kevin_standlee (
kevin_standlee) wrote2007-07-16 08:53 am
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Misinterpretation
One of the comments on the Fan Writer Hugo Controversy croggled me sufficiently that I want to quote it here. I'm not meaning to pick on the writer, who comments here and is a BASFA member, but this one sort of surprised me:
...my reading of the WSFS constitution's section on the Hugo awards, taken in its entirety, leads me to believe the purpose of the Fan Writer award is to recognize non-professional sci-fi writers.Wow. What I'm wondering if this is a widespread opinion -- that "Fan Writer" is taken by a significant number of people as "non-professional, fan-written science fiction." Of course, it's not -- "Fan" doesn't mean "Amateur" in our field; it means "enthusiast," which is not the same thing, and that's why one can be a fan and a pro simultaneously. Nor is "Fan Writer" intended as a category aimed at recognizing "fan fiction." Fan writing is writing about science fiction, fantasy, and fandom. All of the people nominated in that category (and everyone who has been nominated in that category in my memory) have been nominated for their writing about the field, not because of any fiction they've written.
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It's all about name recognition. In the nomination phase, you get a relatively informed section of fandom using their best judgement to give us a list that the wider, less knowledable Big Tent votes on. It's less about name value in the first and far more about it in the second phase.
Frankly, I wish there would be a solid definition so that this wouldn't come up again. We have the category that doesn't solidly say what and who is and isn't eligible. There needs to be clarification, which will undoubtedly piss some people off, but it will keep these things from popping up.
Chris
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IMO that's the story right there, not only in terms of name recognition, but awareness of and reading of fanwriting in general.
... will undoubtedly piss some people off ... Is it true that part of the reason the Tent is so Big is to have plenty of room for Pissed-off-edness Fandom?
Vanessa
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(The distinction here is that questions of law, like word count, running length, or year of publication have objective criteria over which the judge (Hugo Administrator) has jurisdiction.)
I'm not trying to be confrontational; I just don't know how you could write a definition that improved the current situation. Right now, it looks more like trying to keep control of a tube of toothpaste by grabbing it tightly.
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My one paid piece of written fiction (semi-professional because it paid only 1.25 cents/word) was in fact faan fiction -- "The Bridge at Waikiki," part of Again, Alternate Worldcons.
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That might work, but still obliges subjective (although not quite so heavily subjective) judgment by administrators.
The problem is that the 'net has widened exposure to and speed of fanfic...and many people think of "fan writer" in that way, not tied to "fanzine" in the sense that the regular denizens of the Worldcon understand.
I'm beginning to think more clarification is definitely needed...or else (my own preference) we could just kill all of the "best people" awards. I know the latter won't happen...
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Of course, you could always go the other way, leave the definitions almost exactly as they are now and call the category Best Fan Writing. Slightly clearer to understand that.
Chris
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The Best Editor Hugo Awards do not have the word "professional" in them any more (the predecessor category did).
The four written fiction categories and two dramatic presentation categories do not require that the works be "professional" -- whatever that actually means. Two amateur works were nominated for the Best Dramatic Presentation Hugo Award in 2006. I was nominal Executive Producer of both those works. Would that now make me permanently ineligible under Best Fan Writer, where I placed 12th in 1995?
See why I often approach drafting WSFS legislation the way a trained expert approaches an unexploded bomb?
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I approach everything like I approach an unexploded bomb: with complete ignorance of it's existance!
CHris
More recent use of the term
Fan Versus Pro: Fight!
Actually, the same fan/pro distinction exists in the artist categories as between Fan Writer and the written-fiction "pro" categories: you can be a professional artist and a fan artist at the same time. If your work appears in fanzines and suchlike, then you're eligible as a fan artist, even if you're also a professional artist making a living off of your art. The only distinction here is that under WSFS rules, if you were nominated for Best Professional Artist and Best Fan Artist in the same year, you'd have to pick one or the other, under the terms of the "Gaughan Amendment," passed after Jack Gaughan won both categories in 1967.
(Incidentally, some notable SMOFS have called for the repeal of the Gaughan Amendment; it's unlikely we'll see repeal introduced in Japan, but it may appear in Denver.)
Re: More recent use of the term
It certainly may be time to revisit this definition, now that people do significant business selling art at conventions and direct. On the other hand, it would be a shame if somebody got recategorized out of Fan Artist into Pro just because they sold a few cartoons in a con art show.
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Publication
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Myles is almost unknown to fandom. He has been to one con- MisCon this year, where he was AGoH and had prints in the art show- all of which sold. He had a couple of kidfanlit bookcovers in the far past, but does NO work inside fandom, illos in books, bookcovers, magazines or anything of the sort.
He makes a good living as an artist doing nothing but fantasy art- primarily licensed to the Bradford exchange, the Danbury Mint and WalMart.
Not that he is likely to be nominated as he is pretty much unknown, but under current defs is he a pro artist, as he makes his living off fantasy art (outside the boundaries of our genre-limited awareness) or a fan artist as he sold some prints at a con?
Sorry for picking nits if it seems I am- I am curious how this works.
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Fan Versus Pro: Fight!
At least, I've never heard of an artist being DQ'd for Fan Artist on the grounds that s/he is a Feelthy Pro and not eligible.
Re: More recent use of the term
Alexis Gilliland has had books of his art published. He's still a Fan Artist.
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::boggles::
Having seen some of the horrendous book covers out there, any idiot can get a book cover. What *you* do is far better then a good portion of the book covers out there. Not to mention far more difficult to execute in a lot of cases.
I know that I personally nominated you for the Best Professional Artist Hugo; clearly there weren't enough of us that did so (this year). I also recall the discussion at the WSFS Business Meeting at LA Con IV last year, and there was *no* mention during the discussion regarding the Best Pro Artist being required to have book cover creds to be eligible; just that they needed to have *something* that was first available / printed / whatever during the previous year.
Re: More recent use of the term
why thank you! :)
T
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I suppose fan fiction does count as fanwriting, only because it's too hard to draw the line: consider Langford's speculations about Harry Potter.
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That's the best argument against my POV I've seen so far. Thanks for pointing it out.
Langford's speculations about Harry Potter
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Actually, if enough other people agree, we could try persuading
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ttyl
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I don't deny that what amounts to Fanzine Fandom of the 1930s created the community that can trace itself to Worldcon and the related SF/F communities of today. But Ancestry doesn't equal ownership.
The other extreme..
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"Scifi" (pronounced Skiffy) I reserve for the bad and schlocky stuff, some of which I still love but for completely different reasons.
"Sci-Fi" sounds like the gadget Captain Kirk would use to play recordings of his favorite makeout music while scoring with this week's alien babe.
Re: The other extreme..
I dunno - I'm most definitely a believer in Sturgeon's Law. The whole idea of arguing this terminology seems to me a serious denial of Ted's Universal Truth.
Is that a grenade? JMO. I have a lot better things to do with my emotions than worry about how people choose to abbreviate.
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(Of course, I have this perhaps regrettable ability to remember entire passages from the bad stuff as well as I do the good. Handy for trivia, painful for some of my friends)
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ttyl
Farrell
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I have no problem with professional writers writing as fans about their genre. In fact, I think it's pretty neat.
Blame the ambiguity of the English language, and the vague wording of the WSFS constitution for my assuming "Fan Writer" meant a non-pro fan who writes science fiction in a non-pro medium. And the fact that the Fan Writer award clause is right near the non-pro artist award clause.
Thanks to everyone for setting me straight.
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We've done almost no research into what the membership thinks about the Hugo Award. Therefore, almost everything we "know" is speculation or at best anecdotal. And can you imagine the protests we'd get if we tried to get additional demographic information about the people who nominate or vote!
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