Creating during the pandemic has felt like this speech Snoop Dogg gave after receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame:
This was the first year I went full-time freelance, and, while I didn’t break even from just freelance work, I’ve managed to support myself and be fully independent for the first time. I’ve also finally started to apply the self-validation techniques I learned in therapy. I no longer feel like I need to get a stamp of approval from others for my work; I’m always the one proudest of myself when I reach a goal. Regardless of whether or not I receive any award nominations or wins, I want to thank me for persisting through such an unpredictable time.
Year-end review
In fact, 2020 was one of my most productive years. I ventured into self-publishing and was pleasantly surprised to find that Gumroad paid off far more than Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). I began writing and self-publishing erotica under the name December Seas. It’s been a fantastic journey of self-discovery as I trust my stories to work. I signed a contract for two novellas with Tor.com, the first of which is coming out August 31, 2021.
Here’s my year in numbers:

Jesus. Even I’m stunned.
Works released in 2020
Here’s everything included in the table above:
Collections
Inhalations: Collected Works, Volume 1. February 2020. Buy on Gumroad.
Short Fiction
as S. Qiouyi Lu
“My Gender Is Classified.” January 14, 2020. 4,400 words.
“This House Is Full of Faith.” Anathema: Spec from the Margins 10, April 2020. 2,900 words.
“The Undone and the Divine.” April 15, 2020 from AZE. 600 words.
“Anything Resembling Love.” April 29, 2020 from Tor.com. 5,500 words.
“The White People.” June 8, 2020 from Queen Mob’s Teahouse. 440 words.
“Where a Heart Would Fit Perfectly.” September 14, 2020 from Cast of Wonders. 4,200 words.
as December Seas
“Box Tied.” January 2020. 6,400 words.
“Side Hustle.” January 2020. 8,600 words.
“So Fall For Me.” January 2020. 3,500 words.
“Constance’s Obedience Training.” February 2020. 6,600 words.
“Far From Holy.” February 2020. 5,000 words.
“Yellowed.” April 2020. 2,900 words.
“Every Eye Will See Him.” April 2020. 3,900 words.
“We Are All Too Young to Die.” June 2020. 7,000 words.
“Tell Me How I Look.” June 2020. 6,600 words.
“Full Moon Rising.” September 2020. 3,500 words.
“Llena del alma mía.” November 2020. 13,500 words.
Poetry
Update January 9, 2021: You can now download all my poetry in a single packet!
“Inside the Ironheart.” Eye to the Telescope, January 2020. 170 words.
“bosque.” sinθ 14, January 2020. 6 lines.
“mecha visits little tokyo.” Star*Line 43.1, Winter 2020. 27 lines.
“I could watch him unfold.” sinθ 15, April 2020.
“momentane.” Wildness, May 2020. 18 lines.
“A Year to Miss.” May 28, 2020. 10 lines.
“states of matter.” I Want You To See This Before I Leave 20, Spring 2020. 11 lines.
“annihilation.” Charge Magazine 4, June 2020. 43 lines.
“Budapest.” Charge Magazine 4, June 2020. 137 lines.
“if you asked me to trace my history, I might tell you:” Stand Magazine 226, 18(2) June–August 2020. 68 lines.
“they would have us disappear.” Stand Magazine 226, 18(2) June–August 2020. 27 lines.
Translations
“Raising Mermaids.” Translation of 《饲养人鱼》 by Dai Da (代达). Future Science Fiction Digest 9, forthcoming December 15, 2020. 5,900 words.
Essays
“A Framework for Decolonizing Speculative Fiction.” March 10, 2020 from Tor.com. 3,800 words.
“All Edible, Except the Squeal: Language and Power in Bong Joon-Ho’s Okja.” June 4, 2020 from Tor.com. 5,400 words.
Reviews
Review of Beneath the Rising by Premee Mohamed, March 2020 from Solaris (buy). Strange Horizons, February 24, 2020. 2,300 words.
Review of Reverse Integration: Helping White America Join the Village by Jay Klusky, Ph.D., December 2017 from Uptone Press (buy). Reedsy Discovery, April 2020. 1,100 words.
Review of The Femdom Felony by Thomas Moffatt, March 2020, self-published (buy). Reedsy Discovery, May 2020. 900 words.
Review of Humanists in the Hood: Unapologetically Black, Feminist, and Heretical by Sikivu Hutchinson, April 2020 from Pitchstone Publishing (buy). Reedsy Discovery, May 2020. 2,000 words.
Review of First Instance by David Gowey, July 2016, self-published (buy). S. Qiouyi Lu, May 2020. 300 words.
Review of Mazes of Power by Juliette Wade, February 2020 from DAW Books (buy). Strange Horizons, June 2020. 6,600 words.
Review of Tracking Classical Monsters in Popular Culture by Liz Gloyn, October 2019 from Bloomsbury Academic (buy). Strange Horizons, August 24, 2020. 3,200 words.
“Exploring Empire and Agency in The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart,” September 2020 from Orbit (buy). Tor.com, September 15, 2020. 1,600 words.
Editing
Arsenika, issues 6 and 7.
Panels
“Decolonizing SFF.” Panelist. Flights of Foundry, May 2020.
“Considerations for Translation.” Panelist. Flights of Foundry, May 2020.
“Bringing International SFF into the English-speaking World.” Panelist. Flights of Foundry, May 2020.
“Queer Representation in Fantasy.” Panelist. World Fantasy Convention, October 2020.
Interviews
“Ten Minutes with S. Qiouyi Lu.” The Coode Street Podcast 532, October 6, 2020. 14 minutes.
Award Eligibility
Finally, here is an extremely granular list of what exactly I’m eligible for and which works are eligible for which categories according to the rules of the award. I’ve made every effort to categorize my works properly, but please be sure to verify that the work meets the category’s requirements with the award committee.
- Bram Stoker Awards
- Superior Achievement in Short Fiction
- Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection
- Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection
- Superior Achievement in Short Nonfiction
- The British Fantasy Awards
- Collection
- Magazine/Periodical
- Nonfiction
- Short Fiction
- The Karl Edward Wagner Award
- The Sydney J. Bounds Best Newcomer Award
- Eugie Foster Memorial Award for Short Fiction
- Gaylactic Spectrum Awards
- Hugo Award
- Best Novelette
- Best Short Story
- Best Related Work
- Best Editor (Short Form)
- Best Semiprozine
- Best Fan Writer
- Locus Award
- Nebula Award
- Otherwise Award
- Rhysling Award
- Seiun Award
- Shirley Jackson Award
- Theodore Sturgeon Award
- World Fantasy Award
Bram Stoker Awards
Superior Achievement in Short Fiction
- Anything Resembling Love
- Constance’s Obedience Training
- Every Eye Will See Him
- Far From Holy
- Full Moon Rising
- Llena del alma mía
- Raising Mermaids by Dai Da (translation)
- So Fall For Me
- Tell Me How I Look
- This House Is Full of Faith
- We Are All Too Young to Die
- The White People
- Yellowed
Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection
- Inhalations
Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection
- Inhalations
Superior Achievement in Short Nonfiction
- All Edible, Except the Squeal: Language and Power in Bong Joon-Ho’s Okja
- A Framework for Decolonizing Speculative Fiction
- Panelist on Bringing International SFF into the English-Speaking World
- Panelist on Considerations for Translation
- Panelist on Decolonizing SFF
- Panelist on Queer Representation in Fantasy
- Review of Beneath the Rising by Premee Mohamed
- Review of Tracking Classical Monsters in Popular Culture
The British Fantasy Awards
Collection
- Inhalations
Magazine/Periodical
- Arsenika
- Constraint 280 (microverses)
- Octavos (microverses)
Nonfiction
- All Edible, Except the Squeal: Language and Power in Bong Joon-Ho’s Okja
- Exploring Empire and Agency in The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart
- A Framework for Decolonizing Speculative Fiction
- Panelist on Bringing International SFF into the English-Speaking World
- Panelist on Considerations for Translation
- Panelist on Decolonizing SFF
- Panelist on Queer Representation in Fantasy
- Review of Beneath the Rising by Premee Mohamed
- Review of Mazes of Power by Juliette Wade
- Review of Tracking Classical Monsters in Popular Culture
- Ten Minutes with S. Qiouyi Lu (hosted by The Coode Street Podcast)
Short Fiction
- Anything Resembling Love
- Constance’s Obedience Training
- Every Eye Will See Him
- Far From Holy
- Full Moon Rising
- Llena del alma mía
- So Fall For Me
- Tell Me How I Look
- This House Is Full of Faith
- We Are All Too Young to Die
- Where a Heart Would Fit Perfectly
- The White People
- Yellowed
The Karl Edward Wagner Award
Eligible.
The Sydney J. Bounds Best Newcomer Award
Eligible if considered “new” (I was first published professionally in 2016).
Eugie Foster Memorial Award for Short Fiction
- Anything Resembling Love
- Constance’s Obedience Training
- Every Eye Will See Him
- Far From Holy
- Full Moon Rising
- Llena del alma mía
- My Gender Is Classified
- Raising Mermaids by Dai Da (translation)
- So Fall For Me
- Tell Me How I Look
- This House Is Full of Faith
- We Are All Too Young to Die
- Where a Heart Would Fit Perfectly
- The White People
- Yellowed
Gaylactic Spectrum Awards
Short Fiction
- Anything Resembling Love
- Every Eye Will See Him
- Far From Holy
- Llena del alma mía
- My Gender Is Classified
- So Fall For Me
- Tell Me How I Look
- This House Is Full of Faith
- We Are All Too Young to Die
- Where a Heart Would Fit Perfectly
- Yellowed
Other Work
- A Framework for Decolonizing Speculative Fiction
- Panelist on Bringing International SFF into the English-Speaking World
- Panelist on Considerations for Translation
- Panelist on Decolonizing SFF
- Panelist on Queer Representation in Fantasy
- Review of Mazes of Power by Juliette Wade
Hugo Award
Best Novelette
- Llena del alma mía
Best Short Story
- Anything Resembling Love
- Constance’s Obedience Training
- Every Eye Will See Him
- Far From Holy
- Full Moon Rising
- My Gender Is Classified
- Raising Mermaids by Dai Da (translation)
- So Fall For Me
- Tell Me How I Look
- This House Is Full of Faith
- We Are All Too Young to Die
- Where a Heart Would Fit Perfectly
- The White People
- Yellowed
Best Related Work
- All Edible, Except the Squeal: Language and Power in Bong Joon-Ho’s Okja
- Exploring Empire and Agency in The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart
- A Framework for Decolonizing Speculative Fiction
- Panelist on Bringing International SFF into the English-Speaking World
- Panelist on Considerations for Translation
- Panelist on Decolonizing SFF
- Panelist on Queer Representation in Fantasy
- Review of Beneath the Rising by Premee Mohamed
- Review of First Instance by David Gowey
- Review of Mazes of Power by Juliette Wade
- Review of Tracking Classical Monsters in Popular Culture
- Ten Minutes with S. Qiouyi Lu (hosted by The Coode Street Podcast)
Best Editor (Short Form)
- Arsenika
- Constraint 280 (microverses)
- Octavos (microverses)
Best Semiprozine
- Arsenika
- Constraint 280 (microverses)
- Octavos (microverses)
Best Fan Writer
- Twitter threads on craft and media analysis @sqiouyilu
- Modality Irrealis newsletter
Locus Award
Best Novelette
- Llena del alma mía
Best Short Story
- Anything Resembling Love
- Constance’s Obedience Training
- Every Eye Will See Him
- Far From Holy
- Full Moon Rising
- My Gender Is Classified
- Raising Mermaids by Dai Da (translation)
- So Fall For Me
- Tell Me How I Look
- This House Is Full of Faith
- We Are All Too Young to Die
- Where a Heart Would Fit Perfectly
- The White People
- Yellowed
Best Magazine
- Arsenika
- Constraint 280 (microverses)
- Octavos (microverses)
Best Collection
- Inhalations
Best Editor
Eligible.
Nebula Award
Novelette
- Llena del alma mía
Short Story
- Anything Resembling Love
- Constance’s Obedience Training
- Every Eye Will See Him
- Far From Holy
- Full Moon Rising
- My Gender Is Classified
- Raising Mermaids by Dai Da (translation)
- So Fall For Me
- Tell Me How I Look
- This House Is Full of Faith
- We Are All Too Young to Die
- Where a Heart Would Fit Perfectly
- The White People
- Yellowed
Otherwise Award
- Far From Holy
- Llena del alma mía
- My Gender Is Classified
Rhysling Award
Best Short Poem
- annihilation
- Inside the Ironheart
- mecha visits little tokyo
Seiun Award
Best Translated Short Story
- 「母の言葉」訳:藤川新京
Shirley Jackson Award
Novelette
- Llena del alma mía
Short Story
- Anything Resembling Love
- Far From Holy
- Raising Mermaids by Dai Da (translation)
- The White People
- Yellowed
Collection
- Inhalations
Theodore Sturgeon Award
- My Gender Is Classified
- Raising Mermaids by Dai Da (translation)
World Fantasy Award
Short Fiction
- Anything Resembling Love
- Constance’s Obedience Training
- Every Eye Will See Him
- Far From Holy
- Full Moon Rising
- Llena del alma mía
- So Fall For Me
- Tell Me How I Look
- This House Is Full of Faith
- We Are All Too Young to Die
- Where a Heart Would Fit Perfectly
- The White People
- Yellowed
Collection
- Inhalations
Special Award—Professional
Eligible depending on definition of “professional.”
Special Award—Non-Professional
Eligible.
Please feel free to contact me if you’d like to review any materials not available online. Thanks so much for your consideration!
featured photo by K. Anderson