I feel like the SJVs and the Retro-Hugos were a microcosm of the issues with the main Hugos Awards: more interested in venerating dead racists than showcasing anything challenging, new, or different.

Most of the Kiwis were deeply unhappy about the SJVs being glommed onto the Retro Hugos at all, then when the Retros ran long and had technical errors there was nearly a riot—all the non-Kiwis who might stick around to catch our awards bailed before it got to us.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime career opportunity for most of us. WorldCon will never come back, and I don't believe anybody outside NZ will engage with the SJVs again.

It got squandered to give an award to fucking Lovecraft.

Our moment got stolen to venerate a long-dead racist, who doesn't even have family left to accept it. New Zealand was constantly playing second fiddle at our own con, and the audience WANTED NZ content.

Not to mention the total lack of Māori rep. We got one panel on Te Ao Māori, one panel on Indigenous futurism, and some pāua on the Hugo awards. Can you imagine if we'd opened with a proper Pōwhiri?

(both of those panels slap btw, and not just become I'm on one of them: check them out if you get the opportunity)

We had a powerful, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase ourselves to the world, and instead we got endless paeans to dead racists

I am disappointed and I am furious

so I guess this is popping off, have some NZ SF/F recs.

Firstly: @PaperRoadPress are one of the most reliably quality small presses I've ever seen. Marie is a tireless advocate for NZ spec fic. Some recent faves from there:

i just noticed "Hugos Awards"—blame it on late-con ragebrain, and the inevitable fact that my tweets only take off when they have at least one error in them