The Hugos are one of the most prestigious awards in our field, and they are given out by the readers themselves. The deadline for voting for the Hugo Awards is approaching quickly. Less than a week left! For a ballot to be counted, it needs to be in by Wednesday, July 31, 2013 before midnight, Texas time.

So, if you were considering joining Worldcon to vote, you don’t have a lot of time left. (Full disclosure, The Emperor’s Soul by yours truly is up for an award in the novella category. Also, Writing Excuses has been nominated its third year running for best related work.)

For the last few years, the Hugo Awards have been offering a “Voter’s Packet” to everyone eligible to vote, and it includes ebooks of basically everything nominated. To be eligible to vote, you have to buy at least a “Supporting Membership” to Worldcon, which costs $60.

So, for sixty bucks, you get a selection of the best sf/fantasy published last year–including five novels and a ton of short fiction. It’s one of the best deals out there, and you get to vote for what you consider the best fiction of the year as well. (You’ll also get to nominate for next year’s awards.) Unlike the Academy Awards or the Grammys, these awards aren’t chosen by distant committees–they are chosen by discerning fans.

As always, I strongly suggest that you read/watch/listen to the majority (if not all) of the entries in a category before voting on it. Do not vote for your favorite author; vote for what you actually think is the best work. As the voting is in our hands, let’s do what we can to maintain the integrity of the award.

(Though, if you do join now and only have a week or so left, you should totally read the novella category first, so you can vote on that one without running out of time. Just saying…)

It was great seeing many of you at San Diego last weekend! I look forward to meeting more of you at my upcoming events!