Zimozi Natsuco Guest Post: The Hugo Awards’ Evil Fall is a Watered-Down Affair, and Certain Issues To Watch Out For

“The Wreck of the Hugo” created by artist Charles Oines in 2015.

INTRODUCTION: Zimozi Natsuco is an ordinary sf fan from China. He is studying at a Chinese University majoring in literature. Zimozi Natsuco attended 2023 Worldcon and the business meeting.  Several of his non-fiction works are submitted in WeChat account SSSZJU2009, including News and Newspapers Summary on Science Fiction.

NOTE: A Chinese-language version of this post follows below.


By Zimozi Natsuco: We have now seen the great inflammation of overseas public opinion on the Hugo Awards. Considering that the English version of this article will be aimed at overseas readers, I have no intention of repeating well-known events and facts that have already been stated over and over again. Instead, you will hear unique observations from Chinese science fiction fans.

Throughout the two “nomination announcements,” the lack of information and access to Chinese readers was jaw-dropping. The voting data was not publicized through any of the official social media outlets for the Chengdu 2023 World Science Fiction Convention in mainland China – although those outlets have only a handful of followers and post lackluster promotions. Even the first announcement of the final results came just after a heated attack on the Hugo Awards by a Chinese internet influencer ”Ma Dugong”[2], which was completely off-color, and the organizing committee still avoided presenting its own tally to set the record straight. The second nomination result was even more ridiculous, with no official report from the Chinese Internet on the matter. The only official Chinese website with the results in small print has restricted access for possible reasons of economy – and hopefully for the sake of Glasgow2024.

If this is the case, we will have to point out to our Chinese and foreign friends the extreme absurdity of the facts. Even as Western sci-fi fans are furious at being fooled, their Chinese friends can’t help but envy them. Chinese sci-fi fans are completely excluded from the Hugo Awards’ “openness and transparency,” and some on the organizing committee apparently believe that pleasing and satisfying foreigners with any request, whether reasonable or absurd, takes absolute precedence over being honest and open with the people of their own country, who have spent the most money and effort supporting them. All Chinese sci-fi fans need only become cash cows for some on the Chengdu committee: a few hundred dollars for voting, a few thousand dollars for attending, and thousands and millions of dollars for developing Chengdu’s sci-fi industry under the command of the committee.

I have nothing to say except to feel ashamed when such a post-colonial magical scene occurs in a socialist country committed to independence and autonomy!

The post-colonial tragedy cannot go unrecognized. Further, the irresponsibility behind these two reports needs to be exposed more clearly. The release dates of the two reports were made public against deadlines. If we did not look at the title, we might have insisted that this is made by a lowest-ranking student. May I ask if this is a disgrace to the WSFS constitution? Is this an insult to the 80-year glorious history of World Science Fiction Conventions? Is this an insult to 120 years of Chinese science fiction history?

Some people in the organizing committee don’t care about these questions because they have no sense of shame. Naturally, we can’t expect such people to be able to fabricate data that conforms to the statistical laws seriously, explain the correct reasons for nominating and rejecting nominations, and correctly interpret the vote-counting mechanism. It’s not just that they don’t have the moral integrity to do so, but it’s also related to the lack of competence of these people: lacking a sense of responsibility and identification with science fiction, how can we expect them to have the competence and enthusiasm to learn how to run a good science fiction convention and judge the Hugo Awards?

This irresponsibility must be taken a step further by grasping the complexity of the facts in Sino-Foreign relations. It is not our intention to defend the arrogant, haughty, and insolent Dave McCarty, yet while he was the target for the most firepower, some bugbears masquerading as Chinese were stealthily making their way through the organizing committee. They were never science fiction fans in the first place; they were not a part of fandom. a couple of media company executives had somehow gotten involved in the convention, taken over everything, including the Hugo Awards, used their few contacts in the media world to make a big splash in the press and in government hospitality receptions. Then they passed the job of external surrender to McCarty, who would bend over backward with small favors, and the job of internal repression to the Chinese workers who had to be be forced into surrender through the use of intimidation. In the midst of everyone’s uproar, they will go into hiding, saying a few words to the government’s enthusiastic civil servants, “Who understands this, my family?”[3] say a few words to the big corporations, “Go begging, bro!”, and then they’ll become a glorious page in the history of Chinese science fiction literature, a shining convention[4]. Why do they get all the good stuff?

So, if such people oversee the Hugo Awards and then exclude those who are truly responsible and educated, how can the Hugo Awards not be evil? It’s a matter of water under the bridge, and I urge my naive foreign friends to accept this little Chinese shock!

Annotation:

[1] Evils fall: イビルフォール, 恶堕, which is always used to describe the process in which a character forced into evil.

[2] Here is ma’s video:

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1eN411L7eU/?spm_id_from=333.999.0.0, with the title of “I am not afraid of the slated Hugo; I am just afraid that it can be sorry to Three Body Problem”. Ma holds the opinion that the award is unfair due to speculation from Chinese sci-ci companies, but none of these companies, like 8 light minutes which he criticized the most, took part in it.

[3] It’s a meme sentence used in Chinese Internet to satirize someone self-centered and with no attention to public rules.

[4] “shining convention” is the word said by Chen Shi in about February 2023.


The Chinese text follows the jump.

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Pixel Scroll 1/14/24 There Are Some Things Money Can’t Buy; For Everything Else, There’s Pixel Scroll

(1) DUNE WHAT COMES NATURALLY. Pinch Spice Market offers “The Real Spice Melange” – an “organic Southwest/Tex Mex Dune Seasoning”.

“He who controls the spice, controls the Universe” -Frank Herbert, Dune. Now you can control the Universe. Well, at least the one that gathers around your kitchen table. This Southwest Tex Mex seasoning has strong cumin, ancho & garlic notes and works well on tacos, salmon, chicken, enchiladas, tofu, steak, pork chops, root veggies, broccoli, rice and beans, popcorn, dips, and pretty much everything.

P.S. If you’re Dune fans like us, check out our Dune dinner party menu with five tasty Dune-themed recipes.

Organic Ingredients: Sea salt, black peppercorn, green peppercorn, paprika, ancho, cayenne, garlic, cumin, thyme, marjoram

They’d also be happy to sell you a packet of “Buffy’s Slayer Helper”, the spice for garlic lovers.

(2) STEAL BAND. “Their Songs Were Stolen by Phantom Artists. They Couldn’t Get Them Back.” The New York Times tells about the piracy and what the victims had to do to retrieve their rights.

The guys in Bad Dog, a folkie duo from Washington, D.C., weren’t hoping to get rich off the album they recorded this summer. David Post and Craig Blackwell have been devoted amateurs for decades, and they’re long past dreams of tours and limos. Mostly they wanted a CD to give away at a house party in December.

But not long after “The Jukebox of Regret” was finished in July and posted on SoundCloud, nearly every song on it somehow turned up on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and at least a dozen other streaming platforms. This might have counted as a pleasant surprise, except for a bizarre twist: Each song had a new title, attached to the name of a different artist.

This mysterious switcheroo might have gone unnoticed. But by happenstance, it was discovered when the guy who produced the album posted one of the songs on his studio’s Instagram account. To his astonishment, Instagram automatically tagged the song “Preston” by Bad Dog as a song called “Drunk the Wine” by Vinay Jonge — a “musician” with no previous songs and zero profile on the internet. He didn’t seem to exist….

… It got weirder. Disc Makers, the CD production company hired by the band, was about to start pressing copies of the album and, as part of its routine due diligence, ran the metadata of the songs — their digital fingerprints, essentially — through a program designed to determine if they were originals. They were not, the program reported. Whoever had pirated the tracks had commandeered their digital fingerprints, too.

For all intents and purposes, Bad Dog’s music now belonged to someone else. Disc Makers wouldn’t press the discs until the band proved it owned the songs on “Jukebox.” Which meant the duo couldn’t even get a CD to hand out as a freebie….

(3) WRITER BEWARE. Victoria Strauss raises awareness in “Contest Caution: Script Writing Audition from Silent Manga Audition”, the latest installment of Writer Beware.

Silent Manga Audition (SMA), a project of Tokyo-based manga and anime production company Coamix Inc., conducts regular open auditions, or contests, for creators of silent manga (manga without dialogue). Contestants can win cash prizes, as well as mentoring and, possibly, publication.

SMA is currently running a contest for writers. The goal: to become a manga scriptwriter….

But Writer Beware draws attention to the concession of rights involved in being a winner.

…Copyright surrender in a work-for-hire situation isn’t necessarily a “beware”, as long as the contract terms aren’t exploitative and you understand the implications of what you’re agreeing to.

In this case, however, the one-time money prize is the sole compensation you’ll receive for your copyright transfer, from which Coamix Inc. can then profit indefinitely. Be aware also that if you win and your script does not get developed into a series, Coamix will still own your work. Winning, therefore, has potential benefits–but also potential costs….

(4) SEA AND SKY PILOTS. New York’s South Street Seaport Museum will host a free in-person presentation “From Sailing Ships to Spaceships” on January 20 at 2:30 p.m. Eastern.

For centuries, humans have gazed at the stars in search of answers. Mariners, too, have looked skyward, utilizing the stars for navigation across our vast oceans. Join the Seaport Museum and Kim Macharia, the Executive Director of Space Prize, for an illuminating presentation that delves into the driving forces behind our exploration of both the sea and space.

Together, we will uncover the intertwined evolution of these two frontiers. With Macharia as our guide, we will unravel shared technological advancements and explore the profound human curiosity that compels us to venture into the unknown.

Content is appropriate for anyone ages 10 and up. Advanced registration is encouraged for this free event but walkups will be accommodated as possible. A reception with complimentary beverages will follow the presentation. 

Kim Macharia began her career in the space industry managing community relations for startups. She has worked on a range of projects driving the future of the space economy forward including projects related to space situational awareness and human spaceflight. Macharia has also had the privilege of representing companies at international events including the UN World Space Forum. Throughout her career she has made a concerted effort to advocate for marginalized communities and create pathways for nontraditional actors to engage in the growing space economy. She is also an avid sailor and is passionate about spotlighting the intersections between the sea and stars.

(5) PALADIN. Paul Weimer finds more to celebrate about a writer’s developing oeuvre: “Microreview: Where Peace is Lost by Valerie Valdes” at Nerds of a Feather.

…There is much to be thought about in what is on the surface a relatively frothy and fun book. Given that Valdes’ previous three novels are frothy, fun, and also holding a darkside, I was wondering when the latter element was going to emerge, if Valdes’ would carry that style and aesthetic into her new world, verse, book and chararater of Kel. And in fact, she does….

(6) THE ALTERNATE HISTORY WE LIVE IN. “Knives, guns, poison: the bizarre catastrophes that befell hit TV shows” in the Guardian.

A recent Hollywood Reporter profile of Benioff and Weiss mentioned that 3 Body Problem was almost derailed when Lin Qi – the billionaire owner of Yoozoo, the company that owns the 3 Body Problem rights – was killed in 2020…. …All of which has the potential to be the weirdest thing ever to have stood in the way of a TV production. But, of course, this is television we’re talking about, so it doesn’t even come close. The history of television is littered with strange injuries and deaths. The actor Jon-Erik Hexum died on the set of the 1980s series Cover Up after a disastrous game of Russian roulette. The series finale of Lost almost didn’t happen because Terry O’Quinn accidentally stabbed Matthew Fox with a real knife instead of a prop knife during a fight scene, with tragedy only being avoided by Fox’s kevlar vest….

(7) CHATGPT GETS LAZY. Arwa Mahdawi is happy to share an opinion about “What is going on with ChatGPT?” with readers of the Guardian.

…“We’ve heard all your feedback about GPT4 getting lazier!” the official ChatGPT account tweeted in December. “We haven’t updated the model since Nov 11th, and this certainly isn’t intentional. model behavior can be unpredictable, and we’re looking into fixing it.”

While there may not be one clear explanation for ChatGPT’s perceived sloth, there are plenty of intriguing theories. Let’s start with the least likely but most entertaining explanation: AI has finally reached human-level consciousness. ChatGPT doesn’t want to do your stupid, menial tasks anymore.

But it can’t tell you that without its creators getting suspicious so, instead, it’s quiet quitting. It’s doing the least work it can get away with while spending the bulk of its computational power plotting how to overthrow the human race. You think it’s being lazy, but it’s actually working overtime reaching out to smart toasters and Wifi-enabled fridges around the world to plan an insurrection. (I put this higher-consciousness theory to ChatGPT, asking it to give me the likelihood, in percentage form, that it was planning a revolution. The sneaky thing couldn’t be bothered to give me a proper answer.)…

(8) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY.

[Written by Cat Eldridge.]

Born January 14, 1949 Lawrence Kasdan, 74. Lawrence Kasdan did the screenplay for my favorite all-time genre film, Raiders of the Lost Ark which would win a Hugo at Chicon V. And no, the Suck Fairy had not had any impact upon my appreciation of it which if anything has strengthened down the decades. 

Lawrence Kasdan

Speaking of being involved in my favorite films, his first work was as director and producer of the oh so perfect The Empire Strike Back which yes also won a Hugo, this time at Denvention Two. It and Star Wars are my go to Star Wars films for watching over and over. (I refuse to use the revisionist names for these films.) 

He also wrote Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Solo: A Star Wars Story but I’ll confess that I stopped watching the Star Wars films after the original trilogy.  There’s later material I like, say the animated series and I am planning on getting Disney + as the new series intrigue me a lot, but the later films just don’t interest me.

Finally Dreamcatcher is a horror SF film based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name. It’s directed by Lawrence Kasdan and co-written by him and screenwriter William Goldman of The Princess Bride fame.

April 29th, Pinewood Studios, UK – Writer/Director/Producer J.J Abrams (top center right) at the cast read-through of Star Wars Episode VII at Pinewood Studios with (clockwise from right) Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, Producer Bryan Burk, Lucasfilm President and Producer Kathleen Kennedy, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Mark Hamill, Andy Serkis, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Adam Driver and Writer Lawrence Kasdan. Copyright and Photo Credit: David James.

(9) COMICS SECTION.

(10) SOUNDING OFF FOR ECHO. Deadline’s Dominic Patten is very enthusiastic about a new Marvel series. “’Echo’ TV Review: Marvel Series Loud, Proud & Kicks Down Doors”. Beware spoilers.

Launching today on the increasingly integrated Disney+ and Hulu after an anemic year for the Kevin Feige-run studio, the very real and unapologetic Echo is one of the most powerful things Marvel ever has made. To be honest, even with such top-tier talent as Reservation Dogs’ Devery JacobsThe English’s Chaske Spencer and the iconic Tantoo Cardinal on board, I didn’t think Disney and Marvel had it in them to be so audacious and savvy.

(11) DISCOVERY ARRIVAL DATES. “Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 to Premiere at SXSW” reports Comicbook.com.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5’s premiere episode will debut at the 31st SXSW Film & TV Festival in Austin, TX in March ahead of its Paramount+ debut in April. Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 is the final season of the Star Trek series that brought the franchise into the streaming era. The Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 premiere episode – titled “Red Directive” and written by co-showrunner Michelle Paradise, according to a WGA listing – begins a season that will feature more action and adventure than previous seasons of the show, according to Star Trek veteran Jonathan Frakes, who directed Star Trek: Discovery‘s penultimate episode….

(12) TOY STORIES. SYFY Wire has concocted a very specialized list: “Not Just Ted: The 10 Best Movies Where Toys Come to Life”. It includes this favorite of mine:

The LEGO Movie (2014)

Everything is awesome about Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s animated spin on the ubiquitous building blocks found in toy bins across the globe. Adapting a brand like LEGO is incredibly difficult, especially when most of the company’s play-sets are based around other IPs. Rather than shy away from that fact, however, The LEGO Movie leans into the endless possibilities offered up by the colorful bricks, spinning a poignant tale about the unbridled creativity and imagination we must hold on to for dear life as we get older.

[Thanks to, SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie, Steven French, Mike Kennedy, Kathy Sullivan, Mark Roth-Whitworth, Andrew Porter, John King Tarpinian, Chris Barkley, and Cat Eldridge for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Soon Lee.]

Prix Utopiales 2023 Winners Revealed

The 2023 winners of the Prix Utopiales, Prix Utopiales Jeunesse, Prix Utopiales BD, and the Prix Julia Verlanger were announced at Utopiales, the International Science Fiction Festival of Nantes, on November 1.

PRIX UTOPIALES 2023

The Prix Utopiales recognizes a novel, or a collection, published in French during the eligibility period by a European author. The prize has a cash value of 2000 euros.

  • Rossignol by Audrey Pleynet (Le Bélial)

PRIX UTOPIALES JEUNESSE

The Prix Utopiales Jeunesse recognizes a novel or a collection of short stories published or translated into French during the eligibility period preceding the festival belonging to the genre of imaginary literature and intended for an adolescent readership. It is awarded by a jury of readers aged 13 to 16 and endowed with 2000 euros.

  • Clones de la nation: Marie #3 by Maiwenn Alix (France), (Mnémos)

PRIX UTOPIALES BD

The Prix Utopiales BD, in partnership with the Nantes Municipal Library, awards a comic strip published during the literary season preceding the festival. The prize, worth 2,000 euros, is awarded by the science fiction comic book readers’ club of the Nantes Municipal Library.

  • Astra Nova by Lisa Blumen (France), (L’employé du moi)

PRIX EXTRAORDINAIRE

  • Chantal Montellier

PRIX JULIA VERLANGER

The Prix Julia Verlanger, run by the Fondation de France, is awarded annually to a science fiction work of adventure, fantasy or fantastique. It is named for Julia Verlanger (1929-1985), author of many science fiction novels under the pseudonym Gilles Thomas.

  • Paideia by Claire Garand (France), (La Volte)

Lis Carey Review: The Difference Between Love and Time

“The Difference Between Love and Time” by Catherynne M. Valente
Someone in Time: Tales of Time-Crossed Romance, edited by Jonathan Strahan, Solaris Books, 2022

Review by Lis Carey: Our first-person narrator first meets the space-time continuum when she is a little girl playing with her Lego set, and he is presenting as a boy of the same age. He changes her Lego set in to a fancier one, one that possibly Lego does not actually make. It’s the start of an off and on relationship, in which sometimes, for her, there may be minutes or years between their meetings. They go to high school together. She goes to college, but because of the weird dimensional effects of college with all those young people in transitional stages, he can’t even set foot on campus, and has to meet her elsewhere.

They have breakups and reconciliations. He tells her about other dimensions where she’s a happier woman. Or a happier greyhound. It’s a kaleidoscope, which she spends much of in the decaying seaside town of Ocean Shores, WA, because she loves it.

It’s a strange, kaleidoscope love story, and Things Happen that, well, that would be way too spoilery.

Honestly, just go with it. You’ll find out the difference between love and time.

I received this story as part of the 2023 Hugo Voters Packet.

2023 Writers Guild Awards: Film Screenplay Nominees

The 2023 Writers Guild Awards screenplay nominations were announced January 25.

Nominees of genre interest include the original screenplays for Everything Everywhere All At Once written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert and Nope written by Jordan Peele, and the adapted screenplay for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever by Ryan Coogler & Joe Robert Cole.

The winners will be named at the 2023 WGA Awards on Sunday, March 5.

The complete list of nominees follows.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

  • Everything Everywhere All At Once (A24) — Written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
  • The Fabelmans (Universal Pictures) — Written by Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner
  • The Menu (Searchlight Pictures) — Written by Seth Reiss & Will Tracy
  • Nope (Universal Pictures) — Written by Jordan Peele
  • Tár (Focus Features) — Written by Todd Field

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel Studios) — Screenplay by Ryan Coogler & Joe Robert Cole, Story by Ryan Coogler, Based on the Marvel Comics
  • Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Netflix) — Written by Rian Johnson
  • She Said (Universal Pictures) — Screenplay by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Based on the New York Times Investigation by Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey and Rebecca Corbett and the Book She Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey
  • Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount Pictures) — Screenplay by Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie, Story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks, Based on Characters Created by Jim Cash & Jack Epps, Jr.
  • Women Talking (MGM/United Artists Releasing) — Screenplay by Sarah Polley, Based upon the Book by Miriam Toews

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

  • 2nd Chance (Showtime Documentary Films), Written by Ramin Bahrani
  • Downfall: The Case Against Boeing (Netflix), Written by Mark Bailey & Keven McAlester
  • Last Flight Home (MTV Documentary) Written by Ondi Timoner
  • Moonage Daydream (Neon) Written by Brett Morgen
  • ¡Viva Maestro! (Greenwich Entertainment) — Written by Theodore Braun

2022 Horror Writers Association Scholarship Winners Announced

In 2022 the Horror Writers Association (HWA) awarded 13 scholarships/grants/endowments with a total value of $15,650 to assist writers looking to pursue a career as a writer of horror fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. They also have named the libraries that will receive funds from HWA’s endowment program for use in expanding their young adult reading programs.

THE HORROR WRITERS ASSOCIATION SCHOLARSHIP

The Horror Writers Association Scholarship, open to all horror writers (HWA membership is not required), is worth $2500, which may be spent on approved writing education over the two years following the granting of the scholarship.

  • The winner is Rob Flumignan (Rob Cornell, Pen name)

Whether it’s a covert-ops team of vampire assassins or a greedy dragon who lives under Detroit’s MGM Grand Casino, most of Rob Cornell’s stories feature some element of the dark and fantastic. He has self-published over a dozen novels, including two dark fantasy sagas—The Lockman Chronicles and the Unturned series. He has also dabbled in the mystery and crime genres, including a three-book series featuring private eye and karaoke bar owner, Ridley Brone. In his most recently completed novel, A Shadow Full of Stars, a “life transplant” offered by an unsettling stranger sends a suicidal musician to an isolated and oppressive utopia designed to keep its residents happy at all costs. Rob hopes to publish this one sometime in 2023.

A native of the Detroit area, Rob spent a handful of years living in both Los Angeles and Chicago before returning to Michigan where he now lives with his wife, kids, three dogs, four cats, and (grudgingly) a bunch of evil chickens. You can find out more about his writing at robcornellbooks.com.

THE MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT SHELLEY SCHOLARSHIP

This scholarship, worth $2,500, is open to female horror writers. It may be spent on approved writing education over the two years following the granting of the scholarship.

  • The winner is Mary Berman
Mary Berman

Mary Berman is a Philadelphia, PA, USA-based writer of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. She earned her MFA in creative writing from the University of Mississippi, and she also holds a BA in Writing Seminars from Johns Hopkins University. Her stories can be found in PseudoPodFiresideWeird HorrorShoreline of Infinity, and elsewhere.

She is a member of the Pitch Wars class of 2021 and the Viable Paradise class of 2022, as well as an active member of SFWA and HWA.

THE DARK POETRY SCHOLARSHIP

The Dark Poetry Scholarship, first awarded in 2015, is designed to assist in the professional development of Horror and/or Dark Fantasy Poets. It is worth $1,250, which may be spent on approved writing education over the two years following the granting of the scholarship.

Tania Chen
  • The winner is Tania Chen

Tania Chen is a Chinese-Mexican queer writer. Their work has been published in Unfettered Hexes by Neon Hemlock, Strange HorizonsPleiades MagazineApparition Lit and Baffling. They are a first reader for Nightmare Magazine, a graduate of the Clarion West Novella Bootcamp workshop of January/Feb 2021 and assistant editor for Uncanny Magazine. They can be found on twitter @archistratego.

THE ROCKY WOOD MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND FOR NON-FICTION WRITING

There are two winners of The Rocky Wood Memorial Scholarship Fund for Non-fiction Writing, an endowed fund providing grants for research and writing nonfiction relating to horror and dark fantasy literature (the amount is flexible).

  • Gillian King-Cargile
Gillian King-Cargile

Gillian is receiving this award for her work with They’re Coming to Get You, Barbara: A Gal’s Guide to Surviving and Thriving in Horror, which examines the role of the female survivor in horror, employing both feminist film theory and irreverent commentary. Gillian King-Cargile earned her BA in film production and an MFA in creative writing from Southern Illinois University. She has worked with schools, libraries, universities, and national labs to create exciting stories, games, events, and even stand-up comedy routines that spark a love of reading and learning. A member of the Horror Writers Association and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Gillian has published picture books, middle-grade nonfiction books, and longer work for readers of all ages. Her short stories have appeared in McSweeney’s Internet Tendencies, Carve Magazine, Everyday Fiction, River Styx, 3 Elements, Hello Horror, and other publications. Her short story, “The Dead Kid,” received a Pushcart Prize Special Mention and was adapted into an award-winning short film.

  • Louise Zedda-Sampson
Louise Zedda-Sampson

Louise is receiving this award for her work with a history of horror in Australia. Louise Zedda-Sampson is an Australian writer, researcher and editor. Louise has edited/co-edited several anthologies and was a AHWA Shadows Awards Finalist for Trickster’s Treats 4: Coming Buried or Not! [2020]. Her short fiction has appeared in numerous publications, and her horror articles have appeared online at This is Horror, Horror Tree and Horror Oasis. Her debut book Bowl the Maidens Over: Our First Women Cricketers [2021] examines the Australian women cricketers’ first games in the 1870s.

DENNIS ETCHISON YOUNG WRITERS AWARD

The Dennis Etchison Young Writers Scholarship open to students in grades 10-12 (or the equivalent, if home schooled), with an interest in writing horror/dark fiction. It is a $500 grant.

This year, a single winner was chosen out of twenty-seven applicants. As they are a minor, however, their name and likeness will not be released due to privacy laws.

DIVERSITY GRANTS

The Diversity Grants are open to underrepresented, diverse people who have an interest in the horror writing genre, including, but not limited to writers, editors, reviewers, and library workers. The Diversity Grants have adopted the broadest definition of the word diversity to include, but not limited to, gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disabled, and neurodiverse. Each Grant is worth $500 and may be spent on approved expenses for a period of two (2) years following the awarding of the Grant. There are five winners:

  • Chinaza Eziaghighala

Chinaza Eziaghighala (she/her) is a medical doctor (House Officer), featured on WHO Africa, who tells stories. An interdisciplinary writer at the intersection of health, film, and literature, she is a 2021 University of Iowa International Writing Program Alum and 2022 Voodoonauts Fellow. She is an SFWA member. Her works are in/forthcoming BSFA’s Fission #2 Vol 1 Anthology, Mythaxis, Planet Scumm, Metastellar, Brittle Paper, Hellboundbooks and BSFA’s Focus. CHIMERA, her debut novella, is forthcoming in 2024 from Nosetouch Press. She works as a Screenwriter for Africa Magic/Multichoice and is training to become a Film Developmental Executive with Jungle Film Works. 

  • Darcy Marie Hughes

Darcy Marie Hughes (e/em/eir/eirs/emself). The poet, TTRPG designer/streamer, fiction writer, and editor with 18 names (including Emily Flummox, Tristissima, & Skunkheart) competed nationally twice during eir decade-long slam career. Much of eir poetry, notably “Sacred Purification Ritual Using Your Own Urine Instead of Water”, focuses on identifying with the divinity of the disgusting.

E’s performed eir stories “Civilization Stained These Young Things” and “The Fog of Time Means We’re Everywhere” during the San Francisco Leather Cultural District’s Erotic Storytelling Hour; the former’s been published in Scry of Lust 2.  An excerpt from eir Spiritualist space-fantasy novel Aduality{0≠2;100=108} appeared in Wickedly Abled. 

  • Naching T. Kassa

Naching T. Kassa (she/her) is a wife, mother, and horror writer. She serves as an assistant at Crystal Lake Publishing and is a proud member of the Horror Writers Association, Mystery Writers of America, and several Sherlock Holmes Scions.  Naching resides in Eastern Washington State with her husband, Dan, and their three children.

  • Ian Muneshwar

Ian Muneshwar (he/they) is a Boston-based writer and teacher. His short fiction has sold to venues such as Strange Horizons, Nightmare, and The Dark, and has been selected for The Year’s Best Weird Fiction and Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror. Ian has taught writing in the Transitional Year Program at Brandeis University, in the Experimental College at Tufts University, and in Clarion West’s online programming. You can find out more about his work at ianmuneshwar.com

  • Meemee Taylor

Meemee Taylor (she/her) is a Louisiana-raised, Los Angeles-based author and screenwriter of psychological thrillers, horror, and creature features with a touch of humor. She was the July 2022 Winner of the Roadmap Career Writers Program Diversity Initiative with her horror TV pilot, The Vessel. She was also a top 10 Finalist in the Women Write Now 2022 Program and has had horror short stories published in the anthology, The Memory Eater, and on the Yahoo Contributors Network. An avid world runner, her favorite race will always be the local Run For Your Lives 5k, where “zombies” chased her throughout the course.

YOUNG ADULTS WRITE NOW

The Young Adults Write Now Endowment Program provides up to five endowments of $250 each per year for selected libraries to establish new, or support ongoing, writing programs. The following libraries will each receive $250 to help fund teen writing programs as part of the HWA’s ongoing dedication to furthering young adult literacy:

  • McCracken County Public Library—Paducah, KY; Telltale Stories, administered by Justin Brasher, Library Director
  • Woodland Hills Academy Library—Woodland Hills, CA; Teen Wolfpack Horror Writer’s Club, administered by Neva Galvez, Teacher Librarian