So a couple of months ago, while I was out at Stokercon in Long Beach, on the mighty Queen Mary, I went out with Scott Edelman for Thai food (yum), and he recorded our conversation for his EATING THE FANTASTIC podcast.
The food was great, and the talk was fun. You can check it out at:
Scott and I both emerged from comics fandom of the 60s, so be forewarned, there’s a lot of talk about the Good Old Days.
Current Mood: 
contemplative
Forty years ago, at the first MidAmericon in 1976, the very first Hugo Losers Party was held in my room at the Muehlebach Hotel in Kansas City.
The night before, at the awards ceremony, I had lost two rockets (one to Larry Niven, one to Roger Zelazny, fwiw). The affair began as a modest little party in a modest little room, with some peanuts and cheese curls and whatever booze we had been able to scrounge from other parties. But as fate would have it, my room was next to the pool deck, which allowed us to overflow the confines of my double, which we soon did, to become the loudest, largest, and most memorable party of the con. Gardner Dozois was our ‘herald,’ announcing each guest as they appeared, and naming them either a winner or a loser. Losers were cheered and welcomed, winners were booed and cursed and pelted with peanuts… unless they told a good story about they were really losers. (Which Alfie Bester did most memorably). Thus did that first Losers Party pass into fannish legend.
In the decades that followed, the Hugo Losers Party became a worldcon tradition. Many more great parties were thrown (most notably, I think, the 1981 party in Rusty Hevelin’s suite at Denvention), and eventually the party became somehow ‘official’ and a tradition arose whereby the following year’s worldcon concom threw the bash after every Hugo ceremony. That worked for a while, but gradually the original spirit of the party was lost, as the event became stuffier and duller and more institutional, finally even abandoning the name ‘Hugo Losers Party’ because some sensitive (and irony-impaired) souls did not like being called losers. (Hey, we’re all losers, boys and girls). The nadir was the ‘party’ the Sasquan concom threw at Loncon, which was truly a dismal affair. So last year, at Sasquan, I decided to reclaim the party that Gardner and I had started… but since life (and fandom) have been good to me, I was able to do a little more than we’d been able to do in 1976.
The Sasquan party was a great success, I think. But of course that meant I had to do it again. I mean, how not? This was fortieth anniversary, and we were returning to Kansas City. I did toy for a moment with the idea of trying to book my original 1976 hotel room… and the adjoining pool deck… but, alas, the room, the deck, and the pool itself are all gone, demolished in one of the hotel’s numerous renovations over the past forty years. (The old gorgeous historic Muehlebach still stands, but alas, remained dark and unused throughout Big Mac II, with the con confined to the newer Marriott wing, and the even newer Marriott across the skybridge).
Instead we went two blocks away and rented out the Midland, a gorgeous old 1930s movie palace. I mean, how could I resist? I LOVE old movie theatres, especially the art deco palaces of the 30s and 20s, and the vaudeville houses that preceded them. And the Midland was stunning, as I think all our guests agreed.
Drinks were drunk, barbeque was eated, losers were feted, winners were mocked, Alfies were given (more on those next rock). And when two in the morning rolled round, the band played “Teen Angel” and we all remembered Dave Hartwell, who was sorely missed.
What more is there to say? It was a party to remember, I think. Just like 1976.
We’re one week away from the announcement of the 2016 Hugo nominations. Drum roll, please.
Should be interesting. MidAmericon II has announced that more than 4000 nominating ballots were received, shattering the previous record of 2122 set by Sasquan last year. The nominating pool included all those who were members of Sasquan and of next year’s worldcon in Finland as well as the members of MidAmericon itself.
However, to actually vote on the awards, you will need to be a member of Big Mac II. You can take care of that here: http://www.midamericon2.org/
I am hopeful that my own exhortations encouraged a few people to nominate who might elsewise have forgotten. And of course I am hopeful that a few of my own favorites, the books and stories and television shows and movies that I recommended here, will make the shortlist. But there’s no way of knowing until the nominations are announced.
Whether my own choices make the cut or not, I will be pleased if we get an honest ballot this year, with Hugo-worthy choices in all categories.
Got back from MystiCon on Monday. It was a fun weekend, and did much to restore my spirits. After all the internet rancor that has dominated on-line discussion of late, it was good to be reminded of what cons are all about… and how warm, welcoming, and open fandom can be. The Roanoke crowd seemed like good folks. And it was great to see how many young people and first-timers were at the con (I asked for a show of hands on several occasions). All the alarums about the demise of traditional SF fandom may be somewhat premature, I’m thinking.
Back home, of course, I had the usual thousand new emails waiting in my inbox. But among them, at long long last, was my Hugo PIN from MidAmericon II. I can finally begin nominating for this year’s awards. I urge all of you to do the same. (And will have a few more Hugo thoughts and recommendations in subsequent posts).
We had a great event at the JCC with Tony DiTerlizzi of THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES. And one last week, before I left, with Joe Lansdale and HAP & LEONARD. Plenty of signed books from Tony and Joe both are now available in the Cocteau bookstore. If you’re an autograph hunter, strike now while the supply lasts.
We have more fun events coming up in the next few months as well. Magician Francis Menotti will be making a return appearance, with the trick that fooled Penn & Teller, and we have booksignings scheduled with Darynda Jones, Joe Hill, and Stephen Graham Jones. And a little further out, Neil Gaiman will be appearing with some gigantic Tasmanian cave spiders. Go to the JCC website and sign up for our email newsletter if you’d like more details on forthcoming events at the theatre.
Meow Wolf’s opening comes closer every day. The gang down at Silva Lanes is working overtime right now, getting a little frantic as they labor to make sure everything is ready for opening weekend.
Oh, and GAME OF THRONES season six is drawing nigh as well. You may have heard. Before the season six debut on April 24, the JCC will be running a season five marathon. Weekly screenings, two hours per week, of the S5 episodes on our big medium-sized screen. And admission is FREE. First come, first seated.
I am sure there’s more. Life is busy. Hope yours is too.
Next weekend I will be heading off to MystiCon, in Roanoke, Virginia, where I’ll be a Guest of Honor. A new con for me, and a new part of the country (it’s been on my schedule since 2013).
They have a website at http://mysticon-va.com/ with a list of all the other guests — but, alas, it says there that they are sold out, so if you’re not signed up, you may be out of luck.
I am looking forward to spending some time with old friends there, and to making some new ones.
Truth be told, I need a good con just about now. I am tired and I am stressed, and I am so so so sick of the toxic rancor that more and more seems to characterize the internet.
So… let’s raise a few glasses and have a few laughs at MystiCon, and try to remember why we love science fiction, fandom, and each other.
The outpouring of support in response to my post on THE WINDS OF WINTER has been astonishing.
Thank you all, so very much.
There were forty pages of screened comments on the post by the time I logged on this morning. I haven’t even been able to read half of them as yet. So if I haven’t unscreened yours yet, be patient. (My loyal minions often do much of that for me, but they all have off right now for the New Year holiday).
I am going to close comments on this post, lest I have even more messages to deal with.
But I cannot tell you how much I appreciate all the kind words and good wishes.
It’s Labor Day.
We ought to be at worldcon.
Labor Day weekened was the traditional date for worldcon for half a century. Not in the beginning, no. And not so often of late either. But in the middle, yes. For decades and decades. You could set your calendar by it.
It’s still the best date for a big con. Which is why Dragoncon moved there.
Dragoncon should go back to its original July dates. And worldcon should go back to Labor Day.
Yes, I know all the arguments against. Don’t want to hear them again, thank you. I say they’re spinach, and I say to hell with them.
It’s Labor Day.
We ought to be at worldcon.
With the Puppy Wars heating up again — not that they have ever really cooled down — this seems an opportune moment to remind all and sundry that there is still plenty of time left to join Sasquan and cast your ballot for this year’s Hugo awards.
With the electronic ballot, once you have a membership number and a PIN, you can go and post some preferences and votes now, then return a day later, or a week later, or a month later, and change them, or add some more rankings. Your vote does not get counted until balloting closes.
The ballot is here: http://sasquan.org/hugo-awards/voting/
If you have not voted the Hugo Awards before, please note that it is an “Australian ballot,” a preferential system whereby one ranks the nominees. You don’t just vote for one. You can rank NO AWARD as if it were any other finalist; ahead of some nominees, behind others.
(Which is the way I believe one should use NO AWARD. As I have stated previously, I am opposed to the nuclear option of just blindly voting NO AWARD in every category).
Of course, you need to be a member to vote. Supporting Memberships will cost you $40. You can sign up to buy one at https://sasquan.swoc.us/sasquan/reg.php
In addition to voting privileges, a Supporting Membership will get you the convention’s program book (usually a handsome item, though it varies from year to year) and other publications.
You can also sign up as an ATTENDING member and actually attend the convention, which is the course I strongly recommend for those who have the time and the money. Cons are fun, especially worldcon; that’s what they are all about. Reading, panel discussions, the art show, the dealers’ room, the masquerade, filksinging… all sorts of great stuff goes on. Something for all tastes. And EVERYONE is welcome, despite what you have heard. (Just don’t be an asshole. Assholes get welcomed too, but the welcome wears out more quickly).
Both supporting and attending members get an electronic “Hugo packet” that will enable you to read many of the works nominated for this year’s rockets. You should do that, no matter what side of the Puppy Wars you are on; we want informed voters. Yes, sadly, IMNSHO this is the weakest Hugo ballot in recent memory, thanks to the Puppy slates… but there’s still some damn strong work there, especially in Novel and Dramatic Presentation. And of course it is possible that your own tastes may differ from mine.
So join, read, vote. And fifty years from now, when your fannish grandchildren ask you, “Say, gramps, what did you do in the Great Hugo War?” you’ll have an answer for them.
Continuing the musings I began last night, about this year’s Hugo ballot… the actual nominees, the work, rather than the politics…
This one will be shorter than my last, since I don’t have much to say (yet) about the three fan categories I want to touch on.
BEST FANCAST is a stupid new Hugo category created to keep “fancasts” out of the hoary old Best Fanzine category. The nominees this year include three Puppy picks, and two that were not on the slates. I haven’t heard any of the five. I doubt I will be voting in this category.
BEST FANZINE is the aforementioned hoary old category that dates back almost to the start of the Hugos. Here They Speak Twilltone and Gestetners, and then oldtimers mutter darkly about Ditto. But there are e-zines here as well. The Puppies grabbed four of the five slots in this category. Only JOURNEY PLANET was not part of the slates. However, one of the Puppy finalists, BLACK GATE, has withdrawn, leaving three. The only one I know well is Dave Truesdale’s TANGENT, the online continuation of the an actual print fanzine that Truesdale has been publishing since the 70s. TANGENT has been nominated for Hugos before, I believe, though I don’t think it has ever won. It’s what trufans call a “sercon” zine, that is, mostly book reviews and criticism. Book reviews also seem to be the main focus of ELITIST BOOK REVIEWS, another Puppy pick… which seemed to me a lot like TANGENT, but not nearly as well done. There are much better review ‘zines and blogs than these to be found on the internet, among them PAT’S FANTASY HOTLIST, the WERTZONE, BLOG OF THE FALLEN, and last year’s winner, A DRIBBLE OF INK, but none of those made the ballot, so we will need to choose from those that did. I don’t always vote in the Fanzine category (please note, I am saying I do not vote, not that I vote NO AWARD, two different things), but I expect I will this year. I still need to check out a couple of the remaining nominees, and look more deeply at the ones I was already familiar with.
BEST SEMIPROZINE. This category has always pissed me off, since it was created largely to kick LOCUS out of Best Fanzine, where it was winning every year. Of course, once Semiprozine was created, LOCUS proceeded to win that a bunch of times too, until the rules were jiggered once again to kick it out once more. (This is one reason I oppose jiggering the rules, even to stop the Puppies). They really ought to call this category BEST SEMIPROZINE THAT ISN’T LOCUS. But they don’t. We have five finalists here, only two of which are from the slates… and one of those, ANDROMEDA SPACEWAYS IN FLIGHT MAGAZINE, has been loudly declaring that they were not informed and never asked to be on anyone’s slate. I am really only familiar with LIGHTSPEED and STRANGE HORIZONS from this category. Both of those are pretty good. If anyone has an opinion to offer on the others, do speak up. If I have time to check them out, I will… if I don’t, I will abstain in this category, i.e. not vote. I won’t go NO AWARD, since I do think the two semipros I know are worthy. Not as worthy as LOCUS, mind you, but there you are…
And that’s all I have to say about those. For now, at least.
Talk among yourselves.
The Hugo Awards, the center of the controversy that has plunged all fandom into war, will be awarded this summer at Sasquan, the 2015 World Science Fiction in Spokane, Washington.
I have been going to Worldcons for a long time. My icon is a picture of me at Torcon II, the 1973 Worldcon in Toronto, where I lost the very first John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Wasn’t I cute? It was my second Worldcon, following on Noreascon I in Boston in 1971. (I missed LA in 1972).
You can be a part of Worldcon too. Just go here:
https://sasquan.swoc.us/sasquan/reg.php
You can buy a Supporting Membership for $40, which will give you the right to vote on this year’s Hugo Awards. Whether you vote for the Sad Puppies, or for the Rabid Puppies, or against the Puppies, or vote NO AWARD on everything, or read the work and vote on what you like, or abstain, or elect some combination of all of those… that’s up to you. The important thing is that you vote, however you think best.
Even better, you can buy an ATTENDING membership, and actually come to the convention. Usually they are a lot of fun. That’s why I keep coming back. Don’t believe what you may have heard, we will not be parading about with the heads of puppies impaled on spears.
Come to the party. Everyone is welcome. Don’t believe anyone who tells you otherwise.
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