[Ads-l] SFDictionary and the Hugo Awards

[Bill Mullins]

The Hugo Awards are the premiere award in the field of Science Fiction and Fantasy, analogous to the Oscars for movies.  As many here recall, Jeff Prucher's book, Brave New Words, was awarded a Hugo in 2008 in the category of "Best Related Work" -- a category designed to recognize achievement in non-fiction about Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Jesse Sheidlower has taken the science fiction dictionary a step further with SFDictionary.com https://sfdictionary.com/ , an updated online version.  It is eligible for a BRW award in 2022 (having went public in 2021).

The Hugos are nominated and voted on by the membership of a particular year's Worldcon.  Worldcon is the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society.  2022's convention is Chicon 8, to be held in Chicago Sept 1-5 (assuming Covid cooperates).

If you want to nominate and vote on the work, you need to be a member of Chicon (either supporting, or attending) by Jan. 31, 2022.  You can then nominate up until Mar. 15.  Voting will proceed after that.

As a member, you can also vote and nominate in the other categories, including best novel, best series of novels, short story, dramatic work (short and long), graphic novel, and other categories.  For the last several years, membership has included as a perk a voting packet consisting of electronic copies of most of the nominated published works.  So the cost of a supporting membership ($50) is more than justified by the books and other publications a member receives.

Note that in this particular category, a small groundswell of support can lead to a nomination and an award.  In 2021, one entry made the ballot with only 31 nominations, and the eventual winner only had 74 nominations.  In 2020, the ballot entry with the least number of nominations (only 36) ended up taking the Hugo.

Links:
Hugo Awards:
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Award
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Award_for_Best_Related_Work

Chicon 8 (this is the eighth time that the Worldcon will have been held in Chicago).

   https://chicon.org/
   https://chicon.org/home/membership-rates/  (includes a link to registration)
   https://chicon.org/home/whats-happening/hugo-awards/

So, if you want to recognize the SFDictionary and Jesse's efforts by nominating and voting for a Hugo, you need to join within the next couple of weeks.

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org