After learning during the official announcement that all the nominees in his category came from the Rabid Puppies slate, Thomas A. Mays says he has decided to withdraw his Hugo-nominated short story “The Commuter” from the ballot.
He explained on his blog:
I’ve known for some time that “The Commuter” had made the short list, having been emailed about it by Professor Adams, “The Voice of the Hugos,” on April 10th. I provided copies of my story for the Hugo Voter’s Packet and accepted the nomination in the forlorn hope I would find my story among a mixed and diverse selection of other stories, stories which came out of fandom as a whole (a whole which includes Puppies . . . ) rather than from any single group’s agenda or manipulation of process. I knew that it was unlikely, given that my little-known story was only up for the award due to its inclusion on Vox Day’s Rabid Puppies slate, but I had hope.
To be clear, Vox Day and I have worked together before, but I did not request or engineer my appearance on his slate. I’m very proud of my story “Within This Horizon”, that I contributed to the first Riding the Red Horse anthology, which allowed me to be in the same volume as friends and acquaintances Chris Kennedy, Christopher Nuttall, Ken Burnside, and one of my literary heroes, Jerry Pournelle. I have been interviewed for Castalia House. However, Vox and I disagree on many political and social points and I am neither a Rabid Puppy nor a member of his Dread Ilk. My stories have no real ideological bent right or left. And while I cannot dispute the experiences of others which brought the Sad and Rabid Puppy movements into existence, I did not approve of the straight-slate bloc voting that so damaged fandom last year. I was very encouraged when Sad Puppies 4 answered the criticisms that had been levied against SP3.
… I did not ask to be part of any list, but I hoped at the very least that it might bring other eyes to “The Commuter”, readers that might appreciate it for what it was and perhaps honor me with an uncontroversial nomination (or at least a few Kindle purchases). But, now that all hopes for a clean nomination are dashed, it is my turn to speak:
Rather than eat a shit sandwich, I choose to get up from the table.
Thank you to all the people who actually read my story, enjoyed it, and nominated it for the Hugo. I will forever be in your debt.
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And so it begins …
(First!)
Annie Bellet has much sympathy:
https://twitter.com/anniebellet/status/725212468264472577
And also relief:
https://twitter.com/anniebellet/status/725213424423165952
It really sucks for the people caught up in this situation.
Well done
A tough decision on his part, but I absolutely understand and respect his integrity. I wish him well.
Those who wish to support Mr. Mays can purchase the story in question (non-Castalia) here for $.99 on Amazon US or on Amazon UK for £.99.
Kudos to him for sticking to his principles. Anyone who turns down the chance to write “Hugo Finalist” in his bio has had to make a very tough choice.
I may not entirely agree with his reasoning, but as always, this couldn’t have been an easy decision to make, and kudos to him for making it.
Thanks, JJ – story purchased.
brightglance: Thanks, JJ – story purchased.
I picked it up, too. It may or may not be my sort of thing — but for 99c, I am VERY happy to support a writer with integrity.
I can NOT imagine what an incredibly difficult decision it must have been to turn down having “Hugo Finalist” on his resume. I hope that I never have to face a moral dilemma of that difficulty.
Respect.
I don’t know if this is me being rosy tinted, but there’s another effect of his action which is entirely positive and he might not want to rub in a publisher’s face.
Had he refused the nomination, assuming Teddy respected him enough to take action, then there would be some other piece of steaming shit to take it’s place. By locking one of Teddy’s nominating slots then there’s at least a chance that something nominated by fans will make it onto the ballot.
Thanks for the link JJ, bought the story too.
It’s a tough decision whichever way you turn.
Here is what I wrote in the general Hugo finalists thread:
“On one hand, I must respect Thomas A. Mays for choosing to withdraw. On the other, his explanation is for why he accepted the nomination in the first place feels rather weak to me. He was not an innocent bystander – he knew what TB is out for in the Hugos, and he admits that he hoped that the rapid slating would have some effect but not too much.
Much like hoping that the sucky mud would only be ankle-deep this year, except of hip-deep like it was last year, and it ended up to be this year as well.”
@NickPheas: From the standpoint on getting non-crap legitimate contenders onto the finalist list, then the best way to do that would be by declining to be put on the shortlist when the Hugo administrators contact you. To me, that’d be the best and most principled thing, though also the one with the least publicity (until the nominee stats are released).
Right now, the administrators will have a hard time to put in a replacement finalist, slated or not.
Karl-Johan … actually it’s not hard to put in a replacement finalist at this stage. A little messy in terms of publicity but otherwise OK. Things get complex only when the next Progress Report comes out (since it has the printed ballot in it) and when the online voting goes live in mid-May. Moreover, given what happened last year, the Administrators will not be surprised a second time. They knew what would be on the ballot for the last couple of weeks, they presumably knew there might be withdrawals … I suspect they are well prepared as long as (as last year), we’re talking only a few changes.
Yes, it is possible (and was done last year in a few cases). But I know one of the Hugo administrators, and I still have only a bare inkling on the workload and stress they’re under.
Even without doing after-the-last-minute changes to the list of finalists.
Let’s see JJ Abrams withdraw Star Wars now.
I would like to be the first to congratulate Thomas Mays on his Alfie award.
@NickPheas. Good point about how turning down the finalist position at this stage potentially allows a non-slate nominee on the ballot.
My only point of disagreement is that I think a lot of the Puppies are still fans–badly behaved fans, but still fans–so I would have said there’s at least a chance that something nominated by the rest of fandom will make the ballot.
I’ve picked up the story also.
@Cat. I think the Sads are fans, but their campaign is irrelevant. The Rabids are just thugs.
@NickPheas,
I agree with you. Waiting until after nomination was closed was a pretty awesome. However, I don’t quite understand why he waited until after the shortlist was revealed. I mean… from a marketing standpoint, sure.
But if he had declined a week ago, he wouldn’t have to deal with the pillorying he’s about to get from the Puppies.
But I’m very glad that it’s likely that Short Story will have a contender, and not a No Award.
Well done, Mr. Mays.
Well-decided and well-stated. People who want to condemn Mays for failing to meet their own standards of perfection in other people’s conduct are far less impressive than Mays himself.
Respect is due.
People who want to condemn Mays for failing to meet their own standards of perfection in other people’s conduct are far less impressive than Mays himself.
Thank you.
Respect is very much due. Many of us would be tempted to try and take the plum, or fool themselves into thinking about how it’d be okay. It takes some real kidney to walk away from that temptation.
I appreciate this gesture by Mays, and I don’t fault him for waiting to withdraw until the ballot was announced. A category with five RP choices on it is obviously unfair and no one should want to be a part of it. A category with one or two RP choices looks like other writers had a decent shot.
Because Mays did this, someone’s not only going to reach the short story ballot but be the heavy favorite to win.
I will be glad when EPH passes and the Hugos can return to some normalcy and credibility.
I read and reviewed the Commuter, and the one bit of advice I’d give to people thinking of reading it is stick with it until the hero reaches Faerie. The weakest parts of the story are right at the start, when he’s still in the mundane world.
@David Stever: “The Force Awakens” wasn’t a Rabid Puppy selection; Vox didn’t slate it. (But if I missed your point and the reason you are hoping J.J. Abrams withdraws the film is that you didn’t like it, then never mind.)
Respect felt; story purchased and downloaded. Greg, thanks for the tip,
How many this year? May EPH be passed by those able to attend MACII this year. I’m tired of seeing people used as toys by VD.
ETA: much respect to Mays. I bought the comic last year on someone’s recommendation.
@Tasha,
I predict three drop outs.
Much respect. Purchased the story.
I appreciate Mays’ action and that it opens up a non RP slot in that category. But count me among those who feel a bit uneasy at his willingness to to get a boost onto the shortlist from the RPs right up to the point when he could refuse it publicly. He knew what he was signing on for and what company he was keeping–not in being listed, but in not declining privately when first contacted by the committee. I’m not saying that I wouldn’t have been tempted to the same thing, in his position. He’ll get a lot of bankable goodwill from the public action. And I find it quite plausible that the full enormity of what he’d been caught up in hadn’t hit him until he saw that full list of finalists. But up until that point, he had made the (passive) choice to allow himself to get on the finalist list by RP chicanery. 2016 isn’t 2015. We’re all less innocent now.
@NickPheas
Yes! This is a point I’ve tried to make several times. If someone is put on a slate, he/she should not ask to be removed. Instead, if that person’s work ends up on the Finalist List, he/she should then withdraw the work. (Or just decline the nomination in the first place, but then you might not get to go to George’s party.) That allows organic nominations into the Finalist List.
For whatever reason, he did the right thing and kudos to him.
Tactically, there’s a great deal to be said for keeping mum until they are announced and then bowing out. It traps some of Teddy’s resources and thus allows actual works to get through.
TheYoungPretender dropping out when contacted instead of after the finalists are announced accomplishes the same thing.
In this case though Mays’ willingness to take the risk of Teddy’s ire at all is admirable. Since he was fool enough to let Teddy publish him, he’s risking all his personal info getting leaked to angry dread elk.
I saw The Importance Of Being Earnest at the weekend, and in a flailing attempt at Wildean pastiche, all I can think to say is that stories should not be withdrawn; they should be withwritten.
Greg Hullender:
Because if he is put on a slate unasked, he is by magic not worthy of winning and should not want to?
@Hampus Eckerman
Same answer the last time someone asked me this: that assumes the author doesn’t think the work was genuinely Hugo-worthy. No one should withdraw a genuinely award-worthy work.
I liked the story, which didn’t go where I thought it would . I also liked the way he handled being on the RP slate, which was to publicly repudiate it and do so in a way that doesn’t allow for replacement human shields. Also, I don’t think quiet withdrawal would erase the puppy stain, so kudos for doing a hard thing and doing his best to poke VD with a sharpish stick, while serving his own interests.
In other words, he out Xanad’ohd whosits.
@Greg Hullender: I agree with you – so long as we’re trying to treat the symptoms.
But if we want to treat the disease, the solution is for anyone who might get onto a list to have previously stated that they do not play that game.
I believe it has two positive effects: 1. it might make slate-makers hesitate to include them to begin with. 2. It gives voters the cover they need to legitimately consider those works – despite their presence on a slate.
Lets please not forget that our overall problems are – bad actors and the whole idea of campaigning for votes.
@Greg
I’ve disliked your suggestion more each time you bring it up. It feels weaselly and unfair to the author. I don’t see how they get any good out of your suggestion.
1. If they disagree with slates or the particular slate you tell them to stay for no reason I can find to benefit them. It only hurts their name and reputation if they disagree with slates/the slate.
2. If they then end up a finalist and it is obvious they only got there because of a slate they disagreed with they then have to decide whether to withdraw when contacted that the are a finalist – super difficult decision
3. If they didn’t withdraw when contacted and find out the slate won entire category they have to again decide what to do – withdraw now even more difficult decision
Why do you think an author against the slate in the first place should go through all that angst of being used by an asshat? You really haven’t answered the question. If I think my work is Hugo worthy than I shouldn’t need a slate to get me on the ballot. By asking to be removed from the slate it’s likely my name will be brought to people’s attention. So I’ll get the PR without needing the icky association. So again I ask why do you tell authors to wait until after the shortlist to withdraw*?
*I’m pretty sure I’ve asked this in past posts. The lack of what I consider a real answer is getting to me today.
@Iphinome
Hadn’t even considered the doxxing/swatting issue.
Yes, my sympathies are fully with Mr. May, whose done a hard thing potentially at a cost, and had a work of better quality than last years.
@Steve Davidson please not forget that our overall problems are – bad actors and the whole idea of campaigning for votes.
Exactly although I’m not sure you and I agree on what campaigning is. I like eligibility lists because I’m finding determining eligibility is hard. Although in some cases authors may not realize their work is eligible – like Bujold’s eArc last year vs print and ebooks on other retailers this year.
I wonder how many other withdrawals we’ll see this year.
With Bujold and File770 on the Rabid Puppy slate, it’s pretty clear Vox is hoping to “force” qualified nominees to withdraw (or lose just because they’re on the slate), devaluing the awards even further.
All I can think is “EPH needs to be ratified this year to prevent further shenanigans.”
Good on him, but not good enough on him for me to be comfortable. I mean, he’s still unabashedly happy about publishing with the neo-Nazi.
I still find it super trippy how many people are willing to associate with white supremacist Neo-Nazis. Like, I thought most people, whether I agreed with them or not, had that as a stopping point. No Nazis. Alas.
I actually think that RP nominees is about the only thing that doesn’t play into his narrative. IT’s one thing if it gets No Awarded (See, they’re willing to burn their awards down) or if it wins (See, I picked the winner), but an individual withdrawing directly contradicts the “We’re fighting the evil horde” mentality that he’s exploiting.
And then shrieking and ranting at the guy who withdraw destroys it more.
Rachel, sadly I think there are a *large* number of people who would have a problem associating with anyone who used the label “Nazi”, but who don’t have a problem associating with actual Nazis given the flimsiest possible level of plausible deniability.
re: Nazis
I think what does it is not just the exceedingly thin gloss that people can put over it (“we’re not Nazis, we’re neo-reactionaries! Alt-right! Dark Enlightenment!”) but also that a lot of these glosses speak in languages of empowerment or giving dignity to the listener’s self, etc.
It’s the language of self-help books and optimism, used as a license for why you don’t have to care about [group that you fear, never really liked, etc.] and that is enough in some peoples minds not to make it ragingly immoral. It turns into how they don’t hate [fill in the blank], they feel that [fill in the blank] threatens their self-actualization, their ability to fulfill their potential, etc.
Stuff that sounds a hell of a lot better than “they’re Nazis, and I’m angry that I can’t keep treating [blank] like second class citizens.”
@Tasha: an eligibility list is fine: hey, this work is eligible for nomination.
(I think I wrote a piece about the different kinds of lists…yes, I did: How to Recommend Without Slating
The only problem I initially had with EPs was that it represented a slippery slope to (drum roll) slates.
I have to confess that years before the puppy thing started, I had numerous discussions with several people heavily involved with the Hugo Awards about the growing danger of people gaming the awards.
I didn’t identify the specific vulnerability, but it was apparent to me that we were heading in that direction, if only because others would see the opportunity and have little enough formal connection to the community to respect its culture.
(My focus was on buying votes as – back then – it was a relatively inexpensive proposition. SP replaced the cash with social networking. I’m not so sure that RP hasn’t paid for supporting memberships.)
I hate to think that our discussions on the subject (some of which were public), encouraged anyone, but there is the possibility.
Regardless, here’s my hierarchy, from best to worst
1. say nothing publicly, make your picks and vote
2. discuss things publicly, gather opinions
3. eligibility post (limited as described in my post)
4. recommendation lists that are open, non curated and have no hierarchy other than listing things alphabetically by some standardized categories
5. recommendation lists that deliberately or unintentionally influence
6. campaigns/slates/blocs/vote buying/etc