Gardner Dozois has picked up my Xuya story “The Shipmaker” (which is in the current issue of Interzone) for his Year’s Best.

Er, wow? Particularly pleased, as this was the first story where I attempted to put Vietnamese on the map of my alternate universe–there aren’t that many Vietnamese main characters in spec-fic[1], and it’s high time I did my bit to remedy this.

If you need me, I’ll be in the corner, jumping and squeeing…

ETA: and it looks I get to share a TOC with Yoon Ha Lee’s “Flower, Mercy, Needle Chain”, which is one of the absolute best SF stories I read this year. W00t.

The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Sixth Annual Collection Edited by Gardner Dozois. St. Martin’s Griffin, $21.95 (704p) ISBN 978-0-312-55105-6

Veteran editor Dozois, 15-time Hugo winner, offers 30 stories, several of them Hugo-nominated. The table of contents is dominated by familiar names like Michael Swanwick and Greg Egan, but occasionally leavened with relative newcomers like Hannu Rajaniemi and more obscure authors like James Alan Gardner. Settings range from the present-day (Nancy Kress’s “The Erdmann Nexus”) to the distant future (Ian McDonald’s “The Tear”) and alternate history (Aliete de Bodard’s “Butterfly, Falling at Dawn”). Similarly the moods range from relatively upbeat (Dominic Green’s “Shining Armour”) to pessimistic (Swanwick’s “From Babel’s Fallen Glory We Fled”). In some entries the SF elements appear to be almost an afterthought, but most earn their inclusion. Dozois also provides short biographies, a detailed overview of the year in SF and a lengthy list of honorable mentions. This is a worthy addition to a venerable series. (July)

Ha, neat.

(yeah, I know, “Aliete” is mispelled. I’ve checked with Gardner Dozois, and everything should be fine in the final version of the book. Plus, I suspect I’m the only “de Bodard” writing spec-fic anyway *g*)

Amazon lists the book as coming out on June 23rd. *excited*