Anonymous Comrade submits:
On Saturday, August 30, the Canadian book Better to Have Loved: The Life of Judith Merril by Judith Merril and Emily Pohl-Weary scooped the only non-fiction category of the Hugo Awards at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon).
The award came as a complete surprise to co-author (and Merril's granddaughter) Pohl-Weary, who completed the book posthumously. "We re-write history when we tell the stories of women whose lives were important to us," said Pohl-Weary, when she accepted the award. "I encourage everyone to record the lives of women they admire.""To be honest, I'm completely floored that I got to make small talk on the stage with Neil Gaiman, who won Best Novella for Coraline, and Jane Espenson, who won Best Short Form Dramatic Presentation for the episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer entitled Conversations With Dead People," said Pohl-Weary.
She is currently editing an anthology about female super heroes, called Girls Who Bite Back: Witches, Mutants, Slayers and Freaks (forthcoming in the spring of 2004), and writing a novel. "Science fiction's in my blood."
In today's article about Worldcon, the Toronto Globe and Mail called Better to Have Loved: "A feverish recounting of the heady period when science fiction, with its exploration of sexual and gender stereotypes, was in the vanguard of challenging cultural norms."
Known as "the little mother of science fiction," Merril burst onto the New York literary scene in 1948 with a disturbing story about nuclear radiation. Her life was a microcosm of alternative cultural and political movements. Better to Have Loved journeys amongst the people, places and things Judith Merril loved.
The book won the Best Related Book category at this year's ceremony, which marks the 50th anniversary of the first Hugo Awards (held in 1953 at the 11th Worldcon, popularly known as Philcon II, in Philadelphia). The Hugo Award, also known as the Science Fiction Achievement Award, is given annually by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS). The awards are sponsored by WSFS, administered by the committee of the Worldcon held that year, and determined by nominations from and a popular vote of the membership of WSFS.
More information on:
Better to Have Loved: www.btlbooks.com
Emily Pohl-Weary: kissmachine.org
The Hugos: hugo
This year's winners: www.torcon3"
