And Now, a Nebula Awards Geek Out Moment
Posted on February 19, 2010 Posted by John Scalzi 31 Comments
Like, I’m totally friends with loads of the Nebula nominees this year. No, seriously! I know them personally! How cool is that? I know Nebula nominees, people. They let me hang out with them. They tolerate my presence. I’m full of the nerd-squee at the moment for each and every one of them, and plan to bask in the reflected light of their awesomeness.
Okay, I’m done geeking out. But honestly, the best thing about the ballot this year is being in the company of so many of my friends, who are also such good writers. This is my peer group, and I couldn’t possibly be happier about that.
Not only are you friends with the Nebula nominees, you hang out with one of them every single day!
Congratulations on Zoe’s Tale and The God Engines. :)
You’re like, part of their entourage!
@ Keri #2
You’re like, part of their entourage!
He’s just being modest. They are part of his!
It’s a mutual entourage.
Scalzi is part of a posse!
He’s part of an anarcho-syndicalist commune, and he’s soon to take it in turn to act as a sort of executive officer for the year. (And I understand they have some lovely filth down there.)
hmm…I understand your geek-out moment John, but I don’t think this sort of post helps the Nebulas’ out in regard to their biggest critcism – that they are just a popularity contest in the SFWA.
Overall, I’d say they this ballot looks strong and it should be able to move beyond that criticism (though I can’t speak much to the short fiction), but this post made me go hmm….
The nominees are all very strong this year, and hopefully will move the Nebs past their reputation for being irrelevant and out of touch. Of course, I hope they shore up their artistic cred by giving the dramatic award to ‘Moon,’ as much pressure as there’s going to be from the ‘Star Trek’ fanboi contingent.
I hope they shore up their artistic cred by giving the dramatic award to ‘Moon,’ as much pressure as there’s going to be from the ‘Star Trek’ fanboi contingent.
As much as I’m a trek fanboy (contributor to the rec.arts.startrek.* FAQs, novel character named after me, etc.), I have to say that I think the Trek movie is the weakest of the nominated films. And I still liked it.
Hm….I think that’s really kinda cool, thinking about it.
Popularity contest or no, the three of those six novels I’ve read are all excellent.
Scalzi has a posse
http://bit.ly/99gNmG
so… if you have 2 friends up for the same award will you tell both friends you voted for them?
I think we should be much, much more concerned about whether — during his impending year (or more!) as SFWA Overlord — he lets the nominees hang out with him. Bwahahahaha!
So now we know the real reason why John is running for SFWA president: He gets to hang out with nebula nominees.
All kidding aside, congratulations on the nominations.
Cheers
Andrew
YAAAAY! That has to be such an awesome feeling :D. I bet they are squee-ing over you, too! (In a manly way, of course.)
Go forth and wallow. You’ve earned it.
I feel a bit like I did when Barack Obama was elected, that there’s been some sort of generational turn-over.
And that’s kind of nice to see, no disrespect intended to anyone.
Catherine
Kudos to you on the nomination!!
I guess we all get to have some filtered down geekdom cause we post on your page ^^
ZOMG I feel exactly the same way! When I was reading down the finals I was all, I know him! I know her! I know those guys! Holy crap – what AWESOME company in which to be!
And many congrats for you and yours, dude. Many, many many :)
John, I’m sure you realize your Big Idea posts sell books. I bought Boneshaker specifically because of Cherie Priest’s Big Idea a few months back.
Cherie, I think you owe John a beer.
Although I heard about John from Wil Wheaton, so really, the trickle down effect is that you owe Wil Wheaton a beer. ;)
I second what Keri just said. I finished Boneshaker last night and loved it. Cherie would have my vote if I had one to cast.
Congrats to you, to Cherie Priest, to Jim Morrow, etc., and to the late Kage Baker. All much deserved.
Thanks to the Big Ideas I have 3 of the nominated works to read already and have more on my list!
Is The God Engines eligible for a hugo nomination? I see that it technically came out in 2009 even if it was right at the end of the year.
And you can never be sure if there is some SMOF codicil to a bylaw drafted at the 11th hour in a smoke-filled room (well probably not any more these days) which renders it ineligible.
HerrSnibbens:
You bet it is.
Also, awesomeness that is the world of awards, I’m friends with a Norton nominee. Congrats to Cat Valente for the first ever digital only free book to have been nominated for a Norton award.
And to my KGB friends, Norah Jemisin, Rick Bowes, and my workout buddy, Laura Anne Gilman.
And to you too, John.
This is where the power of the community really shines. Because I went to see our host on a panel at the Decatur Book Festival a few years ago, I was introduced to the awesome works of both Cherie Priest and Tobias Buckell. Which in turn lead me to not only buy up their novels post haste, but to see Cherie in a zombies versus vampires panel at DragonCon this past year (go vampires!). Good luck to all the nominees. I’m certain winning would be nice, but picking up fans from posts like this is surely a wonderful reward as well. :-)
Dunno if we count as friends considering we’ve met all of, oh, once, but I’m psyched over the number of names I know on the list too. Congrats, fellow Nebnom!
I would be delighted if you considered me your friend, Nora. And congrats!
In prior years it amazed me even more that you weren’t on the list than it amazed me that I was.
Mysterious are the ways of SFWA. And congratulations!