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Robert Reed
has had eleven novels published, starting with
The Leeshore
in 1987 and most recently with
The Well of Stars
in 2004. Since winning the first annual
L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future
contest in 1986 (under the pen name Robert Touzalin) and being a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer in 1987, he has had over two hundred shorter works published in a variety of magazines and anthologies. Eleven of those stories were published in his critically acclaimed first collection,
The Dragons of Springplace,
in 1999. Twelve more stories appear in his second collection,
The Cuckoo’s Boys
[2005]. In addition to his success in the U.S., Reed has also been published in the U.K., Russia, Japan, Spain and in France, where a second (French-language) collection of nine of his shorter works,
Chrysalide,
was released in 2002. Bob has had stories appear in at least one of the annual “Year’s Best” anthologies in every year since 1992. Bob has received nominations for both the Nebula Award (nominated and voted upon by genre authors) and the Hugo Award (nominated and voted upon by fans), as well as numerous other literary awards. He won his first Hugo Award for the 2006 novella
A Billion Eves.
His most recent novel is
The Memory of Sky,
a Great Ship trilogy.

Benjanun Sriduangkaew
is a finalist for the Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Her short fiction has appeared in
Tor.com, Clarkesworld, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Phantasm Japan,
various Mammoth Books and best of the year collections. Her contemporary fantasy novella
Scale-Bright
is forthcoming from Immersion Press. She can be found online at beekian.wordpress.com.

Rachel Swirsky
holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers Workshop where she learned that snow is only fun and beautiful for a couple of days at a time. She currently lives in Bakersfield with her husband where she’s learning that sunny days are great, but they would be even better if it rained occasionally. In a few years, she plans to move to the North pole, or possibly into a lava flow.

Her short fiction has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, and been nominated for a number of awards, including the Hugo Award, the Locus Award, the Sturgeon and the World Fantasy Award. In 2010, she won the Nebula for her novella “The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers Beneath the Queen’s Window” and in 2013, she won it a second time for her short story "If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love." Her second collection,
How the World Became Quiet: Myths of the Past, Present, and Future,
came out from Subterranean Press in 2013. Although she used to own rats, they were not genetically engineered to imagine spaceships, so they just built sailboats instead.

E. Catherine Tobler
was born on the other side of the International Dateline, which either gives her an extra day in her life or an extraordinary affinity when it comes to inter-dimensional gateways. She is a Sturgeon Award finalist, the senior editor at
Shimmer Magazine,
and her debut novel,
Rings of Anubis,
arrives in paperback this summer. Her short fiction appears in
Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons,
and
Lightspeed,
among others.

Genevieve Valentine’s
first novel,
Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti,
won the 2012 Crawford Award and was nominated for the Nebula. Her second novel is the historical fairy-tale retelling
The Girls at the Kingfisher Club.
Her short fiction has appeared in
Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons, Journal of Mythic Arts, Lightspeed,
and others, and the anthologies
Federations, The Living Dead 2, After, Teeth,
and more. Her nonfiction and reviews have appeared at
NPR.org, The AV Club, Strange Horizons, io9.com,
and
LA Review of Books,
and others.

Peter Watts
—author of
Blindsight, Echopraxia,
and the Rifters Trilogy, among other things—seems especially popular among people who don’t know him. At least, he wins most of his awards overseas except for a Hugo (won thanks to fan outrage over an altercation with Homeland Security) a Jackson (won thanks to fan sympathy over nearly dying from flesh-eating disease), and a couple of dick-ass Canadian awards you’ve probably never heard of.
Blindsight
is a core text for university courses ranging from Philosophy to Neuropsychology, despite an unhealthy focus on space vampires. Watts’s work is available in eighteen languages.

A.C. Wise
was born and raised in Montreal and currently lives in the Philadelphia area. Her fiction has appeared in
Clarkesworld, Shimmer, Lightspeed,
and
The Best Horror of the Year Vol. 4,
among other publications. In addition to her writing, she co-edits
Unlikely Story.
Visit the author online at www.acwise.net or find her on twitter as @ac_wise.

As an undergraduate, 
Ms. Xia
 majored in Atmospheric Sciences at Peking University. She then entered the Film Studies Program at the Communication University of China, where she completed her Master’s thesis, “A Study on Female Figures in Science Fiction Films.” Recently, she obtained a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and World Literature at Peking University, with “Chinese Science Fiction and Cultural Politics Since 1990” as the topic of her dissertation.

She has been publishing science fiction and fantasy since 2004 in a variety of venues, including Science Fiction World and Jiuzhou Fantasy. Several of her stories have won the Galaxy Award, China’s most prestigious science fiction award. Besides writing and translating science fiction stories, she also writes film scripts and teaches science fiction writing.

E. Lily Yu
was the 2012 recipient of the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer and a 2012 Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award nominee. Her stories have recently appeared in
McSweeney’s, Clarkesworld, Boston Review,
and
Apex.

About the Editor

Neil Clarke is the Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of
Clarkesworld Magazine.
His work at
Clarkesworld
has resulted in countless hours of enjoyment, three Hugo Awards for Best Semiprozine and three World Fantasy Award nominations. He’s a current and three-time Hugo Nominee for Best Editor (Short Form). In 2012, Neil suffered a near-fatal “widow-maker” heart attack which led to the installation of a defibrillator and a new life as a cyborg. Inspired by these events, he decided to take on this anthology, his first non-
Clarkesworld
editing project. He currently lives in NJ with his wife and two sons.

ALSO EDITED BY NEIL CLARKE

Clarkesworld Magazine
- www.clarkesworldmagazine.com

ANTHOLOGIES

Clarkesworld: Year Three
(with Sean Wallace)

Clarkesworld: Year Four
(with Sean Wallace)

Clarkesworld: Year Five
(with Sean Wallace)

Clarkesworld: Year Six
(with Sean Wallace)

Acknowledgments

The doctors may have fixed me, but I am
better
thanks to Lisa, Aidan, Eamonn, Mom, Dad, and the rest of my family.

This book is
stronger
thanks the to the authors, Julie Dillon, Sean Wallace, Kate Baker, and Aimee Picci.

I’m still not 
faster.
Maybe next time.

I also owe a special debt of gratitude to the following honorary cyborgs:

@guildner, 4 of 5 Ondrusek, A. T. Greenblatt, A.C. Wise, Aaron Sunbeam, Adam “Spurious Laser Blasts” Hill, Adam Haley, Adam Israel, Adam L. Crouse, Aeonsim, AJ Harm, Alan Dyck, Alec G, Alex Burkhart, Alex Shvartsman, Alex von der Linden, Alexandra Pierce, Alicia Cole, Allison, Andrew Hatchell, Andrew Liptak, Andrew Nicolle, Andy Dent, Andy Vasbinder, Ann Humphrey, Annie Bellet, Anthony Petros, Anthony R. Cardno, Aptasi, Arachne Jericho, Arkady Martine, Bartley J Bear, battlegrip.com, Benjamin Sparrow, Bill and Laura Pearson, Brad Roberts, BrentonRyan, Brian Anderson, Brian White, Brood II Cicadas, Can Özmen, Carl Hazen, Carl V. Anderson, Carlos Hernandez, Cathy Green, chaosprime, Charles Fraker, Chris Rees, Christian Schaller, Christopher J. Burke, Claire Alcock, Claire Connelly, Claire LaPlaca and Hugh Brammer, Claudio Bottaccini, Cliff Miller, Cliff Winnig, Connor Grogan, Crossed Genres Publications, Danielle M. LeFevre, Dave Costa, Dave McCarty, David Churn, David Kelleher, David McIntyre, David P., David Potter, David Stegora, Davy De Vuysdere, Dawn Aylene Tarpinian, Douglas “Strange Quark” Reed, E C Humphries, Edward MacGregor, Eli Juicy Jones, EliteMachina, Eric Kent Edstrom, Erik Henriksen, Erik Saltwell, Evaristo Ramos, Jr., Ferran Selles, Forth, Fran Friel, Frank Dreier, Franny Jay, Gail McDonald, Gary Emmette Chandler, Gary M Dockter, Ginger Joe, Glennis LeBlanc, Gopakumar Sethuraman, Graeme Williams, Guy Anthony De Marco, Hayley Marsden, Henry Szabranski, Herbert Eder, Howard Henry, Ian Peters, Ief Grootaers, James “Optimus” Aquilone, James Carlisle Holder, James Darrow, James Kelly, James Seals, James Zirkle, Jamie Lackey, Jason Heller, Jason R. Strawsburg, Jay Watson, Jay Wolf, Jeff Xilon, Jen Scott, Jennifer Kahng, Jennifer Morton, Jim DeVona, JoanneBB, John Devenny, John Klima, Jon Lasser, Jonathan “Robo-Ankle” Pruett, Joshua Palmatier, Julie Ann Koehlinger, Jurie Horneman, Justin James, Justin Minnes, Justin P. Miller, JW, Karin W, Karsten mark H, Kate Kligman, Katharine, Keith West, Kelly Stiles, Ken Schneyer, Kevin Baijens, Kristin Evenson Hirst, Bionic Valkyrie, Krystina Colton, Lamat, Leesa Hanagan, Linda Wilcox, Lucas K. Law, Lucius M. Nelligan Sorrentino, Lyn Dunagan, Mairin Holmes, Marc Jacobs, Mark “the Encaffeinated ONE” Kilfoil, Mark J McGarry, Martin Cahill, Mathew Holland, Matt Gibbs, Matthew Kressel, Matthew Morrison, Max Edwards, Max Kaehn, Meagen Voss, Merc Rustad, Meryl Yourish, Michael Ezell, Michael Gray, Michael Horwitz, Michael John, Michael Scholl, Michelle Muenzler, Mike Griffiths, Miles Matton, Natalie Luhrs, Nathan Blumenfeld, Nayad Monroe, Neal Levin, Nick Bate, Nicola Owen, P Carreiro, P S Proefrock, Patrick J Sklar, Patrick Nijman, Patrick Reitz, Patrick Zazzaro, Paul McMullen, Penny Richards, Peter Hollo, Peter Young, Pierre Gauthier, Ray and Tina, Rebecca Harbison, Rich McGuire, Rich Russell, Richard Ellis Preston, Jr., Richard Pratt, Rob Leslie, Robert Davis, Ronald R. Richter, Ryan Paul, S. Michael White, Sarah Liberman, Sean Krauss, Shauna Roberts, Sleeperwaking, Stephanie Lucas, Stephanie R, Steve Pantol, Steven desJardins, Steven Mentzel, Stewart C Baker, Smiter of Things, Librarian of Other Things, Poet of Poetic Things, First of His Name, Suz Bailey, Suzanne Conboy-Hill, Tania Clucas, The Cat With Blue Fur, The Judge, The Rosenthal Collective, Tiffany E. Wilson, Tim Ream, Timothy Moore, TK, Tom Foster, Tom Horwath, Tom Vogl, Travis Heermann, TwistedSciFi.com, Val Grimm, Valerie Gillis, Victor De Ville, Vincent O’Connor, way ming wong, William “Broken” Owen, William Gunderson, Y. K. Lee, Yes (Evgeni Kantor), Zuhur Abdo