A few people have asked me what the reading load is like for World Fantasy Awards. Heavy is not the word. Previously my reading habits would have seen me read (in the order of wordage) : Non-fiction (economics, science, some politics, some works on city design and planning); genre short works across sf, fantasy and horror, some genre longer works, and most genre stuff put out in Australia, especially stuff by friends, Clarion South graduates and people I know.

I suspect for the next six months I won't be getting a lot of science fiction read or much of my daily diet of non fiction either. Plus new stuff from Aussie authors will probably have to wait until the end of the year. My non fiction books at home are likely to take a hit as well with me needing to cull something to find bookshelf space so I can keep a watch on what I've read and haven't read and easily retrieve books as needed.

To give you an quick idea, the picture above shows the works I've received from publishers in the first three weeks judging has been open. I'm off to the post office shortly to pick up any more that are there. I know there are already more on the way because my fellow judges in the northern hemisphere are already mentioning works here and there. 

I'm intending on weighing all the works at the end. Anyone wanting to take a punt on the final weight can register their guess here. I'm sure I can work out some sort of suitable prize.