Second annual Airship Awards announced at Steamcon III in Seatle

The winners of the second annual Airship Awards were named during an awards banquet during the Steamcon III steampunk convention in Seattle.

The Airship Awards were first awarded last year at Steamcon II and are given annually “to recognize the best and brightest in the steampunk community.”

Nominees for this year’s round of Airship Awards were solicited online from the world at large and were announced in early August. The winners were selected by a vote of the registered members of Steamcon III with voting ending on Sept. 30. Airship Awards are currently awarded in five categories – Written, Visual, Aural, Community Contributor and Potpourri.

This year’s slate of winners included the following:

Written – “Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel” by Tee Morris and Pip Ballantine

Visual – Joe Benitez

Aural – Vagabond Opera

Community Contributor – Jordan Block, Sepiachord

Potpourri – Rise of Æster RPG

It’s All Your Fault Award – K.W. Jeter, for coining the term “steampunk”

Nominees in the Written category can include “any written piece of work, including, but not limited to, novels, short stories, blogs, screen plays, etc.” The other nominees in this category this year included “The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack” by Mark Hodder, “Camera Obscura” by Lavie Tidhar and “The Half Made World” by Felix Gilman.

Nominees in the Visual category can include “any visual piece of work, including but not limited to 2D art, 3D art, digital art, fashion design, website design, making/modding, short film (by an individual).” The other nominees in this category this year included James Ng, Myke Amend and Adam Smith.

Nominees in the Aural category can include “any aural piece of work, including but not limited to bands, songs, musicians, music videos, etc.” The other nominees in this category this year included Professor Elemental, Unwoman and Steam Powered Giraffe.

Nominees in the Community Contributor category can include “an individual who is outspoken and supportive in the steampunk community, including but not limited to a Blogger, event organizer, convention runner, scholar, speaker etc.” The other nominees in this category this year included Ay-leen the Peacemaker – Beyond Victoriana; Lia Keyes – The Steampunk Writers and Artists Guild; and Suzanne Lazear – Steamed.

Nominees in the Potpourri category can include “anything not yet covered, including but not limited to game design/designer, acting troupes, short film (by a group), movie, television, etc.” The other nominees in this category this year included Clockwork Cabaret and Unhallowed Metropolis RPG.

The innaugural Airship Awards were presented at Steamcon II on Nov. 19, 2010 and what follows is a list of the winners and nominees of the 2010 Airship Awards.

Written:
• Winner: "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" by Alan Moore
• "Boneshaker" by Cherie Priest
• "Mainspring" by Jay Lake
• "Soulless" by Gail Carriger

Visual:
• Winner: Jake von Slatt
• Paul Guinan
• Richard Nagy
• Haruo Suekichi

Aural:
• Winner: Abney Park
• The Clockwork Dolls
• Extraordinary Contraptions
• The Men that Will Not Be Blamed for Nothing

Community Contributor:
• Winner: Captain Robert Brown of Abney Park
• GD Falksen
• Mike Perschon
• Jake Von Slatt

Potpourri:
• Winner: Girl Genius
• Deadlands Role Playing Game
• The League of STEAM
• The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello

In the end, which of the written works mentioned above have you read? Which did you like or dislike? Which would you recommend and why? Let us know in the comments section below.

For more information about the Airship Awards and Steamcon, visit Steamcon’s official Web site at www.steamcon.org.