Leaked emails show organizers of the prestigious Hugo Awards vetted writers’ work and comments with regard to China, where last year’s awards were held.
Organizers of the Hugo Awards, one of the most prominent literary awards in science fiction, excluded multiple authors from shortlists last year over concerns their work or public comments could be offensive to China, leaked emails show.
Questions had been raised as to why writers including Neil Gaiman, R.F. Kuang, Xiran Jay Zhao and Paul Weimer had been deemed ineligible as finalists despite earning enough votes according to information published last month by awards organizers. Emails released this week revealed that they were concerned about how some authors might be perceived in China, where the Hugo Awards were held last year for the first time.
The Hugos has been targeted for political manipulation for at least a decade now. Go back and look up who the “Sad Puppies” were, as an activist organization trying to influence nominees/winners.
I don’t think its unfair to say these awards have become dogshit over time, thanks to the way they’ve been manipulated by outside agitators to push this or that political message. I think its a stretch to say the problem is “capitalism” per se, but it is absolutely about conflating economic success with legitimacy of message. Hugo awards are a marketing tool for authors and boosted sales mean higher profiles which means more money for the next round of novels.
This creates some real perverse incentives when it comes to submissions/awards, particularly when “China Good/Bad!” readings of certain novels become this cause du jour for activists with little actual interest in the literature itself.