One of the judges said of his writing sample: "This story had uncomfortable subject matter racism, bodily mutilation, and painful legacies. It took effort to get through it...I thought I knew where Arnold was going...but then he went somewhere entirely different and resolved the story in a way that was both powerful and poignant. Days later, I was still thinking about it."
Arnold's stories have appeared in Pseudopod, Chizine, and Weird Tales, among others, and he has published several short story collections and three novels.
This year there were many excellent entries. Four Honourable Mentions were given:
Rob Davies
Nalo Hopkinson
Kate Milford
Michael Swanwick
The Gulliver Travel Research Grant is awarded to assist a writer of speculative fiction in his or her research. As in previous years, the 2010 grant of $800 is to be used to cover airfare, lodging, and/or other expenses relating to the research for a project of speculative fiction. The grant is awarded by a committee of Speculative Literature Foundation members on the basis of interest and merit.
The grant is named after Gulliver, a character in the 1726 story "Gulliver's Travels" written by Jonathan Swift. The story represents one of the earliest examples of fantasy travel.
Applications for the 2011 Gulliver Travel Research Grant will open on July 1, 2011.