In absolutely exciting news, I’m one of the finalists for the 2021 IGNYTE Awards’ Critics Awards alongside Jesse (Bowties & Books), Charles Payseur (Quick Sip Reviews), Maria Haskins, and A. C. Wise! (You can see the full nomination slate on FIYAHCON’s Website!)
This is the first time I’ve ever been shortlisted for an award (despite my initial hopes considering the massive volume of my work in 2020… a Hugo Award nomination for Best Fan Writer clearly did not happen).
It means a ton to me because I just… haven’t felt like I was getting the respect and acknowledgement I know I’ve earned through my hard work on topics few other people are covering about fandoms and media. (Like one thing I included in my “hey nominate me for a Hugo” post was my coverage of what wasn’t covered in reviews of Docile.)
I’ve been at this for… a while. I started my site in 2015 but was talking about representation and issues with fandom approaching it from 2010/2011. And there’s always been just this overwhelming volume of pushback that was disproportionately massive when compared to the fact that people went out of their way to ignore that I existed or to misrepresent what I was saying. (Forever bitter about how June 2020 was the first time a lot of people realized that racism in fandom was a problem… and how they still made me into a bigger one.)
Anyway, yes, I was disheartened at the lack of recognition in the face of horrifying amounts of harassment I was getting at the same time BUT being on the shortlist means a lot to me. I do a ton of work covering fandom as fairly as I can manage and in engaging critically with media, being careful to acknowledge my own biases where they come into play.
It’s so overwhelming to see my hard work start to get recognized publicly by such an incredible magazine and I’m looking forward to the future and in celebrating all the really cool people who were nominated and who ultimately win!
If you want to vote for me (and you know… get your friends/interested nerds you know to also vote for me…
Voting for the IGNYTE Awards is open from now until May 21st @ 11:59PM EST.
Stitch's Media Mix 
*votes harder than a screen door bangs in a hurricane*. That’s awesome, and so deserved.
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Congratulations! Well deserved.
(I put you on my Hugo noms list. All I can say is, will try again next year.)
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Very well-deserved — voted! And thank you for the copy of Riot Baby you gifted me what seems like a hundred years ago, I was quite happy to be able to vote for that too.
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Congratulations! It’s great to hear that all your hard work is paying off….
“Respek!”
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