Mad Norwegian Press Thanks Sad Puppies for Reminder That There’s Still Work to be Done

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Lars Pearson, publisher and editor-in-chief of Mad Norwegian Press, comments:

“If there’s any upside to the Sad Puppies successfully dominating the 2015 Hugo Awards nominations, it’s this: it’s a signal flare that so many of us still have a lot of work to do in the world.

“In microcosm, this goes to what I’ve long said about extreme conservatives – so many of their beliefs are repellent, but I greatly admire their discipline, their ability to focus on a task with laser-like intensity. Along those lines, I don’t like the suggestion that the Puppies ‘gamed the system’, which suggests they changed the rules to their advantage. Instead, they amassed enough votes to win, and if progressives don’t like that, they damn well better stand up and do the same – even if this time around, it means voting No Award for the 2015 Hugos.

“As a side note, I was actually emboldened to read that one of the Puppies’ ringleaders, Larry Correia, went out of his way to cite our Chicks Dig… books, as well as Queers Dig Time Lords, as representative of the pitiful state of your typical Hugo nominee / winner these days. In all seriousness, and without sarcasm, it’s heartening to hear that someone who so heavily abuses the term ‘Social Justice Warriors’ holds a special dislike for our efforts to give women and LGBTQ people a greater voice in the world, as it means we’re doing something right. Correia’s rebuke, in fact, was a sort of fan mail that I’m almost tempted to frame and hang in my office.

“With so many things in life, there’s a temptation to coast on your progress – to find signs of improvement so encouraging, you stop running at top speed toward your goals. The Puppies’ power grab is a clarion call to anyone of opinion that the inclusion of women, LGBTQ folks and minorities in all levels of fandom – all levels of society, in fact – is a good thing, and we need to rise to that challenge.”

Mad Norwegian Press won the 2011 Hugo Award for Best Related Work for Chicks Dig Time Lords, and received Hugo nominations for Chicks Unravel Time (2013), Chicks Dig Comics (2013) and Queers Dig Time Lords (2014).