Esther MacCallum-Stewart, chair of Glasgow Worldcon 2024, has issued an apology on behalf of Worldcon for the acts of censorship that impacted the Hugo, Lodestar, and Astounding Awards at last year's convention in Chengdu. In addition, Kat Jones has resigned as a Hugo Award administrator from Glasgow Worldcon, and has been removed from the Glasgow team across all mediums.
A recent report by Chris M. Barkley and Jason Sanford, released simultaneously by File770 and Genre Grapevine, revealed Jones's involvement in what Jones called "conduct[ing] the eligibility research as instructed by the 2023 Hugo Award Administrator" for Chengdu Worldcon. In leaked emails, Jones raised concerns about R.F. Kuang's Babel and Silvia Moreno-Garcia's The Daughter of Doctor Moreau as being potentially politically inflammatory.
Jones's resignation comes in the wake of several resignations and censures of Worldcon leaders at the end of January. On January 31, it was announced that director Dave McCarty and board chair Kevin Standlee had both resigned from their positions. In addition, McCarty, along with Hugo administrators Chen Shi and Ben Yallow, was censured, and McCarty was "reprimanded."
"I unreservedly apologise for the damage caused to nominees, finalists, the community, and the Hugo, Lodestar, and Astounding Awards," said MacCallum-Stewart in a statement. "I acknowledge the deep grief and anger of the community," she continued, "and I share this distress."
MacCallum-Stewart has also announced that the Glasgow Worldcon team will take three steps "to ensure transparency and to attempt to redress the grievous loss of trust in the administration of the Awards."
First, when the final ballot is published by the convention in spring 2024, the reasons for any disqualifications or withdrawals of potential finalists from the ballot will also be published. Second, full voting results, nomination statistics, and voting statistics will be published immediately after the awards ceremony on August 11. And the Hugo administration subcommittee will publish a log explaining their decisions in interpreting the World Science Fiction Society Constitution immediately after the awards ceremony.
MacCallum-Stewart concluded that "Glasgow 2024 will continue to address this matter as we go forward as a Worldcon." The convention is slated to take place August 8-12.