Hi, friends! I’ve been wondering whether the guild might be interested in adding an interactive fiction category to the Cóyotl Awards in the future, or at least allowing novel-length text-based interactive fiction to be considered under the “novel” category (and/or other text-based interactive fiction to be considered under other fiction categories).
The idea is not without precedence: Choice of Games, the publisher for my upcoming (and furry!) interactive novel, is considered a qualifying novel publisher for membership in the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, rather than a game writing market. SFWA also recently added game writing as a new category for the Nebula Awards. Text-based interactive fiction, such as that published by Choice of Games, has no graphics or sound effects, but relies entirely on words (with some minimal coding going on in the background based on player choices) to craft a story, just like a book.
I’m bringing this up not just for my own sake, but so that other interactive fiction authors may have their work honored by the guild in the future. I’ve read many outstanding interactive novels that are furry in nature, such as Jeffrey Dean’s werewolf series “Claw, Shadow, and Sage.” I would like to heighten awareness of such stories and see them celebrated alongside more traditional forms of prose. Having a separate category for them in the Cóyotls, or permitting their inclusion in other categories, might be one way to help achieve this.
I’m curious to hear your thoughts and questions! Thank you for listening to mine. 