Today the Sasquan Business Meeting will consider 4/6, E Pluribus Hugo plus other unfinished business and whatever shennanigans people have left in their deck at this point.
Livebloggers welcome.
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Welp, I see Wright has been dropped from Tor and come up with some whining excuse for doing it
I seem to recall that when he decided to release his previously-published stuff through Castalia that this came up as a probability.
If he didn’t see it coming, it doesn’t speak well of his business sense. (Or his relationships with his agent or with Tor.)
@CPaca
Mr Wright seems to have an understanding of modesty at variance with that of the English language.
My guess is it’s because of that stunt where he encouraged his fans to not buy his books from Tor, but rather to buy ebooks directly from him. So much for North American exclusive rights. If a contract was torn up, he did it himself.
Which is interesting, given that I thought that conservatives were All About the Contracts….
“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”
I, for one, am very glad to see fandom standing fast upon this bridge, facing the Balrog with those immortal words that nobody here needs me to repeat.
“Ameliorated. I do not think that word means what you think it means.”
Has Wright actually been dropped by Tor, or is he just flouncing off on his own account to the withered heath of Castalia Shack?
I, for one, am very glad to see fandom standing fast upon this bridge, facing the Balrog with those immortal words that nobody here needs me to repeat.
“I’m not even supposed to be here today! >:(“
@P J Evans
All the best Daleks in John C Wright’s world say: Ameliorate! Ameliorate!
Wright says that Lamplighter walked up to PNH to extend an olive branch and he shouted and cursed at her. To say that he’s an… unreliable narrator is an understatement, but that’s quite a story to pass around.
I was just reading a JCW blog post (looking for the news that he and Tor have parted ways, just to verify) and stumbled across this absolute gem of a quote:
He’s like a less talented Kanye West:
Hah, ninja’d to the quote by SIWorrier!
@Gabriel F
I do wonder whether “extending the olive branch” is some sort of Puppyspeak for “with threats and menaces”.
Glad to be of service, Kilo. I’m glad there was vigorous debate at the meeting.
The landslide victory of the “No Award slate” and the comportment of its cheerleaders will probably help convince some fans that this is all a partisan effort. I know you don’t conceive it that way yourself. Still, I think you’ve made a mistake by not sending these proposals to committee, increasing the risk EPH won’t be ratified.
Now that this was discussed openly in the business meeting, in addition to study of future scenarios, I hope there can be a report on how EPH would have changed the 2014 results. I suppose part of it was those Doctor Who episodes, but were there other changes?
I still think you are barking up the wrong tree by focusing on a repeat of this year’s events, and don’t see how you don’t see that releasing the ballots just helps the wargaming “Rabids.”
Good luck, and my offer to Patrick May to help work on testing EPH stands open.
Dammit, the other Nigel! I should have checked back further. 🙂
Isn’t Wright’s idea of offering an olive branch allowing those who have offended him to completely and utterly surrender and mend their ways — and to fire Irene Gallo while they’re at it?
If that’s the kind of branch Lamplighter offered, I could understand why the reaction might not be what either of them expected.
But it’s good to know that there is no conspiracy or cabal, that it’s all been the work of Patrick Nielsen Hayden for the past 15 years, deciding some years that no Tor authors would win Hugos in order to glorify Tor.
I should imagine that Tor would be quietly relieved if John C “Modestest” Wright were to remove himself from their list. He’s managed to singlehandedly produce more embarrassing bigotspam than any other author on their books in recent years.
I honestly don’t know (or care) what kind of olive branch she was extending, but I find it hard to swallow that the response to it would be public yelling and cursing. I understand that PNH can be intemperate, but that seems ridiculously unwise given the climate.
Brian. We passed EPH pretty clearly over the arguments of a fairly annoyed old guard trying to block them. Assuming the data backs up the results, which we now have a year to confirm, I am fairly confident we will ratify next year. I suspect I’ll be buggering up my usual WorldCon habits again by getting to the business meeting after far too few hours sleep to make my voice heard.
So there’s a good concern troll, thank you for playing.
Well, sure. If the olive branch isn’t actually olive, what does that say about the rest of the story?
I can’t help chuckling when I see that this is part of JCW’s sidebar Notice:
Man, there’s some heroic lack of self-awareness going on in the soul of the Modestest Great Literary Writer of our times.
All in a day’s work – you’re welcome.
The last time John C Wright proffered an olive branch :
Yeah no. I don’t think he’s a particularly reliable narrator
@snowcrash
Captain John C Wright of the Starship Maximum Pomposity.
I’m so glad I read Norman Spinrad’s The Iron Dream recently.
Does the Macmillan HR policy address yelling and swearing at one of your house authors?
I see that this week’s Canine Pravda is that the alleged Hugo-fixing s entirely Patrick Nielsen Hayden’s fault, not at all Teresa’s or Scalzi’s or anyone else’s.
@Brian Z
Are you a Macmillan house author? I had the impression that you were The Puppy Who Circumnavigated Puppyland In A Negotiation Of His Own Invention.
I don’t know who Wright’s teachers were, but clearly he didn’t learn much about writing from them. I can imagine the markings some of my teachers would have left on his papers: they’d have needed an entire box of pens just for his work for the year.
Overwritten, oh my, yes.
As Brad Torgersen would say, YOU MADE US DO IT!
SocialInjusticeWorrier, nice to have you back.
If you don’t mind me commenting on the topic under discussion, I simply agree with Gabriel F. that that sounds quite serious if accurate.
@PJ Evans
I think it was Swinburne of whom TS Eliot observed that all his adjectives “are practically blanks”. That seems to be the style to which John C Wright aspires (or possibly perspires!).
Yeah, I saw this coming about the time he started badmouthing Tor.
My prediction for what comes next? After he gets a look at the actual benefits of being a star Castalia House writer, there’ll be a kickstarter to pay for “medical expenses”. On the other hand, his next five or six Hugo nominations are inevitable.
@Brian Z
I would encourage this change in your commenting habits enthusiastically.
Wow. That John C. Wright post . . . just wow. Sentence by sentence I was thinking “Yes, he really wrote that.” Talk about burning bridges and just making himself look even worse. The sad thing is, I expect if someone tried to politely explain why they find his comments objectionable, he’d probably just declare them to be a Christ hater and rant some more.
SIWier: heh. Really glad you’re back.
Possibly all by next year!
After that, the multiple-noms rule passed this year would limit him to two per category, and EPH would likely limit him further than that…
@PJ Evans
Nonsense on stilts on stilts on stilts. In fact, with JCW it’s stilts all the way down.
@Kurt Busiek
Just think that, with one bright Castalia Star to guide him, next year supergenius writer and supremely modestestestest arbiter of Christian doctrine John C Wright might take up all five slots on the ballot in multiple categories!
What a treat that will be, boys and girls!
I will just point out that the best thing for somebody who has been slated is to withdraw – after the ballot has been announced. This will let non-slate works slide up past the cutoff. This is how TBP made it on the list, after all.
Of course the RP being The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight might well put a few things on the slate that are not eligible. Because of their massive intellect.
[ticky box check]
I agree that if anyone actually tries the five item bloc vote hack again after what happened this year, this is the most clear and straightforward way to neutralize it.
God’s sake, that Wright/Lamplighter and Tor situation is actually sad to watch. I can’t even snark about it*. These are two people setting their livelihoods on self-destruct.
*Except about Wright’s “modesty” oh wow
JCW himself describes part of his discussion that lead to all of this as
He walks up to them at a party, says that to their faces, and is shocked that they took it amiss. After all, how could it be insulting if it was accurate?
His entire screed is quite something. Someone needs to archive it before it gets edited. There’s no way he leaves it intact once the internet informs him of how unhinged it makes him sound. Also, once the other perspectives of this event come out, I expect some revision.
@XS
What’s really sad is that behind all Wright’s posturing there’s a human being who can’t pay his bills and has been reduced to asking his readers for help to buy groceries to feed his children. Heaven knows that his views are frequently repugnant and expressed in a deranged style, but I do feel sorry for him when he is reduced to that depth.
Yes. Also, I know and love Patrick. He is curt and tends to speak rapidly and loudly. I can see where yelling and cursing might have been the perception. This said, after what Tor in general and he and Teresa in particular went through in the last four months, I can totally see him loosing him with Lamplighter. Really can’t say I blame him. Also, Wright seems to have done everything in his power to get dropped and then some. There is a limit to what even a cold-hearted business will tolerate.
I believe he said it on his blog, and he’s soft-pedaling the comment. He called them “Christ-hating crusaders for Sodom.”
Perhaps there are better ways to spend the money he has, then, other than by flying to Spokane, renting a hotel room for several days and attending a convention.
If I was having trouble feeding my children, I sure as hell wouldn’t go to the San Diego Comicon, no matter how many awards I might be up for…
re counter-slates: Phil Sandifer is right, it is a bad tactic. Unfortunately it may be the only effective one available while we wait for EPH to be ratified. Depends on what the Puppies do next year, and how much spontaneous consensus there is for non-Puppy works.
This is why slates are evil: because they force opponents to indulge in the same bad behavior in order to counter-act it, unless they can get the rules changed. It’s like money in politics: if you want to oppose its effects, first you have to get elected under the existing rules, which means raising similar amounts of money. Which yes, makes you look like a hypocrite, but all you can say is “I have to play by the rules as they exist.” The Hugo rules as they exist empower slates, so if there are slates, they have the power.
Phil offers a counter-proposal of detailed discussion of recommended lists in order to encourage consensus. That requires threading a narrow path in order to be effective while not looking like organizing a counter-slate, and I’m not sure how effectively that can be done, especially considering rampant Puppy dishonesty as to their opponents’ motives.
@XS & SocialInjusticeWorrier ,
Agree that it is sad. I am no longer a fan of JCW, but I do not wish him ill, even the ill he seems determined to bring onto himself. I hope he stops being an ass and becomes a better human. The sooner the better.
@Kurt Busiek
I must admit to wondering just what soft-pedalled Christ-hating crusaders for Sodom look like. So far I am getting visions of gay atheists on a tandem bicycle, which seems rather charming to me.
God’s sake, that Wright/Lamplighter and Tor situation is actually sad to watch. I can’t even snark about it*. These are two people setting their livelihoods on self-destruct.
Basically this. And believe me, it’s hard not to go for a straight line involving one of their more skilled writers wanting to be ameliorated for something. But it’s just too sad to do it. That poor family.
I doubt it’d be effective. It’d just give slate-opposers more things to No Award.
They really don’t.
Penny-farthing bicycles. And elegant banners, embroiders with slogans like “Have Anal Sex With A Chum Today!”