One of Bair's criticisms was that the "Reccommended Reading List" seemed to turn into the list of award nominees. Well, I can't speak for anyone else, but I've been on the "Reccommended" list three times, and never been nominated for the final award.
Another criticism listed is that no one seems to care about the Ursa Majors. For what it's worth, I thought that this year I might well have been nominated for one of my stories, and I would have _killed_ to get to the con for the final vote had my story made the cut. I quite deliberately wrote that piece for the sole purpose of trying to win an Ursa; it made my week when it ended up on the "Reccommended" list.
_I_ am a furry artist, and _I_ care. Quite a lot, actually.
A third criticism deals with how the awards are divided up. I tend to feel this one may have more merit, but only because the Ursas are such an "omnibus" type of award. In my opinions, artforms as diverse as films, games, and literature deserve to have seperate award-systems put together and administered by seperate organizations.
Should "Best In Show" be eligible for an award? As an author in that collection, maybe I'm prejuduced when I say that it probably should be rcognized. On the one hand, Bair is correct not only about the seeming conflict of interest, but also about how the appearance of impropriety can tarnish the award as a whole. On the other, "Show" is _special_ because it's the very _first_ book of its kind, one that many of us writers hope will be the foundation of a whole new genre of fiction.
If someone asked me to play Solomon on this issue, I'd either make "Show" eligible only for a special non-competitive award, or else have the editor stand aside for a year. Either, I beleive, would constitute fair play.
In my mind, the Ursas are a major service to the fandom and will hopefully someday grow to be something as integral to furrydom as the Hugos are to SF. Can they be improved? Yes, I do think so. However, nothing ever _begins_ perfect, and I think Bair's overall tone was _much_too harsh.
Having been on the "Reccommended" list three times is one of the highlights of my life. (Yes, my life probably _is_ a rather weak and pathetic thing, thank you very much. But that's my business, not yours.) People _do_ care about the Ursas, and I am definitely one of them.
I'm also damned grateful for these awards. I continue to strive towards the level of artistic excellence required to win.
Hmm.
One of Bair's criticisms was that the "Reccommended Reading List" seemed to turn into the list of award nominees. Well, I can't speak for anyone else, but I've been on the "Reccommended" list three times, and never been nominated for the final award.
Another criticism listed is that no one seems to care about the Ursa Majors. For what it's worth, I thought that this year I might well have been nominated for one of my stories, and I would have _killed_ to get to the con for the final vote had my story made the cut. I quite deliberately wrote that piece for the sole purpose of trying to win an Ursa; it made my week when it ended up on the "Reccommended" list.
_I_ am a furry artist, and _I_ care. Quite a lot, actually.
A third criticism deals with how the awards are divided up. I tend to feel this one may have more merit, but only because the Ursas are such an "omnibus" type of award. In my opinions, artforms as diverse as films, games, and literature deserve to have seperate award-systems put together and administered by seperate organizations.
Should "Best In Show" be eligible for an award? As an author in that collection, maybe I'm prejuduced when I say that it probably should be rcognized. On the one hand, Bair is correct not only about the seeming conflict of interest, but also about how the appearance of impropriety can tarnish the award as a whole. On the other, "Show" is _special_ because it's the very _first_ book of its kind, one that many of us writers hope will be the foundation of a whole new genre of fiction.
If someone asked me to play Solomon on this issue, I'd either make "Show" eligible only for a special non-competitive award, or else have the editor stand aside for a year. Either, I beleive, would constitute fair play.
In my mind, the Ursas are a major service to the fandom and will hopefully someday grow to be something as integral to furrydom as the Hugos are to SF. Can they be improved? Yes, I do think so. However, nothing ever _begins_ perfect, and I think Bair's overall tone was _much_too harsh.
Having been on the "Reccommended" list three times is one of the highlights of my life. (Yes, my life probably _is_ a rather weak and pathetic thing, thank you very much. But that's my business, not yours.) People _do_ care about the Ursas, and I am definitely one of them.
I'm also damned grateful for these awards. I continue to strive towards the level of artistic excellence required to win.
Rabbit