random (Hugo + gender) stuff

Well since the Hugo ballot went live this past weekend, lots of stuff has been said.

But it's what Jeb Hartman said that is bringing tears to my eyes right now:

"One of the most happily amazing things about this year's ballot, in terms of gender, is the Pro Artist category. Last year, one woman was nominated (Julie Dillon), and she was the first woman to appear on the ballot in that category in twenty-seven years. This year: THREE women.
This is unprecedented in the entire fifty-five-year history of nominations in this category. There was only one previous year when even two women were on the ballot, and that was 1984." ~read more

Before last year only two women had ever been nominated in the Pro Artist category; Rowena Morrill (nominated several times)  and Val Lakey Lindahn. (btw, you really should read Justin Landon's run down of gender parity in  the SF art world.) And now here's us: Julie Dillon was the first woman on the ballot in 27 years. Fiona Staples, technically on the ballot twice because Saga is Nominated for Best Graphic Novel. And me, who made the jump from the Fan artist ballot to the Professional Artist ballot in one year. (Yeah.)

Going back to Jeb, because he just said it so well:

"[The Professional Artist] category is one of the least-changing categories on the ballot; this development seems to me to be a great indicator that things are changing. Though of course a single year does not make a trend. I hope this continues; and I hope that the Pro Artist category continues to recognize a larger number of artists than it usually has over time." ~read more

In that light I want to give a shout out to the four other illustrators working with me on the Women Destroy Science Fiction issue of Lightspeed Magazine:

• Li Grabenstetter
• Christine Mitzuk
• Elizabeth Leggett
• Hillary Pearlman

As well as a random (short!) list of my own favorite artists (who happen to be women) working in the field today:

• Victo Ngai
• Tran Nguyen
• Jillian Tamaki
• Stephanie Pui-Mun Law
• Kinuko Y. Craft
• Camilla d’Errico
• Fiona Staples
• Rebecca Guay 
• Anna + Elena Balbusso
• Yuko Shimizu
• Ana Juan 

Because it feel so applicable  here's an excerpt from Kameron Hurley's essay “We Have Always Fought: Challenging the Women, Cattle and Slaves Narrative”:

"And when we talk about war, we talk about soldiers and female soldiers.
Because this is the way we talk, when we talk about history and use the word “soldiers” it immediately erases any women doing the fighting. Which is it comes as no surprise that the folks excavating Viking graves didn’t bother to check whether the graves they dug up were male or female. They were graves swords in them. Swords are for soldiers. Soldiers are men.... Let’s just put it this way: if you think there’s a thing – anything – women didn’t do in the past, you’re wrong. Women – now and then – even made a habit of peeing standing up." ~read more 

(That essay, btw, is nominated for a Hugo in Best Related Work, and is published at  Aidan Moher's A Dribble of Ink which is nominated for Best Fanzine. It's A Great Lineup all around.)

Speaking of women who fight, here's the illustration I did for Codename Delphi, written by Linda Nagata, published at Lightspeed Magazine, (which is nominated for Hugo in the Best Semiprozine category.)

Okay, that's it for now. Back to work.