In the continuing saga of this year’s Hugo Awards, I discuss commentary from Connie Willis and J. Michael Straczynski. Connie Willis writes about why she’s turned down the opportunity to present the Campbell Award this year: I love the Hugos. I can still remember how thrilled I was the first time I was nominated for […]
Is There a Statute of Limitations for Being an Ass on the Internet?
Note: the front half of this post was originally going to be separate from my post about the Best Fan Writer Hugo Award. Rick pointed out that the light opening could be seen as minimizing the subject, which was not my intent. Is There a Statute of Limitations for Being an Ass on the Internet? […]
Hugo Awards: Puppyflation, a Chart
I thought I’d show, in chart form, what the year-over-year changes are in Hugo Awards nominations, substantially due to the sad puppies (and rabid puppies) voting. This year, there were almost exactly 10% more Hugo nominations than last year. Last year, there was also a (substantially less successful) sad puppies slate. The area charts are […]
The Puppy-Free Hugo Award Voter’s Guide
Update: Includes changes announced after initial nominations were announced. The only puppy-free slate changes are in the Best Novel and Best Novelette category. Ineligibility changes at File 770. Withdrawal changes at File 770. Update 2: I’ve added those who withdrew after the final ballot into their respective categories below (because some people will be ranking […]
A Requires Hate Update
I posted something in November in haste, and I regret breaking one of my own rules in doing so. That rule is: rely on your own research when calling people out. Another thing I’ve become aware of since the Marion Zimmer Bradley story: I actually have a significant platform and need to be careful how […]
Update: Indie Hugo-Eligible Works
Folks, I was really hoping that I’d have this by the 31st, but I’m going to need to slip a few days on that because I have the flu. I’ve needed 12+ hours of sleep a day (one day, I slept 14-1/2 hours straight!), and I still have sooooooooo much to do it’s not funny. […]
Indie Fantasy Fiction Story Bundle
StoryBundle has an indie fantasy fiction bundle right now. Books are: Bradley P. Beaulieu’s The Winds of Khalakovo. Scott Marlowe’s The Five Elements. Sherwood Smith’s Lhind the Thief. Francesca Forrest’s Pen Pal. Judith Tarr’s Arrows of the Sun. M. C. A. Hogarth’s The Worth of a Shell. C. J. Brightley’s The King’s Sword. Blair MacGregor’s […]
Laura J. Mixon on Requires Hate
For those who don’t know, Requires Hate was a book reviewer—of sorts. And so much more. Laura J. Mixon analyzes. In many other situations book reviewers are simply and only book reviewers, e.g., this review and set of progress comments from Blythe that led to Kathleen Hale’s self-admitted stalking, leading to the #HaleNo backlash. Here’s […]
Reading Audiobooks
For years, I never really thought about what verb to use when reading audiobooks. I discuss my shift in verb usage from “listen” to “read.” Mary Robinette notes some good things for the future of audio-first books: Woot! The motion to make audio books officially part of the Hugo fiction categories passed. Still needs to […]
Hachette. Amazon. Hugo Nominations.
I’ve been meaning to post this for a while. In light of my changing feelings over the Hachette/Amazon battle and reminders of same like this Salon piece, I’m changing the reading order for this year’s Best Novel Hugo nominees, putting the Hachette authors first. Because I support Hachette in their game of chicken against Amazon. […]