Friends, a crazy thing has happened. I have been nominated (along with fellow editors Catherynne M. Valente and Lynne M. Thomas) for a Hugo Award. Specifically, Apex Magazine and the three of us have been nominated in the category of Best Semiprozine.

A complete list of nominees can be found here. A lot of personal favorites made the ballot. Several good friends also made the ballot. A lot of them I’ve published in at some point. My favorite television show, Community, made the ballot for their “Remedial Chaos Theory” episode. Being nominated for the same award as Community makes me giddy.

Back in college, when I was a young buck with a lot more hair and a lot less weight, my friends and I often discussed how awesome it would be to win a Hugo. We were all big science fiction fans, and many of the books we read had “Hugo Winner” or “Hugo Nominee” stamped on their covers. Now I run and help edit a science fiction magazine that can bear that same mark. It is quite surreal. Even more surreal… this is the one award nomination/recognition I’ve received that caused my parents’ faces to light up with true delight since they had heard of the Hugo Awards.

I doubt I could effectively describe how grateful I am for the nomination. Instead, I’m going to give everyone reading a virtual high five and hope to see you Chicago at Worldcon! 🙂