However, the venue staging was awful, in terms of its accessibility. High, and only accessible by temporary stairs, the stage was off-limits to anyone in a wheelchair, anyone in an electric scooter and anyone with a significant mobility impairment. This included one recipient in a mobility scooter who – ironically – won an award celebrating how much she’d given to the local community through her participation over decades.

This should not be acceptable to us as a community in the twenty-first century.

People with a disability should have the same opportunities to participate on-stage as everyone else. I’ve seen it several times in the last few years, so it’s not a problem confined to Western Australia. Far from it. These sort of things are primarily controlled by the venue, not the convention committee, and can’t be fixed unless addressed a long way out. That’s why we need to talk about it as a community now.

We wouldn’t for a second tolerate a sign saying: “No red-heads or women allowed on stage” and we shouldn’t tolerate staging that says exactly same thing to people with a disability.

Ultimately, it’s sensible on many levels. Proper access for people with a disability is also better access for older members of our community who also face mobility challenges too.

I raised the issue with Damien Warman and Dave Cake after the ceremony, both of whom are on a sub-committee that helps run the awards process. They understood my concerns and gave a commitment to undertake steps to help address the issue. But ultimately they can’t fix it. They can’t force a convention committee to do it, and they shouldn’t have to. We should insist upon it as a community.

If it means staging the awards differently – we should do that.

If it means committees asking someone with a disability to walk the space with them before setup – we should do that.

If it means tougher negotiations with hotels – we should do that.

If it means everyone pays $5 extra on their membership to allow for improved staging – we should do that.

These things are important to us as a community, and we should fix them.

Cloud & Ashes: Three Winter’s Tales, by Greer Gilman won the Tiptree this year, along with Ooku: The Inner Chambers by Fumi Yoshinaga.

Cloud & Ashes is published by Small Beer Press run by Gavin Grant and Kelly Link. Great to see such a wonderful press getting a well-deserved gong. Ooku is the first time manga has been chosen for the award.

On top of that Wives by Paul Haines got a mention in the honors list too! Hopefully nod for Wives and the recognition of two stories from Eclipse 3 - edited by Jonathan Strahan – augur well for the Hugo nominations.

Best Novel
Mirror Space, Marianne de Pierres, Orbit

Best Novella
Horn, Peter M. Ball, Twelfth Planet Press
Wives, Paul Haines, Cour de Lion

Best Novelette
Sister, Sister, Strange Tales III, Angela Slatter, Tartarus Press
Inevitable, The New Space Opera 2, Sean Williams, Harper Collins

Best Graphic Story
Scarygirl, Nathan Jurevicius, Allen and Unwin

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
District 9
Moon

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
Caprica Pilot, SyFy

Best Editor, Short Form
Jonathan Strahan
Ellen Datlow
Keith Stevenson

Best Editor, Long Form
Stephanie Smith
Zoe Walton
Bernadette Foley
David G Hartwell

Best Semiprozine
Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine

Best Fan Writer
Bill Wright, Interstellar Ramjet Scoop

Best Fanzine
A Writer Goes on a Journey

Best Fan Artist
Andrew McKiernan

John W. Campbell Award
Angela Slatter
Peter M Ball
Lezli Robyn

I know there are some international nominations in there but I won’t tell anyone if you don’t.

If you haven’t already, get out there and nominate!

The story so far, for those who’ve missed it: The Hugo Awards are coming to Australia courtesy of Aussiecon 4. Here’s our chance to help some of our best authors get their best work recognised by getting them nominated for an award.

It’s a pretty simple idea – get out there and nominate your favourite Aussie, writers, works, editors and fans.

But the numbers remain stacked against us.

As of January 1, there were 352 Australians registered and eligible to nominate for the Hugos. A healthy number, yes. But a very small one when compared to the 856 Americans eligible to nominate. And breaking those numbers down further says a bit more about why it’s important we get out there and nominate. Of those 856 Americans, 388 are “supporting” members – ie people who are unlikely to attend the convention but have paid a fee to get regular updates and to be eligible to vote in the Hugos. On top of that, add all the members of last year’s Worldcon, held in Montreal, who are also eligible to nominate and vote in the awards this year.

It’s perfectly understandable that US readers have less exposure than locals to great Australian speculative fiction. But if you think local works and authors deserve recognition; if you think it’s possible to make a difference and if you think it’s important to try then check out the Aussiecon 4 website for nomination details. And if you’re Facebook inclined, log in and join the conversation here.

People, it’s time we made the John W Campbell Award into more than just award for new writing talent from North America.

The John W Campbell Award for Best New Writer has been awarded 37 times since it started in 1973. Of those 37 awards, 36 have been awarded to authors from North America. One has gone to an author from the UK – Jeff Noon. Not once has it gone to an Australian, a Kiwi, a South African, a Japanese writer or anyone else. It has only ever been awarded to residents of three countries – the USA, Canada, and England.

Think of the great Australian genre authors starting their careers that we missed out on recognising: Margo Lanagan, Garth Nix, Sean Williams, Greg Egan, Isobelle Carmody and heaps of others.

This is not the fault of the organisers. They run a good award that has drawn attention to some great new talent. It’s our responsibility as a local community.

This photo, from Patick Nielsen Hayden, isn’t a picture of the award. It shows Jay Lake holding a pin Jay is distributing to all previous nominees. At a quick glance it looks like there’s only one (for Kirsten Bishop) of these exquisite creations in Australian hands (or on lapels).

Local writers aren’t even getting nominated. But with Worldcon coming to Melbourne, we’ve got a chance to make amends and focus some attention on some of our best new local writers.

My list of nominations for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer will include:

• Angela Slatter
• Peter M. Ball
• Lezli Robyn
• Jason Fischer

I’ve read a heap of work from each of these writers and I’m very confident they’ll all go a long way.

Nominations close March 13. You can find out more at the Aussiecon 4 website.

Photo by Patrick Nielsen Hayden used under Creative Commons licence.

Interviews and recommendations will be appearing on these blogs from tomorrow:
http://random-alex.livejournal.com/
http://girliejones.livejournal.com/
http://kathrynlinge.livejournal.com/
http://www.mechanicalcat.net/rachel
http://tansyrr.com/
http://editormum.livejournal.com/

Looking forward to seeing further discussion of what we should be nominating. Don’t forget, nominations close in a month.

For those who are still catching up the campaign is designed to get more recognition for great Australian writers and great Australian stories by getting people to think about which local works are worth nominating for a Hugo award.

Most of the discussion is on the Facebook group. Log in and check it out here. There’s also some discussion at the Vision Writers Yahoo group if you’re a member.

Some other useful recommendations and pimpage can be found here:

Tansy Rayner Roberts

Alisa Krasnostein

Peter M Ball

Deborah Biancotti

Rachel Swirsky

Paul Haines 

Go read, enjoy and nominate.

But with the 2010 Worldcon being held here our community has a great chance to internationally recognise the best work from Australia’s best authors.

Here’s how we can do it together.

Nominations for the Hugo Awards are open until March 13. You can help by nominating your favourite Australian work, writers or artists from 2009.

The works I’m highlighting and recommend nominating are:

Best Novella: Horn by Peter M. Ball

Best Novelette (two recommendations):
“Sister, Sister” by Angela Slatter in Strange Tales III
“Inevitable” by Sean Williams in The New Space Opera 2

Best Fan Writer:  Bill Wright

The John W Campbell Award for best new writer (two recommendations):
Peter M. Ball
Lezli Robyn

I think Jonathan Strahan will receive another nod for Best Editor (short form) and I encourage people to nominate him. I will be.

If you haven’t already read works by these people track them down and see if you think they deserve a nomination.

There are lots of other categories too. Check them out and see if you’ve got other favourite works worth nominating as well. It’s nominations I’m interested in and I won’t be campaigning like this to get particular people particular awards once the nominations are in. But let’s get some of our best authors out there on the international awards stage.

While nominations don’t close until March 13, you need to be a member (supporting or attending) of Aussiecon 4 by January 31 to be eligible to nominate works.

Spread the word.

About Aussiecon 4 and nominating: www.aussiecon4.org.au/
About the Hugo Awards: www.thehugoawards.org/

After I’m back I’m going to review each of the winners and maybe do a category by category rundow. But until then a reminder of the life achievement winners and shortlisted nominees.

LIFE ACHIEVEMENT
Leo & Diane Dillon
Patricia McKillip

NOVEL
Fangland, John Marks (Penguin)
The Gospel of the Knife, Will Shetterly (Tor)
The Servants, Michael Marshall Smith (Earthling Publications)
Territory, Emma Bull (Tor)
Ysabel, Guy Gavriel Kay (Viking Canada; Roc)

NOVELLA
“Cold Snap”, Kim Newman (The Secret Files of the Diogenes Club)
Illyria, Elizabeth Hand (PS Publishing)
“The Master Miller’s Tale”, Ian R. MacLeod (F&SF May 2007)
The Mermaids, Robert Edric (PS Publishing)
“Stars Seen through Stone”, Lucius Shepard (F&SF Jul 2007)

SHORT STORY
“The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairy Tale of Economics”, Daniel Abraham (Logorrhea)
“The Church on the Island”, Simon Kurt Unsworth (At Ease with the Dead, Ash-Tree Press)
“Damned If You Don’t”, Robert Shearman (Tiny Deaths)
“The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs of North Park After the Change”, Kij Johnson (The Coyote Road)
“Singing of Mount Abora”, Theodora Goss (Logorrhea)

ANTHOLOGY
The Coyote Road, Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling, eds. (Viking)
Five Strokes to Midnight, Gary A. Braunbeck & Hank Schwaeble, eds. (Haunted Pelican Press)
Inferno, Ellen Datlow, ed. (Tor)
Logorrhea, John Klima, ed. (Bantam Spectra)
Wizards, Jack Dann & Gardner Dozois, eds. (Berkley)

COLLECTION
Dagger Key and Other Stories, Lucius Shepard (PS Publishing)
Hart & Boot & Other Stories, Tim Pratt (Night Shade Books)
Plots and Misadventures, Stephen Gallagher (Subterranean Press)
Portable Childhoods, Ellen Klages (Tachyon Publications)
The Secret Files of the Diogenes Club, Kim Newman (MonkeyBrain Books)
Tiny Deaths, Robert Shearman (Comma Press)

ARTIST
Ruan Jia
Mikko Kinnunen
Stephan Martiniere
Edward Miller
John Picacio 

SPECIAL AWARD, PROFESSIONAL
Allison Baker & Chris Roberson (for MonkeyBrain Books)
Alan Beatts & Jude Feldman (for Borderlands Books)
Peter Crowther (for PS Publishing)
Jeremy Lassen & Jason Williams (for Night Shade Books)
Shawna McCarthy (for Realms of Fantasy)
Gordon Van Gelder (for F&SF)

SPECIAL AWARD, NON-PROFESSIONAL
G. S. Evans & Alice Whittenburg (for Cafe Irreal),
John Klima (for Electric Velocipede)
Rosalie Parker & Raymond Russell (for Tartarus Press)
Midori Snyder & Terri Windling (for Endicott Studios Website)
Stephen Jones (for Travellers in Darkness: The Souvenir Book of the World Horror Convention 2007)