(it sure is shiny, isn't it?)In 2001, I published the first issue of Electric Velocipede. At the time, I certainly had no pretensions about a Hugo Award, or any award for that matter, for my efforts. I had worked on magazines, I had worked with any number of science fiction professionals, but making your own publication is a whole different kettle of fish. I knew the pieces, I just had to put them together.
I still think I'm learning. I do something different with each issue. I try to make the magazine better with each issue. I've gone from a crudely laid-out, hand-collated, embarrassing-covered zine to something that's perfect bound, professionally laid out, with full-color covers. Stories from Electric Velocipede have been nominated for the World Fantasy Award, and been reprinted in several year's best anthologies.
And now Electric Velocipede has won a Hugo award. I never, ever, ever thought this would happen. I never thought I would get nominated. With the huge number of great publications and talented, hard-working people putting them together, I just figured I'd do my best, complain a little online, but never actually get on the ballot.
Once there, I never never never never thought I would win the thing. Never. I can't say it plainly enough. What I do is so different from the traditional Best Fanzine winner. Perhaps that worked in my favor. The final tally of the votes shows how close it was. I only won by seven votes. And whomever those seven were, thank you.
I've said this before, but I'll say it here, and I think I should make a separate post just to be clear: I am declaring Electric Velocipede a semiprozine. I had intended to make this declaration after the Hugo Awards this year, going on my normal assumption of not even getting nominated much less winning.
But this year was different. I won the Hugo Award. It's been very surreal. With the award here, it is much more real, but still surreal. We'll see how long it takes to crack the Semiprozine ballot; that's a tough crowd, but I'm ready for it.
3 comments:
Congratulations, sir. And good of you to set your sights on the next stage of the game. Excellent.
It's very purty. How many times have you polished it so far. :o)
This is so cool! And so well deserved. Geoff and I were at the ceremony and just jumped out of our seats in delight when you got called.
Many more!
Mary Turzillo
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