Saturdays in Books

This is part of a series of posts reviewing categories in this year's Hugo ballot. I'll be discussing the entries, the voter packet, and my ballot. I've nominated and voted most years since 2011, when I figured out that all I had to do was join Worldcon to get to do so. Not only that, but if you participate in one year, you still get to nominate the next year. This year, thanks to a rule change, we nominated up to 5 entries, and the final ballot included the top 6.

Another category chocked full of awesome. Fan writer has several very strong entries. Below are this year's finalists, listed in the order they appeared on the official announcement, with my notes on each

Mike Glyer - I read File 770 frequently, and have been a contributor rarely. Mike puts in a ton of work every day, pulling together a links list with summaries. And yet he's still going to be towards the bottom of my ballot because god damn is this tough competition.

Jeffro Johnson - I am aware of this guy's work largely through File 770, and I am not a fan. I'll either not include him or drop him below No Award.

Natalie Luhrs - I follow Luhrs on twitter and read her blog frequently. She's always up to date on what's happening in fandom. There are definitely years where she'd be at the top of my ballot, but this year she'll just be near the top.

Foz Meadows - Meadows does epic reviews and essays dissecting tropes, narratives, anything that sticks in her craw. Another very strong fan writer I've followed for years, she'll also be near the top.

Abigail Nussbaum - Consistently insightful and interesting, Nussbaum will probably be at the top of my ballot. It's really a close call, though. 

Chuck Tingle - Tingle has quite the sense of humor, and I really appreciate him setting up donation links as part of trolling the Puppies. Ultimately, though, his contributions as a fan writer are largely trolling, which I just don't want to reward with a rocket. So I guess he'll be at the bottom, but above No Award.

This is legit, the hardest category for me to order. Today, Nussbaum is leading Meadows and Luhrs, but all three have done great work in the last year. Glyer is a strong contender, but not quite as competitive this year. The other two may or may not even appear on my ballot, and that will be a tough call to.