...almost TWO Hugos, in fact August 10, 2008 8:56 PM   Subscribe

Congratulations to jscalzi on his Hugo.
posted by Artw to MetaFilter-Related at 8:56 PM (97 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite

Holy crap, congrats!
posted by mathowie (staff) at 8:59 PM on August 10, 2008


.
posted by orthogonality at 9:06 PM on August 10, 2008


What's this? Some kind of super-nerd award? *scoffs, downs flute of Cristal*

I jest of course. Congrats.
posted by turgid dahlia at 9:09 PM on August 10, 2008


This is really awesome. Congratulations.
posted by bluefly at 9:29 PM on August 10, 2008


Dude's writing rocks. Well deserved.
posted by birdsquared at 9:34 PM on August 10, 2008


I've not read any of his work. I should probably rectify that. Congratulations!
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 9:38 PM on August 10, 2008


Wow, congrats!

I'm a bit confused by this "Best Fan Writer" category. I was surprised that you could be considered a "Fan Writer" when you have several commercially published novels. Wikipedia says a fan writer is "Any person whose writing has appeared in semiprozines or fanzines or in generally available electronic media during the previous calendar year."

Does this mean that if J. K. Rowling wrote a short story that appeared in a semiprozine, she could get the Best Fan Writer award?
posted by grouse at 10:12 PM on August 10, 2008


Woot.
posted by loquacious at 10:19 PM on August 10, 2008


Congratulations!
posted by adamdschneider at 10:19 PM on August 10, 2008


Does this mean that if J. K. Rowling wrote a short story that appeared in a semiprozine, she could get the Best Fan Writer award?

No, because her writing sucks.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 10:20 PM on August 10, 2008 [6 favorites]


No, because her writing sucks.

Ooh! ICEEEEEE BURRRRRRN!
posted by turgid dahlia at 10:21 PM on August 10, 2008 [2 favorites]


The Scalz (I get to call him that because we go way back to 1999 when I was suggesting topics for his "Best of the Millennium" blogging) deserves that award for stuff he wrote well before he got "commercially published". But the Hugos will fully catch up with him in a few years. Congratualtions, you Old War Man...

(And have you heard about the MeFite who just won a Guido Award? Well, he's not exactly proud of that...)
posted by wendell at 10:23 PM on August 10, 2008


Congratulations to MetaFilter's own jscalzi on his Hugo.
posted by UbuRoivas at 10:58 PM on August 10, 2008


Does this mean that if J. K. Rowling wrote a short story that appeared in a semiprozine, she could get the Best Fan Writer award?

That would probably depend on how bad the competitors were.
posted by UbuRoivas at 10:59 PM on August 10, 2008


DAMN!!!
posted by UbuRoivas at 11:01 PM on August 10, 2008


Meanwhile, in the Wigu universe, young Hugo has just won a Scalzi for a rap about The Monkey That Represents Sharing.

ICEEEEEE BURRRRRRN!

Muggle please.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:03 PM on August 10, 2008 [7 favorites]


Man cortex, Hugo ain't 'bout no awards or shit...

And to Scalzi, Huge Congrats. Several of his novels are stacked in my bathroom at the moment, and that's a far greater honor than it sounds like.
posted by pupdog at 11:22 PM on August 10, 2008


Fantastic. Congratulations!
posted by rtha at 11:36 PM on August 10, 2008


That is very awesome. Congratulations, jscalzi!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:58 PM on August 10, 2008


...and while we're at it, commiserations to cstross, who (along with Scalzi) lost out to that upstart Chabon chappy.

Any other winners/nominees lurking round here? Show yourselves.
posted by flashboy at 12:54 AM on August 11, 2008


If a Metafilter member gets a Hugo, Metafilter gets a Hugo. I'm a part of Metafilter, Yay for me!
posted by Catfry at 2:18 AM on August 11, 2008


I remember John's talent as a writer as early as his days at the University of Chicago, where he was editor of the school paper (no AP feed --- all original content). As such, this is, in no way, a big surprise. Well done, John.
posted by scblackman at 3:19 AM on August 11, 2008


he got a yugo? i always thought those got a bad rap.

sorry.

mega kudos on a major accomplishment.
posted by msconduct at 3:23 AM on August 11, 2008


Cooooool. Congrats!
posted by IndigoRain at 3:51 AM on August 11, 2008


*cheering*
posted by rmd1023 at 4:46 AM on August 11, 2008


Wow, I've actually read some of his books, and didn't know he was a mefite. Cool, and congrats!
posted by Grither at 4:57 AM on August 11, 2008


Hugo, Peabody, whatever.
posted by Meatbomb at 4:58 AM on August 11, 2008


Suck it, reddit!
posted by ryanrs at 5:07 AM on August 11, 2008


*congratulations*
posted by onalark at 5:45 AM on August 11, 2008


Well done. Bravo!
posted by Wolof at 5:47 AM on August 11, 2008


Whoa, goddamn. Good for you, sir. I seethe with envy in your general direction.
posted by middleclasstool at 5:54 AM on August 11, 2008


*claps nerdily, quietly but with much enthusiasm*
posted by typewriter at 6:00 AM on August 11, 2008


Hey! Just bought The Last Colony on Friday (saving it for the beach next week).

Congrats, dude, and thanks for the fun.
posted by qldaddy at 6:20 AM on August 11, 2008


Wow! That's awesome! Congratulations!
posted by Shepherd at 6:20 AM on August 11, 2008


Woo!
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:23 AM on August 11, 2008


Congrats, that's great news!

Any other winners/nominees lurking round here?

Well, I copyedited the Best Related Book, Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction by Jeff Prucher (Oxford University Press), and by ghod, that's good enough for me!
posted by languagehat at 6:35 AM on August 11, 2008 [1 favorite]


Congratulations!
posted by bitterpants at 6:39 AM on August 11, 2008


Nicely done, Mr. S.
posted by plinth at 6:42 AM on August 11, 2008


Well, that's just great.
posted by boo_radley at 6:47 AM on August 11, 2008


Congrats and all but...can he hook me up with some digits for that cutie next to him?
posted by spicynuts at 6:51 AM on August 11, 2008


Conservatives clueless enough to think that having Condi Rice and Andrew Sullivan on the team somehow counts as diversity. Pen their "thinkers" like veal in think tanks rather than let them interact with people who might oppose their views. Loathe women who are not willing to have their opinions as safely shellacked as their hair. Let their sons get caught with a dime bag and see how many are really for "zero-tolerance." Let a swarthy day laborer impregnate their daughters and find out how many of them are really pro-life.

Six years on and I still quote that...
posted by wfrgms at 6:59 AM on August 11, 2008


Ya I'm a little confused. He was up for best fan writer and best novel? Seems like a pro writer to me...


Anyway, big ups to you John!
posted by Mister_A at 7:11 AM on August 11, 2008


¡VIVA HUGO CHAVEZ!

er, congrats!
posted by Joseph Gurl at 7:55 AM on August 11, 2008


Well played, son. What are your plans going forward?
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:57 AM on August 11, 2008


Well, I copyedited the Best Related Book, Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction by Jeff Prucher (Oxford University Press), and by ghod, that's good enough for me!

well, I unpacked them both!
posted by jonmc at 7:59 AM on August 11, 2008 [2 favorites]


That's awesome. Congratulations.
posted by xmutex at 8:04 AM on August 11, 2008


Well, I copyedited the Best Related Book, Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction by Jeff Prucher (Oxford University Press), and by ghod, that's good enough for me!

Ahhh - I was sure I'd seen some sort of MeFi related reference to that book somewhere, but couldn't remember where. I will now refer to you as "the tangentially Hugo-award-winning languagehat".

Can I suggest that the text underneath the comment form be changed to "note: Everyone needs a Hugo"?
posted by flashboy at 8:04 AM on August 11, 2008 [1 favorite]


Does "fan" mean "fanatic," or "fantasy?"

In any case, good work, John!
posted by Dave Faris at 8:12 AM on August 11, 2008


Congratulations to Hugo Scalzi on his john!
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:34 AM on August 11, 2008


There was a little hum of controversy last year when Scalzi was nominated for best fan writer when he's clearly a pro; the categories might be a little misnamed, because the award isn't really for best fan writer but for best fan writing. Clearly the majority of science fiction fan writing has moved from the zines to the blogs; and Scalzi's blog is some of the best SF fan writing, whether he writes pro novels or not.
posted by Jeanne at 8:34 AM on August 11, 2008 [1 favorite]


This is like serious stuff, end of an era times... Scalzi has unseated Dave Langford, who won the award 21 times!
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 8:34 AM on August 11, 2008 [2 favorites]


Woo Hoo!!!! Congrats!
posted by snsranch at 8:36 AM on August 11, 2008


Freind of the show PNH also got a nom.
posted by Artw at 8:41 AM on August 11, 2008


Bravo and congrats!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:42 AM on August 11, 2008


Congratulations!
posted by Nattie at 8:43 AM on August 11, 2008


Congrats!

Unless someone emails him, it could take a while for him to see this - Denvention just wrapped up, & he just won a Hugo, so, he might be busy.
posted by Pronoiac at 8:48 AM on August 11, 2008


!
posted by jenkinsEar at 8:54 AM on August 11, 2008


Fabulous! Congratulations.
posted by OmieWise at 9:02 AM on August 11, 2008


Yes, that's awesome! Congatulations, and well deserved.
posted by SpacemanStix at 9:07 AM on August 11, 2008


Yay! I just finished The Last Colony and I enjoyed it immensely. Looking forward to reading Zoe's Tale.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 9:27 AM on August 11, 2008


Just for the record, John and I are the same age, and are very close in terms of number of Hugos won to date. One of us is slightly ahead at this point, I forget who...
posted by Mister_A at 9:42 AM on August 11, 2008


Bravo!
posted by francesca too at 10:21 AM on August 11, 2008


And how'd you get that, eh? I'll tell you. By exploiting the workers! By hanging on to outdated imperialist dogma which perpetuates the economic and social differences in our society.
posted by tkchrist at 10:22 AM on August 11, 2008 [1 favorite]


Also congratulations to Locus for its completely unexpected win in the Best Semiprozine category!!!!!!11!!1!1!!1eleven1!1
posted by Justinian at 12:02 PM on August 11, 2008


yes, that's probably something you need to be a SF nerd to understand.
posted by Justinian at 12:03 PM on August 11, 2008


Do you think he could take Stross in unarmed combat? What about in armed combat where the weapons of choice were Hugo statuettes?
posted by Mister_A at 12:08 PM on August 11, 2008


Congrats!
posted by bru at 12:43 PM on August 11, 2008


This year Stross would be unarmed.

And possibly nude.
posted by Artw at 12:55 PM on August 11, 2008


I was glad to see F&SF win. I haven't actually bought the magazine in years, but I've loved it since I was knee-high to a grasshopper.
posted by languagehat at 12:56 PM on August 11, 2008


Art, don't you think Stross keeps that pointy ole Hugo dangling 'round his neck in preparation for just this sort of exigency?
posted by Mister_A at 12:57 PM on August 11, 2008


Well done jscalzi!
posted by WPW at 1:19 PM on August 11, 2008


No doubt about it, those Hugos are great cars.
posted by box at 1:28 PM on August 11, 2008


Please don't encourage author fights. The consequences can be terrible. (Search for "fight" & note the body count.)
posted by Pronoiac at 1:33 PM on August 11, 2008 [2 favorites]


That was friggin' hilarious, Pronoiac.
posted by Mister_A at 1:50 PM on August 11, 2008


I've read and enjoyed Scalzi, Stross, and Shetterly (What's up with the S writers lately). Congrats on the Hugo.
posted by BrotherCaine at 2:20 PM on August 11, 2008


Seconding Mister_A, Pronoiac.
posted by mwhybark at 3:27 PM on August 11, 2008


"Anyone tell John that he's got a congratulatory thread here?"

Found it.

And thank you, everyone! I'm touched and honored. To say I'm happy is to suggest I'm capable of understatement. I'm goofy wacky stupid happy.

Re: losing to Chabon for Best Novel: Hey, it was close -- he beat me by nine votes out of 745. As I say on my personal site:

"So, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist writes a #1 bestselling novel that receives glowing awards in the national press, sucks up major awards, is nominated for others, and sells hundreds of thousands of copies, and I’m supposed to feel bad about losing to him by single digits? Really? No, really: Really?"

That said, I really would have preferred to lose to CStross.
posted by jscalzi at 3:36 PM on August 11, 2008 [3 favorites]


I didn't know you won for your blog writing, that's damn fantastic and the photo of you is really happymaking. So wonderful.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 3:43 PM on August 11, 2008


This year’s Hugo trophy, while really quite beautiful, is also unwieldy. Carrying two around would have simply been impractical.

That comment right there? Should win you another Hugo. (Just, you know, next year, so you escape the whole having to carry two thing. Unless next year's is smaller, in which case, knock yourself out.)

Also, huzzah!
posted by elfgirl at 3:57 PM on August 11, 2008


Yes, congratulations!!
posted by spinifex23 at 4:10 PM on August 11, 2008


So, speaking of S's: Sterling & Stephenson both have scheduled book releases in September. This

Huh. I just realized my mental picture of jscalzi is just wrong. Reading Old Man's War, I figured he was an old man, but nope.
posted by Pronoiac at 4:11 PM on August 11, 2008


Yeah, the blog entry really answered all my questions. Congratulations again!
posted by grouse at 4:11 PM on August 11, 2008


Congrats, Mr S.

Oh, and I agree with Elfgirl... :-)
posted by Nice Guy Mike at 4:18 PM on August 11, 2008


How does it feel to topple Dave Langford?

I didn’t topple him; I believe he still stands upright.

No, I mean he won the Best Fan Writer Hugo for 20 years consecutively until you won.


A 20 Hugo airstrike would be a hell of a thing to be caught under, I'm just sayin'.
posted by Artw at 4:54 PM on August 11, 2008


Bravo jscalzi!! Whoo hoo!
posted by nickyskye at 5:29 PM on August 11, 2008


Nice work jscalzi! That is awesome.
posted by ikkyu2 at 6:25 PM on August 11, 2008


I love reading your books. I'm so glad you got a Hugo and that we're all shouting out for you here! Mondo congrats!
posted by Lynsey at 7:36 PM on August 11, 2008


Pass the pure creamery ego when you're done with it. That sounds like it'd be delicious on a toasted english muffin.
posted by CKmtl at 7:53 PM on August 11, 2008


*throws Scalzi confetti* That's fifteen kinds of awesome, John. Congrats!
posted by Dreama at 6:18 AM on August 12, 2008


Felicitations!
posted by ooga_booga at 12:03 PM on August 12, 2008


JScalzi, If you are still here, can you tell me why sci-fi treats copies of human beings as continuations of the original. I'm thinking of Old Man's War (unless I'm confusing books), but there are plenty of other examples (Star Trek transporters, etc...). Did this give you pause when you were thinking of it? Were there implications regarding death and/or the soul that you thought of but decided to gloss over to get on with the story? Did you try to come up with some kind of technological restriction against multiple copies only to be stymied and have to hand wave the possibility away?
posted by BrotherCaine at 1:01 PM on August 12, 2008


The technical restriction in OMW is that unless there's a live transfer of consciousness into a cloned brain that has already been treated to accept the consciousness, it doesn't work. The fact it's a transfer rather than a recreation solves the continuation issue (there's a scene in which the consciousness is active in both the old and new brain), and while this allows for multiple sequential transfers, it doesn't allow for multiple simultaneous transfers. In The Ghost Brigades they ostensibly crack the problem of requiring live transfer of consciousness, but it's worth noting that the transfer they attempt doesn't work correctly, so in fact they didn't fix it. The issue doesn't come up in either The Last Colony or Zoe's Tale.

Bear in mind, of course, that this is indeed all science fiction, where the test is for plausibility inside the universe one creates, for the purposes of one's actual story. If I could come up with an actual way to handle this stuff, I sure wouldn't be writing fiction, I'd be the richest man alive. Which means sooner or later you get handwaving, depending on one's point of view.
posted by jscalzi at 1:24 PM on August 12, 2008 [2 favorites]


Thanks for taking the time to respond. Your efforts at internal consistency (or plausibility) in your sci-fi writings are noticed and appreciated by at least this particular fan.
posted by BrotherCaine at 1:30 PM on August 12, 2008


I've loved your books, really enjoyed Old Man's War and Ghost's Brigades. It's such a pleasure when a sci-fi writer takes the time to create characters that you get to know, rather than just relying on flux capacitors and battles and stuff. Ernest congrats for a job well done!
posted by jasper411 at 4:33 PM on August 12, 2008


and "Ghost's Brigades" is a current offering of SFBC!
posted by francesca too at 5:59 PM on August 12, 2008


Bravo jscalzi!
posted by vronsky at 7:27 PM on August 12, 2008


Well done.
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 2:03 PM on August 14, 2008


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