[Ginwen]

No award is an option. Not one I'll take unless it's my only option for the books I don't get a chance to read (which is hopefully none of them, but we'll see).

It's not just giving away free books. You have voters, and if you want them to vote for your book, presumably you'd like them to read it (and it's a lot more than just the novels, there are also the Campbell award nominees, and the retro nominees). An excerpt is ok for something like the Campbell award, where you are voting on the author rather than a specific work, but doesn't make much sense for best novel (I guess I might end up deciding excerpt is enough for wheel of time, since I don't think I can possibly read all 17 in time to vote, but I'll do my best).

Orbit doesn't owe me anything. These authors don't owe me anything. But I can only vote based on what I actually read--it's not fair to do otherwise.