Tag: hugos

We’re all winners when it comes to the Hugo Awards

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Congratulations to all of the Hugo Awards winners! We are still in the hospital, and since the award ceremony was in Reno and didn’t start until 11pm here on the East Coast, I couldn’t watch it live streamed online. I had the Little Miss sleeping in my arms while I followed the various Twitter feeds announcing the winners of the various award categories. This was the first time that I knew a number of the winners: Mary Robinette Kowal, who won in the Best Short Story category for her story “For Want of a Nail”; Allen Steele, who won in the Best Novelette category for his story, “The Emperor of Mars”; and Connie Willis won in the Best Novel category for what I think I one of the best novels I’ve ever read, regardless of genre, Blackout/All Clear. You can find a list of all of the winners over at SF Signal.

Everyone has their disappointments when it comes to the winners (mine was that Mike Resnick and Barry Malzberg’s outstanding book, The Business of Science Fiction didn’t win for Best Related Book; but that category was dominated by the highly popular Doctor Who series) but in the end, I really think that we all–science fiction fans and writers alike–are winners. As I wrote recently in a my Wayward Time Traveler column on SF Signal, the Hugo Awards are a way for fans to express their appreciation to their favorite writers and admiration for their favorite works. It is a celebration of what fans think of as the best the genre has to offer–and isn’t that why we write? To produce the best we have to offer? The Hugo awards are also a long standing tradition in science fiction, going all the way back to 1953, nearly sixty years. For me, it’s nice to know that, despite the changing and evolving nature of the genre, we still share something in common with those folks who participated in the first Hugo awards.

From the tweets I read while my little girl was curled up in my arms in the wee hours of the morning, most people sounded genuinely excited and thrilled as the awards were announced and the winners made their speeches. That kind of comeraderie is hard to come by, but we have it in droves in our genre–which is why we are all of us winners when it comes to the Hugo Awards.

Don’t forget to vote for the Hugo Awards!

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Last night, I voted for the Hugo awards. You don’t have to be an attending member of the World Science Fiction convention to vote, but you must be at least a supporting member. I thought it was a pretty darn good ballot this year and some of the choices were difficult ones. That said, there is one category that I want to highlight for anyone who might still be undecided: Best Related Work.

There are a number of good books up for best related work but I will make my plea one last time for Mike Resnick and Barry N. Malzberg’s outstanding collection of essays, The Business of Science Fiction. I have written before about why I think this book is so important and I won’t repeat myself here. If you are interested, you can go read my post on the subject. The book is available in the package that all members get and if you haven’t had a chance to read it, at least skim a few of the essays before making a final decision in this category.

The Business of Science Fiction faces some tough competition, but I am convinced that it is the most important book to be on the ballot this year.

But whatever your feelings, if you are eligible to vote, please do so. The deadline is Sunday night. There are only a few days left.

SF Signal Podcast on the Hugo Award Best Novel Finalists (with me!)

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Episode 53 of the SF Signal podcast is now available online for your listening pleasure. This week’s installment includes a panel discussion on the 2011 Hugo Award for Best Novel finalists, and among the panelists involved in the discussion is yours truly. Take a listen to it, if you are so inclined, because it really is a good discussion and gives you a good feel for the great books on the final ballot this year.

The Business of Science Fiction is a Hugo Finalist!

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I saw that the Hugo Finalists were announced yesterday and I was so glad to see that Barry N. Malzberg and Mike Resnick‘s wonderful book, The Business of Science Fiction made the final ballot in the category of Best Related Book. As I’ve said before, I think this is one of the most important books to come along in a very long time. I know it is up against some tough competition in the category, but the service that the columns collected in this book perform for preserving our genre and providing sound advice from experienced veterans is unmatched. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the book, do so. It is well worth it.

I was also glad to see that Analog/Asimov’s dominated the Novelette category. And of course, I was very pleased that Connie Willis’ brilliant novel, Blackout/All Clear is also a Hugo finalist.

Congratulations to all of the nominees. I can’t wait to see where things will end up in August–right about the time that our little girl is being born.

SF Signal is a nominee for the SFX Blog Award for 2011

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SF Signal is a nominee for the SFX Blog Award for 2011 in the category of Best Literary Blog. Anyone can vote for these awards and I’d heartily recommend a vote for SF Signal in this category. These guys provide amazing content on the science fiction and fantasy genre from news to blogs to podcasts and mind-melds and their posts are always worth reading. So go vote! And while you are there, check out the other categories you can vote in.

And since I’m on the subject of SF Signal and awards, I might remind everyone that the deadline is rapidly approaching to make your Hugo award nominations. I have already made my nominations and I picked SF Signal as my nominee for Best Fanzine. If you like the content they provide, you should consider it, too.