Cora is a Hugo Finalist!

As you may know, the finalists for the 2020 Hugo Awards and the 1945 Retro Hugo Awards have just been announced. I always link to the announcement (and to any other SFF award announcement I can find) in the weekly link round-up, but I normally don't write about the Hugos here at the Speculative Fiction Showcase.

However, this time around I want to make an exception. Because if you take a look at the finalists for the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Fanwriter, you will find – among most excellent company – my name. 

Yes, I'm a Hugo finalist for Best Fanwriter!

I've known about this for about two weeks now (for those who don't know, the Hugo coordinators contact you beforehand to ask if you want to accept the nomination), but I'm still in shock. When I got the e-mail from CoNZealand, the 2020 Worldcon, I initially didn't even know what it was. I was waiting for an e-mail from my ISP and for my Disney Plus activation mail, so when I saw a mail from CoNZealand in my inbox instead, I thought it was a newsletter or progress report.

It's a great honour to be a Hugo finalist and I want to thank everybody who nominated me. I'm also thrilled that my friends of GalacticJourney are finalists again in the Best Fanzine category.

Unfortunately, with CoNZealand going virtual due to the corona pandemic, there won't be a traditional Hugo ceremony nor the reception beforehand nor the Hugo Losers' Party afterwards. But thankfully, I got to experience all that last year in Dublin as the designated accepter for GalacticJourney. And on the plus side, it means that I can follow the Hugo announcements in my pyjamas, which is a lot more comfortable than an evening gown and tiara.

I also have a request. Like all Hugo finalists, I will be asked to put together a selection of my writings for the Hugo voters packet. And that's why I need your help. Which 2019 articles or essays of mine should go into the Hugo Voters packet? There is a full list here, so let me know in the comments which ones you think should go into the packet.

So how can you vote for the 2020 Hugos and 1945 Retro Hugos? I guess many people here already know how it works, but for those who don't, it's quite simple. If you buy a supporting membership for CoNZealand, the 2020 Worldcon, you can vote for the Hugo and Retro Hugo Awards as well as vote to select the location of the 2022 Worldcon. You also receive all of the convention publications and get access to the Hugo Voters' packet, which contains most of the nominated works either in part or as a whole. If you buy an online attending membership, you can also attend the virtual Worldcon panels and other events online. 

I'll also do a detailed analysis of the 2020 Hugo and 1945 Retro Hugo finalists over at my personal blog, which will be included in Friday's link round-up. But for now, I just want to say thank you for nominating me.