Eight Books You Need To Know About To Understand The Hugo Awards Snafu. Women Dominate The 2015 Nebula Awards. The Hugo Awards Were Always Political. But Now They're Only Political. Thanks for this take, Charlie.
There have always been politics in the award, this year's is NOTHING but Politics. I am not in the groups that get together and logroll nominees onto the ballots in secret. Whether they exist or not, the Sad Puppies have decided to do so in public, and an entire ballot's worth. And succeeded. I feel bad for the people who aren't explicitly part of their group who have been caught up in this. Flagged Well according to some anonymous internet commenters over at John Scalzi's blog, all Sad Puppy nominees were contacted beforehand and asked if they were okay with being on the slate, so I wouldn't feel too bad for them.
That said, Vox Day ran his own slate this year, and he may not have asked people if they wished to be associated with him. Our show was one listed on the Sad Puppies slate, and I can tell you that we were not contacted beforehand. Thanks for the clarification! Thanks, Paul, for your words. Fantasy Writer N.K. Jemisin Explains the Rise of Racism in Fandom. George RR Martin Says Rightwing Lobby Has 'Broken' Science Fiction's Hugo Awards. George RR Martin has waded into the “nasty, nasty fight” surrounding this year’s Hugo awards, laying out why he believes that a group of rightwing science fiction writers have “broken” the prestigious prize beyond repair.
The shortlists for the long-running American genre awards, won in the past by names from Kurt Vonnegut to Ursula K Le Guin and voted for by fans, were announced this weekend to uproar in the science fiction community, after it emerged that the line-up corresponded closely with the slates of titles backed by certain conservative writers. The self-styled “Sad Puppies” campaigners had set out to combat what orchestrator and writer Brad Torgersen had criticised as the Hugos’ tendency to reward “literary” and “ideological” works. Twenty years ago, he writes, “if you saw a lovely spaceship on a book cover, with a gorgeous planet in the background, you could be pretty sure you were going to get a rousing space adventure featuring starships and distant, amazing worlds”.
A Detailed Explanation. This is going to come out at some point, so I might as well say it here and now: I declined a Hugo nomination for this year’s Best Fan Writer award.
I think it’s only fair to the people who voted for me to say why. Be warned, this is going to take a while. (And long-time readers of mine around these parts know that coming from me, that really means something.) Firstly, given the nature of this post and the scrutiny that surrounds a major award, I should probably introduce myself. Hi. I mostly write about books I’ve recently enjoyed. I also wrote about going to a local sf book sale, attending a stop on Peter S.
One of the things I’m happiest to have blogged about last year was Montreal’s Fantasia film festival. All told, I’m pretty pleased with the year I had at Black Gate. There are three reasons, which all derive from one source. Had anybody contacted me to explain the thinking behind the Puppy campaign and ask if I wanted me to be on the slate, I would have politely refused. And: