The obligatory statement of award eligibility.

[seanan_mcguire]

The nomination period for the 2015 Hugo Awards and John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer is now open, and you can find more information at this link. Please keep in mind that you must have been a member of last year's Worldcon, OR be a member of this year's Worldcon, OR be a member of next year's Worldcon to be eligible to either nominate or vote.

A lot of people have put up their eligibility posts, and you can check the eligibility of your favorite authors by hitting their personal blogs. I posted a list of everything I published in 2014, and technically, it's all eligible, but let's be honest: that's a lot of stuff. If you were considering nominating any of my works, you're going to have a lot of reading ahead of you, and a probably split pool.

(Mira, with one novel and one novella, is in a slightly less conflicted place.)

Turning away from me, I would ask you to consider Sheila Gilbert for Best Editor, Long Form; Christie Yant for Best Editor, Short Form (the story of mine she edited, "Each to Each," is one of my best, and it's because of her); Chris McGrath and Aly Fell for Best Artist; The Librarians episode "And the Apple of Discord" for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short; and Book of Life for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long.

What do you think people should be considering for this year's awards?

Comments

[jimhines.livejournal.com]

Legend of Korra, Season Four, for Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form)!!!

(And maybe Invisible for Best Related Work, if people are so inclined.)

[seanan-mcguire.livejournal.com]

Oooo, good one.

[solarbird]

You beat me to it. Also maybe "Korra, Alone" in short form.

[seanan-mcguire.livejournal.com]

Remember that the work can appear only in one category, and that if an overwhelming number of people nominate a single episode, it will not be included in Long Form.

[damerell.livejournal.com]

Attending or supporting, I believe; like many of my continent-sharers, I've got a Supporting membership for Sasquan so I can vote for Helsinki^W the best bid with liquorice vodka, and even if this turns into a series of site selection fees and supporting memberships, it's still Hugo voting rights.

I'd better get a wiggle on. I think I'm at least a book behind in every series...

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

Yes, supporting members can vote for the Hugos, and I believe supporting members of the 2014 Worldcon can nominate, but not vote, for the 2015 Hugos. (I intend to nominate--whether I vote will depend on whether I can scrape up the cost of a supporting membership again.)

[beccastareyes]

Right. Members of the 2014 Worldcon, including supporting members can nominate, but only the members of this year's (2015) Worldcon can vote.

[filkferengi]

Put up a donation button talking up how you plan to do your series of "blog the vote" posts again. I know I'd pay to read them!

[seanan-mcguire.livejournal.com]

Whoops, fixed.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

For short story I'd like to suggest "Toad Words" by Ursua Vernon.

For Best Novel I've really been impressed by
City of Stairs
The Goblin Emperor
Steles of the Sky (or possibly the whole Eternal Sky trilogy)
Lock In
and
Mirror Empire

I'm still looking around, and will be back to see what other people suggest.

[ashnistrike.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I'm glad I'm not the only person nominating "Toad Words!" It's so short, and so perfect.

[geekhyena.livejournal.com]

That's on my ballot, as well. Plus Ursula is such a sweet person IRL - if you ever have a chance to see her, she has the best stories.

[greg rheam (from livejournal.com)]

The Librarians episode was great, awesome recommendation.

[skelody.livejournal.com]

That was the one with the dragons, right? Would you or Seanan (or anyone else who supports this nomination) like to go into more detail about why this particular episode?

[greg rheam (from livejournal.com)]

I'm sure others could be more articulate with it then me but I'll point out a couple things. I think the writing of the episode was very good and let us see the characters in a different light. We saw differences in what they value, in how you can go evil. Jake Stone (Christian Kane) seems pretty fine but very particular with art while Cassandra Cillian (Lindy Booth) goes completely crazy while becoming more brilliant.

Personally I thought Lindy Booth's performance was brilliant.

[geekhyena.livejournal.com]

I'd also suggest How To Train Your Dragon 2, since it a) passed the Bechdel Test (and not many films this year did), but b) Toothless and Cloudjumper were so brilliantly feline I could've watched two hours of just those two. Alas, I doubt many people will vote for it, and it might be splitting the pool in a year where I REALLY want The Book of Life to win. They had a long, hard road, only to get snubbed by the Oscars. Here's hoping the Hugos recognize talent where they see it.

Also, Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal for Best Graphic Novel? G. Willow Wilson has done such an amazing job bringing Kamala Khan to life, and it's one of the stories that has gotten me back to having a monthly pull list again (that and Rat Queens). Both of them are excellent and well worth the nomination. And Marie Brannon's "Daughter of Necessity" tells Penelope's side of the Odyssey in such a moving way I had to put it on my ballot - it's free on Tor's site if people want to check it out.

Can Women Destroy Science Fiction be nominated as a whole for Best Related Work? Or do I have to nominate the stories individually? (or are both possible?)

[markbernstein.livejournal.com]

Yes! to Kamala Khan.

[patoadam]

Your superhuman writing speed makes me wonder if you are fully human or cyborg. What makes it even more impressive is that I bet that the novels you published were mostly written a year ago, when you still had a day job.

[markbernstein.livejournal.com]

See, this is why DP:SF is so hard, I liked "And the Apple of Discord", but I loved "And Santa's Midnight Ride", and will be nominating it. And I generally hate Special Christmas Episodes. (Similarly, while the Phineas and Ferb "Star Wars" episode would be an easy and obvious choice, I was much more taken with "Klimpaloon Ultimatum".) Still, my top choice for the category is the season finale of "Orphan Black".

My thoughts on 2014 movies are here. I must admit that I haven't yet seen Book of Life, and will have to correct that before I nominate.

Of your works, I plan to nominate The Winter Long. The Toby series is overdue for recognition, and this is a significant book in that series. And damned good, besides.

One more thing, that I'll be finding reasons to say as often as I can. Find a way to see "Predestination", and keep it in mind a year from now for Dramatic Presentation, Long. It's fantastic, and should not be forgotten or overlooked.