One of the several books that I’m currently reading is a curious novel by Carol Emshwiller, called The Mount. The version that I have was published in 2002 by Small Beer Press. It received a Nebula nomination for best novel in 2003, and won the Philip K. Dick Award that year. Emswhiller’s style flirts with postmodern/slipstream methods, meaning for me it takes a while to adapt to the novel and writer. The Mount deals with a future Earth enslaved by small creatures called Hoots who enslave and ride people as beast of burden. I’m only a few pages into the book, which I picked up by chance at World Fantasy Con in November, yet already I wonder if this was a Prometheus Award nominee in 2003. So far it certainly fits the typical nominee profile (as much as there is one), but I shall have to see where the book leads. Emshwiller’s been writing for decades, but is one of the many names so far that I’ve just missed, as there are now so many books published each year in sf.