Posted by kpgraham
on 10/19/2009, 10:04 am
I recently signed up with AussieCon 4, the site of the 2010 Worldcon (http://www.aussiecon4.org.au/) as a Supporting member. This costs $50 and it gives me nominating and voting rights for the 2010 Hugo awards. I did this because voting members usually get lots of cool freebies from the publishers and I should be receive about $100 worth of nominated books, possibly more. A trip to Australia, though, is a way more than I can afford.
This year the 50 bucks goes a long way. There won't be as many people attending Worldcon because of its remote location. That means fewer people nominating and voting on the Hugo awards.
In the past, just a few dozen people determined which books, stories and zines made it to the Worldcon final ballot. This year, perhaps even fewer.
I would suggest that all John Shirley fans shell out the 50 bucks and nominate Bleak History. In 2008 it took 17 votes to get on the Hugo ballot - that's it.
Bleak History is the best written and most accessible of his recent works. It has a very broad appeal and if nominated stands a good chance of winning - unless, of course, Neil Gaiman writes another book this year.
Freezine might be a good choice for best Semiprozine - that one takes fewer votes to get on the ballot. Short story might be harder, but I know who I'm voting for.
So gather up $50 (less than $1 a week), and head over to http://www.aussiecon4.org.au and pay by paypal, check, or money order. You get a whole load of books and bling for signing up and you get a vote that really counts.
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