The 2018 Hugo Award winners were announced on Sunday night at World Con in San Jose. Frequent readers will recall that I made a prediction regarding the Best Novel Award.
Let’s see how my prediction of a Jemisin triple crown panned out.
Those are the Best Novel Hugo Award results from 2016, 2017, and 2018 respectively. Besides Jemisin’s sweep, note the declining voter participation. Both data points tell a story about World Con’s fortunes that runs counter to the SF SJW narrative.
Simon and Schuster author Catherynne Valente–calling it now: child of lapsed Catholic Boomers who wanted to give their daughter a “unique” name without realizing people can’t hear the wonky spelling–sparked a Twitter tussle with indie author Robert Kroese over Sad Puppies. Despite the marked absence of a 2018 Sad Puppies campaign.
Total lack of imagination confirmed. Even the CHORFs’ tweets are derivative. I can unpack Valente’s TwitSpasm in one image.
One almost feels pity for Valente and her fellow travelers. They know that their part of the industry is in a nosedive. They know the SJW freak show that’s overrun their conventions is driving fans away in droves. They know tradpub is dying, and they know they can’t replicate their success on the level playing field of indie without the NY cartel to prop up their careers.
Sure, a few tradpub darlings will get to be among the lucky few whose books are still peddled at Costco. Judging by the way Tor unceremoniously dumped their former golden boy Scalzi in favor of the unimpeachably diverse N.K. Jemisin, Valente had better declare she used to be a dude if she wants a piece of that Costco action.
Indie is the industry. Newpub authors releasing tons of quality books through Amazon are doing more damage to the Big Five than the Puppies ever managed. Sure, taunting the defeated SF SJWs is fun. I’ve been known to indulge in a nice triggering from time to time. Still, indie authors are well advised to remember that poking the CHORF hive, while fun, ultimately accomplishes little. Sales are the only awards that matter. Winning the sales award means working the KDP algorithm. It means giving your audience the books they want to read–and fast.
Author Bradford Walker is running the race to win. Help his amazing Star Knight Saga complete its victory lap by backing Reavers of the Void today!