I read as far as GRR Martin's remarks, for which I wanted to hug him, and decided to stop there.

Lots of back-channel stuff goes on in the romance world, but I can't imagine RWA allowing that kind of thing to go on. I actually can't imagine many members I know even considering doing something like that.

Thanks, Ginger. I'm not going to read the comments. The article was enough.

I can't imagine RWA allowing that kind of thing to go on.

The problem is that this was according to the rules. They did nothing technically illegal, just nasty, especially the way they pushed honestly great work off the ballot (like, fr'instance, The Martian, which I figured was going to win the Hugo).

But I bet there are people even in the RWA who are angry and full of bitterness at not getting their brilliance recognized, and willing to blame it on the successful people being in a nasty political clique, just like high school. It's all about who you know, right?

But perhaps the RITAs aren't as easily gamed as the Hugos.

Ironically, The Martian is the kind of SF they claim has been marginalized. He's practically channeling Heinlein and Hal Clement.

Indeed. The Martian is the kind of book I give non-SF readers because it's so much fun. And has no dragons or blasters or aliens.

But perhaps the RITAs aren't as easily gamed as the Hugos.

The scoring system makes collusion difficult if not impossible, IMHO, and it also helps that you-the-author choose whether to enter, instead of any kind of fan or critics' nomination process. Which means that as a first-round judge (members/entrants judge, though you're barred from judging a category you've entered), you're probably going to be stuck reading at least one mediocre to downright terrible entry per year, but it's worth it to see new or obscure authors mixed in with the well-known stars on the list of finalists.

They did nothing technically illegal, just nasty, especially the way they pushed honestly great work off the ballot (like, fr'instance, The Martian, which I figured was going to win the Hugo).

It's worse: two of their nominees were ineligible, two more were reviewed and found to be "substantially different," and there's one more likely to be taken off because John C. Wright keeps publishing stories on his blog and then deleting them, and Vox Day apparently doesn't realize that counts as publication.

Ironically, The Martian is the kind of SF they claim has been marginalized. He's practically channeling Heinlein and Hal Clement.

There's also a Heinlein biography that would be on Best Related Work if they didn't take the whole ballot.

And a wonderful nonfiction/scholarly pub about Greg Egan.

Ugh. Some of you wonder how I read so many books. Partly because I'm single and childless, partly because I am on planes a lot...and partly because of shit like last night. Got to my hotel at 845pm after slogging through awful traffic (San Diego to Burnank, though I stopped for dinner in Irvine). Did I write the report for work that is almost a week overdue? No. Did I prepare for today's work, which is probably going to be a serious PITA? No. Did I go to sleep early? No. I finished the book I started at dinner (which was a good one id been looking forward to, admittedly, but would have been just as good on the plane tonight) and then read half of another one (not a great one)

Sounds perfectly reasonable to me, Meara.