Author: Neil Clarke

Early June Updates from Semiprozines

- Neil Clarke

Some quick updates from semiprozines. (If you are involved in a semiprozine, please send items for news updates to neil (at) clarkesworldmagazine.com.)

Hugo Award Voting is Now Open

- Neil Clarke

Please remember to vote for the 2009 Hugo Awards!

Via the Hugo Website:

Anticipation, the 67th World Science Fiction Convention, has released the ballot for the 2009 Hugo Awards. Members of Anticipation can vote online at the convention web site. Paper ballots are included in the convention’s latest progress report, which the convention recently mailed to members. You must be a supporting or attending member of Anticipation to vote. If you are not a member, you can buy a membership online.

The deadline for voting is midnight (2359hrs.) Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) July 3, 2009. All ballots, paper or electronic, must be in the administrator’s hands by that time.

The storySouth Million Writers Award Notable Stories of 2008

- Neil Clarke

storysouthThe storySouth Million Writers Award is an annual award that recognizes the best online fiction regardless of genre. The list of Notable Stories of 2008 has been posted and the final ballot of ten will be posted on May 15th.

The following notable stories from semiprozines are available free for your reading pleasure:

Abyss & Apex

Apex Magazine

Beneath Ceaseless Skies

Clarkesword Magazine

Fantasy Magazine

Strange Horizons

Beneath Ceaseless Skies was also singled out as runner up in the Best New Online Magazine category.

What you can do to help…

- Neil Clarke 1 Comment

I’ve recently received several emails from people who want to know how they can help. I’m repeating some of what I said here in hopes of interesting others to get involved.

If you want to help save the Semiprozine Hugo:

  • Be familiar with the facts and opinions involved. To understand why this is happening, it’s best to start with the videos from last year’s business meeting: technical debate and substantive debate.
    • If you disagree with their reasoning, please make sure you attend the business meeting at Anticipation in Montreal this August. Only people present at the business meeting can vote. (See this post for details about the meeting process.) If you can’t attend, but know someone who can, let them know what is going on. Send them here for details.
    • If you agree with the motion to eliminate the semiprozine Hugo as it stands, please talk to us or at least keep an eye on this site. We may not change one another’s minds, but a good discussion could help us at least understand one another. (Yes, that matters. For some reason, emotions seem to run high on this issue.)
    • Undecided? Glad to help, if we can.
  • Read. Check out semiprozines and let people know what you think of them. Even if we lose, you’re still doing something of value to the publications and their contributors.
  • Click on “Promotional Materials” in the menu bar above. You can use anything we put there on your website, Facebook account, or blog.

If you also want to help semiprozines in general:

  • Tell a friend. Buy or share a copy. Send them a link.
  • Submit semiprozine websites (individual stories/articles when online) to sites like StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, etc.
  • Buy a subscription or make a donation.
  • Review new issues on your blog or link to their websites in your sidebar.
  • Authors: Mention them during appropriate panels at conventions.
  • Authors: Submit a story.
  • Offer to write an article for this site or comment on what others say.
  • Offer to take postcards or flyers from your favorite semiprozines to a convention.

There are dozens of other things you can do as well. Feel free to toss in other ideas in the comments to this post. For that matter, let us know what things we (semiprozines or this site) can do to help spread the word as well.