The nomination period is CLOSED.

• Eleanor Arnason: Ring of Swords. Tor Books; ISBN: 0312890168, $13.95 Paperback - 382 pages (January 1995)
• Catherine Asaro: Last Hawk. List Price: $6.99, Mass Market Paperback - 480 pages (December 1998), St Martins Pr (Trade); ISBN: 0812551109
• Catherine Asaro: Primary Inversion. List Price: $5.99, Mass Market Paperback (May 1996), Tor Books; ISBN: 0812550234
• Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni: The Mistress of Spices. List Price: $12.00, Paperback - 352 pages, 1 Anchor edition (March 1998), Doubleday; ISBN: 0385482388
• Dorothy Bryant: The Kin of Ata are Waiting for You. Paperback reprint, (April 1997).  Random House, ISBN 0679778438, $11.95.
• Octavia Butler: Dawn (Xenogenesis, Bk. 1.). (April 1997), Aspect; ISBN: 0446603775, $4.79
• Octavia Butler: Wild Seed. (December 1988), Warner Books; ISBN: 0445205377, $4.79
• Pat Cadigan: Patterns. list about $14.00, trade ISBN 0312868375
• Raphael Carter: The Fortunate Fall. List Price: $13.95, Paperback 288 pages (May 1997), Tor Books; ISBN: 0312863276
• Charles De Lint: Into the Green. List Price: $4.99, Mass Market Paperback Reprint edition (January 1995), Tor Books; ISBN: 0812522494
• Suzette Haden Elgin: Earthsong (Native Tongue, Book 3). (February 1994); New American Library; ISBN: 0886775922, $3.99
• Molly Gloss: The Dazzle of Day. Tor, 1998. Paperback, ISBN: 031286437X ; List Price: $12.95
• Jewelle Gomez: The Gilda Stories. Publisher: Firebrand ; Publication Date: Jun 1991; List price: US-$11.95; ISBN 093237994X
• Nicola Griffith: Slow River. list about $11.00 trade ISBN 0345395379
• Kay Kenyon: Leap Point. list about $6.00, mass market ISBN 0553576828
• Nancy Kress: Beggars in Spain. copyright: 1994, Publisher: AvoNova, March 1994, ISDN: 0-380-71877-4, $5.59
• Nancy Kress: Maximum Light. List Price: $5.99, Mass Market Paperback - 256 pages (January 1999), St Martins Pr (Trade); ISBN: 0812540379
• Tanith Lee: Red Unicorn. (March 1998), Tor Books; ISBN: 0812539389, $3.99
• Elizabeth Moon: Remnant Population. Available at Amazon: Mass Market Paperback - 352 pages (March 1997), Baen Books; ISBN: 0671877704;
• $US 4.79, Australian retailers: $Aus:11.95 - $Aus13.95
• Pat Murphy: The Falling Woman. $11.95  Paperback Reprint edition (August 1993), Tor Books; ISBN: 0312854064
• Notkin, Debbie and The Secret Feminist Cabal (Eds.): Flying Cups and Saucers: Gender Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy. 1998. Edgewood 1st ed, $18.00. (further information on how to obtain this book will be provided on the list)
• Sheri S. Tepper: The Family Tree. Paperback (May 1998) Eos (Mass Market); ISBN: 0380791978, List Price: $6.99
• Sheri Tepper: Grass. Mass Market Paperback, ISBN: 0553285653. Amazon gives no list price, only its own price, which is $6.50 + $1.90 special surcharge (don't ask me why, availability is o.k.)
• David Weber: On Basilisk Station. Mass Market Paperback (September 1998), Pocket Books; ISBN: 0671577727, List Price: $1.99
• David Weber: The Honor of the Queen (Honor Harrington). List Price: $6.99, Mass Market Paperback - 432 pages Reissue edition (June 1993), Baen Books; ISBN: 0671721720 ;
• Connie Willis: The Doomsday Book. Spectra Mass Market Paperback Reprint edition September 1993 ISBN: 0553562738, List Price: $6.50
• Connie Willis: To Say Nothing of the Dog. List Price: $6.50,  Paperback (December 1, 1998), Bantam Books; ISBN: 0553575384

Recommendations:

Russell Letson, Locus micro review, lifted from amazon: For half a century, Earth has been on the brink of total war with an implacable alien race. Biologist Anna Perez is the first to discover the truth--the hwarhath have segregated their society strictly along gender lines, to prevent the warlike males from harming women and children. In their eyes, humans are a dishonorable and barbaric race who may require extermination.... a remarkably suspenseful book.... I plan to devour [Arnason's next book] with the same delight and intellectual relish that I found in this one.

Why I'm nominating this one: it's a swell book.  The gender stuff is key but integral to the story.  Well written, as are all but her earliest book.  I figure we're probably due for a sequel to this or another book from Arnason soon, but it's not necessary in order to enjoy this one. There's adventure, cultural intrigue, first contact, strong female characters, you name it.  Her earlier book (out of print, arrrgh) tied for a Tiptree award.  Read this even if we don't select it.

Just out from Tor in paper at the end of 98. Some well justified hype below. Also, C. Asaro has said previously here that each of her books stands alone, so no need for all of us to have read the two earlier Skolian books.

Quotes:
 “The Last Hawk is a true gem, with believable hard science, human  drama, and people and events that will draw in any perceptive reader. Impossible to put down, The Last Hawk embodies excellence in prose and science fiction, an excellence all too rare in any era.”sp—L.E. Modesitt, Jr, author of The Spellsong Cycle
“Catherine Asaro’s The Last Hawk is not the usual sort of thing, for it hybridizes sf with romance, turns the mix on its head, and makes it all work quite well. … this one’s a winner.”sp—Tom Easton, Analog
“Rising star Catherine Asaro exploded onto the science fiction scene with all the blazing glory of a supernova with her first book called Primary Inversion. Now, in the third tale of the Skolian Empire, we see not only the powerful characterization and intriguing scientific concepts of the first two books, but also an elegant subtlety and a far-reaching sense of destiny that carries her to the highest rank of master storyteller.”sp—Melinda Helfer, Romantic Times

Sample chapters available also at Asaro's website
And a more lengthy review by Laurie Shallah and Jeri Wright

Second opinion:
This was the first book of Catherine's I have ever read, and became totally besotted! But trying to find others - I was disappointed because older works of Catherine's are classified as "Hard-to-Find" in Oz, making them super-expensive, and iffy with regards to delay-times to mail-order thru specialist retailers ...

Links to reviews: review by James Schellenberg , review by Christina Schulman, SFRevu #98 (review by Steven Sawicki), review by Richard Horton,

This, I believe, is the first of the series (my intention, anyhow, was to nominate the first of the series). Her web page has the first three chapters, and we've talked a lot about these books here.  Remember, though, I'm the one who'se always concerned about the presence of authors onlist....

Links to reviews: review by James Schellenberg, SFReview, review by Christina Schulman

How about _Mistress of Spices_, by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, an Indian author, and seems like some interesting magical storytelling, rather like _Like Water for Chocolate_.   And it's in paperback!  reviews below are off Amazon's site -- some of the reader reviews are pretty mixed.

Amazon.com
 In the world created by first-time novelist Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, there is a spice to cure every human ailment, and her heroine, Tilo, is in fact The Mistress of Spices. Tilo (short for Tilottama) comes by her curative powers in a magically roundabout way. Born in India, she ends up on a remote island courtesy of pirates and sea snakes. Here she encounters an ancient woman who instructs her in the power of spice. Her education complete, Tilo heads for Oakland, California, to practice her healing arts. She diagnoses the ills of the various people who come to her spice shop, and cures them, too, until one day she discovers that magic is a double-edged sword.

Women's Studies Editor's Recommended Book
On a mythic island of women "where on our skin, the warm rain fell like pomegranate seeds" powerful spices like cinnamon, turmeric, and fenugreek whisper their secrets to young acolytes. Ordained after trial by fire, each new spice mistress is sent to a far-off land to cure the life pains of all Indian seekers, while keeping a cool distance from the mortals. Only stubborn, passionate Tilo, disguised as an old woman merchant in present-day Oakland, California, fails to heed the vengeful spices' warnings. Fragrant with spice and sensuality, this winning tale rolls off the tongue. Written in the soaring, poetic tradition of China Men and Haroun and the Sea of Stories.

Second opinion: Mistress of Spices sounds fascinating.  I very much like reading about healing, using spice or herbs is becoming the way to restore health.
I'd like to read this take on the idea and would like discussing it on the list. Also, a book by an Indian author would be an interesting change.

2 synopses on Amazon:
Synopsis 1: A car crash causes a young writer to journey into a dream world, where, for three weeks, he encounters people from the island of Ata and embarks on a series of adventures, accompanied by a woman seeking spiritual and sexual enlightenment. Reprint.
Synopsis 2: Part love story, part utopian fantasy, part spiritual fable, The Kin of Ata Are Waiting for You is "a beautiful, symbolic journey of the soul" (Berkeley Monthly). Into the world of the Ata comes a desperate man, running from a fast life of fame and fortune, drugs and crime. He is led by the kin of Ata on a spiritual journey that, sooner or later, we all must take.

From a reader reveiw at Amazon (since I haven't read it in awhile and the synopses at Amazon are poor):
"Imagine waking from an car accident, injured badly - but healed. By who? Mysterious shamans who move in shadows, showing you all the love and sympathy you've lacked in your hollow life. Imagine finally seeing their faces. Beautiful people of all races and mixes between, speaking a foreign language with their lips, but a universal language with their smiles. Imagine then being well enough to see your surroundings - see that while your accident occured in a desert, you are now surrounded by water! This is the genesis of ATA, and by the time you close the book you will find your heart similarly healed - and when you
are able, you will see that your surroundings are not what they once were. You only have to want it and believe in it."

Nominator: Though I regret the warm and fuzzy tone of the above, I must agree in spirit and add that this book is one I constantly collect and give to friends.  It involves more than a "spiritual" journey, but a very practical one in which the protagonist is transported to a subsistence society in which dreams are used to guide behavior and culture. I think it is also an important book in terms of 70's feminist science fiction in that it takes a somewhat different approach to alternative cultures than such novels as Female Man and Woman on the Edge of Time. The fact that it can still generate enough interest to be reprinted
after 26 years is a great indication of the quality of this novel. I've attached the Amazon.com page for any who want it.

Second opinion: The Kin Of Alta Are Waiting--a book about dreams and a spiritual journey. This sounds like one that would promote discussion.

Reviews
Science Fiction and Fantasy Editor's Recommended Book In a world devastated by nuclear war with humanity on the edge of extinction, aliens finally make contact. They rescue those humans they can, keeping most survivors in suspended animation while the aliens begin the slow process of rehabilitating the planet. When Lilith Iyapo is "awakened," she finds that she has been chosen to revive her fellow humans in small groups by first preparing them to meet the utterly terrifying aliens, then training them to survive on the wilderness that the planet has become. But the aliens cannot help humanity without altering it forever. Bonded to the aliens in ways no human has ever known, Lilith tries to fight them even as her own species comes to fear and loathe her. A stunning story of invasion and alien contact by one of science fiction's finest writers. Synopsis Known for her African-American feminist perspective, the author presents the first installment of a trilogy exploring the death of the earth as we know it and the advent of interbreeding between humans and extraterrestrials. Reissue.

Synopsis
Back in print after five years, this is award-winning Octavia Butler's thrilling paternist novel about a reincarnate and a healer who travel together through exotic lands and centuries of time. Advertising in Locus, Science Fiction Chronicle and Amazing. Reissue. Synopsis Doro is an entity who changes bodies like clothes, killing his hosts by reflex--or design. He fears no one--until he meets Anyanwu. Anyanwu has also died many times. She can absorb bullets and make medicine with a kiss, give birth to tribes, nurture and heal, and savage anyone who threatens those she loves. She fears no one--until she meets Doro. From African jungles to the colonies of America, Doro and Anyanwu weave together a pattern of destiny that not even immortals can imagine

Shortlisted for The Retrospective James Tiptree, Jr. Award

I don't have an online review to offer, but have heard good stuff about her work.  Read sparkling praise of this piece in a borrowed lesbian review at a retreat. She is offered as someone who knows (dare I say it?) hard sci fi, and as a sharp writer who takes risks.

Carter just won the Tiptree Award for one of his short stories. _The Fortunate Fall_ was several times positively reviewed (see below) and, thus, I am very curious about this writer.

Reviews:
The New York Times Book Review, Tim Hilchey
[Carter] explores the relationship between man and machine in an increasingly wired world. The result--by turns terrifying and tender, frustrating and fulfilling--is a superb example of speculative fiction.

From Booklist , July 19, 1996
In one of the most brilliant sf debuts in years, Carter offers an unforgettably original vision of the news media's future in cyberspace broadcasting. Maya Andreyeva is a "camera" ; that is, she is wired with microchips and nanobugs to transmit her on-the-scene reports, with complete input from all five senses, to a global audience. Viewers equipped with "moistdisk" can even read her thoughts, which is why Maya needs Keishi, a "screener," who edits out unwanted memories and feelings. Besides the immediate psychic intimacy of their relationship, Keishi quickly discovers Maya's secret: a 10-year memory shield slapped in place by Net police in punishment for Maya's previous life of crime. Unfortunately, those same 10 years, into which Maya must eventually delve somehow, also contain the secrets behind a story she and Keishi are investigating about a genocidal massacre that rivals the Holocaust. Carter's vision of a twenty-fourth century dominated by intelligence-enhancing microchips and twisted political ideologies is as breathtakingly imaginative as the accompanying story line is gripping. A mind-boggler than ranks with Gibson's Neuromancer and Stephenson's Snow Crash as one of the best novels about virtualreality. Carl Hays Copyright© 1996, American Library Association. All rights reserved

- Review in Strange Words:
"To put it simply, Raphael Carter has a genius for language. Carter wields a compelling prose style that effectively evokes a grimly wired cyber-future, then uses it to confront issues of Censorship, Surveillance, and Sexual Identity. (Visit the author's web site extolling the virtues of androgyny for a deeper look into "zer" (his/her) views on this last topic.) The treatment is sophisticated and powerful, calling to mind totalitarian horrors of the modern age, without trivialization or paraphrasing. Make no mistake, The Fortunate Fall is a stunning first novel and Raphael Carter is a powerful new addition to the science fiction scene."

- Postviews:
"Part thriller, part romance, "The Fortunate Fall" is an original, intelligent, poetic and oddly sweet novel. "

Further reviews: review by Christina Schulman, review by Michael Rawdon, American Library Booklist review, review by Richard Horton

This is what Amazon has to say about it...

Angharad, a young woman gifted--as tinker, harper, and witch--with three strains of magic, is sent, against her own misgivings, on a quest to find, open, and banish a puzzle box that threatens to destroy the people of the mythical Middle Earth. As she wanders the Green Isles in search of others with a touch of witch blood to be allies in her task, Angharad fans hatred in those fearful of witchcraft and loyalty in unexpected quarters. De Lint has again woven a tale rich in
Celtic myth and magic and featuring memorable characters and tight plotting. Also a musician, de Lint intends to append some "Tunes from the Kingdoms of the Green Isles" for "small harp and other melody instruments" to the published book.Candace Smith.

This is one of my all time favorite books

On a future Earth where economic survival depends on communication and trade with alien species, linguistics has taken on a power and meaning unknown to us today. In this world thirteen families of brilliant, genetically bred linguists, trained from birth in nonhuman language, hold the key to Earth's economic survival because only they can provide translations during alien trade summits.

Yet this is also a world where the 25th Amendment, which denies women equal rights, has plunged civilization into a repressive dark age. Women are once again considered property--useful only for procreation and menial chores. Only the women of the Linguist Lines, whose talents are considered too valuable to waste, have ever been allowed to do anything beyond basic domestic work.

But when aliens suddenly abandon Earth, taking their technology with them, and plunging the Earth into economic disaster, can the women of the Linguist Lines, who have long planned for the liberation of their sex, now seize the power to save their world?

SF Site Review by Katharine Mills: 'Gloss' science is immaculately crafted, but it is not the focus of the book. The Dazzle of Day is about the  impact of momentous events on living people. Yet she is not telling a story about individuals -- something which is emphasised by the fact that we never know the end of anyone's particular tale. Instead, we experience the movement of change and time through the members of an evolving group. Her insight into human dynamics and interaction makes this utterly absorbing, and the spirit and intimacy with which she evokes the ship's Quaker culture is marvelous.
Molly Gloss has been compared to Ursula K. Le Guin, and there are certainly similarities. Like Le Guin, Gloss transports us into the ordinary life of people in another place and time, with such a wealth of homely detail that we can almost smell the food cooking and feel the texture of the soil. Here, great occurrences are felt, not only by the pivotal individuals, but by everyone. There are no "little people," no cannon fodder -- even those we glimpse only for a moment are real.
This is the kind of book that lingers in memory; at once harsh and sweet, a poetic celebration of humanity's potential for destruction and creation. We are capable of both, Gloss says -- it is our own choices which will make the difference. The Dazzle of Day begins with hope, and ends with hope, expressed with simple and beautiful language. '

This warm praise is not a single occurrence. In SFRevu there is a review by EJ McClure with similar recommendations.

Further review: review by Michael Rawdon

          Nominator:
          This because we owe it to ourselves to read what this brilliant and remarkable woman has to say both in her fiction and in her essays (even if we cannot
          recommend those).

          Midwest Book Review :
          The Gilda Stories is an elegant, sensual, and natural vampire fantasy. Time-traveling from Southern slavery in 1850 to environmental devastation 200
          years later, Gilda is the quintessential outsider seeking community. Jewelle Gomez combines a natural flair for storyteller with an ability to weave
          tapestries of personality that grab the mind's imagination and won't let go. A memorable story, deftly told.

Reviews:  Oh my, need I say more?

Further reviews: PostViews, Steven Silver's Reviews, Review by jb on Laura Quilter's website, a review by Wendy Morris, LiteraScape Review

Online review:   In 2014 . . . circa a rural town with a dying economy and a way of life that has become irrelevant.  The lure of the Net and virtual-reality games has replaced the malls and movie theatres.  The hottest game of all is Nir -- short for Nirvana . . . When Abbey Mccrae's teenage daughter dies mysteriously, everyone calls it suicide.  But Abbey believes it's murder. . . It goes on to discuss conspiracy and how "Abbey alone can stop an alien threat that seeks to consume all of humanity. . ."
Tara (nominator)'s review:  Her other book gets good reviews, I remain interested, but skeptical.

I would like to nominate Beggars In Spain by Nancy Kress...primarily because the premise of being able to alter the human geneset so that certain normal processes of human functioning (as in this case removing the need to sleep), fascinates me to no end, and such medical miracles are not too far fetched in real life at this time of the century.
From the back cover of the 1993 paperback: Born in 2008, Leisha Camden is beautiful, extraordinarily intelligent...and one of an ever-growing number of human beings who have been genetically modified to never require sleep.
Once she and "her kind" were considered interesting anomalies. Now they are outcasts---victims of blind hatred, political repression and shocking mob violence meant to drive the "Sleepless" from human society...and, ultimately, from the Earth itself.
But Leisha Camden has chosen to remain behind in a world that envies and fears her "gift"--a world marked for destruction in a devastating conspiracy of freedom...and revenge.

Second opinion:
Maximum Light is probably a tad more 'feminist' in its scope though, IMHO.
I just recently finished reading all 3 of her 'Beggars' books of the trilogy, & _Maximum Light_, and _Oaths and Miracles_ one after the other...wow, what a "feast" of exciting ideas, and wonderful characters.

Further reviews: Gwyneth Jones (to 'Beggars and Choosers')

"Book Description: (copped from the book) It is only a few decades into the future. Humanity's ability to conceive children has been severely reduced by pollution and disease. Kids are scarce and desirable, adoption is almost impossible. Three people are entangled in a life-threatening web. A teenaged girl sees something shocking and illegal, but is disciplined and told she is a liar. She goes to an elderly doctor, the only one who suspects she might be telling the truth. And a man wakes up one morning calmed by a drug that helps edit unpleasant memories--but with his testicles gone."

Review: (copped from Amazon, though Locus hailed it as well, so dont hold Amazon's opinion against the book <smirk> )

Science Fiction and Fantasy Editor's Recommended Book
In Maximum Light, which takes place in the near future, synthetic chemicals are destroying the fertility of nearly every species on Earth, including humans. The birthrate has dropped so low that the human population consists primarily of people over the age of 50, and children are considered precious resources. Shana Walders and Cameron Atuli get caught up in a bizarre conspiracy to create hybrid human/animal "substitutes" for couples desperate for a young one to love. But when 75-year-old Congressional advisor Nick Clementi becomes involved, he discovers that the conspiracy goes far deeper than anyone would believe, and the future of the human race may be at stake. This fast-paced thriller from veteran science fiction author Nancy Kress keeps the plot twists coming, which makes  Maximum Light a difficult book to put down once you've started. "

Second opinion:
Maximum Light is probably a tad more 'feminist' in its scope though, IMHO.
I just recently finished reading all 3 of her 'Beggars' books of the trilogy, & _Maximum Light_, and _Oaths and Miracles_ one after the other...wow, what a "feast" of exciting ideas, and wonderful characters.

Further reviews: SF Site review, SFRevu review, Science Fiction Weekly, Themed Science Fiction Reviews by Samuel Lubell

From the back cover:
The young wanderer Tantaquil can mend anything that is broken -- except her own heart.  With her beloved engaged to another, she sadly returns home to her sorcerous mother.  But life never stops for a broken heart.  Soon, caught up in her mother's magic, Tanaquil and her mischievous familiar -- a literal pet peeve -- find themselves in a parallel world where she meets Tanakil, a mirror-image princess with murder on her mind.
Finally Tannith Lee returns to her epic fantasy of magical alternate worlds and the enchanting unicorns that travel between them.
This is Lee at her best"  -- Asimov's Science Fiction

Amazon has a number of customer reviews on-line:
Ursula Le Guin's Review as follows:
"This book does one of the great things novels do: to take an improbable idea and tell a story about it proving that improbability may be a mere function of prejudice...Elizabeth Moon's seventy-year-old Ofelia - tough, kind, wise and unwise, fond of food, tired of foolish people- is one of the most probable heroes science fiction has ever known. This is a book full of pleasures."

Synopsis:
Ofelia is an old woman, one of the last living members of the original first-colony on a frontier planet. Now that the colony had failed, they were being evacuated by long voyage cryo ships to a new planet. People had always told Ofelia what to do; for once she was going to do what she wanted. She refused to get on the cryo ships with the other evacuees, refused to leave the only world she could call home. And when they finally came to look for her, she hid-not that authorities
looked all that hard for one crazy old woman. Now Ofelia is alone, content to live her remaining years with no more demands on her self or her time from other people, the only human remaining on an abandoned planet.

Then new settlers arrive. At first Ofelia fears they will land to reoccupy the settlement she has come to think of as hers alone-but they land far away across the continent. And as Ofelia secretly listens on the settlement's radio comms, the new settlers are slaughtered within minutes to the last child, by stone-age aliens no
one knew were there. Now it is up to Ofelia to save the aliens from Earth's wrath.... "

I loved this book, it was so much fun and a wonderful romp of ideas and 'issues' of ageing, feminism and humanism, with a delightful heroine in the character of Ofelia - and I read it through in one sitting, or lying:) (since I tend to do most of my reading lying in bed!)

Further reviews: SFSite review, review by Christina Schulman, review by Steven Silver, review by Jennifer Krauel, review by Michael Rawdon,

The blurb from amazon:  Elizabeth Waters, an archeologist who abandoned her husband and daughter years ago to pursue her career, can see the shadows of the past. It's a gift she keeps secret from her colleagues and students, one that often leads her to incredible archeological discoveries and the realization that she might be going mad. Then on a dig in the Yucatan, the shadow of a Mayan priestess speaks to her. Suddenly Elizabeth's daughter Diane arrives, hoping to reconnect with her mother. As mother, daughter and priestess fall into the mysterious world of Mayan magic, it is clear one will be asked to make the ultimate sacrifice. The book won the 1988 Nebula Award.

Samuel Delany: "a lovely and literate exploration of the dark moment where myth and science meet."

Why I'm nominating this one:  This is the same author who wrote "The City Not Long After" (out of print, arrgh) which has had recent brief mention on the list.  This is a reissue of her previous book, I believe.  Strong female characters, adventure, well written, etc. Again, pick this one up even if the group doesn't select it.  I have loved anything I've read of Murphy's.

This is an anthology of 13 shorter pieces (mostly short stories) which won the Tiptree Jr. Award or ended up on its short lists.

Tiptree website to the anthology:
"The James Tiptree, Jr. Award has been recognizing science fiction and fantasy novels and stories that explore and expand gender for the past six years. Although the award itself is given to one or two works of fiction a year, each jury also produces a "short list" of notable works that were considered for the award.
This first anthology contains almost all of the short fiction that has either won or been short-listed in the first five years of the award."

The content speaks for itself (see below), but I know of at least two favourable reviews:  Nalo Hopkinson in Science Fiction Weekly and a review by Don
Webb in TangentOnline (and I don't know any negative one).

Now comes the part I will make enemies. According to the new BDG rule a selection of the stories included in the anthology should be given with the nomination. 13 stories are a bit much to discuss. I've decided to nominate 8 of them (based on the fact that in our current BDG selection _A Fisher of the Inland Sea_ there are also 8 stories) and was it tough to decide. And here they are:

1. Eleanor Arnason, "The Lovers,"
2. James Patrick Kelly, "Chemistry,"
3. Carol Emshwiller, "Venus Rising,"
4. L. Timmel Duchamp, "Motherhood, Etc.,"
5. R. Garcia y Robertson, "The Other Magpie,"
6. Ian McLeod, "Grownups"
7. Delia Sherman, "Young Woman in a Garden,"
8. Ursula K. Le Guin, "The Matter of Seggri,"

The remaining stories are
- Kelley Eskridge, "And Salome Danced,"
- Ursula K. Le Guin, "Forgiveness Day,"
- Ian McDonald, "Some Strange Desire,"
- Graham Joyce and Peter F. Hamilton, "Eat Reecebread,"
- Lisa Tuttle, "Food Man,"

For those, who do not approve my selection: of course, all the other stories can be discussed as well as any book can always be discussed
on the list (and my selection can also be discussed).

Amazon.com:
This technically polished novel ingeniously combines elements from traditional quests, fables, and novels. A seemingly rhetorical question is posed in chapter 1: Why did sociable, smart Dora Henry marry cold, controlling Jared Gerber? But that question is the key to the book and to the parallel stories told by Sheri Tepper. The sets of characters unravel their separate puzzles until all become different aspects of the same web of events, shaking the reader's, and Dora's,
perceptions to the core. Tepper's linguistic sleight-of-hand with metaphor and image is breathtaking; her storytelling is deft and funny; her characters are memorable and sympathetic. Topical, mythical, archetypal, and provocative, this is a book no fantasy or science fiction reader should miss. --This text refers to the hardcover edition of this title.

Further Reviews: SF Site review, Steven Silver's review, CNN review, Emerald City review

Quotes from readers on amazon: "Grass is an exceptionally absorbing and thought-provoking science fiction/fantasy novel. Tepper creates a world that is wholly believable, and uses it as a forum to explore contemporary concerns, particularly those related to religion and humanity's relationship to other species. Tepper takes up similar questions in "Raising the Stones," a which is almost--but not quite--a sequel to "Grass." For readers unfamiliar with the genre, this is an excellent introduction; for those who are confirmed fans of science fiction and fantasy, Grass is further proof that this genre allows acute analysis of our own world and its challenges."
"Grass is unquestionably first-rate science fiction: a well-crafted story of engaging ideas and characters in a vividly imagined universe. The book is almost worth reading solely for its exceptionally imaginative world and ecosystems -- easily in the same league as Dune and the Helliconia series. I'd begun to lose interest in science fiction, but Grass reminded me of just how engrossing the genre can be. "

Further reviews: review by Danny Yee,

There's been a lot of talk about David Weber's Honor Harrington books. How about doing one of them?  I'd like to nominate the first one, To Basilisk Station, in part because the publisher, Baen, has just brought out a special $1.99 paperback edition of the book as well as, I believe, a not very expensive new hardcover edition.

Another poster: To which I add this from the jacket cover of my copy:
"- Having made him look a fool she's been exiled to Basilisk Station in disgrace and set up for ruin by a superior who hates her.
- Her demoralized crew blames her for their ship's humiliating posting to an out-of-the-way picket station.
- The aborigines of the system's only habitable planet are smoking homicide- inducing hallucinogens.
- Parliament isn't sure it wants to keep the place; the major local industry is smuggling; the merchant cartels want her head; the star-conquering, so- called "Republic" of Haven is Up To Something; and Honor Harrington has a single, over-age light cruiser with an armament that doesn't work to police the entire star system.
But the people out to get her have made one mistake.  They've made her mad.*

Yes, guess it is space opera, as they say.  But a fast-paced adventure and an intriguing heroine.

I'm *insanely* biased about this series (most excellent mind candy, even with its periodic infodumps), and of course will welcome any discussions of these books either as part of the BDG or offlist, but I'm wondering if perhaps The Honor of the Queen (the second book) might actually be a better choice for discussion, because we see a clash between a pretty egalitarian society come up against one where there's a definite gender segregation.

Of course, I do recommend reading On Basilisk Station first, since it does a lot of setup work.

Online review:  Connie Willis labored five years on this story of a history student in 2048 who is transported to an English village in the 14th century.  She arrives mistakenly on the eve of the onset of  the Black Plague. Her dealings with a family in 1348 and with her historian cohorts lead to complications as the book unfolds into a surprisingly dark, deep conclusion.  The book, which won Hugo and Nebula awards, draws upon Willis' understanding of the universalities of human nature to explore the ageless issues of  evil, suffering and the indomitable will of the human spirit.
Tara (nominator)'s review:  This is a sweet, simple, complex book with quite memorable women facing nearly impossible vistas.  Not a high  tech book (won't venture into the "hard/soft" debate. . .whew).

All right, here's my official nomination.  I nominate Connie Willis' _To Say Nothing of the Dog_.  I saw it this weekend in paperback, so I know it's available. I'm nominating this book largely on the strength of its author and her previous works.  I'm also hoping to see some discussion of whether we can consider this book feminist, though it may be that this selection is too mainstream for the list's tastes. Willis is a brilliant writer, one of the few science fiction writers who can weave layers of humor into a solid, realistic story.  It's the latest in a line of wonderful tales by the Hugo and Nebula- winning author of _Doomsday Book_ and several wonderful short stories and novellas.  _TSNoTD_ takes the sf trope of time travel and gives it her own twist, blending an exciting theory of time travel with romance, humor, and mystery.

Second opinion:
I would love to have the BDG discuss this book.  It's not what I think of as traditional science fiction... it combines the wit and setting of a Dorothy Sayers mystery with well-thought-out time travel (and I'm a stickler for time travel being done *rationally* if it's to be done at all).  I found it immensely entertaining.

Further reviews: Excessive Candour by John Clute (Science Fiction Weekly)