Okay, so here's the thing: I qualify for the Campbell Award this year (and next year). You can view the rules by clicking this link, and they basically come down to a) when you made your first professional sale, and b) how long ago that was. The John W. Campbell Award uses the same nomination and voting mechanism as the Hugo, even though the Campbell Award is not a Hugo. To be able to nominate a writer for the 2010 award, you must have either been an attending member of Anticipation (the 67th World Science Fiction Convention in Montreal) or be a supporting or attending member of Aussiecon Four (the 68th World Science Fiction Convention in Melbourne) before Jan. 31, 2010. (So it's too late to become a member of the convention this year, but again, I still qualify next year, as do many other awesome people.)
I would, I think naturally, like to win this award. I mean, who doesn't want to win an award? Especially an award that will be presented in Australia, THE LAND OF POISON AND FLAME? That's like, the delicious whipped cream on top of the sundae of venomous awesome that is an entire continent full of cuddly things forged in the very flames of hell. But Australia isn't my main inspiration here.
No.
Did you know that the Campbell Award comes with a tiara?!
...yes. The Hugo is voted on by superintelligent beings from another dimension. Also by the attendees of the WorldCon, since it follows basically the same rules as the Campbell.
Huh, I had no idea these big sci-fi awards worked like that. I assumed there were panels or something. (Of course, I had never heard of the Campbell until last year, but at least I understand the difference between the Hugo and the Nebula now.)
What's the difference between the Eisner and the Harvey?
The Hugo Awards have always been presented by a vote of the membership of the Worldcon. There are many juried awards in the field of SF/F (like the World Fantasy Awards), but the Hugos are by vote of those WSFS members who take the time to vote. The Campbell is not a Hugo Award, but it is administered in conjunction with the Hugos, is on the same ballot, and uses the same voting rules as the Hugo Awards.
You can have a look through the vast number of awards in the SF/F field over at SF Awards Watch.
To vote for this award, you just have to go to a convention? So it's voted on by readers rather than professional writers? I'm confused.
Yep -- the Hugo and Campbell are 'readers' awards, rather than 'writer' awards like the Nebula*. You can also buy 'voting rights' for the Hugo and Campbell (the supporting membership) -- which lets you nominate and vote for the Hugo/Campbell, but doesn't get you into the con.
* The Nebula Awards are given out by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
To vote for this award, you just have to go to a convention?
Not exactly. To vote for this award (and the Hugos) you have to be a paid member of the current World Science Fiction convention. To nominate, you have to either be a member of this year's Worldcon or have been a member of last year's. As an example, I was a member of Anticipation, last year's Montreal Worldcon, but I'm not a member for Australia (Aussiecon 4) this year, so I can nominate, but not vote on the final ballot.
But you don't have to go to be a member. Worldcons always offer supporting memberships, which are cheaper than attending memberships, and get you voting rights, plus all the convention publications (progress reports and program book). Currently, membership for Aussiecon 4 is $225 US for attending, $50 US for supporting. And yes, part of why they're so expensive is to prevent people gathering up friends to stuff the ballot box.
As stated elsewhere in this thread, yes, the Hugo and Campbell Awards are voted on by the members of the World Science Fiction Society. To be a member of WSFS, you have to have a membership in the World Science Fiction Convention. But you don't have to attend the convention; that's what the supporting membership is for.
Look at it this way: The $50 is your actual membership in the World Science Fiction Society, which gets you the organization's publications and voting rights. The difference between the supporting and attending membership costs is the "convention supplement" which allows the member to also attend WSFS's annual convention.
silly
February 26 2010, 19:32:18 UTC 7 years ago
Also, does the Campbell Award really come with a tiara? Even for men?
February 26 2010, 19:35:05 UTC 7 years ago
Yes. It really comes with a tiara, even for men. There are pictures of John Scalzi wearing it. Because he's just that bad-ass.
February 26 2010, 19:44:21 UTC 7 years ago
Then what's the Hugo? The superior award voted on by superintelligent beings from another dimension?
Yes. It really comes with a tiara, even for men. There are pictures of John Scalzi wearing it. Because he's just that bad-ass.
Nice!
February 26 2010, 19:46:01 UTC 7 years ago
February 26 2010, 19:50:40 UTC 7 years ago
What's the difference between the Eisner and the Harvey?
February 26 2010, 19:51:13 UTC 7 years ago
February 28 2010, 21:06:46 UTC 7 years ago
You can have a look through the vast number of awards in the SF/F field over at SF Awards Watch.
February 26 2010, 23:18:30 UTC 7 years ago
February 27 2010, 20:54:09 UTC 7 years ago
February 26 2010, 19:35:50 UTC 7 years ago
Yep -- the Hugo and Campbell are 'readers' awards, rather than 'writer' awards like the Nebula*. You can also buy 'voting rights' for the Hugo and Campbell (the supporting membership) -- which lets you nominate and vote for the Hugo/Campbell, but doesn't get you into the con.
* The Nebula Awards are given out by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
February 26 2010, 20:40:20 UTC 7 years ago
Not exactly. To vote for this award (and the Hugos) you have to be a paid member of the current World Science Fiction convention. To nominate, you have to either be a member of this year's Worldcon or have been a member of last year's. As an example, I was a member of Anticipation, last year's Montreal Worldcon, but I'm not a member for Australia (Aussiecon 4) this year, so I can nominate, but not vote on the final ballot.
But you don't have to go to be a member. Worldcons always offer supporting memberships, which are cheaper than attending memberships, and get you voting rights, plus all the convention publications (progress reports and program book). Currently, membership for Aussiecon 4 is $225 US for attending, $50 US for supporting. And yes, part of why they're so expensive is to prevent people gathering up friends to stuff the ballot box.
February 27 2010, 20:54:47 UTC 7 years ago
February 28 2010, 21:01:28 UTC 7 years ago
Look at it this way: The $50 is your actual membership in the World Science Fiction Society, which gets you the organization's publications and voting rights. The difference between the supporting and attending membership costs is the "convention supplement" which allows the member to also attend WSFS's annual convention.