On the 2018 Nebula Award Finalists Controversy
There is a budding controversy in SF that is on the verge of become a minor scandal. It seems a Facebook group called 20Booksto50k may or may not be the source of a slate of nominees for the 2018 Nebula Award. I was going to write a post covering this issue, but then I found Cara Buhlert’s work and Camestros Felapton’s posts on this topic and was no longer sure I could do better.
Writing about fandom really isn’t my thing, so perhaps this is just as well.
So instead of a post, here’s a recommended reading list to help you catch up on the story. (Since the FB group in question is closed, and thus can’t be read by non-members, all of the links lead to blog posts.)
You should start with the thoughts and musings section at the end of Cora Buhlert’s post from 21 February. Then go read Camestros Felapton’s post from 21 February on the not-a-slate. Then read Buhlert’s reaction post from a week later, and head over to File 770 to read the official statement from the SFWA and a statement from the originator of the "slate".
I have been distantly following this story since the finalists were announced a couple weeks ago, and I am a member of that group (since April 2018, to be exact). I don’t beleive that either an official or unofficial attempt to nominate a slate. The group in question is dedicated to helping authors _legitimately_ achieve commercial success through writing stories that people want to buy.
I do not believe this was an attempt to game the system, but that is, however, what ended up happening.
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