More about Hugo nominations

I may have sounded a little cranky about the habits of Hugo nominators in my last post, which is unfortunate. My point, at the risk of beating a dead horse, is that there is a wealth of excellent short science fiction and fantasy published each year, never ceasing to amaze me. This excellent short fiction is easy to find in the pages of the various Best of the Year anthologies. Alas, it is less easy to find in the shortlists of Hugo nominations. Perhaps it is the simple fact that professional editors putting together Best of the Year anthologies spend more time and look at more diverse sources when seeking out the best short fiction than does the average Hugo nominations voter. If so, let us borrow their years of expertise and long hours of effort in gathering their choices for the year’s best. Read their selections from 2011 (Strahan and Horton and Dozois) and engage in the conversation about what is excellent and what is not.

Oh, by the way, Hugo nominations are open now.