I wasn’t going to post about this on the blog, but I figure that I’m allowed my opinion, too.
Some of you reading this will have no idea what I’m talking about (mostly because you’re not involved in the speculative fiction scene in Australia). And that’s okay. Just move on to the next post.
Most of you will have encountered the backlash/controversy about this year’s Ditmar Awards. In which a group of people were perceived to have manipulated the awards in order to win the majority.
Now, first things first – I don’t have a problem with people questioning the way awards are run. That’s fine, and hell, it’s necessary to have people keeping an eye on things and questioning when they think things might be looking a bit strange.
I do have a problem with people vilifying others and assuming that there has to be something wrong with the system because a group of very talented people won a lot of the awards. If you have evidence of anything shifty happening, then fine. But as far as I’m aware, there’s been no evidence produced by anyone.
Yes, there are issues with the awards – namely the small number of people who appear to be nominating and voting. If you want to change something about the awards, then volunteer on the subcommittee (and, to their credit, I’ve seen one person who was complaining saying that they were planning on doing that).
For the record, I think all of the winners won fair and square. Because they have all contributed a lot to Aussie Speculative Fiction over the last year. Alisa (who was part of an amazing Swancon committee) and Twelfth Planet Press have produced some of the best anthologies I’ve read in my life. Galactic Suburbia is influencing the way that I read and review books – they are making an effort to change things that they see are unfair. Tansy Rayner Roberts wrote a fantastic book. Alex Pierce writes amazing reviews. And as far as I saw, none of them went out of their way to coerce anyone into voting for them. They won these awards because they deserve them.
I’m not attacking anyone with this post. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and if you believe there was something else at work, then you’re entitled to believe that. I won’t unless I see some evidence.
In conclusion, I will say this: all of the winners make me proud to be part of the same community as them.
