards. Joining Connie at the breakfast were her husband Courtney and her daughter Cor-delia. Later that same day, Connie put on a wonderful performance as toastmaster of the 2006 Nebula Awards Banquet.

In addition to Connie, our guests included author Cynthia Felice and book reviewer and author Peter Heck. Of course, Asimov’s associate editor, Brian Bieniowski, and I were there as well.

Traveling from England to Arizona was a bit too far for Stephen Baxter, the author of our award winning short story “The Children of Time.” We also missed Michael Whelan, our cover artist award recipient, and Timons Esaias. Timons’ poem, “Newton’s Mass,” won our poetry category in a photo finish. Indeed, there was a mere five points spread from the first-place poem to the poem that came in fourth.

The Anlab award was bestowed at the same event. Analog attendees included Stan and Joyce Schmidt, Joe and Gay Haldeman, Trevor Quachri, Richard A. Lovett, David Bartell, Eric James Stone, and George Krauter. The press was represented by Charles N. Brown and Liza Groen Trombi of Locus, Mark Kelly of Locusonline, and Scott Edelman of SF Weekly.

While our guests at the breakfast enjoyed the culmination of the voting process, they didn’t get to see the hundreds of ballots that showed up in our offices. The average person does not expect to be exposed to the inner machinations of our system, but I feel lucky that I do get to look over and read through all the Asimov’s Readers’ Award ballots. As usual, these ballots were suffused with interesting comments. Many readers mentioned how difficult it was to choose only three stories in each category from among their lists of favorites. Several readers noted that while they enjoyed the works of the masters, their cover art ballots would be cast for living artists who might benefit from the encouragement, and who would certainly be in a position to better appreciate the award. Some readers had been voting since the inauguration of the award. For others, this was their first chance to cast their ballots. All of the comments were appreciated. Joy Gatewood Fulton summed up the thoughts of many of her fellow subscribers when she wrote: “I have been an Asimov’s subscriber since 1980, and cherish all the rich and varied stories, feelings, and ideas that the magazine has brought into my life. Thank you.”

Perusing the ballots gives me a delightful opportunity to get to know our readers. Attending the Nebula weekend gave me the delightful opportunity to meet Daryl Gregory, one of the authors of those rich ideas, for the first time. After breakfast on Saturday, Brian and I brought him along to lunch with Paul Melko, Jack Skillingstead, and Ted Kosmatka.

The awards weekend also gave me the chance to have dinner with long-time Asimov’s author, Jack McDevitt, whose story “Fifth Day” will be appearing in an upcoming issue; spend time with my hotel roommate and Asimov’s Nebula nominee, Nancy Kress (whose story, “Safeguard,” will also be appearing soon); and chat with the Science Fiction Writers of America’s brand-new grandmaster, Harlan Ellison. As always, the awards weekend gave me a terrific opportunity to rekindle old friendships and acquaintances and embark on new ones.