18/03/2010 - WIVES makes James Tiptree Jr Awards 2009 Shortlist

I am delighted to report that my novella WIVES (X6, coeur de lion, 2009) made the Honours List of the 2009 James Tiptree Jr Award.

"Haines’ “Wives” is a sharp, deeply ugly look at white working class Australian masculinity in a world where women are scarce. The dystopian Australian outback where the story mostly occurs is a place of intense misogyny, racism, and transphobia. Horrible and chillingly believable, “Wives” didn’t do anything terribly original, but it did something familiar in a quite new, very visceral, very powerful way."

The James Tiptree, Jr. Award, an annual literary prize for science fiction or fantasy that expands or explores our understanding of gender. The aim of the award is not to look for work that falls into some narrow definition of political correctness, but rather to seek out work that is thought-provoking, imaginative, and perhaps even infuriating. The Tiptree Award is intended to reward those women and men who are bold enough to contemplate shifts and changes in gender roles, a fundamental aspect of any society. (From www.tiptree.org).

As a teenager, I rated James Tiptree Jr (Alice Sheldon) as one of my favourite SF short story writers, alongside Robert Silverberg, Arthur C Clarke and Asimov. I loved her work primarily because of her exploration of sexuality and gender in science fiction, which was something I rarely came across in my readings at that time.

For lists of  Winners, Honours and Judges Reports.

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06/03/2010 - WIVES makes Australian Shadows 2009 Shortlist

My novella WIVES (X6, coeur de lion, 2009) has made the shortlist for Best Long Fiction in this year's Australian Shadows Awards.

I thought I'd be in the Short Fiction section, but I'm competing with the big boys and girls. Gulp.

Full list of finalists here.

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27/02/2010 - Slice Of Life Wins 2010 Chronos Award

Slice Of Life won the 2010 Chronos Award for Long Fiction. Thank you to everyone who nominated and voted. The award looks great and you can see it here.

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20/02/2010 - More Slice Of Life Reviews

This is a remarkable book by a writer whose deceptively clean and easy style masks real depth, and the kind of truthfulness that makes his version of horror visceral, nasty, and yet as fearsomely compelling as the sight of a shrouded corpse beside a wrecked car on the verge of the road. This is really strong work, and if you like horror, or dark speculative fiction, you owe it to yourself to get a copy. - Dirk Flinthart www.coolshite.net

A collection that’s like nothing else out there, brimming with incident and irreverence, both as regards the idea of author as creator and the tropes of genre, absurd and yet deadly serious in some of the things it has to say. It won’t be to everyone’s taste, but if you’re of an iconoclastic bent the Paul Haines experience might be just what you’re looking for. - Pete Tennant, Black Static #15

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03/02/2010 - Locus Magazine's 2009 Recommended Reading

My novella 'Wives' and X6, the anthology it is in, have both made the Locus 2009 Recommended Reading List.

Margo Lanagan's 'Sea-Hearts' in X6 also made the list.

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