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Losers and Winners

The highlight of the Hugo Losers Party was our midnight madness: the presentation of this year's Alfie Awards.

Those who came in late may be wondering -- what the hell are the Alfie Awards?

Well, to understand that, it helps to know a bit about Hugo history. The first Hugo Awards were presented in 1953 at the 11th worldcon, in Philadelphia. Alfred Bester won for Best Novel (the big one, then as now) with his soon-to-be-classic THE DEMOLISHED MAN. Fannish legend tells us the first awards were made from Oldsmobile hood ornaments... but that's not quite true, as it turns out. Maryland fan Jack McKnight made those first awards himself in his machine shop, working all through the con and finishing just in time for the presentation. Which is not to say that the 'hood ornament' legend is entirely wrong. Just the date is off. It was the 1956 Hugos that are actually Oldsmobile hood ornaments. Dave Kyle made the awards that year. Kyle presumably lacked McKnight's machine shop and metal-working skills, so he raided some junkyards for hood ornaments from the 1950 or 1951 Oldsmobile Rocket 88, and screwed them to an upright wooden stand.

Fast forward to 1976, and that first Hugo Loser Party in Kansas City. I have written, below, of how Gardner Dozois acted as a herald/ doorman at that bash, loudly announcing each guest who attempted to enter, and proclaiming them either a winner or a loser. Losers were cheered and welcomed, winners booed and pelted with peanuts, etc. Which leads me to the moment when Alfred Bester himself appeared in the door. "ALFIE BESTER," Gargoo roared. "You won the FIRST Hugo!!!" Alfie was undeterred. "Yes," he shouted back, "but it was an Oldsmobile hood ornament, and it's all pitted and rusted and corroded now!" And the boos changed to cheers, and Alfie entered the party and proceeded to drink us all under the table.

When I decided last year to give some tokens to the writers, fans, and stories who were pushed off the Hugo ballot by the Puppy slates, I decided to call them "Alfies" in Bester's honor, and of course they had to be made out of old hood ornaments.

Herewith, the Alfie trophies for 2016:



((The old car buffs among you may have some fun figuring out what makes and models supplied the rockets for each of those Alfie trophies. Have at it)).

This was the second time I've given out Alfies, which supposedly makes them an ancient and hallowed fannish tradition... though it's a tradition I would gladly put to rest, if peace, good will, and normalcy should ever return to the Hugo Awards. (We can hope).

Hugo night was a lot less fraught in Kansas City than at Spokane. There were some great and worthy winners, no boos, no walkouts, and only two categories that went to No Award... which is not as good as none, but is certainly better than five. Sad Puppies 4 produced a recommendation list, not a slate, and I applaud them for that. But the Rabids continued to slate, and there were still good people and great work pushed off the ballot by VD and his followers.

Awards... all awards... are at heart no more than a slap on the back, a way of telling someone, "You did good! Great work! Hurrah!" The trophies, however handsome or ugly or controversial, may look nice on a mantle, but they have little intrinsic worth in and of themselves, and the supposed financial gains and career boosts that go to award winners are largely legendary (there are a lot of Oscar-winning actors out there looking for work, boys and girls). Nonetheless, it is nice to win an award. And yes, it's even nice to be nominated and lose, though it may sting for a moment; that's what the Hugo Losers Party is all about. Awards should be about joy and celebration, a community applauding its own. That's certainly what the Hugo Awards were all about, until Puppygate.

Aside from two 'committee awards' (I am the 'committee'), I do not choose the Alfie winners. The fans do, with their nominations. The Alfies go to those who produced outstanding work in 2015, but were denied a spot on the ballot, and thus the chance to compete for the Hugo, by slating.

BEST FANCAST was the first Alfie awarded at the Midland. The award went to TEA AND JEOPARDY, by Emma and Peter Newman, which garnered 212 nominations.

One of my special 'committee awards' went to BLACK GATE, which had 461 nominations in the Fanzine category, second among all nominees and good for a place on the ballot. But Black Gate turned down the nomination, just as they did last year, to disassociate themselves from the slates. Turning down one Hugo nomination is hard, turning down two must be agony. Integrity like that deserves recognition, as does Black Gate itself. Editor John O'Neill was on hand to accept the Alfie.



Our Alfie for BEST FAN WRITER went to ALEXANDRA ERIN, whose 213 nominations led all non-slate nominees in this category. (I note that I myself got 103 nominations in the category, good for thirteenth place. What the hell, guys, really? I thank you, but... I know professionals have won in this category before, but I'm really more comfortable leaving the Fan Writer awards for fans).



JOURNEY PLANET, by James Bacon and Christopher J. Garcia, had 108 nominations for BEST FANZINE, and took the Alfie in that category. Have to say, I loved Bacon's enthusiasm (and he's the calm, quiet, shy one of the two).



We had a couple of distinguished guest presenters in the next categories. Hugo and Chesley award-winning artist John Picacio joined me on stage to present the Alfie for BEST GRAPHIC STORY to BITCH PLANET VOL 1: EXTRAORDINARY MACHINE, from Kelly Sue DeConnick, Valentine De Landro, Taki Soma, and Robert Wilson, which racked up 271 nominations. And Irene Gallo, the distinguished award-winning art director from Tor Books came up to announce our BEST PROFESSIONAL ARTIST, JULIE DILLON. Julie has won the last two Hugo Awards in this category, and her 244 nominations suggest that she would have had an excellent shot at making it three in a row, if slating had not kept her off the ballot. Instead she gets an Alfie to keep her two Hugos company.



The winner of my second special 'committee award' was Liza Groen Trombi and the staff of LOCUS. Once upon a time, LOCUS won the fanzine Hugo almost every year, until the rules were changed to make it ineligible. A new category, Semiprozine, was created. Thereafter LOCUS won that category almost every year... until, once more, the rules were jiggered to make it ineligible. Rules change, but one thing does not: the continued excellence of LOCUS, which remains required reading for anyone who loves science fiction and fantasy.



Of all the categories in this year's Hugo, the one most adversely affected by the slating was BEST RELATED WORK, where the Hugo finalists consisted of a critical study of the works of Gene Wolfe and some truly reprehensible stuff. A pity, since there was some terrific related works published in 2015, including Adam Whitehead's history of epic fantasy, Felicia Day's delightful memoir, and the Alfie winner, with 359 nominations: LETTERS TO TIPTREE, from Alisa Krasnostein and Alexandra Pierce.

The last Alfie of the evening was in the category of BEST SHORT STORY. To present that, the only fiction award, I called upon the winner of one of last year's special 'committee' Alfies, ROBERT SILVERBERG, the only man to have attended every Hugo Awards ceremony... and now, every Alfie ceremony as well.



I had to debate whether to give an Alfie in this category, since the Hugo for Best Short Story had gone to a legitimate nominee, Naomi Kritzer's delightful "Cat Pictures Please." (Naomi was sitting next to me during the Hugos, and her excitement when her name was read out reminded me of what these awards are all supposed to be about). "Cat Pictures" was only on the ballot because one of the slated nominees refused his nomination (Thomas Mays, who deserves recognition for that), and lots of other good strong short stories were denied a shot at the ballot. I could not rectify all of that, but I could recognize at least one story that 'shoulda been a contender.'

The last Alfie of the evening went to ALYSSA WONG, for "Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers," which had 253 nominations. Alyssa was there herself to accept.



Congratulations to all the Alfie winners... and to the Hugo winners too, of course.

You did good work, guys and girls.

And that's what it's all about, Alfie.

Comments

( 25 comments — Leave a comment )
Jasmine Townsel
Sep. 9th, 2016 07:51 pm (UTC)
Losers Party
It was such an incredible time. Brian and j really enjoyed ourselves so thank you. Helsinki is looking like a serious option but if not see you in San Jose :)
Pat TheRedman YNWA
Sep. 9th, 2016 08:09 pm (UTC)
Seems like you are having a blast george, and congrats to all the winners (and losers). I was just wondering, will you do a Reddit AMA any time soon? Its been a while since you had a Q&A and to do it on reddit would be wonderful!
Nicolas Silva
Sep. 9th, 2016 08:39 pm (UTC)

It would be amazing to receive an award from George

jamesonquinn
Sep. 9th, 2016 09:02 pm (UTC)
EPH and voting
I understand if you want to just be done dealing with the Hugo controversies. However, if you have anything you want to discuss with me about EPH, 3SV, or other issues, feel free to email me - first name dot last name at gmail. In particular, I have some ideas for "lesser amendments" to 3SV to make it feel less negative, and since you're one of the primary reasons I think it's important to do that, I'd like to discuss those ideas with you if you're willing.

(ps: I know you sent me a livejournal private message several months ago, but I was not able to respond because of your privacy settings.)

(pps: you can leave this comment public, or delete after reading, as you see fit.)

(ppps: The loser's party was great, and it was lots of fun to dance the "time warp" as Columbia.)

Edited at 2016-09-09 09:06 pm (UTC)
werthead
Sep. 9th, 2016 09:22 pm (UTC)
Thanks for the mention George, it's very much appreciated :)
danny_of_sf
Sep. 9th, 2016 10:05 pm (UTC)
What's it all about Alfie?
I confess, your ending had me searching for my old Dionne Warwick tunes. Loved the song, but was too young to truly appreciate the movie.

Looks like a wonderful time was had by all the winners and losers. And world con and the Hugo awards continue. Despite the efforts by a few to destroy them. You're a class act, George!
punningpundit
Sep. 9th, 2016 10:29 pm (UTC)
The Bester of the Lot
I had very much hoped that Chuck Tingle would have received an Alphie for his excellent work once he realized how he had come to be nominated for the Hugo. He not only refused to let himself be used as a tool for evil, but he did so by deflating the pretensions of those who had tried to so use him.

That level of playful dedication to pointing out the difference between right and wrong deserves, I think, some recognition.

Perhaps, though, that would not quite have been in the positive spirit of the Alphie awards.
grrm
Sep. 9th, 2016 10:38 pm (UTC)
Re: The Bester of the Lot
Tingle did have some fun, didn't he?

Asking Zoe Quinn to accept for him was the cherry on the sundae.

I had a chance to meet Zoe at the pre-Hugo reception, fwiw, and she was at the party as well, I know, though I saw her there only in passing with so much going on. A very pleasant and charming young woman, I thought. Maybe she IS Chuck Tingle, for all we know.
disgruntledgrrl
Sep. 9th, 2016 11:59 pm (UTC)
OMG I read "Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers"
That was GREAT. A nice step in a new direction of horror.
Joaquin Sabritas
Sep. 10th, 2016 01:51 am (UTC)
nice
a dream come true
Marko Kloos
Sep. 10th, 2016 01:55 am (UTC)
It took some considerable sleuthing, but I determined that my 2015 Alfie is made from the hood ornament of a 1952 Ford Victoria.

Thank you for throwing yet another epic party. The venue was spectacular and the company delightful. I'd be super happy if we got to do the party without the necessity for the Alfies next year.

Edited at 2016-09-10 01:58 am (UTC)
grrm
Sep. 10th, 2016 02:05 am (UTC)
Me too. Though then I'd need to figure out what to do with all of these old rusty hood ornaments.
jequirity
Sep. 11th, 2016 06:32 am (UTC)
Rusty Hood Ornaments
I suggest a pro photo shoot and awesome frames because that will just add to the experience for you ... and then sell the damn things because someone out there would probably murder for it.
mneme
Sep. 10th, 2016 04:03 am (UTC)
I think you entirely deserved your Fan Writer nominations. Yes, you are (obviously) also an excellent pro writer, but this post, right here, is an excellent example of the kind of fan writing that earned you 13th place.
Alternate Snowcrash
Sep. 10th, 2016 04:10 am (UTC)
Looks like a smashing party, and a lovely ceremony, regardless of the events that necessitated it.

A question - did Hao Jingfang make it? She had what I thought was the best winners speech, and she seemed delightfully conflicted as to whether she wanted to win or whether she wanted to attend the Alfies!
mrjoshuaspeaks
Sep. 10th, 2016 05:45 am (UTC)
Hugo Musings and Disenchantments...
I liked Pat Cadigan as Toastmaster, made the Hugo presentation a bit more unorthodox and fun.

I didn't like that the Hugo voters seem to be taking the other extreme retaliatory reaction to these naive "attention whores" trying to take over the award. Some of the winning works deserved the attention. "The Fifth Season" for one was a well renowned and quality work, but others were average at best IMHO and it feels like the total commitment to diversity all at once just doesn't seem genuine. The Hugos in the long run will be better and more cultured but right now it seems like slapdash responses to ultra conservatives to me.

Also, I think the Hugo Winner for "Best Novel" does get a substantial hike in sales. I often see mass reprints in hardcover for the winners along with a tag on the cover of the book for years pronouncing it a Hugo winner. I have bought books since I was a teenager because of that accolade. For the shorter works I would think the stories get reprinted in allot of "best of" anthologies because of a win and their name being higher regarded among the publishing houses as well.

Edited at 2016-09-10 05:52 am (UTC)
grrm
Sep. 10th, 2016 06:51 am (UTC)
RE: Hugo Musings and Disenchantments...
Gardner Dozois and the other Best of the Year editors make their picks well before the winners of the Hugos or Nebulas are known.
Christopher J Garcia
Sep. 10th, 2016 05:45 am (UTC)
I got mine today!
Helen shipped me the trophy today! I took pics of it all over the Computer History Museum during lunch! Posted em on http://klausatgunpoint.weebly.co

Thanks so much!
Chris
Who is the shy retiring Journey Planet editor
grrm
Sep. 10th, 2016 06:52 am (UTC)
RE: I got mine today!
Very cool! Congrats! Sorry you missed the party.
bookshop
Sep. 10th, 2016 07:33 am (UTC)

This is such a great anecdote. thanks for sharing it. :)
scalzi
Sep. 10th, 2016 08:30 am (UTC)
It was a wonderful time and it was very good to see you, and the legend of your fabulousness as a party host grows.

But more than that is the fact that you are both kind and have a sense of justice, which is why I think the Alfies are genuinely appreciated, by the people who get them and the people who are there to see them given out.

Thank you for all of it, George.

John Scalzi (if in case the comment id fails in some way)
grrm
Sep. 10th, 2016 06:22 pm (UTC)
You're welcome, John. I appreciate the kind words.
Bernhard Vienna
Sep. 11th, 2016 05:20 pm (UTC)
Felicia Day
Speaking of Felicia Day, have you seen her in Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog and in Con Man?

Do you have some funny stories about conventions that could make it into a TV series about conventions?
abqlady2
Sep. 13th, 2016 01:18 am (UTC)
The Alphies will be treasured awards in their own rights. Nice group of recipients and well considered!
Jeff Baker
Sep. 18th, 2016 12:20 am (UTC)
Alfies
George, it's so nice of you to do these awards! And thanks for posting the pictures and reports!
( 25 comments — Leave a comment )

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Comments

  • grrm
    5 Mar 2018, 19:17
    Still working on that. When we have a final, I will share it.
  • grrm
    5 Mar 2018, 05:32
    All the Wild Cards books under Tor have had absolutely stellar covers. I'd frame them and hang them on my wall if I could.
  • grrm
    4 Mar 2018, 03:28
    Are all these examples digital artwork? It doesn't look like traditional oil on canvas. I miss the fantasy/sci-fi covers of the '70s and '80s. Even the paperbacks had amazing covers.
  • grrm
    3 Mar 2018, 17:49
    Whatever anyone can get their hands on is, I suspect, the right answer.

    At the last party, it was an open bar with pretty much everything you can imagine on offer. There were some special drinks as…
  • grrm
    3 Mar 2018, 00:07
    Any chance you could tell us who’s doing the cover art for Fire and Blood? And maybe when we can expect a glimpse of it. Thank you!
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