Martha’s Vineyard is lovely, and the Internet connectivity here is spotty, and I am busy through the late afternoon. So: Your Thread to Keep You Occupied for Today.

Please to answer the following question:

Name a thing you like, beginning with the letters “Q” or “K.” Because there’s probably something, and those two are fairly underappreciated letters, all things concerned.

Don’t think about it too hard.

Have fun, play nice with each other, and I’ll see you all a bit later.

Ann and Jeff VanderMeer have put together a charity anthology called Last Drink Bird Head, and to celebrate, they’ve announced nominees for the First Last Drink Bird Head Awards, which they will present at the World Fantasy Convention this year. The awards are “to celebrate those in the genre community who enrich us with their time, energy, and words, often for causes greater than themselves,” and the winners will get chocolate, a certificate and, appropriately, a drink bird.

I happen to be a nominee in a category, the (one assumes somewhat ironically named) Gentle Persuasion category, “In recognition of individuals willing to enter into blunt discourse about controversial issues.” Yes, well. The other nominees in the category are K. Tempest Bradford and Nick Mamatas. “Gentle Advocacy” indeed! There are four other categories as well:Tireless Advocacy, Promotion of Reading, Expanding Our Vocabulary, and International Activism. The full list of nominees is at the link above.

As a nominee, I say: Neat, and also, a well-picked category I’m in. I shall not be sad to lose to Tempest or to Nick. Congrats to all the nominees.