As followers of Candlemark’s trajectory already know, the press casts a very long shadow on the genre it has chosen to shape despite its tiny size. Within the last month we received a bouquet of recognitions that confirm and enhance this attribute:

— Robin Shortt’s Wellside was a finalist for the Aurealis Awards, Fantasy category. Given the size of the other publishers whose titles were also nominated, I think this is amazing (granted, I’m not entirely objective).

— Justin Robinson, effortlessly combining being prolific with being polished, won a story award in a community competition. He discusses this and related aspects of his work (including the upcoming Wolfman Confidential) in a Fanbase interview.

— Lesbrary published a terrific in-depth review of M. Fenn’s Piper Deez and the Case of the Winter Planet. The reviewer hopes that more Deez stories appear, and I share that hope.

— Publishers Weekly recognized all the strengths of Kelly Jennings’ Fault Lines, and is clearly agog about more stories in this universe.

— Don Sakers, the long-time reviewer of Analog Science Fiction and Fact, put Candlemark in the context of the paramount influence of indie presses on SFF – he literally says that we rock the genre universe – and also used the opportunity to heap praise on Kristin Landon’s Windhome and urge her for a sequel.

Not bad at all…and I’m convinced such groundswells of praise will continue unabated.