Hey, all. This week marks the 30th anniversary of the start of The Wheel of Time! I wanted to write something up for you, but I ended up using it for a new foreword for The Eye of the World that Tor is releasing. So you’ll be able to read it then. It’s a little about my experience as a youth picking up the first book, and a discussion of why I think The Wheel of Time has been so enduring.

Today, instead, I’ll point you toward some of the other commemorations that have been posted around the internet. In addition, I’ll leave you with a little tidbit.

This is generally the time of year when I talk about awards, and what I have that is eligible. It’s become a bit of a tradition this time of year for authors to run down their list of eligible works.

This year, though, I’d like to point those of you eligible to nominate for the Hugos toward an interesting fact. The Wheel of Time, I’ve been told, is eligible for Best Series. That might be surprising, since the series was finished some five years ago—but last year, Harriet and I released a novella set in the world in a charity anthology.

This sequence, about Perrin, was cut from A Memory of Light. But released on its own in this form, even if it’s not in the main continuity, is enough for Hugo eligibility. I’m tickled by this idea because the Hugo for Best Series was created in large part because of The Wheel of Time, which got nominated for Best Novel as a completed work.

I’m a big fan of the idea of a Best Series award. I’ve talked in the past about how some of the things we epic sf/fantasy writers work on are bigger than the sum of their parts. While I think the individual books are great, what is most remarkable to me about The Wheel of Time is its scope, its influence on the genre, and its plotting and pacing across fourteen enormous volumes.

So if there was ever a series that deserved the Best Series Hugo, it’s the one that made everyone create the award in the first place. Instead of focusing on other things I have that are eligible, I’d request that those who can nominate for the Hugos this year consider The Wheel of Time for Best Series. If it deserved a Best Novel nomination, it certainly deserves consideration for Best Series.

Thanks, everyone!

Brandon