psocoptera

I have six categories left, augh. I suppose I could simply not vote in them but come on, when would I ever pass up an opportunity to inflict my opinions upon the world. Commentary on Semipros, Short Eds, Fanwriters, and Fanzines behind the cut.



So, Fanwriters. I really value Bogi Takács' voice and just do not care at all about the rest of these people even after trying to skim through their packet submissions so... I am voting one vote in this category and whatever happens after that is whatever happens.

Fanzines. I appreciate what Charles Payseur does even though I end up not reading that much of it because of my weird reading habits. Nerds of a Feather, Rec Center, and Book Smugglers all seem to be doing some cool stuff. Journey Planet somehow managed to be boring about *space*, and I thought Galactic Journey was cute the first time I encountered it but I've really lost interest in rehashing the past. So I think this is

1 - Quick Sip
2 - Rec Center
3 - Book Smugglers
4 - Nerds of a Feather
and I can't be bothered to rank the last two.

Short Editors. (Aren't you a little tall for a short editor?) Datlow edited Desdemona and the Deep. Strahan edited Dislocation Space. The Thomases edit Uncanny and Clarke edits Clarkesworld. Williams edits Asimovs and Finlay edits F&SF, with no packet submission. Did Clarkesworld maybe have more of my favorites this year than Uncanny? Maybe? Let's say

1 - Neil Clarke
2 - Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas
3 - Ellen Datlow
4 - Jonathan Strahan
5 - Sheila Williams
(and I have no way to know anything about C.C. Finlay).

Semiprozines. To be honest, if I was only going to get to read one of these magazines next year (by which I mean, uh, this year), it would be Uncanny. But I'm so bored of Uncanny winning (four years in a row! that's enough) so, I feel like we have had plenty of Uncanny, let's spread the wealth. I have a long-time loyalty to Strange Horizons and they published some stuff I recced, but no real favorites. Beneath Ceaseless Skies did publish a couple of my favorite novelettes this year. I like that Fireside is publishing short stuff, I'm very fond of flash as a genre. I always forget that Escape Pod actually publishes stuff in readable format - I must have learned this five or six times by now, but that word "Pod" there is like a big sign saying NOT FOR ME, so it's always a surprise to find out that I can actually read their stuff. Some cool stuff in the packet submission. And then there's FIYAH, which is probably what I would most like to see win - they may not be my personal favorite source of cool stories, but I think what they're doing is valuable and beneficial for the genre, and maybe we should recognize that. And, as it turns out, nobody can stop me from using my Hugo votes to promote outcomes that I want to see, so:

1 - FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction
2 - Beneath Ceaseless Skies
3 - Fireside Magazine
4 - Strange Horizons
5 - Escape Pod
6 - Uncanny Magazine

Sorry, Uncanny, I love you the way I love Julie Dillon, I love your work but I want the conversation to be bigger than just you.