Save the Semiprozine Hugo.

[mmerriam]

I know I said this before, but I think it's worth repeating.

I'm in support if this award, not just because all my sales have been to semiprozines, but because I think semipro fiction magazines are actually publishing some of the best stuff around. Sure, they can also publish total crap, but so can the big boys, and I think the smaller magazines provide a better platform for experimental work, work that is a little out on the fringe, work that pushes the envelope, and works by writers who are cutting their teeth and learning their chops.

If the fact that Locus has dominated this category over the years is the problem, maybe it should be divided into fiction and non-fiction sub-categories. I think that should be the case for all the magazine-based Hugos.

Comments

[amberdine.livejournal.com]

I, too, think a fiction/non-fiction split would be ideal.

And then, if the non-fiction award is always won by Locus, and people want to get rid of it, fine. Having one award always go to the same recipient is annoying, but just dropping a whole broad category is a kind of an uncreative fix.

I suppose it would take at least two more years to propose a category change/split, though?

[pdlloyd.livejournal.com]

I absolutely agree that there should be a semiprozine Hugo category. The zines are there, people read them, and readers and writers alike want to know which are doing the best job at publishing works people want to read.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

I hadn't considered the fiction/non-fiction split, but that sounds like quite a good answer to the problem of Charlie Brown's rocket garden.

We aren't voters, but wonder who is in supporting the fiction/non-fiction division?

K.

[kmarkhoover.livejournal.com]

I also support the fiction/non-fiction split. Seems better than scrapping the award altogether.

[clarkesworld.livejournal.com]

One of the arguments being used by people who support eliminating the semiprozine category is that there's not enough worthy publications. (That really bugs me. It's wrong wrong wrong!:)) Anyhow, people who believe that are likely to find the same problem with a fiction/non-fiction split... and if the motivation for any person is "get Locus" then creating a new award for them doesn't solve their problem, it just moves it. As I see it, should the category survive the vote, the two sides will need to find a fix they can both agree on. I'm not sure this is it.

All that aside, as a semiprozine editor, I have no problem competing against a non-fiction magazine. I also wonder how you'd define non-fiction magazine in concrete terms. Most fiction magazines run non-fiction, some more non-fiction than fiction. Or since this is editor-oriented, could a publication qualify for and possibly win in both?

The tweak I'd like to see? I've been told it's a can of worms, but there should be a criteria that says when a publication is no longer a semiprozine (or fanzine for that matter). Right now, the magazine decides. That's too arbitrary.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

One of the arguments being used by people who support eliminating the semiprozine category is that there's not enough worthy publications.

I think this is the real heart of the problem. I think that too many fans do not realize just how vibrant the semipro scene is, or else they have a bias (as I've seen in action)toward Big Name magazines.

I've gotten into interesting discussions about semipro and small press publications, because I've run into too many fans who seem to think that, if it wasn't published by Analog, Asimovs, F&SF, Realms of Fantasy, Tor, DAW, or Baen, it must not be any good and not worth their notice.

Education, I think, is the real key.

[clarkesworld.livejournal.com]

>>Education, I think, is the real key.

I couldn't agree with you more. It's the main reason I launched the semiprozine site.

[girliejones.livejournal.com]

Can i nick the pic to blog?

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

If you click on the pick, the code for it is on the website. Or you can just nick the picture itself here and use it!

[girliejones.livejournal.com]

Oh. ok thanks- must have missed that on the website! Cheers