Quote:
Originally Posted by pwalker8
It's actually pretty straight forward. Most of us who have been reading a genre for a long time should be at least aware of most of the major authors in that genre. If there is a best of list of SF&F works for the year, and I don't recognize most of the authors, then odds are pretty good that their definition of best and my definition of best are very, very different.
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Couldn't it also mean that you're stuck in a rut (or the past) with your reading? And that your knowledge of the genre is based on a previous decade? That's a semi-rhetorical "you," by the way.
I've been reading the genre myself for a long, long time. I just don't presume to have my finger on the pulse at all times--no one can. I frankly don't trust anyone who says they know the major players. It's not a static list. What that person is saying is that they're aware of most genre best-sellers--which isn't the same thing at all.
To expect to be familiar with most names on a genre award shortlist is a wish for the genre to never evolve.