So this year will be my 3rd year as participating in the Hugo process, so far I’ve really enjoyed it and I think you might enjoy participating too.
First let me offer a quick summary of the awards and how to vote. The Hugo awards are probably the most widely recognized speculative fiction awards. They are voted on by members of the World Science Fiction Convention or WorldCon. But you don’t have to go to WorldCon to vote, you can buy a supporting membership for $40 which comes with Hugo voting rights. If you become a supporting member before January 31 then you can nominate for the 2015 Hugo awards (for works published in 2014). Nominating is one of my favorite parts of the process so if you want to vote you should think about buying your membership in the next couple months.
The first reason you should consider voting is because it is fun. I enjoy the process because it encourages me to read books and stories as they come out. If wasn’t for the Hugos I would not read and recommend nearly as much short fiction. For me nominating is about reading things then telling people about the works you loved. Voting is fun too, and gets me to read stuff I might not otherwise read and find new writers and new stories.
Really one of the most fun things about the Hugo Awards is talking about them on the internet. Lots of people write about works they recommend, how they feel about the ballot and how they feel about the results. I read lot things which I don’t have many people to talk to about, but I love talking about what I’m reading. So having a lot people reading for the Hugos helps to create a community of readers all reading the same works, which is awesome.
Another reason to participate is because of the Hugo Voters Packet. For the last decade or so WorldCon Members have received a voting packet consisting of electronic copies of the works on the short list, and examples of the finalists in categories were the award goes to a person rather than an work. This doesn’t always include everything. Last year it only included samples for three of the novels (out of five). But it does generally include all the hard to find short works, a good bit of non-fiction and quite a few novels, and also art. Many people think the voter packet is worth the $40 by itself.
The final reason I think you should consider becoming a Hugo voter is to represent your taste. There are a lot of groups that have historically been under-represented as Hugo voters for example women, people of color, and people from outside the US. Those voices are especially needed, to help the Hugos reflect the boarder SFF community. Even if you aren’t part of one of those groups you have unique taste and perspective on science fiction. So I strongly encourage you to consider voting. Don’t be shy.
If you read (or watch) Science Fiction and Fantasy and have options about what you read (or watch) then the Hugos are great place to express those opinions. You don’t have to have read all the things to nomittate. No one can read all the things. But if you read something that you loved that was published this year you could nominate it. It doesn’t take that many nominations to get on the ballot. Last year the novel with the fewest nominations that qualified as a finalist got less than 100 nominations. And short story with the most nomination had only 79. So your one vote really can matter in nomination.
And of course you vote will also matter in choosing among the finalist. The Hugo Awards are ranked choice voting, which means your relative option of each work matters. Some people find the system a bit confusing, but I like that it means more than just your first choice matters.
So voting for the hugos is fun, you’ll get some reading material and you can represent your unique taste. I know not every budget had $40 to spare, but if yours does I hope you’ll consider voting. Participating in the process has given me a lot pleasure and helped build my online community.
First let me offer a quick summary of the awards and how to vote. The Hugo awards are probably the most widely recognized speculative fiction awards. They are voted on by members of the World Science Fiction Convention or WorldCon. But you don’t have to go to WorldCon to vote, you can buy a supporting membership for $40 which comes with Hugo voting rights. If you become a supporting member before January 31 then you can nominate for the 2015 Hugo awards (for works published in 2014). Nominating is one of my favorite parts of the process so if you want to vote you should think about buying your membership in the next couple months.
The first reason you should consider voting is because it is fun. I enjoy the process because it encourages me to read books and stories as they come out. If wasn’t for the Hugos I would not read and recommend nearly as much short fiction. For me nominating is about reading things then telling people about the works you loved. Voting is fun too, and gets me to read stuff I might not otherwise read and find new writers and new stories.
Really one of the most fun things about the Hugo Awards is talking about them on the internet. Lots of people write about works they recommend, how they feel about the ballot and how they feel about the results. I read lot things which I don’t have many people to talk to about, but I love talking about what I’m reading. So having a lot people reading for the Hugos helps to create a community of readers all reading the same works, which is awesome.
Another reason to participate is because of the Hugo Voters Packet. For the last decade or so WorldCon Members have received a voting packet consisting of electronic copies of the works on the short list, and examples of the finalists in categories were the award goes to a person rather than an work. This doesn’t always include everything. Last year it only included samples for three of the novels (out of five). But it does generally include all the hard to find short works, a good bit of non-fiction and quite a few novels, and also art. Many people think the voter packet is worth the $40 by itself.
The final reason I think you should consider becoming a Hugo voter is to represent your taste. There are a lot of groups that have historically been under-represented as Hugo voters for example women, people of color, and people from outside the US. Those voices are especially needed, to help the Hugos reflect the boarder SFF community. Even if you aren’t part of one of those groups you have unique taste and perspective on science fiction. So I strongly encourage you to consider voting. Don’t be shy.
If you read (or watch) Science Fiction and Fantasy and have options about what you read (or watch) then the Hugos are great place to express those opinions. You don’t have to have read all the things to nomittate. No one can read all the things. But if you read something that you loved that was published this year you could nominate it. It doesn’t take that many nominations to get on the ballot. Last year the novel with the fewest nominations that qualified as a finalist got less than 100 nominations. And short story with the most nomination had only 79. So your one vote really can matter in nomination.
And of course you vote will also matter in choosing among the finalist. The Hugo Awards are ranked choice voting, which means your relative option of each work matters. Some people find the system a bit confusing, but I like that it means more than just your first choice matters.
So voting for the hugos is fun, you’ll get some reading material and you can represent your unique taste. I know not every budget had $40 to spare, but if yours does I hope you’ll consider voting. Participating in the process has given me a lot pleasure and helped build my online community.
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