The finalists for the 2019 Hugo Awards, John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) Award for Best Young Adult Book, and the 1944 Retrospective Hugo Awards have been announced! You can read the full list below.
There were 1800 valid nominating ballots (1797 electronic and 3 paper) received and counted from the members of the 2018 and 2019 World Science Fiction Conventions for the 2019 Hugo Awards. For the 1944 Retro Hugo Awards, 217 valid nominating ballots (214 electronic and 3 paper) were received. Voting on the final ballot will open later in April.
The webcast announcing the finalists is available for viewing on the Dublin 2019 YouTube channel.
2019 HUGO AWARD FINALISTS
Best Novel
- The Calculating Stars, by Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor)
- Record of a Spaceborn Few, by Becky Chambers (Hodder & Stoughton / Harper Voyager)
- Revenant Gun, by Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris)
- Space Opera, by Catherynne M. Valente (Saga)
- Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik (Del Rey / Macmillan)
- Trail of Lightning, by Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga)
Best Novella
- Artificial Condition, by Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)
- Beneath the Sugar Sky, by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
- Binti: The Night Masquerade, by Nnedi Okorafor (Tor.com Publishing)
- The Black God’s Drums, by P. Djèlí Clark (Tor.com Publishing)
- Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach, by Kelly Robson (Tor.com Publishing)
- The Tea Master and the Detective, by Aliette de Bodard (Subterranean Press / JABberwocky Literary Agency)
Best Novelette
- “If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again,” by Zen Cho (B&N Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog, 29 November 2018)
- “The Last Banquet of Temporal Confections,” by Tina Connolly (Tor.com, 11 July 2018)
- “Nine Last Days on Planet Earth,” by Daryl Gregory (Tor.com, 19 September 2018)
- The Only Harmless Great Thing, by Brooke Bolander (Tor.com Publishing)
- “The Thing About Ghost Stories,” by Naomi Kritzer (Uncanny Magazine 25, November- December 2018)
- “When We Were Starless,” by Simone Heller (Clarkesworld 145, October 2018)
Best Short Story
- “The Court Magician,” by Sarah Pinsker (Lightspeed, January 2018)
- “The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society,” by T. Kingfisher (Uncanny Magazine 25, November-December 2018)
- “The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington,” by P. Djèlí Clark (Fireside Magazine, February 2018)
- “STET,” by Sarah Gailey (Fireside Magazine, October 2018)
- “The Tale of the Three Beautiful Raptor Sisters, and the Prince Who Was Made of Meat,” by Brooke Bolander (Uncanny Magazine 23, July-August 2018)
- “A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies,” by Alix E. Harrow (Apex Magazine, February 2018)
Best Series
- The Centenal Cycle, by Malka Older (Tor.com Publishing)
- The Laundry Files, by Charles Stross (most recently Tor.com Publishing/Orbit)
- Machineries of Empire, by Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris)
- The October Daye Series, by Seanan McGuire (most recently DAW)
- The Universe of Xuya, by Aliette de Bodard (most recently Subterranean Press)
- Wayfarers, by Becky Chambers (Hodder & Stoughton / Harper Voyager)
Best Related Work
- Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
- Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction, by Alec Nevala-Lee (Dey Street Books)
- The Hobbit Duology (documentary in three parts), written and edited by Lindsay Ellis and Angelina Meehan (YouTube)
- An Informal History of the Hugos: A Personal Look Back at the Hugo Awards, 1953- 2000, by Jo Walton (Tor)
- www.mexicanxinitiative.com: The Mexicanx Initiative Experience at Worldcon 76 (Julia Rios, Libia Brenda, Pablo Defendini, John Picacio)
- Ursula K. Le Guin: Conversations on Writing, by Ursula K. Le Guin with David Naimon (Tin House Books)
Best Graphic Story
- Abbott, written by Saladin Ahmed, art by Sami Kivelä, colours by Jason Wordie, letters by Jim Campbell (BOOM! Studios)
- Black Panther: Long Live the King, written by Nnedi Okorafor and Aaron Covington, art by André Lima Araújo, Mario Del Pennino and Tana Ford (Marvel)
- Monstress, Volume 3: Haven, written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda (Image Comics)
- On a Sunbeam, by Tillie Walden (First Second)
- Paper Girls, Volume 4, written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Cliff Chiang, colours by Matt Wilson, letters by Jared K. Fletcher (Image Comics)
- Saga, Volume 9, written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Fiona Staples (Image Comics)
Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
- Annihilation, directed and written for the screen by Alex Garland, based on the novel by Jeff VanderMeer (Paramount Pictures / Skydance)
- Avengers: Infinity War, screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo (Marvel Studios)
- Black Panther, written by Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole, directed by Ryan Coogler (Marvel Studios)
- A Quiet Place, screenplay by Scott Beck, John Krasinski and Bryan Woods, directed by John Krasinski (Platinum Dunes / Sunday Night)
- Sorry to Bother You, written and directed by Boots Riley (Annapurna Pictures)
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, screenplay by Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman, directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman (Sony)
Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
- The Expanse: “Abaddon’s Gate,” written by Daniel Abraham, Ty Franck and Naren Shankar, directed by Simon Cellan Jones (Penguin in a Parka / Alcon Entertainment)
- Doctor Who: “Demons of the Punjab,” written by Vinay Patel, directed by Jamie Childs (BBC)
- Dirty Computer, written by Janelle Monáe, directed by Andrew Donoho and Chuck Lightning (Wondaland Arts Society / Bad Boy Records / Atlantic Records)
- The Good Place: “Janet(s),” written by Josh Siegal & Dylan Morgan, directed by Morgan Sackett (NBC)
- The Good Place: “Jeremy Bearimy,” written by Megan Amram, directed by Trent O’Donnell (NBC)
- Doctor Who: “Rosa,” written by Malorie Blackman and Chris Chibnall, directed by Mark Tonderai (BBC)
Best Professional Editor, Short Form
- Neil Clarke
- Gardner Dozois
- Lee Harris
- Julia Rios
- Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas
- E. Catherine Tobler
Best Professional Editor, Long Form
- Sheila E. Gilbert
- Anne Lesley Groell
- Beth Meacham
- Diana Pho
- Gillian Redfearn
- Navah Wolfe
Best Professional Artist
- Galen Dara
- Jaime Jones
- Victo Ngai
- John Picacio
- Yuko Shimizu
- Charles Vess
Best Semiprozine
- Beneath Ceaseless Skies, editor-in-chief and publisher Scott H. Andrews
- Fireside Magazine, edited by Julia Rios, managing editor Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, copyeditor Chelle Parker; social coordinator Meg Frank, special features editor Tanya DePass, founding editor Brian White, publisher and art director Pablo Defendini
- FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, executive editors Troy L. Wiggins and DaVaun Sanders, editors L.D. Lewis, Brandon O’Brien, Kaleb Russell, Danny Lore, and Brent Lambert
- Shimmer, publisher Beth Wodzinski, senior editor E. Catherine Tobler
- Strange Horizons, edited by Jane Crowley, Kate Dollarhyde, Vanessa Rose Phin, Vajra Chandrasekera, Romie Stott, Maureen Kincaid Speller, and the Strange Horizons Staff
- Uncanny Magazine, publishers/editors-in-chief Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, managing editor Michi Trota, podcast producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky, Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction Special Issue editors-in-chief Elsa Sjunneson-Henry and Dominik Parisien
Best Fanzine
- Galactic Journey, founder Gideon Marcus, editor Janice Marcus
- Journey Planet, edited by Team Journey Planet
- Lady Business, editors Ira, Jodie, KJ, Renay & Susan
- nerds of a feather, flock together, editors Joe Sherry, Vance Kotrla and The G
- Quick Sip Reviews, editor Charles Payseur
- Rocket Stack Rank, editors Greg Hullender and Eric Wong
Best Fancast
- Be the Serpent, presented by Alexandra Rowland, Freya Marske and Jennifer Mace
- The Coode Street Podcast, presented by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe
- Fangirl Happy Hour, hosted by Ana Grilo and Renay Williams
- Galactic Suburbia, hosted by Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce, and Tansy Rayner Roberts, produced by Andrew Finch
- Our Opinions Are Correct, hosted by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders
- The Skiffy and Fanty Show, produced by Jen Zink and Shaun Duke, hosted by the Skiffy and Fanty Crew
Best Fan Writer
- Foz Meadows
- James Davis Nicoll
- Charles Payseur
- Elsa Sjunneson-Henry
- Alasdair Stuart
- Bogi Takács
Best Fan Artist
- Sara Felix
- Grace P. Fong
- Meg Frank
- Ariela Housman
- Likhain (Mia Sereno)
- Spring Schoenhuth
Best Art Book
- The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition, illustrated by Charles Vess, written by Ursula K. Le Guin (Saga Press /Gollancz)
- Daydreamer’s Journey: The Art of Julie Dillon, by Julie Dillon (self-published)
- Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History, by Michael Witwer, Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, Sam Witwer (Ten Speed Press)
- Spectrum 25: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, ed. John Fleskes (Flesk Publications)
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – The Art of the Movie, by Ramin Zahed (Titan Books)
- Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth, ed. Catherine McIlwaine (Bodleian Library)
John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
- Katherine Arden (2nd year of eligibility)
- S.A. Chakraborty (2nd year of eligibility)
- R.F. Kuang (1st year of eligibility)
- Jeannette Ng (2nd year of eligibility)
- Vina Jie-Min Prasad (2nd year of eligibility)
- Rivers Solomon (2nd year of eligibility)
Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book
- The Belles, by Dhonielle Clayton (Freeform / Gollancz)
- Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi (Henry Holt / Macmillan Children’s Books)
- The Cruel Prince, by Holly Black (Little, Brown / Hot Key Books)
- Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland (Balzer + Bray)
- The Invasion, by Peadar O’Guilin (David Fickling Books / Scholastic)
- Tess of the Road, by Rachel Hartman (Random House / Penguin Teen)
1944 RETROSPECTIVE HUGO AWARD FINALISTS
Best Novel
- Conjure Wife, by Fritz Leiber, Jr. (Unknown Worlds, April 1943)
- Earth’s Last Citadel, by C.L. Moore and Henry Kuttner (Argosy, April 1943)
- Gather, Darkness! by Fritz Leiber, Jr. (Astounding Science-Fiction, May-July 1943)
- Das Glasperlenspiel [The Glass Bead Game], by Hermann Hesse (Fretz & Wasmuth)
- Perelandra, by C.S. Lewis (John Lane, The Bodley Head)
- The Weapon Makers, by A.E. van Vogt (Astounding Science-Fiction, February-April 1943)
Best Novella
- “Attitude,” by Hal Clement (Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1943)
- “Clash by Night,” by Lawrence O’Donnell (Henry Kuttner & C.L. Moore) (Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1943)
- “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath,” by H.P. Lovecraft, (Beyond the Wall of Sleep, Arkham House)
- The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (Reynal & Hitchcock)
- The Magic Bed-Knob; or, How to Become a Witch in Ten Easy Lessons, by Mary Norton (Hyperion Press)
- “We Print the Truth,” by Anthony Boucher (Astounding Science-Fiction, December 1943)
Best Novelette
- “Citadel of Lost Ships,” by Leigh Brackett (Planet Stories, March 1943)
- “The Halfling,” by Leigh Brackett (Astonishing Stories, February 1943)
- “Mimsy Were the Borogoves,” by Lewis Padgett (C.L. Moore & Henry Kuttner) (Astounding Science-Fiction, February 1943)
- “The Proud Robot,” by Lewis Padgett (Henry Kuttner) (Astounding Science-Fiction, February 1943)
- “Symbiotica,” by Eric Frank Russell (Astounding Science-Fiction, October 1943)
- “Thieves’ House,” by Fritz Leiber, Jr (Unknown Worlds, February 1943)
Best Short Story
- “Death Sentence,” by Isaac Asimov (Astounding Science Fiction, November 1943)
- “Doorway into Time,” by C.L. Moore (Famous Fantastic Mysteries, September 1943)
- “Exile,” by Edmond Hamilton (Super Science Stories, May 1943)
- “King of the Gray Spaces” (“R is for Rocket”), by Ray Bradbury (Famous Fantastic Mysteries, December 1943)
- “Q.U.R.,” by H.H. Holmes (Anthony Boucher) (Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1943)
- “Yours Truly – Jack the Ripper,” by Robert Bloch (Weird Tales, July 1943)
Best Graphic Story
- Buck Rogers: Martians Invade Jupiter, by Philip Nowlan and Dick Calkins (National Newspaper Service)
- Flash Gordon: Fiery Desert of Mongo, by Alex Raymond (King Features Syndicate)
- Garth, by Steve Dowling (Daily Mirror)
- Plastic Man #1: The Game of Death, by Jack Cole (Vital Publications)
- Le Secret de la Licorne [The Secret of the Unicorn], by Hergé (Le Soir)
- Wonder Woman #5: Battle for Womanhood, written by William Moulton Marsden, art by Harry G. Peter (DC Comics)
Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
- Batman, written by Victor McLeod, Leslie Swabacker and Harry L. Fraser, directed by Lambert Hillyer (Columbia Pictures)
- Cabin in the Sky, written by Joseph Schrank, directed by Vincente Minnelli and Busby Berkeley (uncredited) (MGM)
- A Guy Named Joe, written by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan and Dalton Trumbo, directed by Victor Fleming (MGM)
- Heaven Can Wait, written by Samson Raphaelson, directed by Ernst Lubitsch (20th Century Fox)
- Münchhausen, written by Erich Kästner and Rudolph Erich Raspe, directed by Josef von Báky (UFA)
- Phantom of the Opera, written by Eric Taylor, Samuel Hoffenstein and Hans Jacoby, directed by Arthur Lubin (Universal Pictures)
Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
- The Ape Man, written by Barney A. Sarecky, directed by William Beaudine (Banner Productions)
- Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, written by Curt Siodmak, directed by Roy William Neill (Universal Pictures)
- Der Fuehrer’s Face, story by Joe Grant and Dick Huemer, directed by Jack Kinney (Disney)
- I Walked With a Zombie, written by Curt Siodmak and Ardel Wray, directed by Jacques Tourneur (RKO Radio Pictures)
- The Seventh Victim, written by Charles O’Neal and DeWitt Bodeen, directed by Mark Robson (RKO Radio Pictures)
- Super-Rabbit, written by Tedd Pierce, directed by Charles M. Jones (Warner Bros)
Best Professional Editor, Short Form
- John W. Campbell
- Oscar J. Friend
- Mary Gnaedinger
- Dorothy McIlwraith
- Raymond A. Palmer
- Donald A. Wollheim
Best Professional Artist
- Hannes Bok
- Margaret Brundage
- Virgil Finlay
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
- J. Allen St. John
- William Timmins
Best Fanzine
- Guteto, edited by Morojo (Myrtle R. Douglas)
- Futurian War Digest, editor J. Michael Rosenblum
- The Phantagraph, editor Donald A. Wollheim
- Voice of the Imagi-Nation, editors Jack Erman (Forrest J Ackerman) & Morojo (Myrtle Douglas)
- YHOS, editor Art Widner
- Le Zombie, editor Wilson “Bob” Tucker
Note: An error in the original vote tally for the 1944 Retro Hugo Awards placed Fantasy News by editor William S. Sykora on the finalist ballot instead of Guteto, edited by Morojo (Myrtle R. Douglas). Write-in votes for Guteto on previously printed hard copy versions of the ballot will be accepted.
Best Fan Writer
- Forrest J. Ackerman
- Morojo (Myrtle Douglas)
- Jack Speer
- Wilson “Bob” Tucker
- Art Widner
- Donald A. Wollheim
The Hugo Awards are the premier award in the science fiction genre, honouring science fiction literature and media as well as the genre’s fans. The Awards were first presented at the 1953 World Science Fiction Convention in Philadelphia (Philcon II), and they have continued to honour science fiction and fantasy notables for more than 60 years.
“Dublin 2019 – An Irish Worldcon” will take place in and around the Convention Centre Dublin from 15 to 19 August. More than 5600 people have already signed up as members, including more than 4580 attending members.
Only Dublin 2019 members will be able to vote on the final ballot and choose the winners. The 1944 Retro Hugo Awards will be presented on Thursday, 15 August, the opening night of Dublin 2019, and the 2019 Hugo Awards, and the Lodestar and Campbell Awards, will be presented on Sunday, 18 August as part of the main Hugo Awards ceremony. The 2019 Hugo base will be designed by Dublin artist Jim Fitzpatrick. The 1944 Retro Hugo base will be designed by Eleanor Wheeler, a ceramicist in County Down. The 2019 Lodestar Award will be designed by Sara Felix, the Austin, Texas-based president of the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists.
More information about the Hugo Awards, including details about how to submit a nominating ballot. More information and membership registration for Dublin 2019 are available here. Follow Dublin 2019 on Twitter.
That’s a ridiculously strong list. We live in a Golden Age of SF/F. Voting is going to be hard.
The strength of this slate is proven by the many excellent works that didn’t make the cut.
After the drama of the past few worldcons, its good to see such amazing works by great authors and artists there by sheer merit.
Well done finalists, and sorry to the ones who didn’t make the cut.
Pretty weak novel list IMO, leans very heavy on sequels to books that have been nominated before and they feel like they’re getting nominated on series rep over the quality of the individual books.
Also whilst Trail of Lightning was fun I’m surprised it’s being elevated to being an awards contender
That retro Hugo list is simply amazing. And just as thoughtful in its way as the main awards. Seeing Le Petit Prince under Novella made me so happy all by itself.
Oh, I’m so thrilled to see The Last Banquet of Temporal Confections on the list! That story was so amazing that it inspired me to start keeping a reading log so I wouldn’t lose track of all the wonderful things I’ve read.
@@@@@#2, while I might agree with you re: Record of a Spaceborn Few (not as good as the first two in the series), I thought that Space Opera and Spinning Silver were superb stand-alone books, and Revenant Gun was as good as everything else in the series. I really enjoyed reading The Calculating Stars, which is an incredibly timely release, coinciding with its publication with Hidden Figures, and in the Hugo nominations list with the story about female astronauts not having fitting space suits. That’s largely luck, but not entirely, because it does highlight a renewed cultural interest in women’s place in space exploration. I haven’t read Trail of Lightning, but given its company, I suspect it would be to my taste.
So, overall, I think the novel list is quite strong!
I hope Becky Chambers sweeps her finalist categories, bit disappointed that Circe by Madeline Miller did not make the cut nor Sword and Laser as Fancast, but congrats to all who got nominated and the end of the Puppies pooping in the room.
@2: Only two of these novel finalists (Lee and Chambers) are sequels to previous years’ finalists. 2018 also had two (Lee and Jemisin, three if you count Leckie), as did 2017 (Jemisin and Liu). This is the first Hugo novel ballot since 2014 not to include a sequel to a previous winner; in fact, none of this year’s authors in the category have won a best novel Hugo before for any work. So I think the award’s doing an all right job at not eating its own tail this time around.
(Edited because I had miscounted 2017’s sequel numbers; Chambers was a first-time finalist that year.)
I do wish the Campbell finalists this year weren’t weighted quite so much toward authors in their second year of eligibility. I don’t know who I’d knock off to make room, but looking at other categories, Tomi Adeyemi and Simone Heller would both have been solid finalists, and my own nomination ballot also included Isaac Fellman (author of The Breath of the Sun) and Samantha Mills (author of “Strange Waters”). I’m really happy to see Rivers Solomon again, though.
I see only one book that wasn’t published by a traditional publisher. A pity. Some of the best books I read this year were self-pubs and small press. People really need to expand their reading.
But, congrats to all the nominees.
@5. Celebrating the end of the Puppy campaigns is a bit late at this juncture. As near as I can tell, they’ve been over for years.
@@@@@#2 have you actually read all of the novels? Only 2 of them are sequels and the one of those I’ve read is excellent. Revenant Gun is as good or better than either of the preceding two books (which were up against NK Jemison and thus doomed) and I will have zero qualms voting for it as well as for the series since I was one of the people who nominated both. I still have to read Spaceborn and Lightning, but I’d be surprised if I changed my mind.
I’m delighted that AO3 is getting some love! An archive is crucial for fanworks to exist and be found but no one ever really thinks about that. Except, apparently, some people did! Lovely. ^_^
I just have to sigh and shake my head about the Longform Dramatic Works. I was not impressed with Infinity War but I’m not surprised it’s there. Black Panther and Spiderverse were great, though. I haven’t seen the others.
Congratulations to all the nominees!
Wow Tor & Tor.com! Your teams must be celebrating. Quite a list of representation on the ballot.
Guess I missed the update. When did “Art Book” and the Loadstar Award for YA start?
Series: I’m rooting for The Universe of Xuya and/or Wayfarers (memo to myself: read the third Wayfarers book, darn it!).
@10: This is the second year for the Lodestar, although the first by that name (last year it was just the “Award for Best Young Adult Book”).
The Best Art Book category is a special category added by the convention committee this year.
Haven’t read any of the novels yet. Worth noting that 5/6 nominees are women writers. Same is true of the novella category. Here my vote is for Martha Wells. She still makes my insides melt. Same is true of novelette and short story. Series is 4/6. For novelette I’d go with Bolander. The synthesis of Topsy, radium girls and a more enlightened era in the future is a well done expression of female rage, but not sure it works on practical level, as it posits that elephants and their mythical memory will outlast any tech produced by humans.
For related work, I was impressed with and enjoyed Astounding, by Nevala-Lee. It reads like a novel about these significant figures in the origins of adult SF, with all their flaws and foibles. One is an outright villain and another, the editor, comes across as an eventual crackpot as he ages.
Maybe this will be the year Coode Street Podcast finally gets recognized. They’re up to 350 episodes currently.
For dramatic presentation, A Quiet Place was more surprising than I expected. Annihilation was weird, but flawed and perhaps not weird enough. The 3 Marvel movies may split the vote, but the animation in Spider-verse was impressive.
The two Doctor Whos and two Good Places (a show I consider overrated and increasingly wacky for its own sake) may cancel out. I’d give it to The Expanse.
Those interested in the Retro Hugos may note that there are many Astounding nominations, though of the main three cultivated by Campbell, only Asimov managed a short story entry. Guess they were still involved in the war effort.
Can’t comment still hyperventilating
@14. James: well, get a grip, good sir, and tell us why…
I thought the Lindsay Ellis “Hobbit” videos were reaching for significance. She starts out with good points, then needlessly drags Harper Lee and Orson Scott Card into the mix in a lame attempt to make some grand statement about capitalism and separating the art from the artist. Just talk about the movies, sweetheart.
Doctor Who’s “Demons of the Punjab” is excellent and totally deserved a nomination. Don’t know if it will win, however. I fear that Infinity War will win in Long-Form Presentation even though it was merely good rather than great like Black Panther and Into the Spider-Verse.
I really don’t care for Brooke Bollander. She tries way too hard to be edgy. I have read almost none of the other authors nominated and will rectify that ASAP.
So happy to see “Tolkien: Master of Middle-earth” in the art book category — it’s a gorgeous book!
AO3 IS NOMINATED AKFJSFKAJF I CANT BREATHE
@15: At a first guess, probably because Mr. Nicoll was nominated for Best Fan Writer :p
@19. foamy: oh, I missed that…
Call me old fashioned, but the AO3 nomination just doesn’t excite me. I’ve always been more of a fanfiction.net reader. Never really ‘got’ the hype for AO3….
Will Neal Asher ever get his due?
Will NEAL ASHER ever get his due?
Most space opera Brits get ignored, probably always will. See Alastair Reynolds, Peter F Hamilton…
@14 – congrats, James!!
@16: Lindsay Ellis’s Hobbit videos were excellent, going through the details of both the creative and business issues that the films encountered during their conception and execution. The documentary is worthy of the award nomination, and wholly unworthy of your crass, sexist dismissal.
@23: Neal Asher writes cheerfully unremarkable, MOR space opera, not the worst in the genre but a long, long way from the best. I’m unsure why you think he is worthy of a Hugo. He’s also pretty disdainful (contemptuous, depending on the interview) of established SF fandom, which is hardly likely to endear him to the people nominating and voting for the awards either.
@24: Given that Iain M. Banks, the most literary significant author in the history of space opera (far moreso than the nevertheless splendid Lois Bujold, who can’t move for the Hugo Awards clogging up her house), managed about one nomination in his entire career during that long period at the start of the century when American SF was utterly in the doldrums, I wouldn’t hold my breath to see any other UK space opera authors break through any time soon. Alastair Reynolds had his shot a few years ago when he scraped a few nominations, although his more recent work has definitely been very low in profile compared to his early work in the Inhibitors/Revelation Space setting.
I used to puzzle over Hamilton never getting nominated when decidedly inferior space opera authors like Scalzi were getting nominated for extremely minor work (in one notable case, even winning). As far as I can tell, the primary problem was the sheer length of his books and people not getting round to reading them in the nomination periods. There was also the issue of them being part of series, and then the fact that the US publisher was in some cases releasing the books months after the UK release, in the following calendar year, splitting the international vote across two eligibility periods. He’s now writing much shorter, punchier SF so his prospects may increase (and Salvation was probably his best novel since Pandora’s Star fourteen years earlier).
HOLD UP Why is Brandon Sanderson’s Skyward not on this list?!?!?!?!?!?! Seriously PEOPLE? Skyward is a way waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better book than anything Naomi Novik has written. COME. ON.
….My heart aches.
The retro Hugo list is simply amazing.
Random thoughts: A movie serial, Batman, in long and 2 classic cartoons in short, starring Donald Duck and Bugs Bunny, with references to WW2.
The only miss is that there could not be “Editor-long” since Isuspect only JWC, jr. could have qualified.
@26. Werthead: “Salvation was probably his best novel since Pandora’s Star …”
Agreed. It’s much more tightly plotted than almost anything else he’s written and rewards close attention to the PoV lenses in which it’s told. The technique allows for surprises and for necessarily leaving out (long drawn-out) things the characters simply didn’t or couldn’t know. Then again, it’s part one of a series… Then again again, that hasn’t restricted Bujold’s chances.
@29: Indeed, although Bujold’s series is made up of mostly stand-alone novels with only a few continuing subplots, so you could enjoy each one on its own merits, which isn’t true of most of Hamilton’s books. Hamilton’s few genuine stand-alones are among his lesser work as well.
Next year will be interesting in the Short Form section, as all eighteen of the films in Netflix’s Love, Death and Robots series will be eligible, including one Hamilton animated short story (“Sonnie’s Edge”, in the Night’s Dawn universe) and two Reynolds (“Zima Blue” and “Beyond the Aquila Rift”).
@30. Werthead: I watched that series and I’d say about half of those shorts are good and half not so good. The Reynolds and Hamilton are in the good half. The other half has a couple that could play as cinematics in a video game, but don’t necessarily hold up as stories. One or two don’t really have endings, they just peter out. And the horror one with the giant bat vampire was simply terrible.
@27 SECONDED!
Where “The Gone World” by Tom Sweterlitsch?!
@27: I think Skyward would have been eligible under the YA banner, and thus not in competition with Novik. I do think this would have been one of Sanderson’s best chances at a nomination for the next few years though, since his kind of old-fashioned epic/heroic fantasy seems a bit out of awards fashion. (It’s somewhat a shame that the Gemmell Awards have gone away, considering that.)
@27: Having read both Skyward and Spinning Silver this year, I disagree. Skyward was excellent, but even leaving aside #34’s excellent comment about YA vs. adult categories, I think Spinning Silver did something altogether more subtle and ingenious with narrative structure and themes about bargaining and agreement and the conflicts that arise when trying to balance society’s expectations against the needs of the family and the needs of the individual. No worries about Sanderson, though–he’ll definitely be back on the ballot for best series with his next Stormlight book. And I will happily vote for him there.
25: Thank you!
Seems almost predictable. However have publishers as well as writers forgotten what ‘science’ means?
Scientia–as for the fiction end–it is about also alien sentience. Which is mostly non existent.
I used to be a digital publisher in speculative fiction and the indie authors there should be getting the recognition.
@37:It’s a matter of scale. Hugo’s are nominated by fans based upon what they have read (or at least hopefully they have read). If a work hasn’t been read by a sufficient number of eyeballs it isn’t going to get enough nominations. In order for a work to get nominations it needs to be both good and well disseminated.