A Hugo idea
ETA2: closing this now -- with three memberships and three awesome folks who signed up :)
I've been feeling vaguely guilty about the Hugos this year, because I could afford a supporting WorldCon membership but I just haven't had the spoons to read much, and certainly not widely enough to be a responsible nominator/voter.
And well, that's likely to be the case for this next year too. And it's been frustrating me that this means another multiply-marginalized viewpoint not represented, especially when there are folks who could do all these things but can't spare the money.
So! It occurred to me that, if I could buy a supporting membership for someone, it'd be win-win. So I'd like to do that, for someone who couldn't otherwise afford it, but wants to, and can:
- read widely
- optionally (though it'd be awesome!) blog about stories, either critiquing or just signal-boosting ones they loved.
- nominate in all or nearly all categories
- vote in all or nearly all categories
I'd like this to be someone who is marginalized in multiple ways (because I think we have under-represented perspectives) so I'd like to consider people who are some combination of:
poor, of color, not US or UK citizens, queer, female or non-binary IDed, living with a disability (including physical or mental illness), not neurotypical, under 35, not native English speakers, not Christian, and/or marginalized in ways I'm not thinking of right now.
Just to be clear, I'm not holding out for someone who's all these things! But more than one is a good thing.
ETA2: Okay so this was unclear enough I've clarified here. Hope it helps!
I do NOT want to limit it to people who:
- I already know
- agree with me aesthetically/politically/socially
- are interested in my writing or my friends' writing
And, I know I'll have no say in this & can't stop anyone, but, if it's relevant at all I'd prefer that they not nominate anything of mine.
---
So! I'm screening comments to this post. If you fit these criteria & would like a supporting membership, do please respond here or email me at shweta[at]shwetanarayan[dot]org. Please include a couple sentences about who you are & how you qualify -- this is especially important for people I don't know. If you're willing to blog about stuff do please say. And, honor system on all of this.
If you don't fit the criteria or aren't interested, but know people who do/are, do please feel free to link them to this, etc. I'd really like to extend the offer beyond just people I already know.
ETA: If you'd like to nominate someone else, awesome, but do please check to see if they're interested/able to do the work involved, first? I haven't the spoons to go round asking everyone. Relatedly, if you're a friend of mine, please don't feel like you can't sign up. I may already have considered you, but I have no way of knowing if you're interested unless you say so :)
Decision: I'll make a decision in probably about a week, spoons allowing. It's possible that one person will totally stand out, and I'll pick them. More likely, I'll do a random draw of everyone who's eligible at all.
I've been feeling vaguely guilty about the Hugos this year, because I could afford a supporting WorldCon membership but I just haven't had the spoons to read much, and certainly not widely enough to be a responsible nominator/voter.
And well, that's likely to be the case for this next year too. And it's been frustrating me that this means another multiply-marginalized viewpoint not represented, especially when there are folks who could do all these things but can't spare the money.
So! It occurred to me that, if I could buy a supporting membership for someone, it'd be win-win. So I'd like to do that, for someone who couldn't otherwise afford it, but wants to, and can:
- read widely
- optionally (though it'd be awesome!) blog about stories, either critiquing or just signal-boosting ones they loved.
- nominate in all or nearly all categories
- vote in all or nearly all categories
I'd like this to be someone who is marginalized in multiple ways (because I think we have under-represented perspectives) so I'd like to consider people who are some combination of:
poor, of color, not US or UK citizens, queer, female or non-binary IDed, living with a disability (including physical or mental illness), not neurotypical, under 35, not native English speakers, not Christian, and/or marginalized in ways I'm not thinking of right now.
Just to be clear, I'm not holding out for someone who's all these things! But more than one is a good thing.
ETA2: Okay so this was unclear enough I've clarified here. Hope it helps!
I do NOT want to limit it to people who:
- I already know
- agree with me aesthetically/politically/socially
- are interested in my writing or my friends' writing
And, I know I'll have no say in this & can't stop anyone, but, if it's relevant at all I'd prefer that they not nominate anything of mine.
---
So! I'm screening comments to this post. If you fit these criteria & would like a supporting membership, do please respond here or email me at shweta[at]shwetanarayan[dot]org. Please include a couple sentences about who you are & how you qualify -- this is especially important for people I don't know. If you're willing to blog about stuff do please say. And, honor system on all of this.
If you don't fit the criteria or aren't interested, but know people who do/are, do please feel free to link them to this, etc. I'd really like to extend the offer beyond just people I already know.
ETA: If you'd like to nominate someone else, awesome, but do please check to see if they're interested/able to do the work involved, first? I haven't the spoons to go round asking everyone. Relatedly, if you're a friend of mine, please don't feel like you can't sign up. I may already have considered you, but I have no way of knowing if you're interested unless you say so :)
Decision: I'll make a decision in probably about a week, spoons allowing. It's possible that one person will totally stand out, and I'll pick them. More likely, I'll do a random draw of everyone who's eligible at all.