The Hugo Awards are among the most prestigious in science fiction. Past winners include Isaac Asimov in a process that's quite democratic. Anyone who pays a $40 membership to the World Science Fiction Convention is allowed to nominate works they like. But writer Larry Correia, of Utah, claimed a problem -- liberal bias. So he launched the "sad puppies" movement as a counter-balance to a perceived liberal voting bias.
"You basically have yourself a mono culture of like-minded people rewarding their friends, and when people came in who were outsiders, the outsiders they just worked against," says Correia.
This year, the conflict came to a head. A more aggressive version of the "sad puppies" spun off as the "rabid puppies," taking all the nominations in five categories. A majority of voters responded by giving "no award." Until then, only five "no awards" had been given since the inception of the Hugos in 1953.
Hugo-winning writer Connie Willis of Greeley spoke with Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner.
