The Hugo Awards are bestowed by the members of the World Science Fiction Convention (a.k.a. WorldCon) to honor the best in science fiction and fantasy.  And who are the members of WorldCon?  Anyone who buys a membership.  That means you can become a member and vote for the Hugo Award winners.

There are two main levels of membership: Attending and Supporting.  The only difference between the two is that attending members can actually go to the convention (this year it’s in Reno, August 17-21).  Both membership levels allow voting on the Hugo Awards, and both give access to a remarkable benefit that has become a tradition over the past few years: the Hugo Voter Packet.

The Hugo Voter Packet contains ebooks of nominated works.  This year, that means four and a half of the nominated novels; all the nominated short fiction; all the nominated graphic stories; anthologies or magazine issues from the nominated short form editors, semiprozines, and fanzines; novels from the nominees for the Campbell Award for Best New Writer; and various other goodies.

My friend and fellow Hugo nominee Howard Tayler did the math, and if you went out and bought all the ebooks included in the Hugo Voter Packet, it would cost more than the $50 it takes to get a supporting membership.  For that price, you not only get to read some of the best science fiction and fantasy from last year, you get to vote for your favorites.

If that sounds like a good deal, go here to register for WorldCon.  And if you want to go to WorldCon, attending memberships (or upgrades for supporting members) are on sale today (May 30) for $15 off the regular price.