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The Hugo Awards, a major science fiction literary prize, have been embroiled in controversy over revelations that some writers may have been excluded due to their alleged criticism of China or the Chinese government.
Suspicions have been building for weeks in the science fiction community that something was wrong with last year’s awards, which rotate to a different city each year, and in 2023 were held in Chengdu, China. Now, newly released emails show that the awards were likely rigged due to political concerns.
This is what we know.
What are the Hugo Awards?
He awards, first established in 1953, are given annually at a meeting organized by the World Science Fiction Convention. Writers are nominated and awarded by members of World Science. Fiction Society, which includes science fiction fans. Each person will be able to nominate five works for each category. Those entries are then counted so that the six works with the most votes become finalists. Past winners include such luminaries as Ursula K. Le Guin, William Gibson and Philip K. Dick.
Why were the writers and fans upset?
In January, the Hugo Awards were revealed which writers had been nominated for last year’s awards and for how many people. The information made it clear that several authors who had enough nominations to be finalists were excluded from the process; The prize administrators had marked them as ineligible, without specifying a reason. Among the excluded authors were two Western writers of Chinese descent: RF Kuang, who is Chinese-American and who was expected to be recognized for her novel “Babel,” a historical fantasy set in Oxford in the mid-19th century, and Xiran Jay Zhao, a Chinese-Canadian author whose novel “Iron Widow” is a science fiction reimagining of the Empress of China.
“I guess it was a question of undesirability rather than ineligibility,” Kuang said. Published in Instagram in January. “Excluding ‘undesirable’ work is not only embarrassing for all parties involved, it makes the entire process and organization illegitimate.”
What did the leaked emails reveal?
The exclusion of popular authors of Chinese descent led to speculation that awards administrators had eliminated those whose political views might prove controversial in China. Those suspicions were confirmed recently, when emails leaked by Diane Lacey, a member of Hugo’s management team last year, were published in a report by Chris M. Barkley, journalist and science fiction fan, and Jason Sanford, journalist and science fiction writer.
Email correspondence published in the report showed that Dave McCarty, one of Hugo’s administrators, had advised other members to vet the finalists and “highlight anything of a sensitive political nature” on China, including works that focused on ” in China, Taiwan, Tibet.” or other issues that may be a problem in China.” He added that such works may not be safe to be included on the ballot.
“This really gets to the heart of the awards,” Sanford said. “For a genre that believes so deeply in freedom of expression to willingly participate in research into political issues of awards finalists, knowing that it will be used to eliminate some of those finalists, is outrageous.”
In an interview with The Times, Lacey confirmed that she had provided the emails and said she shared them publicly because she regretted her actions and wanted to ensure that the Hugos were not tainted again in the future. “I felt very guilty about what I did and I wanted to be able to look in the mirror again,” she said.
What’s still shady?
It is unclear whether awards administrators acted under pressure or were preemptively seeking to avoid controversy. Lacey said she was not aware of any overt directives from Chinese officials, but added that McCarty had mentioned receiving guidance from his Chinese counterparts. In one of the published emails, McCarty told a colleague to be on the lookout for “mentions of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tibet, negative aspects of China” by writers or in their works, adding that “I will try to get a better guidance when I have the opportunity to delve into this with the Chinese on the committee.” McCarty did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.
Questions also remain about whether Chinese writers were excluded as finalists for political reasons.
What have been the consequences for Worldcon and for the science fiction literary world?
Last month, Worldcon Announced that McCarty had resigned from his position and that he and two others had been censured “for actions of the Chengdu Worldcon Hugo Administration Committee.”
Esther MacCallum-Stewart, president of this year’s Worldcon, which will take place in Glasgow, issued apologies over last year’s debacle and said steps would be taken “to ensure transparency and attempt to repair the serious loss of confidence in the administration of the awards.”
Writers who were excluded from last year’s award expressed outrage.
“The Hugo Awards tried so hard to appease the Chinese government that they became racist again by preemptively disqualifying the Chinese diaspora,” Xiran Jay Zhao wrote in X.
In an email, Kuang called the revelations “disappointing.”
John Scalzi, a finalist last year, said the 2023 awards were “fraudulent” and that he felt betrayed by administrators.
“The Hugos, because they are a fan-given award, are the ones closest to the hearts of hardcore sci-fi fans,” he said. “Having them engaged like this is a punch in the gut for a lot of people.”