Hugo question

[james_davis_nicoll]

Are novellas and novelettes distinct enough that there has to be two categories?

[added later]

If you are here because of "James Nicoll questions whether there should be four written-fiction Hugos. Comments over there, please." note that is inaccurate. In theory we could another written category to make up for the loss of one. Best YA novel, for example.

Comments

[le-trombone.livejournal.com]

Yes, by virtue of the fact that in physical form, novellas have been published as stand-alone volumes, while novelettes have not.

I actually consider the novella vs. novelette question to be based on a false premise. The question should be novel vs. novella. I concede that as e-publishing rises, the distinctions become murkier.

Apropos: The Art of the Novella.

[le-trombone.livejournal.com]

And before anyone suggests I'm moving goal posts, I do realize that pamphlets and other forms of single-story publishing exist, but in my opinion that's stretching the definition of "volume" just for the sake of arguing a point.

[michael j. walsh (from livejournal.com)]

In the history of the Hugo Novella only two winners have been published as stand-alone volumes. See: http://www.sfadb.com/Hugo_Awards_Winners_By_Category#nva

[timill]

I have “The Word for World is Forest” by Ursula K. Le Guin as a standalone volume, but it's not bolded there.

[michael j. walsh (from livejournal.com)]

The separate publication of the Le Guin occurred after the original publication in Again, Dangerous Visions.

[timill]

Ah - I read your comment as "have at any time been published" not "were originally published".

[le-trombone.livejournal.com]

I'm not certain why you think that's relevant. What I wrote has nothing to do with winning or not winning, and I certainly didn't write that a nominee had to have had a previous independent publication before nomination. It's simply a matter of length.

We could have discussed whether a novella was originally published as a two-part serial in a magazine (vs. a novel's three-part or four-part) with equal relevance, i.e., none.