2022 Hugo Awards Reading List: What Should I Have Read? Tell Me!
It’s been many years since I’ve done one of these. As I mentioned on my 2022 resolutions post/rant, I want to do a lot more reading and a lot more positive interactions in fandom. The first step: opening myself up to a public conversation about the Hugo Awards, the things I particularly loved, and more. But I don’t want to do that alone, which is where you come in. For several years, I asked folks to tell me what stories (fiction of all lengths and comics) they particularly enjoyed in the prior year. I then used those suggestions to together a longlist of works I consider worth checking out. This helped me narrow my focus for my nominating ballot and give other folks some insight into my process (and help narrowing their lists, too). So here we are. The comments are open, and I want to know:
2022 is Here (or, Hell, I Need a Different Year…)
1. 2021 is a Thing That Happened, But Nobody Wanted It 2021 is gone. It’s back there. Submitted to the book of time for appraisal, and it will be found guilty of being largely a miserable affair. Some scholars might even say it was an avoidable mistake. Now, we’re in 2022, and unlike 2021, when I thought that maybe we’d get our shit together and push forward to some new future worth living in, I just don’t have a lot of good things to say about 2022. Omicron is here, and if Google statistics are anything to go by (pulled from NYT), we’re looking at yet another year of this shit. 824,000 people dead. Possibly as many as 50% of COVID survivors get some version of “long COVID,” which can, in some cases, be debilitating for months or life. I mean, just look at it…
My Worldcon 79 / DisCon III Schedule
Welp. In 14 days, I’ll be off to D.C., where I hope I’ll get to have a good time while avoiding COVID. *crosses fingers* And since I’ll be in D.C., I think it’s worth noting that I’m on programming because apparently people mostly like me! Here’s what I’m up to (all times are in EST): Wed 4:00 PM (Older; Virtual): Not Just D&D: Great Tabletop RPGs Wed 5:30 PM (Calvert; Mod): What Makes a Classic a Classic? Wed 7:00 PM (Lobby): Sip with the Stars Thu 5:00 PM (Ambassador Ballroom): Public Hugo Finalists Reception Thu 7:00 PM (Lobby): Sip with the Stars Fri 7:00 PM (Calvert): Teaching and Analyzing Genre Fiction Fri 8:30 PM (Blue): The Work of Nalo Hopkinson Sat 11:30 AM (Blue): Is the Genre Too Big for Meaningful Hugos? Sat 2:30 PM (Regency Ballroom): Hugo Finalist Rehearsals Session Sat 5:30 PM (Congressional Room; Virtual): How to Star a Fan Podcast Sat 2:30 PM (Regency Ballroom): Hugo Finalist Rehearsals Session Sat 10:30 PM (Regency Ballroom): Hugo Awards Photo Opportunity A quick note: these are current as to my schedule, but the names, locations, etc. may change on the day. In particular, I suspect “Sip with the Stars” will have an additional name each time as one of the folks originally listed had to cancel their attendance. Make sure to check your program book! I did leave myself open to allowing other folks to take slots if they were able, so I suspect a big part of this VERY heavy Worldcon load is the fact that we’re still in COVID time. And why do I suspect that? When I helped with World Fantasy this year, we ran into a brick wall when a lot of folks who had intended to come in person decided not to, which opened a lot of in-person programming items. To be clear, those folks were justified in their decision and I am in no way judging them (really, I’m not; just pointing out a fact about what happened). So, I suspect this happened here, too. Add to that the fact that I’m apparently notoriously easy to program for, and, well, here we are. All that said, I’m very much looking forward to modding and participating at Worldcon, if for no other reason than I miss being in that environment quite a lot. If you’re planning to be there, scream at me. We should catch up like regular people…but with masks and vaccines!
The Joy Factory Weekly Newsletter! (New Issue Up)
Heyo, folks. I’ve not been updating much on the blog. Hence the new posts today! For those that don’t know, I’ve started a newsletter (title in the, uh, title). It features a collection of interesting links, reading lists, books to check out, articles and other writing projects, interviews, and more! You can subscribe to the newsletter at GetRevue or here! Also: a brand new issue just dropped (#8, y’all)! Coming soon: an interview with the lovely Adri Joy! Thanks for hanging about. Have a good’un!
New Podcast: The Joy Factory Monthly!
Hiyo, blog follower ninjas! In case you didn’t know, I’ve been releasing a mostly-weekly new podcast as part of the Joy Factory project called The Joy Factory Monthly. You can find the show on almost every podcatcher (iTunes, etc.), stream the episodes right here on my website, and find episodes on Acast! If you don’t know what the show is about, here’s the simple pitch: each episode, I’ll talk about a joyful topic with a guest (or just you, the audience). The topics will be geeky and run the gamut from specific films or books to video games and culture to fascinating science and *joyful* news. Basically, it’s intended as a fix for joyful geeky content and represents my desperate attempt to not feel like the entire world is burning to the ground and we’re all doomed! If that sounds like something you’d be interested in, give the show a listen, subscribe on your favorite podcatcher, and give the show a five star review on iTunes! Oh, and a brand new episode just dropped! It features a conversation with Iori Kusano about the joy of video games, from the escape they offer to the NPCs and games living rent free in our heads, and much more! Check it out below!
Capricon 41: My Schedule (Panels, Live Podcasts, etc.)
Welp. It’s that time of year for Capricon, a Chicago-based science fiction convention to run virtually this year. Capricon 41‘s guests of honor include Aliette de Bodard, Brandon O’Brien, John Jennings, Michi Trota, and Dr. Cacophonie Tamayo, all exceptional individuals in general (and within their respective fields). Needless to say, Capricon is going to be on fire this year! This year is unusual, too, for the fact that I helped a little with programming, though not nearly as much as I should have or wanted to when I first chose to participate. It’s been a learning experience, though, and I hope to continue growing and being better at this going forward! With all that out of the way, here’s my schedule of panels (all times in CDT). Come hang out!