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<\/p>\nNominations are now open for the 2019 Hugo Awards, to be awarded this August in Dublin at the Irish Worldcon.<\/p>\n
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The Hugos (as most of you know) are the oldest and most prestigious award in science fiction and fantasy.\u00a0\u00a0 They’ve been giving them since 1953, and the list of winners… and nominees… is a Who’s Who of our genre.\u00a0\u00a0 Dublin 2019 will also be presenting the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer, which dates to 1973, and the brand new Lodestar Award for YA fiction.<\/p>\n
It is a huge honor to win a Hugo… and almost as great an honor to lose one.\u00a0 I should know.\u00a0\u00a0 I’ve won a few, lost a lot more, and in 1976 Gardner Dozois and I started the Hugo Losers Party.\u00a0\u00a0 (It still feels like a punch in the gut to type Gargy’s name, knowing he is gone).\u00a0\u00a0 To nominate, you need to be a member of either Dublin 2019 or last year’s worldcon, Not ConJose II.<\/p>\n
Paper ballots are available for those who want them, but these days most voting is electronic. \u00a0 Worldcon members will be sent a link to the nominating ballot by email. \u00a0 Nominations close on Friday March 15.<\/p>\n
For more details about the awards, go to https:\/\/dublin2019.com\/hugo-awards-wsfs\/the-hugo-awards\/<\/p>\n
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My most recent Hugo wins — and losses — have been in the Dramatic Presentation categories, where GAME OF THRONES has been been a strong contender.\u00a0\u00a0 However, there were no episodes of GOT telecast in 2018, so the show is not eligible this year (the seventh season was shown in 2017, and the eighth and final season debuts this April).\u00a0\u00a0 As it happens, however, I have another<\/em> series for your consideration:\u00a0 NIGHTFLYERS, SyFy’s sf\/horror series based on my 1980 novella (a Hugo finalist, and Hugo loser, in its day), all ten episodes of which were shown between December 2 and December 12.<\/p>\n There are two Drama categories in the Hugos, Long Form and Short Form, as determined by running time.\u00a0\u00a0 Feature films usually dominate Long Form, and television shows Short Form.\u00a0\u00a0 You can nominate a TV show in Long Form, but in that case you are nominating the entire season (GAME OF THRONES won its first Hugo in Long Form, as it happens).\u00a0\u00a0 In Short Form, you need to nominate a specific episode.\u00a0\u00a0 So if you’re a fan of NIGHTFLYERS, you can nominate the entire first season in Long Form, or one or more of the following episodes in Short Form:<\/p>\n 01\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “All We Left Behind” I expect the competition to be very tough in Dramatic Presentation, Short Form this year.\u00a0 This is a golden age for science fiction on television.\u00a0\u00a0 Not all that long ago, we were lucky to have one or two genre shows worthy of nomination, but today, in this age of max tv, there are science fiction and fantasy shows everywhere you look — on the broadcast networks, on cable, on the streaming services.\u00a0\u00a0 Recent winners THE GOOD PLACE and THE EXPANSE both had new episodes in 2018.\u00a0\u00a0 Fans of superheroics had the Marvel shows on Netflix and the DC shows on the CW to choose from.\u00a0\u00a0 Zombie lovers had THE WALKING DEAD and Z NATION.\u00a0 Lev Grossman’s THE MAGICIANS had a fun third season.\u00a0 If starships and aliens were your thing, there was a new STAR TREK show and Seth McFarlane’s THE ORVILLE.\u00a0\u00a0 And of course there is always DOCTOR WHO, a perennial powerhouse, this year with a brand new Doctor, the thirteenth.\u00a0\u00a0 I’d be very surprised if there were not at least two episodes of DOCTOR WHO on the final ballot (recent rules changes make it impossible for there to be more than two).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I’ve undoubtedly forgotten some other shows as well, and there may well be British and Irish shows of which I am entirely unaware… there’s just so much out there, that even someone deeply involved in television on a professional basis, like myself, cannot keep up.<\/p>\n I would like to recommend one series that has never been nominated, but IMNSHO deserves to be:\u00a0 OUTLANDER, based on Diana Gabaldon’s bestselling novels.\u00a0\u00a0 I have a feeling that Hugo nominators tend to overlook the series because they think of it as a historical or a romance rather than science fiction.\u00a0 It IS both those things, of course, but it is also a time travel show… and more importantly, it’s superb.\u00a0\u00a0 Amazing production values, well written (and quite faithful to Diana’s books), well directed, and well acted.\u00a0 The cast is doing fantastic work, especially the leads.\u00a0\u00a0 If you haven’t watched OUTLANDER, you should check it out… and nominate your favorite episode, if you like it as much as Parris and I do.<\/p>\n Whatever you watch, whatever you like, NOMINATE<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0 It IS a singular honor just to be nominated, and far fewer people nominate than vote on the final ballot, so this is your chance to let your voice be heard.<\/p>\n I will talk about some of the other categories in subsequent posts, over the next few weeks.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nominations are now open for the 2019 Hugo Awards, to be awarded this August in Dublin at the Irish Worldcon. 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\n02\u00a0\u00a0 “Torches and Pitchforks”
\n03\u00a0\u00a0 “The Abyss Stares Back”
\n04\u00a0\u00a0 “White Rabbit”
\n05\u00a0\u00a0 “Greywing”
\n06\u00a0\u00a0 “The Sacred Gift”
\n07\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Transmission”
\n08\u00a0\u00a0 “Rebirth”
\n09\u00a0\u00a0 “Icarus”
\n10\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “All That We Have Found”<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/georgerrmartin.com\/notablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/images.png\")
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