FSU Professor Named Finalist for Hugo Award

Andy Duncan, Associate Professor of English at Frostburg State University (FSU), was named a finalist for this year’s Hugo Award, which recognizes outstanding works in science fiction. He was recently awarded at the World Science Fiction Convention for his novella.

Duncan was nominated for his literary work,“Wakulla Springs,” which was written in collaboration his colleague and fellow author Ellen Kages. The story was first published and became widely recognized in 2013.

According to the science fiction website “Tor.com,” readers have hailed Duncan and Kages’ work as, “uniquely American magic realism… maybe the best short fiction I [Tor.com reader] have read this year,” and “beautifully written, very satisfying… really well done.”

This is the second nomination for Duncan’s literary works. “Wakulla Springs” was also placed on the ballet to receive a Nebula Award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

Duncan stated the inspiration behind “Wakulla Springs” was a joint effort, but Kages petitioned the idea for location.

He said, “My friend Ellen Kages had an idea for this story about this place in Florida, where various Hollywood movies were filmed through the years and it’s geographically interesting – the natural history is interesting.”

The novella’s setting is in the middle of a primarily African American area.

Duncan said, “For various reasons, she was fascinated by the place. It turns out to be our Florida epic. It is about this African American family and there are three generations. It is told in four chapters that go through the years, starting in the 1940’s all the way to present time.”

Duncan is flattered, yet very modest concerning his achievement, stating, “There are a lot of writers in the field that have very few or no nominations for these things. Therefore, the fact that I keep being nominated, and that I have so many total is very flattering. But I also try to keep some perspective on it. It doesn’t mean I am the greatest writer that ever was. I can think of a lot of better writers that have fewer awards than I do, [but] there is just something about my writing that seems to consistently appeal to these folks, which is good.”

Duncan also shared his advice for young writers today. He said, “As I tell my fiction writing students, you have to write the stories you want to write. You can’t write someone else’s story, [or] they won’t be any good. You have to write the ones that you know you have to write because if you did not write them, no one else would.”

This year’s Hugo Awards will be held in London and the winners will be announced on August 17 at the World Science Fiction Convention in London.

For more information, please visit Tor’s official website.

To listen to Andrew Duncan and Ellen Kage’s podcast on “Wakulla Springs,” visit http://www.jonathanstrahan.com.au/wp/2013/08/19/episode-155-live-with-andy-duncan-and-ellen-klages/.