Missions Unknown’s Memo to Thanksgiving

(l to r): Sanford Allen is grateful MOON didn't suck; John Picacio gives thanks for a Chesley Award win for his FF2 cover art; and Paul Vaughn is preparing for the first Thanksgiving on Mars.

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate it, from all of us here at Missions Unknown! Hope your day is filled with food, family, and friends. We’ve got a lot to be thankful for here, and we thought we’d give thanks to a few of our blessings of 2009.

SANFORD ALLEN:

1. The 2009 World Fantasy Convention in San Jose — I got to attend the con for the first time, and see some very deserving people win World Fantasy Awards:
• Kij Johnson for “26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss,” the best short story I read all year
• Jeffrey Ford for his excellent novel THE SHADOW YEAR and equally excellent short story collection THE DROWNED LIFE
• Michael Walsh for his collections of Texan Howard Waldrop’s iconoclastic short fiction

2. Good Cinema — A spate of movies like MOON, STAR TREK, ZOMBIELAND, and DRAG ME TO HELL really could have sucked, but in fact didn’t suck.

3. Narrow Escape — That I managed to get out of the newspaper business while I could still leave with a little money.

4. My Audible.com subscription — Almost makes a commute outside the loop bearable.

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JOHN PICACIO:

1. CoastCon, SpoCon, Con*Stellation, and MileHiCon — thanks for inviting me to be a Guest of Honor at your respective cons. I had a blast, and it was a pleasure working with your hard-working con staffs, and meeting hardcore sf/f fans in Mississippi, Washington, Alabama, and Colorado.

2. The 2009 Chesley Award for Best Paperback Cover — Winning never gets old, and I’m really grateful for this one, in particular. FAST FORWARD 2 was edited by Lou Anders (also a Chesley Award winner for Best Art Director that same night). It’s one of my favorite pieces of art that I did the previous year. I also tied for first place in this year’s ASIMOV’S Readers’ Poll for Best Cover Art, as voted by their readers, and was grateful to be nominated in ’09 for the Hugo Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Locus Award, and three other Chesley Awards, amongst other recognitions.

3. George R. R. Martin — He asked me to be the official artist for his 2011 calendar for A SONG OF FIRE AND ICE, and I accepted. I’m in love with this stuff, and pouring my all into it. I’m currently reading these massive books right now and already convinced that this is amongst the best fantasy literature I’ll ever read. So good!!

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PAUL VAUGHN:

1. Great friends who read really good books faster than me — This year on the recommendation of friends I have read Kim Stanley Robinson’s MARS trilogy; FAST FORWARD 1; THE EMPIRE OF ICE CREAM; ELRIC: THE STEALER OF SOULS; THE CITY AND THE CITY; THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES, and I finished the George R.R. Martin SONG OF ICE AND FIRE series so far. All in all, that makes for a great year of sf and fantasy literature.

2. Worlds Collide and Doctor Who Fans Unite These sites keep me informed about excellent sf events — many of which are free! Thanks also goes to the Alamo Drafthouse for putting up so many of the kind of movies I want to see.

3. Missions Unknown — Through working on this site, I have gotten to meet cool people and see some of the really nifty genre-related works that are being produced in San Antonio. I loved the Overtime Theater’s “The Brain That Wouldn’t Die”, Film Classic Productions’ “Dr. “S” Battles the Sex Crazed Reefer Zombies” was a load of fun. Jason Limon’s art is incredible. Frank Zieglar’s comics make me laugh and I gotta add a McKinney Zombie novel to my reading list soon. Thanks to all of you who have read, commented and contributed so far.