January 13 -- The Science Fiction Romance newsletter is pleased to announce the winners of the fourth annual Sapphire Award for the Best Science Fiction Romance of the Year:

Novel length

• First place - A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold

• Second place - The Godmother Sanction by Patricia White

• Third place - The Quantum Rose by Catherine Asaro

Short Fiction

• First Place: "Aurora in Four Voices," by Catherine Asaro (Analog, 11/98)

• Second Place: "Dinner Date," by Patricia White (Millennium SF&F)

• Third Place: (tie) - "A Little Death," by Susan Sizemore (A Dangerous Magic, from DAW), and "Empire Day," by Astrid Cooper (Stardates: Infinite Celebrations, from Dreams Unlimited)

Nominated books could be from any genre, provided that they had a first publication date between December 1998 and November 1999, and that both science fiction and romance were intrinsic to the story. The ten books receiving the most nominations advanced to finalist status, and the readers of SF Romance were polled to determine the winners.

The Science Fiction Romance newsletter is an international forum for the readers and writers of the science fiction romance subgenre, and is distributed monthly to subscribers throughout the world. An electronic edition is available through the Internet. For more information, visit the website, http://members.aol.com/sfreditor/, or contact Yeep@aol.com.

Updated January-17-2000