Go. Read. And remember...
We complain about younger people not getting into the community. About seeing teenagers pack up their toys and go home at a certain point. About wanting more people to become lifelong readers, and lifelong members of our social hyperspace. But we also tend to write off YA as "juvenile" (as if that were an insult; as if Heinlein and Norton and Gaiman didn't write for young adults), and all too often, shame the people who read it. We scoff at covers that cater to teen sensibilities, instead of adult aesthetics. We don't listen.
There is amazing stuff happening in YA. Concepts and stories are being built and explored there in ways that are difficult to impossible in adult fiction. From the big blockbusters like The Hunger Games to the sneakier stories like Unspoken, it's a medium that's bursting with potential, and bringing our younger voters in by recognizing what many of them are reading, while also bringing more adult readers to this amazing work...I just can't see that as a bad thing. At all.
This is Amy's ballgame, so while you're welcome to comment here, I am declaring comment amnesty, and will only answer if I feel like it. Although I will moderate if folks get snappy. Remember, we're all in this together.
August 13 2013, 16:52:05 UTC 3 years ago
August 13 2013, 17:52:40 UTC 3 years ago
That and I notice that a lot of my nominations are helped by authors' "This is what I have that's eligible for the Hugos (and what category)", since I imagine authors being paid by the word for short stories tend to know when they cross the line into novelettes better than I do*. So authors noting that 'Books X & Y are probably not YA but Book Z is marketed to YA and Book W is middle grade' would help me in nominations.
* That and it reminds me of things I've read over the year, since 'that one story by Seanan with the selkies' is not very helpful when filling out ballots (and that's a good day for me, since I remember the author so could conceivably find the title on my own).
** Maybe combined with a youth discount or 'scholarship' memberships to account for teens for which $50 is a lot of money, if that doesn't run into problems mentioned in the previous post regarding Supporting Memberships.
*** Read: 'some of it is crap or not to my tastes or involves me wanting the antagonists to set everyone on fire, but much of it is decent, and some is very good'. And it's not like something not to my tastes has ever been nominated for a Hugo before...
August 13 2013, 18:07:36 UTC 3 years ago
I guess you mean the combining nominations part? If that's the case, then only partially: votes may only be moved to the other category if the nominator didn't use up all their slots in that category.
In other words: if persons A, B, and C nominate a certain book as YA, and also nominate 5 (other) books for best novel, and said book gets these 3 nominations in the YA category, plus 4 nominations in the novel category, the votes can't be combined, and the book ends up with 4 nominations, not 7, and another novel with 5 nominations in the best novel category goes on the ballot instead of the first book.
If this wasn't what you meant (or if my explanation didn't make sense), then forget everything I just said. :-)
August 13 2013, 18:13:09 UTC 3 years ago
(Actually, are there other categories where what category something falls into isn't clear -- the only one I can come up with are things like Best Related Work and... well, anything, but as an example 'Wicked Girls' ended up there, and not in 'Best Dramatic Presentation' (and 'Writing Excuses' ends up there instead of 'Best Fancast'). I'd have to look into whether anything has had significant splits about whether it was SF or 'related work' -- I'd suspect it would be more common for things that focus on the meta, like fanzines and fancasts, rather than works of fiction.)
August 13 2013, 18:21:31 UTC 3 years ago
August 14 2013, 01:55:59 UTC 3 years ago
August 13 2013, 19:14:28 UTC 3 years ago
August 13 2013, 18:43:39 UTC 3 years ago
August 13 2013, 20:00:35 UTC 3 years ago
August 13 2013, 21:05:46 UTC 3 years ago
I went to sign up as a Supporting Member when I got my tax return this year so I could vote for the Hugos but I was too late. I will be on time next year, I promise. You make me want to get involved, and not just to vote for you.
August 18 2013, 21:15:31 UTC 3 years ago
August 14 2013, 03:26:22 UTC 3 years ago
Thanks for taking time out to post these.
August 14 2013, 19:12:19 UTC 3 years ago
August 15 2013, 01:12:37 UTC 3 years ago
August 15 2013, 03:11:26 UTC 3 years ago
I'd really like to see a YA Hugo, but this proposal is too vague and contradictory to implement. Sometimes proposals are fixed by amendment during the business meeting. I hope she can be patient with the process.
And FWIW, screw the complainers. Most of them haven't read any new SF in 30 years. We need to recognize that their job is to wail about progress, like a banshee. They don't wail because their comments have merit, they wail because it's their job ;-)