British Fantasy Awards controversy

[J-Sun]

Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere, but a search didn't turn anything up. As an American SF fan, I dunno what's going on here, but it seemed noteworthy.

British Fantasy Awards controversy forces return of Best Novel award

The most salient sublinks:

British Fantasy Award winner returns prize
Putting The "Con" Into FantasyCon

(Apologies for the ridiculous font on the last one. (The web has been ticking me off lately - everyone seems to be on a mission to be illegible.))

 

[Ian Whates]

Yes, this has all been a massive storm on Facebook since last weekend (though it's pretty much blown over now).

Steve's blog article makes some very valid points, no question (in Steve's typically subdued style), though I do feel sorry for Sam, who works tirelessly to promote herself and her writing. This must have been a wonderful moment for her, and now it's been irrevocably tarnished. Whatever the failings of the voting system, whatever manipulations did or didn't take place, the fact remains that more people voted for her book than for any other; therefore she won, whatever some may think of her work. Unfortunately, there have been some serious errors of judgement made which have exacerbated the controversy significantly.

I've been urging Sam not to hand back the award, since I don't believe that Graham, Adam, Gary, or any of the other shortlisted authors would accept it now in her stead, but she seems determined.

Ironically, I suspect Sam will emerge from this a lot better than the BFS, since the furore has certainly raised her profile, but I don't suppose that's much consolation to her right now.

The saddest part is that the controversy has overshadowed what was a blisteringly good convention, which should have been remembered joyfully by all who attended.

 

[J-Sun]

I wouldn't say it's blown over as it's just hit SFScope today (the 7th), Locus and the Guardian on the 6th, and the blog post itself seems to date since at least the 2nd. I don't do Facebook, so I can say how long it's been going there, but it seems to just now be hitting some of the larger genre outlets and even "mainstream" media.

I also can't agree that "winning's winning". If the voting system failed and/or manipulations took place then it's a fraudulent award. If enough manipulations took place, then more people did not vote for her or would not have without those manipulations. But I agree with you on her handing back the award (I don't know anything about her but just speaking generally): she either won it fair and square and should keep it or she didn't and, while I don't know who'd do the taking, it should be taken away in some fashion or another. Her giving it back seems kind of bizarre in either scenario. Either she's giving back something rightly earned and initially appreciated or she's trying to end controversy where there vitally needs to be controversy.

Incidentally, why are all the media reports about the novel? Wouldn't she return the short fiction award she also won if she was returning the novel award?

On Telos, I've never heard of them but I have to say that winning the six awards out of the six you're up for and about the only ones you could possibly be up for, including all three fiction form awards, means you're either the best publisher ever or something's weird.

Like I say, these are all real people and there are real socio-political things going on here and I don't mean to imply anything about that. Just saying how it looks to an outsider: not good. There's still been no comment (that I saw in any of the stuff I was linked to) from the main guy in question. Seems he should really say something if only to insist everything's fine and to try to persuade any onlookers of that.

Anyway - I'll leave it to more knowledgeable folks to make of it what they will.

 

[Ian Whates]

I wouldn't argue with any of the points you make, J-Sun. Clearly there are issues here that need to be resolved, and I'm sure the BFS will do so.

The media reports are all about the novel because that's the one Sam has declared she's handing back. Nothing has been said about the short story award. As for something being 'weird', I think that's the whole point of the controversy.

 

[iansales]

There was nothing fraudulent about her win. The votes were cast online and counted electronically. Both the awards administrator (the chairman in this case, as the awards administrator had stepped down shortly before) and the BFS webmaster verified the counts. There was some confusion over whether, and when, Fantasycon members could vote, which was a shame. And the fact that the awards were dominated by a small clique is unfortunate - but a consequence of a small voting pool and using first-past-the-post.

 

[Connavar]

Sam Stone is a partner in Telos ? It sounds very suspicious how that imprint and the Howe connection.

I feel bad for the author and the fact its the first female winner in 30 years.

 

[Dave]

Playing Devils Advocate here, but then aren't all celebrity and arty "awards" given by flattering, fawning, sycophantic and parasitic, toadies and lackeys who attempt to win favour by flattering people they believe may be influential.

It must be very nice to win an OSCAR or a BAFTA but please don't take yourself too seriously - you are still only an actor. The BOOKER prize does ensure that you sell a shed-load more books, but does it really make the winner a better book, rather than a more popular one? I expect the majority of people have never heard of the British Fantasy Awards before, so maybe next year there could be more voters. And when it comes to 'Rear of the Year' and 'Celebrity Mother of the Year' - well really! 'Best Celebrity Soap Star' - what does that actually confer upon the recipient? I think my point is that the award is only as good as the electoral constituency anyway.

 

[The Ace]

A female author writing vampire novels and boinking her publisher?

There's no point to any award unless it's given on merit, and there's no merit in vampire novels.

 

[j d worthington]

[...]and there's no merit in vampire novels.

A bit off-topic (not to mention pedantic), but I have to disagree with you, Ace. Any subject, if done well, can have merit; and the not-so-humble vampire has had its share. Granted, it is a theme which has been done to excess over the past 35-40 years, but in the hands of someone truly talented, it can still be fodder for fine work....

 

[Susan Boulton]

A female author writing vampire novels and boinking her publisher?

There's no point to any award unless it's given on merit, and there's no merit in vampire novels.

Just to clear up a few things, Sam, is NOT in a relationship (I refuse to repeat the word you used) with her publisher. Her publisher is The House of Murky Depths and the Managing Editor/Publisher is Terry Brooks.

Sam is in a long term relationship with David Howe, one of the Directors of Telos Publishing.

 

[iansales]

Slight correction, SJAB: Terry Martin runs Murky Depths.

And David Howe's partner in Telos is Stephen Walker. Sam Stone is David Howe's domestic partner (for lack of a bettet term).

 

[J-WO]

Well, at least no one's phones been hacked...

 

[J-WO]

Actually, I think I will stick my barnacled oar into this one.

Currently, there's a shady consortium of vanity-publishing scammers who've astroturfed an on-line hate campaign in order to defame several noble people within our community.
Indeed, they've made a great big list full of- no one else- but SF/F authors to boycott, going so far as to request books to be burnt. Yes, I know that sounds loopy, and it is. But it is happening.

Rarely have the battlelines been drawn so clear (and without wishing to draw a diagram, the overall gist is inarguably Us good, Them bad). Great bales of energy that could be spent on confronting this nastiness is getting micturated on the usual yearly award-squabble amongst (guess who?) ourselves.

Just saying.

 

[The Ace]

I stand corrected on the publisher.

 

[Anne Lyle]

I'm sorry I missed all the excitement - it was too hot in the banquet room for me, and then I flew out to Venice and was offline all week.

Regardless of who won, I felt at the time that the shortlists had little to do with the kind of fantasy I read - glancing over them, one could be forgiven for thinking that UK "fantasy" consisted almost entirely of small presses and horror titles. I can understand that organisations like the BFS provide a "home" for writers and genres that struggle to be heard in the wider commercial world, but the result seems to be a near-total exclusion of commercial publishing. If it wasn't for guests of honour like Brian Aldiss and Joe Abercrombie, both of whose novels I have actually read, there wouldn't be much for me as a reader and fan (as opposed to as a writer) at FantasyCon, and certainly not enough to be worth spending a substantial amount of money to attend.

 

[Null_Zone]

A female author writing vampire novels and boinking her publisher?

There's no point to any award unless it's given on merit, and there's no merit in vampire novels.

There's no merit in I am Legend or Salems Lot?

I must have been appreciating books all wrong.

 

[TheTomG]

In terms of expending energy, maybe the best place for that to be channelled is not into either controversy, but into... writing and creating?

 

[Ian Whates]

Ramsey Campbell, the BFS President, has issued the following statement on the issue:

http://www.britishfantasysociety.co.uk/news/official-bfs-statement-concerning-awards/

 

[Boneman]

If it wasn't for guests of honour like Brian Aldiss and Joe Abercrombie, both of whose novels I have actually read, there wouldn't be much for me as a reader and fan (as opposed to as a writer) at FantasyCon, and certainly not enough to be worth spending a substantial amount of money to attend.

Actually, £65 for three days of a convention is pretty darned good - especially when you get £40 worth of freebies when you enter the door. The World Fantasy Convention in Reno cost me $70 for one day... and was crap compared to the Brighton gig. If you want my full feelings on it, then read my blog on www.jscottmarryat.com the entry of 2nd October.

As a reader and a fan, irrespective of the controversies (which will certainly attract a lot of attention, and will, I'm certain, result in more transparency, a better and fairer voting system - if that's what needed - and a much stronger BFS) Brighton was a triumph. The sheer friendliness and openess of everyone I met was wonderful. I even got to listen to Anne Lyle reading her own piece and talked to her about it!

 

[Pyan]

This all sounds a little odd. Why are the BFS accepting David Howe's resignation if they're so adamant that there was nothing wrong with the nominations, voting and awarding of the awards? Surely a much stronger message that everything was above board would have been sent by them refusing to accept the resignation?