Hugo Award Voting

It’s not too late to register to vote for the Hugo awards. Unlike the Nebula Awards, Hugos are voted on by fans, which loosely translates to anyone who registers for Worldcon on time. So, many of the authors who voted for the Nebulas will likely be voting here, too, but we have some input too. You can buy a membership for this year’s Worldcon, Renovation, and then you are eligible to vote. The best part, in my eyes? You get a big packet of fiction to download with your membership, making my $50 Supporting membership (more details on memberships below) an absolute bargain. I did already have a copy of N.K. Jemisin’s The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, but it was great to get the other four best novel nominees:

• Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis (Ballantine Spectra)
• Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen)
• The Dervish House by Ian McDonald (Gollancz; Pyr)
• Feed by Mira Grant (Orbit)

I also got a novella by one of my favorite new authors, ”The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers beneath the Queen’s Window” by Rachel Swirsky, as well as  short stories, novelettes and novellas by Ted Chiang, Elizabeth Hand, James Patrick Kelly, Mary Robinette Kowal and many more.

Voting ends on July 31st, so I am glad that I have already read some of the material. I am also getting some graphic novels, which I am excited about, because I don’t read a lot of those. I like what I have read, but I haven’t started really diving in to see what I like in that category. I am hoping the Hugo nominating voters have steered me to some high quality stuff! There are five choices in this category:

• Fables: Witches, written by Bill Willingham; illustrated by Mark Buckingham (Vertigo)
• Girl Genius, Volume 10: Agatha Heterodyne and the Guardian Muse, written by Phil and Kaja Foglio; art by Phil Foglio; colors by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)
• Grandville Mon Amour, by Bryan Talbot (Dark Horse)
• Schlock Mercenary: Massively Parallel, written and illustrated by Howard Tayler; colors by Howard Tayler and Travis Walton (Hypernode)
• The Unwritten, Volume 2: Inside Man, written by Mike Carey; illustrated by Peter Gross (Vertigo)

I have only glanced through a few of these so far, but right about now I am really glad I chose the Nook Color for my eReader over the Kindle. Don’t worry if you don’t have one, though, you can read these on your computer. I will probably do some of my reading on the computer anyway, given the larger monitor to really appreciate the art.

Is anyone joining me in reading and voting for the Hugos? How about attending Renovation? I am not going to be able to make it this year, but next year, the convention is in Chicago, much closer to home, so I am hoping I will be able to make my way up to that one. If you are interested in becoming a member, here is how the memberships break down (prices good through July 17):

• Attending members pay $195, which gets them voting rights plus a badge to attend the convention in Reno August 17 – August 21. attending members are also eligible to vote on the location for the 2013 Worldcon, although they will need to purchase a supporting membership to that Worldcon to do so.
• Young Adult memberships are for fans 17 -21 years old, cost $100, and are also good for attendance plus voting rights. Both Attending and Young Adult members receive the voting packet and all convention publications.
• Child memberships are for fans under 16, cost $75, and include 8 hours of childcare for children 12 and under, but do not include voting rights. Children 6 and under may also be registered as kids-in-tow for free with no childcare provided. Children can also be registered as Attending members and be allowed to vote, but they must still be supervised by an adult.
• Supporting members pay $50 and get the voting packet plus voting rights, but do not attend the convention. They do get Site Selecting rights, subject to joining the 2013 Worldcon, the same as Attending members.

There is an additional discount available for students and staff at local Reno colleges; details are available at the Renovation site.