by Clarke, Neil
However, even if you do decide to pay up, it is too late for this year’s nominations. You had to have been a member of Denvention 3 or Anticipation by January 31st. There are probably around 5000 people who qualify to nominate. But if this year is at all typical then less than 20% of them will bother to do so. It is the apathy of the other 4000+ that is the real problem. You might be one of those apathetic voters, or you might know someone who is.
The sad thing is that many of those people who do not use their right to nominate are convinced that they are not allowed to. Every year I come across loads of people who have very strange ideas about the Hugos. I’m going to share a few of their excuses with you, and explain why they are wrong.
I’m not qualified to vote
Oh yes, you are. If you were a member of Denvention 3, or are a member of Anticipation, then you are qualified to vote. No further qualification is required. You don’t need a PhD in science fiction criticism, or five best-selling novels in print. The Hugos are a popular vote award. That means voting by ordinary people just like you.
I haven’t read enough
You don’t have to. And more to the point, no one can. There are simply too many books and stories published. The nomination stage is not about picking the “best” works of the year. It is about hundreds, hopefully thousands, of people saying “I read this and it was really good”. One of the objectives of a popular vote award is to get lots of people to say what they liked. Only when those nominations have been counted, and the top five in each category reported, do we go on to actually comparing them and picking the “best.”
I haven’t read any short fiction / related books / fanzines
There is no requirement that you nominate in every category. Indeed, hardly anyone does. Nor do you have to fill in five nominees in each category. All that you have to do is nominate a few things that you thought were good. Remember, it is a popular vote award, so the more the merrier. Every little helps.
I haven’t read/seen anything good enough
Really? Nothing at all? Has it occurred to you that you have very high standards, and other people might not be so picky?
I don’t know what’s eligible
That’s a fair point, though it is pretty easy to check a book for a publication date, or a magazine for a cover date. If in doubt, nominate it anyway. The worst that can happen is that you’ll waste a nomination slot. The rest of your nominations won’t be invalidated because you made one mistake.
There’s no point, “they” always fix the results
Only because you, and people like you, don’t participate. All that you achieve by not using your vote is to cede control of the process to people who do use their votes.
So, deadline for nominations is the end of February. The ballot is online, so actually casting your votes is easy. If you are eligible to nominate, please do so.
By the way, Clarkesworld is eligible in the Semiprozine category, and the fiction we publish is all in the Short Story category. Sean and former editor, Nick Mamatas, are both eligible in Editor (Short Form), and Sean is also eligible in Editor (Long Form). Ekaterina Sedia, who edited the non-fiction here before me, and has produced a fine anthology this year (Paper Cities), is also eligible for Editor (Short Form), but don’t forget that she has a fabulous novel (The Alchemy of Stone) out, too. This year I’m only eligible for Fan Writer. (One of these days I will beat Langford.)
About the Author
Cheryl Morgan is the non-fiction editor of Clarkesworld magazine and co-editor (with Kevin Standlee) of Science Fiction Awards Watch. Previously she edited the Hugo Award-winning online book review magazine, Emerald City. Cheryl has also written for a number of other SF&F magazines, including Locus, Interzone, Foundation, Strange Horizons and the Internet Review of Science Fiction.
