I am a Spec-Fic outsider. When I read the current pro zines all I can do is scratch my head and wonder about the decision making process that resulted in such uninteresting stories getting published. I don’t get worked up about it because I have several thousand books and magazines from the 1940s and 1950s that I have yet to read.
Steve Davidson at the Crotchety Old Fan blog does get worked up about it. He has read the Hugo nominated novels and stories and has declared them pretty much schlock. In a series of articles he has described the flaws in the Hugo Awards process as well as the weaknesses in the system. He has proposed that the outsider fan base take back the Hugo Awards.
The actual Hugo nomination and final voting figures are so low that a very small number of new voters who choose to vote in a block could very likely control some of the spots on the ballot and maybe even the final award. All it takes is signing up at the Aussiecon site as a supporting member ($50 US or CA) and voting. Even if you don’t vote in a block (which I am not yet endorsing), your vote can really make a difference.
Here’s how Steve puts it on his blog:
For my fifty dollars (which is, right now, the equivalent of about 16 gallons of gasoline, or 7 packs of cigarettes, or a half-way decent bag of that funny stuff, or maybe two feature films for the wife and I, in other words HARDLY ANYTHING) I not only:
get the right to nominate
get the right to vote on the final selection
receive all of the wonderful printed matter produced by the Worldcon
convert my membership to attending (with no premium fee)
AND
receive the voter's packet (presuming that folks don't go all wonky and suddenly decide to discontinue a WILDLY successful program, the chances of which are about .0000000000000000000001 percent) which has comprised in past years a collection of literature that would cost me far more out of pocket than a measly fifty bucks. (Approximately, but actually more than, twice that supporting membership fee; hardbacks are running about $24.95 average now. Purchasing the five short list novel contenders would therefore run about $125. I save (YOU save) $75 out of your book allowance for the year.)
But that's not the BEST part.
HERE is the best part.
I want all of the rest of you to do the same, because if I can get a decent amount of you to do it – we can ROCK THE HUGO VOTE!
One Comment
Keith,
I think you may have misinterpreted some of the things I wrote in regards to the Hugos.
You said "He has read the Hugo nominated novels and stories and has declared them pretty much schlock. In a series of articles he has described the flaws in the Hugo Awards process as well as the weaknesses in the system. He has proposed that the outsider fan base take back the Hugo Awards."
This is not my position. You are probably referring to the position taken by Adam Roberts – which I was offering a counter-argument to.
To be clear: I have no problem with the nominees for 2009's award (I've read 2.5 of them) and I do NOT believe that the award process is flawed – except in the area of a lack of participation on the part of fans.
Roberts is the one who thinks the awards are flawed – and by extension, all of the works which have been nominated and all of the people who vote for them.