kevin_standlee | 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You're right that it's possible the category definitions (both the Artist categories) are a bit outdated; however, I've never seen an artist (pro or fan) disqualified on the grounds that s/he only appeared in art shows and never appeared in print. OTOH, the nominators may not be nominating people whose work appears only in those places.

If you want to be really annoying about things (ghu, I almost sound like Seth), you can also point out that public display of art counts as "publication" for copyright purposes. *blonde hair-flip*

Well, yes, I know that one, but it seems to irritate many people when I use "publication" in its technical sense rather than the colloquial one. *smile*

But there is a difference between the acts of "publication" and "appearing in a publication", isn't there?

Yes; however, I've never heard of a Pro Artist nominee being disqualified because his/her work "did not appear in a professional publication." There is a pending constitutional amendment that would add the following underlined words to the section on notification and acceptance of a Hugo Award:

Section 3.9: Notification and Acceptance. Worldcon Committees shall use reasonable efforts to notify the nominees, or in the case of deceased or incapacitated persons, their heirs, assigns, or legal guardians, in each category prior to the release of such information. Each nominee shall be asked at that time to either accept or decline the nomination. If the nominee declines nomination, that nominee shall not appear on the final ballot. In addition, in the Best Professional Artist category, the acceptance must include citations of at least three (3) works first published in the eligible year.

And there is the matter of what actually constitutes "a professional publication." For example, assume for the sake of argument that

theresamather receives sufficient nomination votes next year to be asked to accept a Hugo Award nomination, at which time she is asked to cite at least three works first published in 2007. She can then point at her official web site and say, "I use this as a vehicle for selling my artwork professionally; therefore, it is professional publication. I'd not want to be the administrator who rejects that statement and disqualifies her.

I submit for consideration as a test case the artist Myles Pinkney.

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.

(Reply to this)(Parent

It's an interesting theoretical question, particularly because it appears to be in the area where a Hugo Administrator might have to try and make a call on a matter of law; however, the decision as to whether the artist in question is pro or fan (or both; remember that it's valid to be nominated in both categories, just not to accept both of them) is actually a matter of fact, and therefore left up to the nominators.

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.

Misinterpretation

Re: More recent use of the term

Re: More recent use of the term

Re: More recent use of the term

Re: More recent use of the term

Publication

Re: More recent use of the term

Fan Versus Pro: Fight!