Well, wow.
In our fifth year of being finalists, Nerds of a Feather has won the Hugo award for best fanzine at Discon III. We're all about the words here, but words fail to express how honoured and overjoyed we are to receive this recognition from our fellow fans. Thank you so much.
This award belongs to our whole flock, without whom this site simply couldn't function. Our active writers in 2020 were Paul Weimer, Andrea Johnson, Sean Dowie, Michael Newhouse Bailey, Phoebe Wagner, Aidan Moher, Dean E.S. Richard and Spacefaring Kitten, and a more amazing team you could not find. Huge shout out also to all our contributors emeritus and to our 2021 team members Arturo, Elisabeth, Joe D, Roseanna and Elizabeth F, who all have a hand in making this site the Hugo-worthy trove of analysis and opinion (and occasional nonsense) that it is. We love you all!
Editor Joe Sherry was in Washington D.C. this weekend to accept our award live, and we've reprinted his speech below. We've also added a few lines from our other editors Adri (hello!), The G and Vance.
Joe (speech at Discon III, 18 December 2021):
Hoooooo. Okay, this really actually happened. Holy crap. Thank you.
I’m flying solo tonight because the rest of the editorial team of Nerds of a Feather are not able to be here in person for a bunch of really good reasons. Adri, Vance, The G. This whole thing would not have been nearly as much fun or as satisfying as it’s been if I haven’t been working with the three of you.
I’d like to thank and acknowledge the various writers at Nerds of a Feather, both past and present. Our names are on the trophy, but it is your writing day in and day out that makes this possible. You’ve been the best team of writers we could have ever asked to have and you’ve carried us along. You earned this. Thank you.
Aidan Moher is one of the biggest reasons I’m still an active part of fandom. You may know him from his time running A Dribble of Ink and his really great Hugo acceptance speech. I know him as a blogging colleague and friend for the last fifteen years or so. If Aidan didn’t put my name in the ear of The G a number of years ago, right when I was about to shutter my own book blog, I wouldn’t be standing on this stage right now.
I’d also like to acknowledge my wife, Kate, who often asks me if I’m working on blog stuff when I’m sitting on the couch grumbling at my laptop. I love you. Thank you for the support and since we left the kids at home with the grandparents we should totally celebrate with an adult beverage tonight!
And finally - to all of the writers and artists and fans out there putting in the work, giving us a genre to love and a community to share it with. This is an absolute dream. Thank you. Thank you so much.
Adri:
For the second year running, I watched my Hugo category be announced in the small hours of the morning, UK time. So, first, thank you to literally everyone who made that a better experience in 2021 than it was in 2020. I got to bed even later this year, but I did so with a smile on my face!
When I joined NoaF back in 2018, I was still basically a bright eyed fandom newbie, getting to grips with what I wanted to do in this community. I'm so grateful that Joe, the G and Vance saw my potential first as a writer, and then as a co-editor: I literally could not have asked for a better home in fandom than this fanzine, and I can't wait to see what the future holds.
Thank you also to my fandom friends and communities, and especially Sparkle Rocket, the Fantasy Inn Discord and the Subjective Chaos crew, who kept me going during the "adventures" of 2020. I don't know what I would have done without you guys: you inspire me to be a better critic and a more thoughtful person and you also enable my elder millennial obsession with talking about and posting pictures of my dog, which I greatly appreciate.
Huge hat tip to everyone else in this category with us: Quick Sip Reviews, Lady Business, The Full Lid, Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog and Journey Planet. It is an honour to share a category with you.
Finally, thank YOU, dear reader. Here's to many more entertaining evenings in front of the screen together.
The G:
Joe gave a lovely and heartfelt acceptance speech on the floor, and I’d like to echo his words, but also add some of my own. First off, I’d like to thank my co-founder and good friend Vance for starting this thing with me, and always being a thoughtful, kind and enthusiastic partner in this adventure. I’m so glad you’ve been traveling with me on this journey.
Next, I’d like to thank my co-editors Joe and Adri, who came on later in the story but have each been instrumental in getting us here. Joe and Adri, I’m so glad you us talk you into joining us. You are both incisive writers and incredible people to work with. It is impossible to imagine us getting here without your vision, hard work and dedication.
Next up, our wonderful group of writers - current and emeritus. Like Joe said, you are the ones who make our platform great. I am honored to work/ have worked with you, and am excited to see what you do in 2022. I’d like to give a special shout out to current writer Paul and former writer Charles, both of whom were separately nominated for Hugos this year.
And I’d also like to thanks 2 people who have done more to spread the word about NOAF than anyone: Aidan Moher and Renay. I am proud to call you both friend. I look up to both of you and am humbled by your support and mentorship.
Finally, I’d like to thank everyone who has read, shared or discussed our content since we launched in 2012. You make this labor of love a joy, and I feel blessed that you have decided to spend your time, even if just a little, connecting with our site. Thank you, thank you all.
Vance:
Fifth time's a charm?
I'm so thrilled Nerds of a Feather, Flock Together has just been honored with a Hugo Award for Best Fanzine. Each of these last five years, I've designed and assembled the Voter's Packet, and each year, it has reminded me what astonishing work our writers do. I couldn't be more proud of this group of thoughtful, funny, and engaged contributors. I've written some things over the years that I'm quite proud of, and I am grateful to have a supportive outlet where those things can see the light of day... but come on -- this team puts me to shame, has done so consistently for lo these many years, and I couldn't be happier about it. By far, this ever-expanding group of writers and friends have been the best part of this journey, with or without a rocketship on the mantelpiece.
But, you know, I'm pretty happy about the rocketship on the mantelpiece, too. I'm grateful to G for inviting me to help take this ship out of the dock back in 2012, and to Joe and Adri for climbing into the cockpit while mid-flight.
Additionally, I have to mention that this year's class of winners is truly remarkable, and it is an honor that we get to be included in such an amazing group.
