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So, it appears I am a finalist for the Hugo Award for "Best Related Work."

First of all, I must apologize for inadvertently releasing the info early a couple of weeks back.  I only got part of the email notification, and as I have no experience receiving Hugos, only voting on them, I wasn't aware of the perfectly logical rule of there being one public announcement.  Once I realized so, I pulled the blog and forum post.

So I'm making them now.

Apparently, several Tweeters noticed, and rather than inform me of the faux pas, they preferred to just call me names behind my back. Thanks, Jackwagons.

I need to thank Brad Torgersen for asking if I'd accept publicity for a nomination, and of course I said yes. Any positive publicity is good for writers and I'll come back to that in a moment.

I had actually expected he'd reference my short story, "Soft Casualty," which I think has merit as both dark SF, military psychology, and possibly horror.  You can read it for free here: http://www.baen.com/SoftCasualty.asp

"Wisdom From My Internet" kept people entertained, but it's a collection of snark and one-liners, some of it SF, some of it nerd, some of it geek and some of it mundane. I get fan and hate mail across the spectrum for it. Apparently, I'm an unrepentant right-winger, gay apologist, anti-Christian, anti-Muslim, pro-Muslim, religious apologist and "typical liberal."  So much love, so much hate. Thank you all.

But real thanks to the people who nominated the work, and those who bought it. While not nearly as lucrative as my "pro" sales, it was timely for dealing with some personal matters at home.  I appreciate both the funding, and the recognition of my disturbed sense of humor.  I will arrange to thank you appropriately with a 2X12, a towel and a bucket of water.

Still, if that's what people deem worthy, I will most certainly accept your accolades and votes, and more importantly, your money, right here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QZV08SW?ie=UTF8&tag=wwwmichaelzwi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00QZV08SW

I have to confess, I'm surprised by how many people don't get satire.  "Patriarchy Press" is a joke, folks.  Actually, someone on Amazon didn't like the book because of some of my jokes about Christianity. They didn't have a problem with the jokes about Islam, Judaism, Buddhism or Shintoism.  Or straights, gays, bis, liberals, conservatives...it's not as if my snark isn't egalitarian.  Of course, that might be the problem for the narrow-minded.  Just because I thought a gay pirate was called a "Swishbucker," and an oil sheik was a brand of condom...

And, there will be both a trade paperback and a signed, limited edition available shortly.

I must admit, I was a bit hesitant to consider accepting an award that requires both a poll tax and a literacy test for the voters. It seems a little elitist, but that's something we can work on for later--making the Hugos votable by all fans inclusively.

Now, I'd also like to draw attention to the other nominees in this category.  You should make an attempt to examine all the works before voting on one.

Tedd Roberts is a neuroscientist and friend of mine. He's offered quite a bit of medical and bio science background for my stories.  His article, "Why Science Is Never Settled," is an excellent lay presentation on how the scientific process works.

http://www.baen.com/Why_Science_is_Never_Settled.asp

http://www.baen.com/Why_Science_is_Never_Settled-Part2.asp

If you think you’ve already figured out what it’s about from the title, the actual article might surprise you. 

Better still, if I wanted the Hugo from him, he'd never notice it missing amongst all his professional awards. Besides which, he couldn't catch me with that bad knee of his.

Ken Burnside is a physicist and the creator/producer/head Honcho of Ad Astra Games, which he does while being almost totally blind.  He too has provided me with number crunching once or twice.  His essay, "The Hot Equations," is here: http://adastragames.com/products/the-hot-equations

And really, he's almost blind, so I could swap out a 30mm shell for the Hugo and he'd never notice.

Lou Antonelli I have never met, and I have not read "Letters from Gardner," but have met Gardner Dozois, respect his editing, and the book looks to be very informative about the editing and submission process, from someone who's got professional chops of his own as editor of Asimov's.  http://www.amazon.com/Letters-From-Gardner-Writers-Odyssey/dp/0692299424

He's written about rocketships before. 

John C. Wright I know from a dozen emails. He's got a strong grasp of philosophy and character, and an amazing arsenal of rhetoric. His essays can be found here: http://www.scifiwright.com/transhuman-and-subhuman/

He's the real threat here, because he's a gentleman, and I'd feel terrible stealing his award.

So there's the Hugo ballot for Best Related Work. To vote, you must be a Supporting or Attending member of Sasquan, the 73rd World Science Fiction Convention.  You can purchase memberships here: https://sasquan.swoc.us/sasquan/reg.php

Good thing it's in Spokane, not Chicago, or people would be voting early and often, even after dying.

There are some great authors and works in all the categories. Some of them surprise me entirely as either, "I had no idea this awesome writer didn't have a Hugo yet," or "Are they %@#$ing kidding?"  It's certainly a varied and vigorous ballot.  Good luck to all the nominees in their respective categories.

I regret that my schedule won't let me attend. That is my busiest time of year for events, and it's on the far side of the continent.

I find all the other nominees in Best Related Work to be very worthy, and I will feel no regret at losing to any of them.  However, I will certainly appreciate the votes I do get, and will thank those who do in an appropriately snarky fashion.

BTW, does anyone know the exact dimensions and diameter of this year's Hugo?  If I win, it's going to be the largest projectile I've ever had in my vault. 

That's not an euphemism for anything, okay?