When I wrote last year about circulation estimates for online magazines, I was surprised to discover that major podcasts like StarShipSofa and Escape Pod have astounding levels of listenership, with tens of thousands of downloads per month. If there is a resurgence in written SF going on these days, with new readers and fans embracing the genre, then much love for this fact should be thrown the podcast way.

So on this Valentine's Day, why not show our podcasts how much they mean to us by nominating one for the Hugo Award. Ideally, there should be a podcast Hugo, but until that time Amy H. Sturgis suggests nominating StarShipSofa for the Best Fanzine Hugo. I think this is a great idea.

There are many great genre postcasts (in addition to Escape Pod, another of my favorites is the wonderfully produced Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine). But StarShipSofa has been around so long, and has influenced so many others, that I agree it should be the first to get the nod. And when you add in the amazing work they did last year with their fundraiser to help Jeanne and Spider Robinson, well, they proved not only do they deserve to be the first podcast to win a Hugo, they are also the fanzine most deserving of this year's award.

Complete information on nominating for the Hugo Award is available here. Remember, the deadline is March 13.