Hugo Packet

I mentioned that I decided to go in for a Hugo membership after all, and this morning I got my link to the Hugo packet. I was just intrigued enough by the comments and reviews to go ahead and take the plunge. If I enjoy the process, I'll do it again next year.

Before I dive into the packet, I attempted to cleanse my brain of which ones were slate nominees and which ones weren't. I intend to give each piece a chance on its own merits. I was a little surprised at how much is in the packet. There are samples or complete works for every nominee in the novels, novella, novelette, short story, related work, editor (short form), semiprozine, fancast, fan writer and fan artist.

The graphic story category is only missing The Zombie Nation Book #2. None of the dramatic presentations are available, but those can be found elsewhere without major difficulty. There is no submission for Jim Minz or Vox Day in the editor (long form) category and no submission for Carter Reid in the professional artist category. There is nothing in the packet for Elitist Book Reviews for the fanzine category and two of the John W. Campbell award nominees, Rolf Nelson and Eric S. Raymond, have nothing in the packet to judge.

If I can somehow find the time and energy, I can certainly see myself getting through many of the nominees in order to cast votes. I will probably go by category, starting with the complete categories (although it would kill me not to vote in the graphic story category, considering my background, so I might go hunting a zombie book). I will post reviews of the works as I complete them.

If anyone has any suggestions for my quest, please leave a comment. I'm particularly interested in where to find some samples of stuff missing from the packet (I suspect some are available freely and legally online, a link would be nice).

Hugos 2016

For the moment, I'm also concerned with nominating items for next year... and I hope to start gathering ideas of stories to look for from my regular 30 readers and whoever else drops by. On any post I make about the Hugos, feel free to mention something that you've recently read or watched that will be eligible for a Hugo in 2016. It might be something you really enjoyed, or something you just thought was interesting.

One that I decided I ought to mention is J. Michael Straczynski's 12-issue run on Twilight Zone. The final issue shipped in February, which I think makes it eligible for the graphic story category as a whole. It was impressive from start to finish, with various threads coming up in seemingly unrelated stories over the course of the 12 issues, until the final issues blew everything apart. Definitely something to consider as a nomination when the day comes.