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2015 Hugo Awards – is the system broken?

April 6, 2015 by AJ 10 Comments

Hugo Award logo
Hugo Award logo

The Hugo Awards are among the most prestigious awards in science fiction and fantasy. The list of 2015 finalists was announced on 4 April. I must admit the feelings it evokes in me are mixed. An interesting article has been published on io9.com: “The Hugo Awards Were Always Political. But Now They’re Only Political.”

The Hugos now look more like political elections than literary awards – there are parties campaigning for their favorites and against one another. It’s no longer about choosing the best works of speculative fiction, but about making a statement, pushing an agenda.

To make a long story short, a group of people who were unhappy with the Hugo results launched a campaign called Sad Puppies 3 years ago. This is the Hugo slate they proposed this year. This campaign was surprisingly successful. Best Novel: 3 out of 5 books recommended by Sad Puppies made it to the list of 2015 Hugo Awards finalists. Best Novella: all 3 recommended novellas are on the list of finalists. Best Novelette: all 4 recommended by Sad Puppies made it. Et cetera, et cetera.

Sceptics argue that literary awards are always influenced by politics. True, but that doesn’t mean awards are meaningless. Look at the list of Hugo winners – you’ll find many science fiction masterpieces there (in chronological order): A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr., Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein, The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick, Dune by Frank Herbert, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, Neuromancer by William Gibson, Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, Hyperion by Dan Simmons, to name just a few.

Now let’s take a look at the 2015 Hugo finalists in the Best Novel category.

Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie (Orbit US/Orbit UK)

This is the second novel in Leckie’s Imperial Radch space opera trilogy. Last year Ancillary Justice (the first book in the series) won an unprecedented number of awards: Hugo, Nebula, Arthur C. Clarke, BSFA, Locus, and Kitschies Golden Tentacle for best debut novel. Ancillary Sword just won the BSFA Award and was also nominated for the Nebula. It was not on the Sad Puppies list.

The Dark Between the Stars by Kevin J. Anderson (Tor Books)

The first instalment of a space opera trilogy that continues The Saga of Seven Suns. Was on the Sad Puppies list.

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (Sarah Monette) (Tor Books)

Also nominated for the Nebula. High fantasy meets steampunk – a promising genre bender set in an original universe. It was not on the Sad Puppies list.

Lines of Departure by Marko Kloos (47North)

Another military space opera, a subgenre that seems to be appealing to the sci-fi fandom. Was on the Sad Puppies list.

Of note, 47North is a publishing company owned by Amazon. Some argue this is yet another nail Amazon wants to put in the coffin of the traditional publishing model. That would be a topic for another post.

Skin Game by Jim Butcher (Roc Books)

Was on the Sad Puppies list.

Now that’s a surprise. For two decades urban fantasy received little attention from the sci-fi fandom. Jim Butcher never received any major awards, and was seldom nominated. The same holds true for Kelley Armstrong, Patricia Briggs, Laurell K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, Kim Harrison, and other best-selling urban fantasy authors. Charles de Lint and a few others (e.g. Seanan McGuire) seem to be an exception to this rule.

This year the wind turned: Jim Butcher was the guest of honor at the 66th British National Science Fiction Convention, Dysprosium, and now his latest addition to the hugely popular Dresden Files series is nominated for a Hugo. Does this mean that the fandom is ready to embrace urban fantasy – or at least admit that this genre has a role in the evolution of speculative fiction – or is this just a political game?

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Filed Under: Awards, Fantasy, Science fiction Tagged With: awards, BSFA, fantasy, Hugo, Nebula, science fiction

Science fiction, fantasy, and horror book awards

March 29, 2015 by AJ 1 Comment

Hugo Award logo
Hugo Award logo

I’ve compiled for you a list of science fiction, fantasy, and horror book awards with descriptions and links to their websites.

Most prestigious awards in alphabetical order:

Arthur C. Clarke Award

The Arthur C. Clarke Award is the most prestigious award for science fiction in Britain. It is awarded every year to the best science fiction novel which received its first British publication during the previous calendar year. The Award is chosen by jury.

2014 winner announced at Sci-Fi London Film Festival, London, May 1, 2014

2014 winner: Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie (Orbit)

List of Clarke Award winners 1987-2013

Bram Stoker Awards

The Bram Stoker Awards are the horror equivalent of the Nebulas, voted by members of the professional Horror Writer’s Association. They are notable for being awarded “for superior achievement” — not for “best” of the year.

2013 winners announced at World Horror Convention 2014, Portland, USA, May 10, 2014

2013 Stoker Awards winners | Lists of Stoker Awards winners 1988-2013

British Fantasy Society (August Derleth) Award

Administered annually by the British Fantasy Society (BFS). The shortlists for the awards are compiled from nominations submitted by members of the BFS. They are then voted on by BFS members only.

2014 winners announced at FantasyCon, York, England, September 7, 2014

History and list of BFS winners 1972-2014

British Science Fiction Association Award

Presented annually by the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA), based on a vote of BSFA members and – in recent years – members of the British national science fiction convention.

2013 winners announced at Satellite 4 Eastercon, Glasgow, April 20, 2014

BSFA Winners 1969-2013

Hugo Award

The Hugo Award, also known as the Science Fiction Achievement Award, is given annually by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS). All Awards are given for work in a given year. Individual works are eligible only in their first year of publication. Members of past and current years’ World SF Convention nominate up to five items per category.

2014 winners announced at LonCon 3, London, UK, August 17, 2014

Hugo winners 1953-2014

John W. Campbell Memorial Award

The Award was created to honor the late editor of Astounding Science Fiction magazine, which is now named Analog. Campbell, who edited the magazine from 1937 until his death in 1971, is called, by many writers and scholars, the father of modern science fiction. Nominations come from the science-fiction publishers as well as individual jurors. Nominations are usually requested in December, and the jurors read and debate the merits of these books through April. This process produces a list of finalists based on jurors’ rankings, and the final decision is made after vigorous debate on the merits of the finalists during May.

2014 winners announced in June 2014

List of Campbell Memorial winners 1973-2014

The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award is the short fiction counterpart of the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best novel of the year.

Locus awards

Presented to winners of Locus Magazine’s annual readers’ poll. There are many categories, including Science Fiction Novel, Fantasy Novel, Young Adult Book, First Novel, etc.

2014 winners announced in Seattle, USA, June 28, 2014

List of Locus 2014 winners | Lists of Locus winners 1971-2014

Nebula Awards

The Nebula Awards are the Oscars of the SF/F field, awards presented by professionals to professionals. The Nebula Awards are voted on, and presented by, active members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Since 1965, the Nebula Awards have been given each year for eligible novels published in the United States during the two previous years.

There are several associated awards: Ray Bradbury Award, Andre Norton Award, SFWA Grand Master Award, and SFWA Awards.

2013 winners announced in San Jose, USA, May 17, 2014

2014 nominations and list of Nebula 2000-2013 winners | Lists of Nebula 1966-2013 winners

Philip K. Dick Award

The Philip K. Dick Award is given to the best original paperback published each year in the US. Each year the five judges read as much of the paperback original SF as they can get, or can stand, and then deliberate and choose nominees, that are announced in January each year, and the winners, who are announced in late March or early April at a ceremony at Norwescon. The judges then nominate their own successors. Only writers or academics are eligible to be judges.

2014 winners announced at Norwescon 37, SeaTac, USA, April 18, 2014

List of PKD 1983-2014 winners

Shirley Jackson Awards

In recognition of the legacy of Shirley Jackson’s writing, and with permission of the author’s estate, the Shirley Jackson Awards have been established for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic. The awards are given for the best work published in the preceding calendar year. The Shirley Jackson Award are voted upon by a jury of professional writers, editors, critics, and academics, with input from a Board of Advisors.

2013 winners announced at Readercon, Burlington, USA, July 13, 2014

List of Shirley Jackson 2007-2013 winners

World Fantasy Awards

The World Fantasy Awards, associated with the annual World Fantasy Conventions, were established as a fantasy counterpart to the SF-oriented Hugo and Nebula Awards. They differ from those awards in significant ways, primarily in that winners are determined by judges — though two places in each category on the final ballot are determined by votes from convention members.

2014 winners announced at World Fantasy Convention, Washington, USA, November 9, 2014

List of WFA 1975-2014 winners

In addition to the awards listed above we can also mention the following, less known awards:

  • David Gemmell Award (heroic fantasy)
  • The Kitschies: The Red Tentacle, The Golden Tentacle, etc.
  • Mythopoeic Award (fantasy)

To this already impressive array of awards we need to add the Goodreads Choice Awards that has separate categories for science fiction, fantasy, and horror books.

Literary awards come in all shapes and sizes – some are prestigious, others are less known; some involve a panel of judges, others are decided by readers. However, each of those awards has a role in the publishing ecosystem. In my view, they are useful not because of their effect on sales, but because they give exposure to books and talented authors who might have remained unnoticed. Now brace yourselves for the book awards season – it starts in April!

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Filed Under: Awards, Fantasy, Horror, Science fiction Tagged With: Arthur C. Clarke, awards, Bram Stoker, fantasy, horror, John W. Campbell, Philip K. Dick, science fiction, Shirley Jackson, Theodore Sturgeon

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About the Author

A. J. Blakemont is a novelist and essayist interested in speculative and gothic fiction. He is also passionate about music, history and its mysteries. He grew up in Paris where he studied literature. He lives near London and he is a member of the Society of Authors.

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