Quick Note

[coalescent]

I did far too much yesterday to write it all up from my phone, so that will have to wait. I just want to say, about the Hugos: with one or two exceptions (*cough*shortstory*cough*) it's a strong set of results - and the first set this decade that actually feel like they belong to this decade, and aren't a hangover from the nineties. That's pretty cool. Congrats to all the winners.

Comments

[numbat.livejournal.com]

I think this short story winner's role is remind us that the great unwashed have no taste at all.

[(Anonymous)]

But ... Jonathan Strange? Yawn.

[immortalradical.livejournal.com]

That as me, shockingly enough.

Surprised on this end

[johnnyeponymous.livejournal.com]

Ansibile? I was shocked when I read that result. I'm not a huge Locus fan, but I didn't expect that Ansible would take it.
Plokta was the biggest non-surprise of the bunch, and I was just about the only person out in the US who knew Sue Mason was gonna win from the moment I heard she was nominated. I'm fine with Langford winning best fan writer, though I think Cheryl should have taken it.

Biggest surprise for me with all teh voting: I managed to get 10 nominations as best fan writer!
Chris

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

Obviously I'd have preferred River of Gods (though it came second, and not by as much as you might think). But Strange & Norrell is an excellent novel, despite all the hype.

I have deeply complex feelings about the Best Short Form Dramatic winner, though.

[immortalradical.livejournal.com]

In the sense that you know '33' is a better piece of television, but lurve 'Angel', right?

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

I really really wanted 'Not Fade Away' to win, and thought it was the best thing on the list. But I really really didn't want 'Smile Time' to win, because it's so atypical. And '33' is great, so I can't really complain too much that it won, and it seems somehow appropriate that Angel doesn't win a Hugo ... but I still wish it had done.

[immortalradical.livejournal.com]

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<i><thought it was the best thing on the list</i>

I think that's wrong, but I agree that it's best that <i>Smile Time</i> didn't win. And I hear it was that which <i>33</i> beat out. So yay.

Re: Surprised on this end

[bohemiancoast.livejournal.com]

Biggest non-surprise? We've been nominated seven times, and had never done better than third before. So we were surprised. But very happy.

Ansible, I think, picked up a really big 'wouldn't it be nice if it didn't go to Locus again' vote. Plus Ansible gives me 99% of the value of Locus at 1% of the length.

Best Fan Writer is currently a broken category. Langford is very good, certainly, as is Claire Brialey. But the other three nominees are, at best, reporters; we don't see first-rate *writing* from any of them. All the best fan writing is being done in fanzines like Chunga, Zoo Nation, SF Commentary, oh yes, and on blogs and livejournal. The audience is fragmented and there's no real scope to get a head of steam behind individuals.

Someone at Worldcon cited cherylmorgan's fifty-page deconstruction of TorCon as the best piece of fanwriting they'd ever read. I wouldn't want to underestimate the contribution that Cheryl makes to our understanding of the SF world. But for me, good writing has to include prose with clarity, grace and insight.

Re: Surprised on this end

[johnnyeponymous.livejournal.com]

Having talked to folks who read all the Plokta issues over the last year, it was no question that was where the statue would go and it certainly was deserved. I've read all the issues that were on the site and I have to say I agree, easily the best regular read out there.

I agree with the idea of Devney as a reporter (and not a great one in my eyes), but I think Cheryl is better than that. Steven Silver's an interesting case. I'd only read one or two of his things before I started doing eAPA. I really enjoy his eAPA zine and looked into some of his other stuff. Not a big fan of most it, but there is the occasional flash of brilliant in them. He's the type of guy who'll be pushed aside when a couple of new writer-types get recognition, and once Niall or Geneva or Me or Tanya Brown start getting nominated (or Arnie Katz for that matter) he'll probably end up off the ballot. Langford will keep winning until he declares himself a filthy pro. Cheryl came very close in 2004, and I see her challenging in 2006 in LA, but she'll probably come up short. I certainly see Plokta repeating, though the LA crowd might give zines like File 770 (which has been off of the ballot for a while) or even The Drink Tank (if I work LA Fandom enough) a nomination. Honestly, I don't see anythign that'll prevent y'all from winning again for a while!

For me, the best fan writing comes out in eI and Trap Door. Sadly, I've never seen an issue of Zoo Nation (Print only zines almost never come my way, though Frank Wu gathered a copy for me) and only very old issues of SF Commentary. I'm not a huge fan of Chunga. It's good, no question, but I'd much rather read something like Trap Door or Littlebrook in that same vein. I like Emerald City, but I think Some Fantastic does the same thing slightly better and gets no notice. It took a while, but Banana Wings has grown on me, especailly for Tanya's great writing and Greg Pickersgill's fine stuff (like his Shield of Umor article). Sadly, I remain blind to much of the fan writing that's going on in the UK and Australia.
Chris

Re: Surprised on this end

[bohemiancoast.livejournal.com]

ooh, I do love both Trapdoor and Littlebrook, but was naming titles off the top of my head.

Plokta obviously has limits to how many copies it can send out, but we do stick them on the web eventually, so they should be reasonably accessible. But I do understand why some people don't want e distribution of their fanzines.

Langford does a real, honest to goodness, full-length article once or twice a year just so we won't forget that when on form, he knocks everyone else into a cocked hat.

er, who are you? I'm feeling a wee bit lost in that 'I am sure I know you' way.

Re: Surprised on this end

[johnnyeponymous.livejournal.com]

Chris Garcia. Trufen.net regular, and I do The Drink Tank and Claims Department and a few other little things. Generally, i'm all over eFanzines.com.

If you'd be familiar with my name at all, it would probably be from LoCs...or maybe the photo of me from Chunga's Corflu review!
Chris
who will now go to try and convince Dave Langford to write an article for him.