Chicon 7 and Ustream have announced plans to rebroadcast the entire Hugo Award Ceremony from last Sunday at 7:00 CT on Sunday, September 9. The original stream was interrupted when the ceremony was incorrectly tagged as violating copyright for airing video clips Chicon was authorized to show. The broadcast will subsequently be available from the same channel on an on-demand basis. Ustream has also offered additional support and publicity for the streaming of future Hugo Award Ceremonies for upcoming Worldcons in San Antonio, TX (2013) and London, UK (2014).
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Nat Saenz coordinated the film festival at Chicon. This year’s judging panel was comprised of John Hickey, David Kania, Bill Frazier, and Nick Wagoner. The Battelle SF Club served as a focus group judging films. 125 independent short films and 8 independent feature films were screened from 17 countries. The festival was coordinated by Nat Saenz. The following films received awards at the film festival.
- Best SF&F Feature Film: Pig, directed by Henry Barrial
- Best Horror Feature Film: Nailbiter, directed by Patrick Rea
- Best Animation Short Film: Paths of Hate, directed by Damian Nenow
- Best SF&F Short Film: The Centrifuge Brain Project, directed by Till Nowak
- Best Horror Short Film: Dead Happy, directed by Nicky Lianos
- Best Fan Film: Star Trek Phase II: The Child, directed by Jon Povill
The Worldcon Business Meeting ratified last year’s Constitutional changes which create a permanent Best Fancast Category as well as changes to the language of Best Semiprozine and Best Fanzine category. The Best Graphic Story category was ratified. Past three years ago, the category needed ratification to keep a sunset clause from coming into play. A similar clause exists in the Best Fancast category. Finally, an amendment introduced to begin the process of creating a Young Adult Hugo did not achieve enough votes for passage.
The Hugo Awards were presented a part of Chicon 7 on September 2. Chicon 7 Toastmaster John Scalzi emceed the event, presenting all the Hugos except for Short Story (a category for which he was nominated), which was presented by Gardner Dozois. In addition, the ceremony included the presentation of the Big Heart Award to Juanita Coulson and a Special Committee Award to Robert Weinberg. Breaking from tradition, Chicon 7 unveiled this year’s Hugo trophy at Opening Ceremonies to give more members a chance to examine the trophy. Most of the ceremony was streamed live to Dragon*Con, which also had a trophy on display.
- Best Novel: Among Others, by Jo Walton
- Best Novella: “The Man Who Bridged the Mist,” by Kij Johnson
- Best Novelette: “Six Months, Three Days,” by Charlie Jane Anders
- Best Short Story: “The Paper Menagerie,” by Ken Liu
- Best Related Work: The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Third Edition, edited by John Clute, David Langford, Peter Nicholls, and Graham Sleight
- Best Graphic Story: Digger, by Ursula Vernon
- Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: Game of Thrones (Season 1)
- Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: “The Doctor’s Wife” (Doctor Who)
- Best Editor, Short Form: Sheila Williams
- Best Editor, Long Form: Betsy Wollheim
- Best Professional Artist: John Picacio
- Best Semiprozine: Locus, edited by Liza Groen Trombi, Kirsten Gong-Wong, et al.
- Best Fanzine: SF Signal, edited by John DeNardo
- Best Fan Writer: Jim C. Hines
- Best Fan Artist: Maurine Starkey
- Best Fancast: SF Squeecast, by Lynne M. Thomas, Seanan McGuire, Paul Cornell, Elizabeth Bear, and Catherynne M. Valente
- John W. Campbell Award for Best New Author (sponsored by Dell Magazines, not a Hugo): E. Lily Yu
A group of fans have announced that they will bid to host the Worldcon in 2017 in Montreal, Canada. Japan has already announced a bid for that year. The last Japanese Worldcon was Nippon in 2007. The last Montreal Worldcon was Anticipation in 2009.
Durring the Fannish Inquisition at Chicon 7 on Friday, August 31, Eemeli Aro announced that Finnish fandom would be bidding to host a Worldcon in Helsinki, Finland in 2015. The Finland bid joins groups already bidding for Spokane, Washington, and Orlando, Florida. Voting for the 2015 Worldcon will take place at next year’s Worldcon, LoneStarCon III, in San Antonio, Texas.
For more information…Helsinki
For more information…Orlando
For more information…Spokane
Chicon 7 presented the following awards for works depicted in the art show, including a Jane Frank Guest of Honor’s Choice Award. Artist Guest of Honor Rowena Morrill, was unable to attend the convention, but was represented by her partner and her sister. Richard Hescox’s piece is included in the Chicon 7 Artist Showcase, which was for sale at the convention. Copies of the 52 page book should continue to be available from Offworld Designs.
Judges’ Awards
- Abrisonde, by Tom Kidd
- Siege Turtle Catapult, by Butch Honeck
- Body of Work, by Elizabeth Berrien
- Cylinders, by Jean-Pierre Normand
- Sky Course Rivalry, by Mitchell Bentley
- Heart of Atlantis, by Richard Hescox
- Jupiter from Io, by delphyne woods
- Primeval, by Caroline Nicita
The Jane Frank Guest of Honor’s Choice Award: Permette Signorina, by Rowena
The Lewis Grant Jr. Fan Choice Award: Entwife, Tree Spirit, by Elizabeth Berrien
The Chicon 7 Masquerade was held on August 1. Presentation judges included John Hertz, Bethany S. Padron, and Jon Stopa. The Workmanship judges included Carole Parker and Gregory Rihn. Chicon 7 named their Best in Show (Presentation) Award in honor of Chicon 5 GoH Joni Stopa, who was instrumental in creating modern Masquerades. Chicon 7 also arranged for fans with severe visual impairment to have the opportunity to touch and examine the costumes during the half-time period.
Presentation Awards:
- Most Compelling, Novice: Sith Inquisitor, by S. Kay Nash
- Best Choreography, Novice: Prince Zuko of the Fire, by Torrey Stenmark
- Most Humorous, Novice: Dragon Rider of Pern, by Sharon Bass, Barbara Galler-Smith, and Ita Vanedenbrock
- Best in Class, Novice: Folken Fanel, by Mark Cloud
- Best Re-Creation, Journeyman: Sakura Hime from Tsubasa, by Michelle Mussoni
- Best Original, Journeyman: Mad Madame M’s Marvelous Machine, by Margaret Gentile
- Best in Class, Master: Leather Sole Airship Pirates, by Charles, Kendra, and Paul Wayman
- Joni Stopa Award for Best in Show: Lady of the Lake, by Aurora Celeste
Workmanship Awards:
- Wing Work, Novice: Folken Fanel, by Mark Cloud
- Dye Work, Novice: Steampunk Kimono, by Emma Roberts
- Make-Up, Novice: Sith Inquisitor, by S. Kay Nash
- Pattern Modification & Repurposing of Materials, Novice: Dragon Riders of Pern
- Embroidery, Novice: (tie) Sally Ragdoll and Suzaku the Phoenix
- Most Daring Workmanship, Novice: Phedre as Mara
- Best Novice Workmanship: Suzaku the Phoenix
- Form, Journeyman: Gur
- Feathers, Journeyman: Sakura Hime from Tsubasa
- Attention to Detail, Journeyman: Mad Madame M’s Marvelous Machine, by Margaret Gentile
- Best Journeyman Workmanship: Mad Madame M’s Marvelous Machine, by Margaret Gentile
- Nail Work, Master: Prince Zuko of the Fire, by Torrey Stenmark
- Mechanical Work, Master: Leather Sole Airship Pirates, by Charles, Kendra, and Paul Wayman
- Baby Prop, Master: Pleased to Meet You, by Leah Reed, Janet Catherine Johnston, Carol Botteron, Donald Eastlake 3, and Jill Eastlake
- Spinning Wheel Prop, Master: Pleased to Meet You, by Leah Reed, Janet Catherine Johnston, Carol Botteron, Donald Eastlake 3, and Jill Eastlake
- Hats, Master: Welcome to the Future
- Best in Show, Workmanship, Master: Lady of the Lake, by Aurora Celeste
The London Worldcon bid easily won site selection at Chicon 7, receiving 864 of 932 votes cast in an uncontested election. The convention will take place from August 14-18, 2014 at the ExCeL London. Alice Lawson and Steve Cooper will serve as the convention’s co-chairs. The Guests of Honor will be Iain M. Banks, John Clute, Malcolm Edwards, Chris Foss, Jeanne Gomoll, Robin Hobb, and Bryan Talbot. Previous Loncons were held in 1957 and 1965.
For more information…
Northern Illinois University is currently hosting an exhibit of books, papers, and other memorabilia associated with Chicon III, the 20th World Science Fiction Convention. The exhibit was curated by Lynne M. Thomas and Guest Curator Steven H Silver and assistance from Michael D. Thomas. The physical exhibit is located the the NIU Library, although a portion of the exhibit has been made available on-line.
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