Who will win this year's slate of Airship Awards at Steamcon?

The nominees for the 2011 Airship Awards were released earlier this week, and the winners will be voted on by the pre-registered attendees of Steamcon III.

The Airship Awards were first awarded last year at Steamcon II and will be given annually “to recognize the best and brightest in the steampunk community.” This year’s Airship Awards will be presented to winner in each category during an awards banquet on Fri., Oct. 14, at Steamcon III in Seattle, Wash.

Airship Awards will be given in five categories – Written, Visual, Aural, Community Contributor and Potpourri.

Nominees in the Written category can include “any written piece of work, including, but not limited to, novels, short stories, blogs, screen plays, etc.” Nominees in the Visual category can include “any visual piece of work, including but not limited to 2D art, 3D art, digital art, fashion design, website design, making/modding, short film (by an individual).”

Nominees in the Aural category can include “any aural piece of work, including but not limited to bands, songs, musicians, music videos, etc.” Nominees in the Community Contributor category can include “an individual who is outspoken and supportive in the steampunk community, including but not limited to a Blogger, event organizer, convention runner, scholar, speaker etc.”

Nominees in the Potpourri category can include “anything not yet covered, including but not limited to game design/designer, acting troupes, short film (by a group), movie, television, etc.”

The nominees for the 2011 Airship Awards are as follows:

Written:
· “Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel” by Tee Morris & Pip Ballantine
· “The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack” by Mark Hodder
· “Camera Obscura” by Lavie Tidhar
· “The Half Made World” by Felix Gilman

Visual
· James Ng
· Myke Amend
· Adam Smith
· Joe Benitez

Aural
· Professor Elemental
· Unwoman
· Steam Powered Giraffe
· Vagabond Opera

Community Contributor
· Ay-leen the Peacemaker – Beyond Victoriana
· Lia Keyes – The Steampunk Writers and Artists Guild
· Suzanne Lazear – Steamed
· Jordan Block – Sepiachord

Potpourri
· Clockwork Cabaret
· Unhallowed Metropolis RPG
· Rise of Æster RPG

The innaugural Airship Awards were presented at Steamcon II on Nov. 19, 2010 and what follows is a list of the winners and nominees of the 2010 Airship Awards.

Written:
· Winner: "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" by Alan Moore
· "Boneshaker" by Cherie Priest
· "Mainspring" by Jay Lake
· "Soulless" by Gail Carriger

Visual:
· Winner: Jake von Slatt
· Paul Guinan
· Richard Nagy
· Haruo Suekichi

Aural:
· Winner: Abney Park
· The Clockwork Dolls
· Extraordinary Contraptions
· The Men that Will Not Be Blamed for Nothing

Community Contributor:
· Winner: Captain Robert Brown of Abney Park
· GD Falksen
· Mike Perschon
· Jake Von Slatt

Potpourri:
· Winner: Girl Genius
· Deadlands Role Playing Game
· The League of STEAM
· The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello

In the end, which of the nominees mentioned above do you think should win an Airship Award this year? Which of the written works mentioned above have you read? Which did you like or dislike? Which would you recommend and why? Let us know in the comments section below.

For more information about the Airship Awards and Steamcon, visit Steamcon’s official Web site at www.steamcon.org.