Awards

The National Book Foundation has expanded the eligibility for the National Book Awards. Previously, authors had to hold US citizenship to be considered, but now authors who maintain primary, long-term residency in the US, US territories, or Tribal lands will also be eligible for the prizes. Additionally, the foundation will sunset its petition process, which offered eligibility to authors actively pursuing, or unable to pursue, US citizenship, but which they say was a “procedural hurdle” for authors. The new criteria go into effect on March 13. Ruth Dickey, executive director of the NBF, said in a release, “The Foundation is […]

The 2023 Hugo Awards were influenced by Chinese “political concerns,” as decided by Western awards administrators, according to a report published on Genre Grapevine and File 770. In January, nominating statistics were released, noting that some works and authors were inexplicably “not eligible” for awards. The news spurred a firestorm of criticism, including from R.F. Kuang and Neil Gaiman, both of whom were marked as ineligible for their respective awards. The top Hugos administrator Dave McCarty, who took responsibility for the eligibility decisions but did not explain them, was subsequently censured by the awards governing body, and resigned. The Hugo […]