The Hugo Awards, a major literary award for science fiction, have been embroiled in controversy over revelations that some authors may have been excluded based on perceived criticism of China or the Chinese government.
Suspicions have been growing in the sci-fi community for weeks that something is wrong with last year’s awards, which are held in a different city each year and will be held in Chengdu, China in 2023. Now, newly released emails show that the award was likely manipulated due to political concerns.
Here’s what we know:
What is the Hugo Award?
The award was first established in 1953 and is presented annually at a gathering sponsored by the World Science Fiction Convention. Authors are nominated and awarded by members of the World Science Fiction Association, which includes science fiction fans. Each person can recommend 5 works in each category. These entries will be tallied and the six works that receive the most votes will become the finalists. Previous recipients include such luminaries as Ursula K. Le Guin, William Gibson, and Philip K. Dick.
Why were the writers and fans upset?
In January, the Hugo Awards revealed which writers were nominated for last year’s awards and how many were nominated. This information revealed that several authors who received enough nominations to be finalists were excluded from the process. The award administrator had marked them as ineligible without giving reasons. Among the authors excluded were two Chinese-American Western writers. RF Quan is a Chinese American who was expected to achieve widespread acclaim for his historical fantasy novel Babel, set in Oxford in the mid-1800s. A Chinese-Canadian author, his novel The Iron Widow is a science fiction reimagining of a female emperor of China.
“I think this was more of an undesirable issue than a lack of eligibility,” Quan posted on Instagram in January. She says, “Eliminating ‘undesirable’ work is not only embarrassing for everyone involved, but also renders the entire process and organization illegal.”
What did the leaked emails reveal?
The exclusion of popular authors of Chinese descent led to speculation that the prize’s administrators were excluding writers whose political views could be controversial in China. After emails leaked last year by Diane Lacy, a member of Hugo’s administration team, were published in a report by sci-fi fan and journalist Chris M. Barclay and journalist and sci-fi author Jason Sanford. These suspicions were recently confirmed. .
According to email exchanges included in the report, Dave McCarty, one of Hugo’s administrators, vetted the finalists and told other members that “works that focus on China, Taiwan, and Tibet” It was revealed that he advised the government to focus on matters of a politically sensitive nature in China, including or any other topic that may be an issue in China. ” Such works may not be safe to appear on the ballot, he added.
“This is really the heart of this award,” Sanford said. “For a genre that believes deeply in free speech to actively participate in an investigation into the political issues of an award finalist, knowing that it would be used to exclude some of the finalists? , that’s outrageous.”
In an interview with the Times, Lacey admitted providing the emails and said she shared them publicly because she regrets her actions and wanted to prevent the Hugo family from being contaminated again in the future. . “She felt so guilty about what she had done and wanted to look at herself in her mirror again,” she said.
What is still unclear?
It is unclear whether the awards’ administrators were acting under pressure or preemptively trying to avoid controversy. Lacey said he was unaware of any overt instructions from Chinese authorities, but added that McCarty had mentioned receiving guidance from Chinese authorities. In one of the emails released, McCarty told his colleagues to be wary of “negative representations of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tibet, and China” in writers and works, adding, “I want to be more I will try to get good guidance,” he added. There will be an opportunity to delve deeper into this issue with the Chinese members of the committee. ” McCarty did not immediately respond to his email request for comment.
Questions also remain as to whether Chinese authors were excluded from the final list for political reasons.
What was its impact on Worldcon and the world of science fiction literature?
Worldcon announced last month that McCarty had resigned and that he and two others had been censured “for the actions of Chengdu Worldcon’s Hugo Management Committee.”
Esther McCallum-Stewart, chair of this year’s Worldcon in Glasgow, apologized for last year’s debacle and said: “We will take steps to ensure transparency and redress the serious loss of confidence in the government.” ” he said. award winner.
Authors who were excluded from last year’s awards have expressed their outrage.
“The Hugo Awards tried hard to appease the Chinese government, but reverted to racism by pre-emptively disqualifying the Chinese diaspora,” Sheeran Jay Zhao wrote in X.
In an email, Quan said the revelations were “disappointing.”
Last year’s finalist John Scalzi said the 2023 award was “rigged” and he felt betrayed by administrators.
“The Hugo Award is a fan-given award, so it’s the award closest to the hearts of die-hard sci-fi fans,” he said. “It’s gut-wrenching for a lot of people to compromise them like this.”