Weekend Update: Hugo Results

[calico_reaction]

Last Sunday night, the 2012 Hugo Awards were announced. I didn't have any big plans in terms of watching or listening to the results live. Usually, I find out who wins by seeing Facebook posts or visiting Tor.com the day after. Often, I forget the awards are even happening until those results are announced! However, I was hyper-aware of the awards

Comments

[heyheyrenay]

I wrote a huge email to my friends going "LOOK AT THESE NUMBERS!" because, wow, so much could have changed nomination-wise. I hope more SF/F bloggers decide to take part next year and talk about potential nominees, because that always helps me know what's out there I can read/watch (it was a big part of my Hugo nomination process this year). I hope authors and bloggers both share whether they're eligible, too. I would love to see more long time book bloggers (like you or The Book Smugglers) on the final lists. :)

[thebluerose]

More variety for nominations can only be a good thing, and more exposure by authors/publishers about books that are nominated and valid for voting should ABSOLUTELY be done

[calico_reaction]

One of the things that frustrates me about the HUGOS is that it seems to be a giant fan club about who wins ie popularity of certain authors will have more vote impact than the quality of the work.

Yep. That's why I'm advocating for readers to be more vocal about what's really good and to PROMOTE what's really good when the time comes.

I think that is a bad thing overall for the Hugos, and this year was a good example of a lot more variety of winners. So many more women won this time around as well, which is also noteworthy.However, despite what was nominated, the variety of winners is a good thing. If I were playing a numbers game (how many women won, how many non-white authors won, how many won but haven't won before), I'd have no complaints in the fiction categories

[calico_reaction]

You're kind to say so. I'm not digging for a nomination, to be honest. But I do want to see far more variety in the categories rather than the reliance of the same old faces and names. If those faces and names truly deserve the nomination and therefore the award, then great. But I don't always believe that's the case. :)

[bethnoir]

really interesting to read how it all works, I had no idea.

Whilst I can see that it is frustrating when a TV programme or author always seems to win, perhaps it's because people actually liked it better than the other contenders. I've been reading Neil Gaiman for a long time, before he was winning awards and I think he deserves them still, even if he has got a cupboard full at home. He's in the process of writing another episode, wonder if it will win next year?

Enjoyed your write up very much.

[calico_reaction]

That's always a possibility, and what one hopes is happening. I'm too cynical to believe it. I think that some voters don't have time to do all the reading, and therefore vote for recognizable BIG NAMES because those people have written something of quality in the past, so why wouldn't this latest thing be just as good

[bethnoir]

I do see your point. It would be wrong to assume a quality of work based entirely on past efforts. I am a bit mystified about how Dr Who generally seems to win everything, when actually it's sometimes banal, silly and repetitive and maybe I'm too optimistic about human nature, but I suppose I just felt a need to defend Neil Gaiman.
I think his work is developing and changing all the time, overall, for me he is getting even better with age, which is not always the case.

Now where do I go to ask why China Mieville wins everything? I really think he needs a stricter editor and to go on a course to learn how to end things (although I do enjoy his world building and he seems like a great person.) ;-)

[calico_reaction]

See, my track record with Neil Gaiman is hit and miss. There's no doubt he's talented: American Gods was amazing, and it's hard to beat The Sandman in terms of one of the greatest comic book stories of all time. But I've also read stuff by him, usually in shorter format, that had great ideas but shaky execution, and by that I don't mean the writing itself was bad, but rather I don't think the idea was developed in a way that was satisfying. So for me, I always have to brace myself before picking up something by Gaiman: will it be one of those I love completely, or something I think people wouldn't look twice at if Gaiman's name wasn't on the cover?

As far as Miéville goes, would you believe that despite his nominations and awards elsewhere, he's only won one Hugo? That was for The City and the City, and he technically tied with Bacigalupi! He's 50/50 with me. I loved Perdido Street Station but found Embassytown seriously lacking (it burns me that it got second place for the Hugos this year, actually; have these people NOT read Mary

[temporaryworlds]

I so wanted Leviathan Wakes to win (and would have been just as happy with Deadline) but I liked Among Others too, so I'm happy to see it take the big trophy homes.

But of course the winner I was excited to hear about the most was Jim C. Hines. Not only does he have a fantastic blog, but he just seems like a really nice guy, and it's always great to see nice people get recognized.

[calico_reaction]

But of course the winner I was excited to hear about the most was Jim C. Hines. Not only does he have a fantastic blog, but he just seems like a really nice guy, and it's always great to see nice people get recognized.

Yes. Absolutely.

And maybe it's because I'm so in tune with the blog format, but the samples the other nominees in the category provided? I didn't get it. Maybe the samples were their best writing samples, but some of that stuff, I wasn't sure what the topics had to do with fan writing at all. Maybe I just haven't read enough by those nominees....

[stfg]

I was pleased overall with how things worked out. I liked all the winners in the fiction categories, even in cases where I did not pick them as my number one choice. My biggest complaint was that Silently and Very Fast did not win, though my experience with fandom is that people love Valente's work to pieces or else bounce off it really hard, making it difficult for her to win this kind of award.

[calico_reaction]

Great point about Valente. I always forget that about her work, but yes, it's very polarizing.

[beth_noel]

So... Thanks for your blog. Seriously, I love how you've written so much about this whole process. I'm 80% decided about getting involved with this, merely from all of your coverage :) I've always been just a reader, and it's really neat to see other ways to get involved other than writing (which I'm never going to do.)

[calico_reaction]

Thank YOU for the kind words! I hope you get a chance to vote next year at the very least, perhaps even nominate!