That SF Weekly Hugo poll again
A few weeks back, I mentioned that Science Fiction Weekly is running an unofficial Hugo poll through 9/1. I find it interesting that what's in first place in each category hasn't changed appreciably in the past three weeks.
So I don't have anything new to add on this topic, except that I came up with a theory that would explain the odd set of first-place votes in the short-fiction categories: the people voting in this poll are book readers, not magazine readers.
They've read Vinge's short-story collection (containing his nominated novella), they've read Starlight 3 (containing Ted's nominated novelette), and they've read Tales from Earthsea (containing Le Guin's nominated short story), so they're voting for the only three pieces of short fiction they've read; all the others appeared in the magazines (mostly Asimov's), and if you don't read the magazines and don't know about (or aren't willing to read) the free versions available online, then of course you'll vote for the ones you've read in books.
(Of course, it's entirely possible that the voters here have read all the stories and are simply voting for the ones they like best. But imo that notion doesn't account for the remarkably large lead that all three of the published-in-books stories have. I could see any of those three stories coming in first in such a poll, but to come in first by this large a margin seems unlikely unless there are other factors involved. In each case, the other nominees are loosely clustered together, but the frontrunner is way out in front.)
(I'm ignoring the fact that several of these stories have now been reprinted in various year's-bests. Those books (except the Silverberg/Haber YBSF) haven't been out long enough to have much effect on this poll, I'm guessing.)
So the big question (or at least a big question) is whether the actual Hugo voters (in the short-fiction categories) are also book-readers rather than magazine readers. I don't think they are; I think stories from magazines generally win handily. But I could be wrong.
Enough punditry. To bed go I.