2020 Hugo Voters Packet

The 2020 Hugo Voters Packet is available to members of CoNZealand, the 78th World Science Fiction Convention, from now until close of voting on July 15.  Many thanks to the creators and publishers who have shared materials for the consideration of Hugo voters and to the Hugo administrators for putting it all together!

Once logged in to the member area, you will be able to access the download page for the Hugo Packet.  The first file is a table of contents in PDF format showing the types of files provided for each participating finalist in each category (except dramatic presentation).  The remaining downloads are a series of ZIP files divided by category and further divided by finalist in categories with large file sizes.

In the following breakdown, I have put an asterisk (*) next to the file types where I noticed formatting issues.  In most cases, these issues only affect the EPUB and MOBI formats, and the PDF version of the same book looks fine.  However, Planetfall by Emma Newman (the first book in the Best Series finalist of the same name) has almost no formatting in either file type provided through NetGalley.  For example, paragraphs start on a new line with no line break or indent.  Atlas Alone (fourth and final book in the same series) is slightly better with at least paragraph line breaks.  The second and third books are uncorrected proofs but appear close to final copy on a cursory glance.

The books accessed through NetGalley links are DRM protected.  Contrary to what it says in some of the accompanying packet material, the “Send to Kindle” option is not available for the Kindle for PC or Mac desktop apps.  You will need to set up a specific Kindle device or mobile app to receive the file from NetGalley.  The book will then be available to download to any other Kindle device or mobile app logged into your Amazon account, but DRM will tie the book to the device or app it is downloaded to.  To read on your computer or other ereaders and apps, choose the “Download Protected EPUB/PDF” option.  You will need to install Adobe Digital Editions and authorize it with an Adobe ID.  Here the DRM will allow you to read on any device or app authorized with the same Adobe ID, but these are set to expire 55 days after downloading (which currently takes us past the close of the voting period).  NetGalley’s help pages have the details on setting up a Kindle or downloading and reading on other devices.

Happy reading, watching, listening, and viewing!

BEST NOVEL (5 novels, 1 novel excerpt)

  • The City in the Middle of the Night, by Charlie Jane Anders (Tor; Titan)
    • complete novel in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
  • Gideon the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir (Tor.com Publishing)
    • complete novel in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
  • The Light Brigade, by Kameron Hurley (Saga; Angry Robot UK)
    • complete novel in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
  • A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine (Tor; Tor UK)
    • complete novel in PDF
  • Middlegame, by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
    • complete novel in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
  • The Ten Thousand Doors of January, by Alix E. Harrow (Redhook; Orbit UK)
    • excerpt of the first 100 pages in watermarked PDF

BEST NOVELLA (5 novellas, 1 collection)

  • “Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom”, by Ted Chiang (Exhalation (Borzoi/Alfred A. Knopf; Picador))
    • uncorrected proof of complete collection including the nominated novella and novelette in watermarked PDF
    • PDF with NetGalley link for uncorrected proof of complete collection in Adobe DRM EPUB or Send to Kindle DRM AZW3
    • same files provided in the novelette packet
  • The Deep, by Rivers Solomon, with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson & Jonathan Snipes (Saga Press/Gallery)
    • complete novella in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
  • The Haunting of Tram Car 015, by P. Djèlí Clark (Tor.com Publishing)
    • complete novella in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
  • In an Absent Dream, by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
    • complete novella in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
  • This Is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (Saga Press; Jo Fletcher Books)
    • complete novella in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
  • To Be Taught, If Fortunate, by Becky Chambers (Harper Voyager; Hodder & Stoughton)
    • complete novella in watermarked PDF

BEST NOVELETTE (5 novelettes, 1 collection)

  • “The Archronology of Love”, by Caroline M. Yoachim (Lightspeed, April 2019)
    • complete novelette in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
  • “Away With the Wolves”, by Sarah Gailey (Uncanny Magazine: Disabled People Destroy Fantasy Special Issue, September/October 2019)
    • complete novelette in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
  • “The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye”, by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny Magazine, July/August 2019)
    • complete novelette in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
  • Emergency Skin, by N.K. Jemisin (Forward Collection (Amazon))
    • complete novelette in MOBI
  • “For He Can Creep”, by Siobhan Carroll (Tor.com, 10 July 2019)
    • complete novelette in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
  • “Omphalos”, by Ted Chiang (Exhalation (Borzoi/Alfred A. Knopf; Picador))
    • uncorrected proof of complete collection including the nominated novelette and novella in watermarked PDF
    • PDF with NetGalley link for uncorrected proof of complete collection in Adobe DRM EPUB or Send to Kindle DRM AZW3
    • same files provided in the novella packet

BEST SHORT STORY (6 short stories)

  • “And Now His Lordship Is Laughing”, by Shiv Ramdas (Strange Horizons, 9 September 2019)
    • complete short story in EPUB*, MOBI*, and PDF
  • “As the Last I May Know”, by S.L. Huang (Tor.com, 23 October 2019)
    • complete short story in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
  • “Blood Is Another Word for Hunger”, by Rivers Solomon (Tor.com, 24 July 2019)
    • complete short story in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
  • “A Catalog of Storms”, by Fran Wilde (Uncanny Magazine, January/February 2019)
    • complete short story in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
  • “Do Not Look Back, My Lion”, by Alix E. Harrow (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, January 2019)
    • complete short story in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
  • “Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island”, by Nibedita Sen (Nightmare Magazine, May 2019)
    • complete short story in PDF

BEST SERIES (14 novels, 5 novel excerpts, 36 short fiction works)

  • The Expanse, by James S. A. Corey (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
    • excerpt of the first 100 pages of Leviathan Wakes (book 1) in watermarked PDF
  • InCryptid, by Seanan McGuire (DAW)
    • PDF with NetGalley links for complete novels 1-8 in Adobe DRM EPUB or Send to Kindle DRM AZW3 (novels 7-8 are uncorrected proofs)
    • 36 complete works of short fiction in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
    • reading order in PDF
  • Luna, by Ian McDonald (Tor; Gollancz)
    • complete novel of Luna: New Moon (book 1) in EPUB and PDF
    • excerpt of the first 34 pages of Luna: Wolf Moon (book 2) in PDF
    • excerpt of the first 29 pages of Luna: Moon Rising (book 3) in PDF
  • Planetfall series, by Emma Newman (Ace; Gollancz)
    • PDF with NetGalley link for uncorrected proofs of complete novels 1-4 in Adobe DRM EPUB* or Send to Kindle DRM AZW3*
  • Winternight Trilogy, by Katherine Arden (Del Rey; Del Rey UK)
    • excerpt of the first 156 pages of The Bear and the Nightingale (book 1) in watermarked PDF
    • page 2 of the excerpt has a NetGalley link to request the complete novel in Adobe DRM EPUB or Send to Kindle DRM AZW3
  • The Wormwood Trilogy, by Tade Thompson (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
    • excerpt of the first 114 pages of Rosewater (book 1) in watermarked PDF

BEST RELATED WORK (2 non-fiction books, 2 non-fiction book excerpts, 1 speech transcript, 1 documentary)

  • Becoming Superman: My Journey from Poverty to Hollywood, by J. Michael Straczynski (Harper Voyager US)
    • complete book in watermarked PDF
  • Joanna Russ, by Gwyneth Jones (University of Illinois Press (Modern Masters of Science Fiction))
    • excerpt of chapters 4-5 (46 pp) in PDF (red text across the bottom of every page stating: “Copyrighted material. For award review purposes only.”)
  • The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick, by Mallory O’Meara (Hanover Square)
    • excerpt of the first 8 pages in PDF
  • The Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein, by Farah Mendlesohn (Unbound)
    • complete book in EPUB and PDF
  • “2019 John W. Campbell Award Acceptance Speech”, by Jeannette Ng
    • complete transcript of speech in PDF
  • Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin, produced and directed by Arwen Curry
    • PDF with description and password protected link to online video of the complete documentary

BEST GRAPHIC STORY OR COMIC (22 graphic novels)

  • Die, Volume 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker, by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans, letters by Clayton Cowles (Image)
    • complete graphic novel in PDF
  • LaGuardia, written by Nnedi Okorafor, art by Tana Ford, colours by James Devlin (Berger Books; Dark Horse)
    • complete graphic novel in PDF
  • Monstress, Volume 4: The Chosen, written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda (Image)
    • complete graphic novels of volumes 1-4 in PDF
  • Mooncakes, by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker, letters by Joamette Gil (Oni Press; Lion Forge)
    • complete graphic novel in PDF
  • Paper Girls, Volume 6, written by Brian K. Vaughan, drawn by Cliff Chiang, colours by Matt Wilson, letters by Jared K. Fletcher (Image)
    • complete graphic novels of volumes 1-6 in PDF
  • The Wicked + The Divine, Volume 9: “Okay”, by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, colours by Matt Wilson, letters by Clayton Cowles (Image)
    • complete graphic novels of volumes 1-9 in PDF

BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION, SHORT FORM (1 TV episode, 1 video clip)

  • The Expanse: “Cibola Burn”, written by Daniel Abraham & Ty Franck and Naren Shankar, directed by Breck Eisner (Amazon Prime Video)
    • 1 minute video clip of episode in MOV
  • Doctor Who: “Resolution”, written by Chris Chibnall, directed by Wayne Yip (BBC)
    • 1 hour complete video of episode in MOV

BEST EDITOR, SHORT FORM (1 magazine issue, 2 prozine/semiprozine samplers, 1 anthology, 3 anthology excerpts, 2 novellas, 11 short fiction works)

  • Neil Clarke
    • sampler from Clarkesworld Magazine in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
  • Ellen Datlow
    • 5 short stories from Tor.com in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
    • complete novella of Desdemona and the Deep by C.S.E. Cooney in PDF
    • complete novella of Ormeshadow by Priya Sharma in PDF
    • introduction from The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Eleven in PDF
    • table of contents for The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Eleven in DOC
  • Jonathan Strahan
    • introduction in PDF
    • 6 short fiction works from Tor.com in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF (including a story also in the short story packet)
    • excerpt from The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy: Volume Thirteen in EPUB and MOBI
    • excerpt from Mission Critical in EPUB and MOBI
  • Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas
    • sampler from Uncanny Magazine in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF (only the short fiction from this sampler should be considered for this category)
    • complete anthology of The Best of Uncanny in EPUB and MOBI
    • same files provided in the semiprozine packet
  • Sheila Williams
    • complete July/August 2019 issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction in PDF

BEST EDITOR, LONG FORM (7 novels, 2 novel samplers, 2 graphic novels, 1 novella)

  • Sheila E. Gilbert
    • sampler of edited novels in PDF
  • Brit Hvide
    • list of edited novels in PDF
  • Diana M. Pho
    • list of edited works in PDF
    • complete novels in EPUB*, MOBI*, and watermarked PDF
      • A Labyrinth of Scions and Sorcery by Curtis Craddock
      • Amnesty by Lara Elena Donnelly
      • Tides of the Titans by Thoraiya Dyer
      • The Perfect Assassin by K. A. Doore
      • The Impossible Contract by K. A. Doore
      • The Revenant Express by George Mann
      • The Sol Majestic by Ferrett Steinmetz
    • other works in EPUB*, MOBI*, and watermarked PDF (should not be considered in evaluation for this category)
      • Chronin Volume 1: The Knife in Your Back by Alison Wilgus (graphic novel)
      • Chronin Volume 2: The Sword in Your Hand by Alison Wilgus (graphic novel)
      • The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark (novella)
  • Navah Wolfe
    • sampler of edited novels in EPUB*, MOBI*, and PDF

BEST PROFESSIONAL ARTIST (15 pro artist images, 3 pro artist samplers)

  • Tommy Arnold
    • 6 images in JPG (7 files with 1 duplicate)
  • Rovina Cai
    • sampler of art in PDF
  • Galen Dara
    • 1 image in JPG and TIF (3 files with 1 duplicate)
    • 4 images in JPG
  • John Picacio
    • sampler of art in PDF
  • Yuko Shimizu
    • sampler of art in PDF
  • Alyssa Winans
    • 3 images in JPG

BEST SEMIPROZINE (5 semiprozine issues, 4 semiprozine samplers, 6 semiprozine podcasts, 1 anthology, 2 cover art images)

  • Beneath Ceaseless Skies, editor Scott H. Andrews
    • complete Issue #287 of Beneath Ceaseless Skies in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
  • Escape Pod, editors Mur Lafferty and S.B. Divya, assistant editor Benjamin C. Kinney, audio producers Adam Pracht and Summer Brooks, hosts Tina Connolly and Alasdair Stuart
    • sampler in EPUB, MOBI, PDF
    • 6 corresponding story podcasts in MP3
  • Fireside Magazine, editor Julia Rios, managing editor Elsa Sjunneson, copyeditor Chelle Parker, social coordinator Meg Frank, publisher & art director Pablo Defendini, founding editor Brian White
    • sampler in EPUB and MOBI
  • FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, executive editor Troy L. Wiggins, editors Eboni Dunbar, Brent Lambert, L.D. Lewis, Danny Lore, Brandon O’Brien and Kaleb Russell
    • complete issues #9-12 in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF (watermark across cover image only in all formats)
  • Strange Horizons, Vanessa Rose Phin, Catherine Krahe, AJ Odasso, Dan Hartland, Joyce Chng, Dante Luiz and the Strange Horizons staff
    • sampler in EPUB (5 different device versions), MOBI, and PDF
  • Uncanny Magazine, editors-in-chief Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, nonfiction/managing editor Michi Trota, managing editor Chimedum Ohaegbu, podcast producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky
    • sampler from Uncanny Magazine in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
    • complete anthology of The Best of Uncanny in EPUB and MOBI (reprint anthology which should only be used to evaluate the Thomases for Best Editor, Short Form)
    • same files are also included in the short form editor packet (2 separate cover art images in JPG for the sampler and anthology are only included in the semiprozine packet)

BEST FANZINE (4 fanzine issues, 5 fanzine samplers)

  • The Book Smugglers, editors Ana Grilo and Thea James
    • sampler in PDF
  • Galactic Journey, founder Gideon Marcus, editor Janice Marcus, senior writers Rosemary Benton, Lorelei Marcus and Victoria Silverwolf
    • sampler in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
  • Journey Planet, editors James Bacon, Christopher J Garcia, Alissa McKersie, Ann Gry, Chuck Serface, John Coxon and Steven H Silver
    • issues 45-48 in EPUB*, MOBI*, and PDF
  • nerds of a feather, flock together, editors Adri Joy, Joe Sherry, Vance Kotrla, and The G
    • sampler in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
  • Quick Sip Reviews, editor Charles Payseur
    • sampler in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
  • The Rec Center, editors Elizabeth Minkel and Gavia Baker-Whitelaw
    • introduction with links to a selection of online content in PDF

BEST FANCAST (39 fancasts, 4 fancast videos, 3 fancast transcripts)

  • Be The Serpent, presented by Alexandra Rowland, Freya Marske and Jennifer Mace
    • 3 podcasts in MP3
    • 3 corresponding transcripts in PDF
  • Claire Rousseau’s YouTube channel, produced & presented by Claire Rousseau
    • 4 videos in MP4
  • The Coode Street Podcast, presented by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe
    • 3 podcasts in MP3
  • Galactic Suburbia, presented by Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce and Tansy Rayner Roberts, producer Andrew Finch
    • 1 podcast in MP3
  • Our Opinions Are Correct, presented by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders
    • 26 podcasts in MP3
  • The Skiffy and Fanty Show, presented by Jen Zink, Shaun Duke, Paul Weimer, Alex Acks, Trish Matson, David Annandale, and The Skiffy and Fanty Crew
    • introduction in PDF
    • 6 podcasts in MP3

BEST FAN WRITER (6 fan writing samplers)

  • Cora Buhlert
    • sampler in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
  • James Davis Nicoll
    • sampler in PDF
  • Alasdair Stuart
    • sampler in PDF
    • sampler split into 18 separate PDF files
  • Bogi Takács
    • sampler in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
  • Paul Weimer
    • sampler in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF
  • Adam Whitehead
    • sampler with links to more online content in PDF

BEST FAN ARTIST (65 images)

  • Iain Clark
    • 10 images in JPG
  • Sara Felix
    • 4 images in PNG
  • Grace P. Fong
    • 4 images in PNG
    • 4 images in JPG
  • Meg Frank
    • list of images in DOCX
    • 25 images in JPG
  • Ariela Housman
    • 5 images in PDF
  • Elise Matthesen
    • list of images in DOCX
    • 13 images in JPG

LODESTAR AWARD (5 YA books, 1 YA book excerpt)

  • Catfishing on CatNet, by Naomi Kritzer (Tor Teen)
    • complete book in PDF
  • Deeplight, by Frances Hardinge (Macmillan)
    • PDF with NetGalley link for an uncorrected proof of the complete book in Adobe DRM PDF or Send to Kindle DRM AZW3*
  • Dragon Pearl, by Yoon Ha Lee (Disney/Hyperion)
    • complete book in double-page PDF
  • Minor Mage, by T. Kingfisher (Argyll)
    • complete book in EPUB and MOBI
  • Riverland, by Fran Wilde (Amulet)
    • PDF with NetGalley link for an uncorrected proof of the complete book in Adobe DRM PDF or Send to Kindle DRM AZW3*
  • The Wicked King, by Holly Black (Little, Brown; Hot Key)
    • PDF with NetGalley link for an excerpt of the first 217 pages in Adobe DRM PDF or Send to Kindle DRM AZW3*

ASTOUNDING AWARD (3 novels, 1 novel excerpt, 1 novella, 3 short stories)

  • Sam Hawke (2nd year of eligibility)
    • complete novel of City of Lies in watermarked PDF
  • R.F. Kuang (2nd year of eligibility)
    • complete novel of The Poppy War in watermarked PDF
  • Jenn Lyons (1st year of eligibility)
    • complete novel of The Ruin of Kings in PDF
  • Nibedita Sen (2nd year of eligibility)
    • 3 short stories in PDF (including the one which is in the short story packet)
  • Tasha Suri (2nd year of eligibility)
    • excerpt of the first 103 pages of Empire of Sand in watermarked PDF
  • Emily Tesh (1st year of eligibility)
    • complete novella of Silver in the Wood in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF

SUMMARY

  • 29 complete novels
  • 6 novel excerpts
  • 8 novellas
  • 5 novelettes
  • 13 short stories
  • 41 other short fiction works
  • 2 complete anthologies or collections
  • 3 anthology excerpts
  • 2 complete non-fiction books
  • 2 non-fiction book excerpts
  • 1 speech transcript
  • 1 documentary
  • 24 graphic novels
  • 1 video clip
  • 1 TV episode
  • 1 magazine sampler
  • 1 magazine issue
  • 2 novel samplers
  • 3 pro artist samplers
  • 14 pro artist images
  • 4 semiprozine samplers
  • 5 semiprozine issues
  • 6 semiprozine podcasts
  • 2 cover art images
  • 5 fanzine samplers
  • 4 fanzine issues
  • 38 fancasts
  • 4 fancast videos
  • 3 fancast transcripts
  • 6 fan writing samplers
  • 65 fan artist images
  • 5 complete YA books
  • 1 YA book excerpt
  • various support documents

If you’ve scrolled all the way down to here, why not leave me a comment? 😉

2020 Nebula Winners

The winners of the 55th Annual SFWA Nebula Awards were reveal last night in a virtual ceremony.

Best Novel

  • Marque of Caine by Charles E. Gannon, published by Baen
  • The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow, published by Redhook
  • A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine, published by Tor
  • Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, published by Del Rey
  • Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, published by Tor.com
  • Winner: A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker, published by Berkley

Best Novella

  • “Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom” by Ted Chiang, published by Knopf
  • “The Haunting of Tram Car 015” by P. Djèlí Clark, published by Tor.com
  • Winner: “This Is How You Lose the Time War” by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, published by Gallery and Saga Press
  • “Her Silhouette, Drawn in Water” by Vylar Kaftan, published by Tor.com
  • “The Deep” by Rivers Solomon, Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes, published by Gallery and Saga Press
  • “Catfish Lullaby” by A C Wise, published by Broken Eye Books

Best Novelette

  • “A Strange Uncertain Light” by G. V. Anderson, published by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
  • “For He Can Creep” by Siobhan Carroll, published by Tor.com
  • “His Footsteps, Through Darkness and Light” by Mimi Mondal, published by Tor.com
  • “The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye” by Sarah Pinsker, published by Uncanny
  • Winner: “Carpe Glitter” by Cat Rambo, published by Meerkat Shorts, LLC
  • “The Archronology of Love” by Caroline M. Yoachim, published by Lightspeed Magazine

Best Short Story

  • Winner: “Give the Family My Love” by A. T. Greenblatt, published by Clarkesworld
  • “The Dead, In Their Uncontrollable Power” by Karen Osborne, published by Uncanny
  • “And Now His Lordship Is Laughing” by Shiv Ramdas, published by Strange Horizons
  • “Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island” by Nibedita Sen, published by Nightmare Magazine
  • “A Catalog of Storms” by Fran Wilde, published by Uncanny
  • “How the Trick Is Done” by A C Wise, published by Uncanny

Ray Bradbury Nebula Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation

  • Captain Marvel written by Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, and Geneva Robertson-Dworet (Marvel Studios)
  • The Mandalorian: “The Child” written by Jon Favreau (Disney+)
  • Winner: Good Omens: “Hard Times” written by Neil Gaiman (Amazon Studios and BBC Studios)
  • Watchmen: “A God Walks into Abar” written by Jeff Jensen and Damon Lindelof (HBO)
  • Avengers: Endgame written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (Marvel Studios)
  • Russian Doll: “The Way Out” written by Allison Silverman and Leslye Headland (Netflix)

Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction

  • Cog by Greg van Eekhout, published by HarperCollins
  • Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez, published by Rick Riordan Presents
  • Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer, published by Tor Teen
  • Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee, published by Rick Riordan Presents
  • Peasprout Chen: Battle of Champions by Henry Lien, published by Henry Holt
  • Winner: Riverland by Fran Wilde, published by Harry N. Abrams

Best Game Writing

  • Outer Wilds by Kelsey Beachum, published by Mobius Digital
  • Winner: The Outer Worlds by Leonard Boyarsky, Kate Dollarhyde, Paul Kirsch, Chris L’Etoile, Daniel McPhee, Carrie Patel, Nitai Poddar, Marc Soskin, and Megan Starks, published by Obsidian Entertainment
  • The Magician’s Workshop by Kate Heartfield, published by Choice of Games
  • Disco Elysium by Robert Kurvitz, published by ZA/UM
  • Fate Accessibility Toolkit by Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, published by Evil Hat Productions

I will not be at all surprised to see repeat winners at the Hugos for novella, dramatic presentation, and YA fiction.  It’s nice to see things that aren’t on the Hugo ballot win in other categories.  Have you read, watched, or played any of the winners here?

2020 Locus Awards Finalists

The 2020 Locus Award Finalists have been announced.  Winners will be presented at a virtual ceremony on June 27.

SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL

  • The City in the Middle of the Night, Charlie Jane Anders (Tor; Titan)
  • The Testaments, Margaret Atwood (Nan A. Talese; Chatto & Windus)
  • Ancestral Night, Elizabeth Bear (Saga; Gollancz)
  • Empress of Forever, Max Gladstone (Tor)
  • The Light Brigade, Kameron Hurley (Saga; Angry Robot UK)
  • Luna: Moon Rising, Ian McDonald (Tor; Gollancz)
  • The Future of Another Timeline, Annalee Newitz (Tor; Orbit UK)
  • Fleet of Knives, Gareth L. Powell (Titan US & UK)
  • The Rosewater Insurrection/The Rosewater Redemption, Tade Thompson (Orbit US & UK)
  • Wanderers, Chuck Wendig (Del Rey; Solaris)

The City in the Middle of the Night and The Light Brigade are Hugo finalists for Best Novel.  Luna: Moon Rising and The Rosewater Insurrection/The Rosewater Redemption are the latest installments in two of the Hugo finalists for Best Series.

FANTASY NOVEL

  • Ninth House, Leigh Bardugo (Flatiron; Gollancz)
  • A Brightness Long Ago, Guy Gavriel Kay (Berkley; Viking Canada; Hodder & Stoughton)
  • The Raven Tower, Ann Leckie (Orbit US & UK)
  • Jade War, Fonda Lee (Orbit US & UK)
  • Middlegame, Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
  • Gods of Jade and Shadow, Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Rey; Jo Fletcher)
  • The Starless Sea, Erin Morgenstern (Doubleday; Harvill Secker)
  • Storm of Locusts, Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga)
  • The Iron Dragon’s Mother, Michael Swanwick (Tor)
  • Dead Astronauts, Jeff VanderMeer (MCD; Fourth Estate)

Middlegame is a Hugo finalist, and Gods of Jade and Shadow is a Nebula finalist.

HORROR NOVEL

  • Imaginary Friend, Stephen Chbosky (Grand Central; Orion)
  • Prisoner of Midnight, Barbara Hambly (Severn House)
  • Curious Toys, Elizabeth Hand (Mulholland)
  • Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon James (Riverhead; Hamish Hamilton)
  • The Grand Dark, Richard Kadrey (Harper Voyager US & UK)
  • The Institute, Stephen King (Scribner; Hodder & Stoughton)
  • The Twisted Ones, T. Kingfisher (Saga)
  • Anno Dracula 1999: Daikaiju, Kim Newman (Titan US & UK)
  • The Pursuit of William Abbey, Claire North (Orbit US & UK)
  • The Toll, Cherie Priest (Tor)

YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

  • King of Scars, Leigh Bardugo (Imprint; Orion)
  • The Wicked King, Holly Black (Little, Brown; Hot Key)
  • Pet, Akwaeke Emezi (Make Me a World; Faber & Faber)
  • Catfishing on CatNet, Naomi Kritzer (TorTeen)
  • Dragon Pearl, Yoon Ha Lee (Disney Hyperion)
  • Destroy All Monsters, Sam J. Miller (Harper Teen)
  • Angel Mage, Garth Nix (Katherine Tegen; Allen & Unwin; Gollancz)
  • War Girls, Tochi Onyebuchi (Razorbill)
  • The Book of Dust: The Secret Commonwealth, Philip Pullman (Knopf; Penguin UK & David Fickling)
  • Shadow Captain, Alastair Reynolds (Orbit US; Gollancz)

The Wicked King is a finalist for the Lodestar Award.  Catfishing on CatNet and Dragon Pearl are finalists for both the Lodestar and the Andre Norton Nebula Award.

FIRST NOVEL

  • The Water Dancer, Ta-Nehisi Coates (One World)
  • Magic for Liars, Sarah Gailey (Tor)
  • The Ten Thousand Doors of January, Alix E. Harrow (Redhook; Orbit UK)
  • A Memory Called Empire, Arkady Martine (Tor)
  • Infinite Detail, Tim Maughan (MCD x FSG Originals)
  • Gideon the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir (Tor.com Publishing)
  • Finder, Suzanne Palmer (DAW)
  • A Song for a New Day, Sarah Pinsker (Berkley)
  • Waste Tide, Chen Qiufan (Tor; Head of Zeus)
  • The Luminous Dead, Caitlin Starling (Harper Voyager)

A Song for a New Day is a Nebula finalist.  The Ten Thousand Doors of JanuaryA Memory Called Empire, and Gideon the Ninth are finalists for both the Hugo and the Nebula.

NOVELLA

  • “A Time to Reap”, Elizabeth Bear (Uncanny 12/19)
  • To Be Taught, If Fortunate, Becky Chambers (Harper Voyager; Hodder & Stoughton)
  • “Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom”, Ted Chiang (Exhalation)
  • The Haunting of Tram Car 015, P. Djèlí Clark (Tor.com Publishing)
  • Desdemona and the Deep, C.S.E. Cooney (Tor.com Publishing)
  • This Is How You Lose the Time War, Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone (Saga)
  • The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday, Saad Z. Hossain (Tor.com Publishing)
  • Permafrost, Alastair Reynolds (Tor.com Publishing)
  • The Deep, Rivers Solomon, with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson & Jonathan Snipes (Saga)
  • The Ascent to Godhood, JY Yang (Tor.com Publishing)

To Be Taught, If Fortunate is a Hugo finalist.  “Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom”, The Haunting of Tram Car 015This Is How You Lose the Time War, and The Deep are finalists for both the Hugo and the Nebula.

NOVELETTE

  • “Erase, Erase, Erase”, Elizabeth Bear (F&SF 9-10/19)
  • “For He Can Creep”, Siobhan Carroll (Tor.com 7/10/19)
  • “Omphalos”, Ted Chiang (Exhalation)
  • “A Country Called Winter”, Theodora Goss (Snow White Learns Witchcraft)
  • “Late Returns”, Joe Hill (Full Throttle)
  • “Emergency Skin”, N.K. Jemisin (Forward)
  • “The Justified”, Ann Leckie (The Mythic Dream)
  • “Phantoms of the Midway”, Seanan McGuire (The Mythic Dream)
  • “Binti: Sacred Fire”, Nnedi Okorafor (Binti: The Complete Trilogy)
  • “The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye”, Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny 7-8/19)

“Omphalos” and “Emergency Skin” are Hugo finalists.  “For He Can Creep” and “The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye” are finalist for both the Hugo and the Nebula.

SHORT STORY

  • “The Bookstore at the End of America”, Charlie Jane Anders (A People’s Future of the United States)
  • “Lest We Forget”, Elizabeth Bear (Uncanny 5-6/19)
  • “The Galactic Tourist Industrial Complex”, Tobias S. Buckell (New Suns)
  • “It’s 2059, and the Rich Kids Are Still Winning”, Ted Chiang (New York Times 5/27/19)
  • “Fisher-Bird”, T. Kingfisher (The Mythic Dream)
  • “I (28M) created a deepfake girlfriend and now my parents think we’re getting married”, Fonda Lee (MIT Technology Review 12/27/19)
  • “The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear”, Kelly Link (Tin House ’19)
  • “Thoughts and Prayers”, Ken Liu (Future Tense 1/26/19)
  • “A Brief Lesson in Native American Astronomy”, Rebecca Roanhorse (The Mythic Dream)
  • “A Catalog of Storms”, Fran Wilde (Uncanny 1-2/19)

“A Catalog of Storms” is a finalist for both the Hugo and the Nebula.

ANTHOLOGY

  • Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories, Ellen Datlow, ed. (Saga)
  • The Very Best of the Best: 35 Years of The Year’s Best Science Fiction, Gardner Dozois, ed. (St. Martin’s Griffin)
  • A People’s Future of the United States, Victor LaValle & John Joseph Adams, eds. (One World)
  • Broken Stars: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation, Ken Liu, ed. (Tor)
  • The Mythic Dream, Dominik Parisien & Navah Wolfe, eds. (Saga)
  • New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color, Nisi Shawl, ed. (Solaris US & UK)
  • The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year, Volume Thirteen, Jonathan Strahan, ed. (Solaris US & UK)
  • Mission Critical, Jonathan Strahan, ed. (Solaris US & UK)
  • The Best of Uncanny, Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas, eds. (Subterranean)
  • The Big Book of Classic Fantasy, Ann VanderMeer & Jeff VanderMeer, eds. (Vintage)

Six original and four reprint anthologies.  A People’s Future of the United States and New Suns each have one short story finalist.  The Mythic Dream has two novelette and two short story finalists.

COLLECTION

  • Exhalation, Ted Chiang (Knopf; Picador)
  • Of Wars, and Memories, and Starlight, Aliette de Bodard (Subterranean)
  • The Best of Greg Egan, Greg Egan (Subterranean)
  • Snow White Learns Witchcraft, Theodora Goss (Mythic Delirium)
  • Full Throttle, Joe Hill (Morrow; Gollancz)
  • Meet Me in the Future, Kameron Hurley (Tachyon)
  • The Very Best of Caitlín R. Kiernan, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Tachyon)
  • The Best of R.A. Lafferty, R.A. Lafferty (Gollancz)
  • Hexarchate Stories, Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris US & UK)
  • Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea, Sarah Pinsker (Small Beer)

Snow White Learns Witchcraft and Full Throttle each have one novelette finalist.  Exhalation has one novella and one novelette finalist.

MAGAZINE

  • Analog
  • Asimov’s
  • Beneath Ceaseless Skies
  • Clarkesworld
  • F&SF
  • File 770
  • Lightspeed
  • Strange Horizons
  • Tor.com
  • Uncanny

File 770 is an eight-time previous winner of the Best Fanzine Hugo.  Beneath Ceaseless SkiesStrange Horizons, and Uncanny are Hugo finalists for Best Semiprozine.  The remaining six finalists are all prozines.  F&SF and Tor.com each have one novelette finalist.  Uncanny has one novella, one novelette, and two short story finalists.

PUBLISHER

  • Angry Robot (1)
  • DAW (1)
  • Gollancz (7)
  • Harper Voyager (3)
  • Orbit (7)
  • Saga (8)
  • Small Beer (1)
  • Subterranean (4)
  • Tachyon (2)
  • Tor (10)

The numbers in parentheses are the total finalist works.  For Tor, I’m including the main imprint only; not Tor.com Publishing, TorTeen, or the Tor.com online short fiction.

EDITOR

  • John Joseph Adams
  • Neil Clarke
  • Ellen Datlow
  • Gardner Dozois
  • C.C. Finlay
  • Jonathan Strahan
  • Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas
  • Ann & Jeff VanderMeer
  • Sheila Williams
  • Navah Wolfe

Neil Clarke, Ellen Datlow, C.C. Finlay, Jonathan Strahan, co-editors Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, and Sheila Williams are Hugo finalists for Best Editor, Short Form.  Navah Wolfe is a Hugo finalist for Best Editor, Long Form.

ARTIST

  • Kinuko Y. Craft
  • Galen Dara
  • Julie Dillon
  • Bob Eggleton
  • Donato Giancola
  • Kathleen Jennings
  • John Picacio
  • Shaun Tan
  • Charles Vess
  • Michael Whelan

Galen Dara and John Picacio are Hugo finalists for Best Professional Artist.

NON-FICTION

  • Lost Transmissions: The Secret History of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Desirina Boskovich, ed. (Abrams Image)
  • The Time Machine Hypothesis: Extreme Science Meets Science Fiction, Damien Broderick (Springer)
  • Reading Backwards: Essays and Reviews, 2005-2018, John Crowley (Subterranean)
  • Joanna Russ, Gwyneth Jones (University of Illinois Press)
  • Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction, Lisa Kröger & Melanie R. Anderson (Quirk)
  • Kim Stanley Robinson, Robert Markley (University of Illinois Press)
  • The Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein, Farah Mendlesohn (Unbound)
  • Broken Places & Outer Spaces: Finding Creativity in the Unexpected, Nnedi Okorafor (Simon & Schuster/TED)
  • The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick, Mallory O’Meara (Hanover Square)
  • HG Wells: A Literary Life, Adam Roberts (Palgrave)

Joanna RussThe Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein, and The Lady from the Black Lagoon are Hugo finalists for Best Related Work.

ILLUSTRATED OR ART BOOK

  • The Illustrated World of Tolkien, David Day (Thunder Bay; Pyramid)
  • Julie Dillon, Daydreamer’s Journey (Julie Dillon)
  • Ed Emshwiller, Dream Dance: The Art of Ed Emshwiller, Jesse Pires, ed. (Anthology Editions)
  • Spectrum 26: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, John Fleskes, ed. (Flesk)
  • Donato Giancola, Middle-earth: Journeys in Myth and Legend (Dark Horse)
  • Raya Golden, Starport, George R.R. Martin (Bantam)
  • Fantasy World-Building: A Guide to Developing Mythic Worlds and Legendary Creatures, Mark A. Nelson (Dover)
  • Tran Nguyen, Ambedo: Tran Nguyen (Flesk)
  • Yuko Shimizu, The Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde, Oscar Wilde (Beehive)
  • Bill Sienkiewicz, The Island of Doctor Moreau, H.G. Wells (Beehive)

Daydreamer’s Journey was a 2019 Hugo finalist for Best Art Book.

While I’m glad the Hugo categories don’t have ten finalists each and that the novels aren’t split by genre, it’s always interesting to see the broader range that the Locus Award Finalist list provides.  Anything here which you feel like the other awards have overlooked so far?

2020 Hugos: Serial Categories

CoNZealand, the 78th World Science Fiction Convention, has announced the finalists for the 2020 Hugo Awards, the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer.  You can watch a video of the announcement on CoNZealand’s YouTube channel or view the complete list on the Hugo Awards website.  JJ at File 770 has put together a post on Where To Find The 2020 Hugo Award Finalists For Free Online.

This is the fourth and final post of my initial thoughts.  I’m dividing the nineteen award categories into written fiction works (novel, novella, novelette, short story, young adult book), other individual works (related work, graphic story, long form dramatic presentation, short form dramatic presentation), people categories (short form editor, long form editor, professional artist, fan writer, fan artist, new writer), and serial categories (series, semiprozine, fanzine, fancast).

Best Series

  • The Expanse, by James S. A. Corey (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
  • InCryptid, by Seanan McGuire (DAW)
  • Luna, by Ian McDonald (Tor; Gollancz)
  • Planetfall series, by Emma Newman (Ace; Gollancz)
  • Winternight Trilogy, by Katherine Arden (Del Rey; Del Rey UK)
  • The Wormwood Trilogy, by Tade Thompson (Orbit US; Orbit UK)

I’ve read at least one book and have been meaning to continue The ExpanseInCryptid, and Winternight.  I have at least the first book and have been meaning to start the other three series.  I was a little disappointed that The Expanse got nominated just before its conclusion, but there’s no guarantee that it would have made the ballot next year.  Now I’ll have extra motivation to get caught up by the time the last book comes out.

Best Semiprozine

  • Beneath Ceaseless Skies, editor Scott H. Andrews
  • Escape Pod, editors Mur Lafferty and S.B. Divya, assistant editor Benjamin C. Kinney, audio producers Adam Pracht and Summer Brooks, hosts Tina Connolly and Alasdair Stuart
  • Fireside Magazine, editor Julia Rios, managing editor Elsa Sjunneson, copyeditor Chelle Parker, social coordinator Meg Frank, publisher & art director Pablo Defendini, founding editor Brian White
  • FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, executive editor Troy L. Wiggins, editors Eboni Dunbar, Brent Lambert, L.D. Lewis, Danny Lore, Brandon O’Brien and Kaleb Russell
  • Strange Horizons, Vanessa Rose Phin, Catherine Krahe, AJ Odasso, Dan Hartland, Joyce Chng, Dante Luiz and the Strange Horizons staff
  • Uncanny Magazine, editors-in-chief Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, nonfiction/managing editor Michi Trota, managing editor Chimedum Ohaegbu, podcast producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky

Beneath Ceaseless SkiesStrange Horizons, and Uncanny were my nominees.  The other three are also returning finalists.

Best Fanzine

  • The Book Smugglers, editors Ana Grilo and Thea James
  • Galactic Journey, founder Gideon Marcus, editor Janice Marcus, senior writers Rosemary Benton, Lorelei Marcus and Victoria Silverwolf
  • Journey Planet, editors James Bacon, Christopher J Garcia, Alissa McKersie, Ann Gry, Chuck Serface, John Coxon and Steven H Silver
  • nerds of a feather, flock together, editors Adri Joy, Joe Sherry, Vance Kotrla, and The G
  • Quick Sip Reviews, editor Charles Payseur
  • The Rec Center, editors Elizabeth Minkel and Gavia Baker-Whitelaw

The only newcomer here is The Rec Center which I’ve noticed on the longlist for the past two years.  The Book Smugglers was first nominated as a fanzine, then a couple times as a semiprozine, and now it’s back in fanzine.  My own nominees were nerds of a feather and Quick Sip Reviews.

Best Fancast

  • Be The Serpent, presented by Alexandra Rowland, Freya Marske and Jennifer Mace
  • Claire Rousseau’s YouTube channel, produced & presented by Claire Rousseau
  • The Coode Street Podcast, presented by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe
  • Galactic Suburbia, presented by Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce and Tansy Rayner Roberts, producer Andrew Finch
  • Our Opinions Are Correct, presented by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders
  • The Skiffy and Fanty Show, presented by Jen Zink and Shaun Duke

I’m very excited to see a BookTube channel on the final ballot.  There have been a couple on the longlist, but Claire Rousseau is the first finalist from the community.  The others are all returning podcast finalists.

What have you read, listened to, or watched from these categories?

2020 Hugos: People Categories

CoNZealand, the 78th World Science Fiction Convention, has announced the finalists for the 2020 Hugo Awards, the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer.  You can watch a video of the announcement on CoNZealand’s YouTube channel or view the complete list on the Hugo Awards website.  JJ at File 770 has put together a post on Where To Find The 2020 Hugo Award Finalists For Free Online.

This is the third of four posts with my initial thoughts.  I’m dividing the nineteen award categories into written fiction works (novel, novella, novelette, short story, young adult book), other individual works (related work, graphic story, long form dramatic presentation, short form dramatic presentation), people categories (short form editor, long form editor, professional artist, fan writer, fan artist, new writer), and serial categories (series, semiprozine, fanzine, fancast).

Best Editor, Short Form

  • Neil Clarke
  • Ellen Datlow
  • C.C. Finlay
  • Jonathan Strahan
  • Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas
  • Sheila Williams

The first three were my own nominees.  I nominated Uncanny in Best Semiprozine rather than nominating the Thomases in this category.  I’m particularly pleased for C.C. Finlay’s first-time appearance here.  I became a regular reader of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction around the time that he took over as editor in 2015, and I’ve been subscribing ever since.

Best Editor, Long Form

  • Sheila E. Gilbert
  • Brit Hvide
  • Diana M. Pho
  • Devi Pillai
  • Miriam Weinberg
  • Navah Wolfe

Devi Pillai was my nominee in this category, but I’m glad to see Brit Hvide make her first appearance here.  (I actually nominated her for the Astounding Award this year.)  She is now the editor for many of the authors who previously worked with Devi Pillai after Pillai moved from Orbit to Tor.

Best Professional Artist

  • Tommy Arnold
  • Rovina Cai
  • Galen Dara
  • John Picacio
  • Yuko Shimizu
  • Alyssa Winans

I nominated Alyssa Winans, but I’m also happy for the other two newcomers.  Tommy Arnold has been right on the cusp of making the final ballot a couple times in the past few years.  Rovina Cai was on the longlist last year too.

Best Fan Writer

  • Cora Buhlert
  • James Davis Nicoll
  • Alasdair Stuart
  • Bogi Takács
  • Paul Weimer
  • Adam Whitehead

We also have three new names in this category.  I’m especially thrilled for my own nominee Adam Whitehead.  His blog was one of the first I started following way back when blogs were the cool, new thing.  Although this is both of their first appearances here, Cora Buhlert and Paul Weimer are familiar names I’m pleased to see as well.

Best Fan Artist

  • Iain Clark
  • Sara Felix
  • Grace P. Fong
  • Meg Frank
  • Ariela Housman
  • Elise Matthesen

My nominees were newcomer Iain Clark and returning finalist Ariela Housman.  Jewelry artist Elise Matthesen is the other first-time finalist here while the remaining three are also previous finalists.

Astounding Award for Best New Writer

  • Sam Hawke (2nd year of eligibility)
  • R.F. Kuang (2nd year of eligibility)
  • Jenn Lyons (1st year of eligibility)
  • Nibedita Sen (2nd year of eligibility)
  • Tasha Suri (2nd year of eligibility)
  • Emily Tesh (1st year of eligibility)

R.F. Kuang was my own nominee.  Nibedita Sen is also a finalist for Best Short Story.  The other four authors are on my TBR list.

Who are you excited to see here?  And who are you looking forward to learning more about?

2020 Hugos: Other Individual Works

CoNZealand, the 78th World Science Fiction Convention, has announced the finalists for the 2020 Hugo Awards, the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer.  You can watch a video of the announcement on CoNZealand’s YouTube channel or view the complete list on the Hugo Awards website.  JJ at File 770 has put together a post on Where To Find The 2020 Hugo Award Finalists For Free Online.

This is the second of four posts with my initial thoughts.  I’m dividing the nineteen award categories into written fiction works (novel, novella, novelette, short story, young adult book), other individual works (related work, graphic story, long form dramatic presentation, short form dramatic presentation), people categories (short form editor, long form editor, professional artist, fan writer, fan artist, new writer), and serial categories (series, semiprozine, fanzine, fancast).

Best Related Work

  • Becoming Superman: My Journey from Poverty to Hollywood, by J. Michael Straczynski (Harper Voyager US)
  • Joanna Russ, by Gwyneth Jones (University of Illinois Press (Modern Masters of Science Fiction))
  • The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick, by Mallory O’Meara (Hanover Square)
  • The Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein, by Farah Mendlesohn (Unbound)
  • “2019 John W. Campbell Award Acceptance Speech”, by Jeannette Ng
  • Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin, produced and directed by Arwen Curry

I nominated the Heinlein book and the Le Guin documentary.  I watched Jeannette Ng’s speech during the livestream of last year’s Hugo Awards Ceremony.  While I appreciate the changes it helped catalyze, I don’t think compares to the other finalists.

I’ll be able to access the other three books through three different digital resources from my library.  Becoming Superman is available through Hoopla, but I’ve also put a hold on the physical copy as well.  While Hoopla’s interface works well for comics, it’s not so great for ebooks.  Plus, I’d like to save my Hoopla checkouts for the next category.  If my library doesn’t reopen in time or if the book isn’t provided in the Hugo Voters Packet, the Hoopla version will do.  Joanna Russ is available through the EBSCOhost ebook collection as a PDF file.  I’m not crazy about reading PDF files, but it isn’t bad on a tablet.  Finally, The Lady from the Black Lagoon is available through OverDrive which works seamlessly with my ereader.

Best Graphic Story or Comic

  • Die, Volume 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker, by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans, letters by Clayton Cowles (Image)
  • LaGuardia, written by Nnedi Okorafor, art by Tana Ford, colours by James Devlin (Berger Books; Dark Horse)
  • Monstress, Volume 4: The Chosen, written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda (Image)
  • Mooncakes, by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker, letters by Joamette Gil (Oni Press; Lion Forge)
  • Paper Girls, Volume 6, written by Brian K. Vaughan, drawn by Cliff Chiang, colours by Matt Wilson, letters by Jared K. Fletcher (Image)
  • The Wicked + The Divine, Volume 9: “Okay”, by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, colours by Matt Wilson, letters by Clayton Cowles (Image)

LaGuardia was the only one here which I nominated.  I decided I would wait to read the latest entries in the Monstress and Paper Girls series.  I figured they were likely to make the ballot without me and looked at other things for my nominations.

I don’t remember hearing about Die or Mooncakes before now.  I see that Mooncakes is a redone and revised print version of an ongoing webcomic.  It doesn’t currently seem to be available digitally at all.  Pre-release reviewers mention receiving an eARC through NetGalley so perhaps the publisher will do that for the Hugo Packet as well.

I’ve been meaning to read The Wicked + The Divine series since it first began, but haven’t gotten to it.  Luckily the entire thing is available at Hoopla both as nine volumes and in the four omnibus editions.  So I’ll be able to save some checkouts for the other finalists I need to read.  All of them are at Hoopla except Mooncakes.  I’ve put a hold on my library’s print copy in hopes they reopen in time for me to read it before voting ends.

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

  • Avengers: Endgame, screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo (Marvel Studios)
  • Captain Marvel, screenplay by Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck and Geneva Robertson-Dworet, directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Walt Disney Pictures/Marvel Studios/Animal Logic (Australia))
  • Good Omens, written by Neil Gaiman, directed by Douglas Mackinnon (Amazon Studios/BBC Studios/Narrativia/The Blank Corporation)
  • Russian Doll (Season One), created by Natasha Lyonne, Leslye Headland and Amy Poehler, directed by Leslye Headland, Jamie Babbit and Natasha Lyonne (3 Arts Entertainment/Jax Media/Netflix/Paper Kite Productions/Universal Television)
  • Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, screenplay by Chris Terrio and J.J. Abrams, directed by J.J. Abrams (Walt Disney Pictures/Lucasfilm/Bad Robot)
  • Us, written and directed by Jordan Peele (Monkeypaw Productions/Universal Pictures)

I nominated Good Omens, but I still need to watch everything else here.  I don’t usually see superhero movies until they become Hugo finalists.  Horror isn’t my thing, but I was pleasantly surprised by Jordan Peele’s previous Hugo finalist Get Out.  I just didn’t have any desire to see the latest Star Wars in the theater.  And I haven’t really heard enough about Russian Doll to compel me to check it out until now.

I’ve signed up for Disney+ to watch the Marvel movies and The Mandalorian episode which was nominated in short form.  Apparently The Rise of Skywalker isn’t there yet so I’ve put the DVD on hold at the library (position 33 once they reopen!).  Good Omens I saw via Amazon Prime, Russian Doll is from Netfix, and Us is currently on HBO.  Stream all the things!

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

  • The Good Place: “The Answer”, written by Daniel Schofield, directed by Valeria Migliassi Collins (Fremulon/3 Arts Entertainment/Universal Television)
  • The Expanse: “Cibola Burn”, written by Daniel Abraham & Ty Franck and Naren Shankar, directed by Breck Eisner (Amazon Prime Video)
  • Watchmen: “A God Walks into Abar”, written by Jeff Jensen and Damon Lindelof, directed by Nicole Kassell (HBO)
  • The Mandalorian: “Redemption”, written by Jon Favreau, directed by Taika Waititi (Disney+)
  • Doctor Who: “Resolution”, written by Chris Chibnall, directed by Wayne Yip (BBC)
  • Watchmen: “This Extraordinary Being”, written by Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson, directed by Stephen Williams (HBO)

My only nominee here is the episode of The Expanse.  I didn’t start catching up with my recorded episodes of The Good Place or Doctor Who until after nominations closed.  I haven’t reached this episode of The Good Place, although I have since watched the Doctor Who New Year’s Special.  I didn’t think it was particularly special, but I guess we’re required to have a Doctor Who episode on the ballot even when only one aired in the qualifying year.

I’ve started watching The Mandalorian, and I finally get the appeal of Baby Yoda.  He’s cuter in action.  I’ll be going into Watchmen having never seen any other incarnation.

Tell me what you’ve read or watched here.  Is there anything else you were hoping to see on the ballot?

2020 Hugos: Written Fiction Works

CoNZealand, the 78th World Science Fiction Convention, has announced the finalists for the 2020 Hugo Awards, the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer.  You can watch a video of the announcement on CoNZealand’s YouTube channel or view the complete list on the Hugo Awards website.  JJ at File 770 has put together a post on Where To Find The 2020 Hugo Award Finalists For Free Online.

This will be the first of four posts with my initial thoughts.  I’m dividing the nineteen award categories into written fiction works (novel, novella, novelette, short story, young adult book), other individual works (related work, graphic story, long form dramatic presentation, short form dramatic presentation), people categories (short form editor, long form editor, professional artist, fan writer, fan artist, new writer), and serial categories (series, semiprozine, fanzine, fancast).

Best Novel

  • The City in the Middle of the Night, by Charlie Jane Anders (Tor; Titan)
  • Gideon the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir (Tor.com Publishing)
  • The Light Brigade, by Kameron Hurley (Saga; Angry Robot UK)
  • A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine (Tor; Tor UK)
  • Middlegame, by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
  • The Ten Thousand Doors of January, by Alix E. Harrow (Redhook; Orbit UK)

Four of these were on my nomination ballot, and I only have one left to read.  The one I’ve read but didn’t nominate was The City in the Middle of the Night.  I went in with high hopes since I loved All the Birds in the Sky.  There’s some interesting worldbuilding, but the main character frustrated the heck out of me.

The one I still need to read is Gideon the Ninth.  I’ve seen a lot of buzz, but it didn’t really sound like my sort of thing.  Although I liked her story “The Deepwater Bride” enough to nominate it a few years ago, and I wouldn’t have thought that was my sort of thing either.  I decide to wait and see if it made the ballot and here it is!

Of the four I nominated, my favorite is The Ten Thousand Doors of January.  I also went into this with high hopes from “A Witch’s Guide to Escape,”  and my expectations were exceeded.  The other three are going to be really tough to rank.  I remember thinking I was glad I didn’t need to for nominations.  Now I’ll have to decide.

Best Novella

  • “Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom”, by Ted Chiang (Exhalation (Borzoi/Alfred A. Knopf; Picador))
  • The Deep, by Rivers Solomon, with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson & Jonathan Snipes (Saga Press/Gallery)
  • The Haunting of Tram Car 015, by P. Djèlí Clark (Tor.com Publishing)
  • In an Absent Dream, by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
  • This Is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (Saga Press; Jo Fletcher Books)
  • To Be Taught, If Fortunate, by Becky Chambers (Harper Voyager; Hodder & Stoughton)

Of these, I’ve read five and nominated two.  McGuire’s Wayward Children novellas continue to delight me, and this one probably stands on its own the best so far.  I loved To Be Taught, If Fortunate as much as her Wayfarers books, although it’s unconnected to that series.  I’m leaning toward the later, but I may have to flip a coin to decide between them.

The Deep very nearly made my nomination ballot.  I feel like I wanted to like it a little more than I did, but it’s definitely thought-provoking.  The Haunting of Tram Car 015 was good but didn’t stand out from the other novellas I read.  I would love to see more in that setting though.  This Is How You Lose the Time War seemed like it was probably a ton of fun for the authors to write, but it just didn’t do it for me.  I know I’m in the extreme minority here.

The only one I haven’t read is “Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom.”  Right now I’m number 123 on the waitlist for the six digital copies of Exhalation at my library!  Here’s hoping that this and the Best Novelette finalist from Chiang’s collection are included in the Hugo Voters Packet because I doubt I’ll get it in time.  I also put a hold on the physical copy, but that will depend on when the library is able to reopen.

Best Novelette

  • “The Archronology of Love”, by Caroline M. Yoachim (Lightspeed, April 2019)
  • “Away With the Wolves”, by Sarah Gailey (Uncanny Magazine: Disabled People Destroy Fantasy Special Issue, September/October 2019)
  • “The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye”, by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny Magazine, July-August 2019)
  • Emergency Skin, by N.K. Jemisin (Forward Collection (Amazon))
  • “For He Can Creep”, by Siobhan Carroll (Tor.com, 10 July 2019)
  • “Omphalos”, by Ted Chiang (Exhalation (Borzoi/Alfred A. Knopf; Picador))

Here I have two more nominees and two more to read.  It’s dogs vs. cats between my nominees “Away With the Wolves” and “For He Can Creep.”  Sorry cat lovers, I’ve always been more of a dog person.  Really great characterization in both though.

“The Archronology of Love” was on my longlist.  It was moving and has an interesting premise.  “The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye” was fun, wacky, and horrifying!  But didn’t stand out as much for me as Pinsker’s stories have in previous years.

I still need to read “Omphalos” if I can get my hands on Exhalation.  Fortunately I’ll be able to access Emergency Skin through my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

Best Short Story

  • “And Now His Lordship Is Laughing”, by Shiv Ramdas (Strange Horizons, 9 September 2019)
  • “As the Last I May Know”, by S.L. Huang (Tor.com, 23 October 2019)
  • “Blood Is Another Word for Hunger”, by Rivers Solomon (Tor.com, 24 July 2019)
  • “A Catalog of Storms”, by Fran Wilde (Uncanny Magazine, January/February 2019)
  • “Do Not Look Back, My Lion”, by Alix E. Harrow (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, January 2019)
  • “Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island”, by Nibedita Sen (Nightmare Magazine, May 2019)

I’ve read all of these except the one from Nightmare, but none were on my nomination ballot.  Of the five I’ve read, my favorite is “Do Not Look Back, My Lion” with some fascinating worldbuilding.  They’re all good, but rather brutal.  I look forward to reading the story by Nibedita Sen since she is also a finalist for the Astounding Award for Best New Writer.

Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book

  • Catfishing on CatNet, by Naomi Kritzer (Tor Teen)
  • Deeplight, by Frances Hardinge (Macmillan)
  • Dragon Pearl, by Yoon Ha Lee (Disney/Hyperion)
  • Minor Mage, by T. Kingfisher (Argyll)
  • Riverland, by Fran Wilde (Amulet)
  • The Wicked King, by Holly Black (Little, Brown; Hot Key)

I nominated four of these, and I have two left to read.  It looks like Deeplight won’t be available here in the US until next week.  I really liked T. Kingfisher’s previous Best YA Book finalist in the first year of the award, so I imagine I’ll enjoy Minor Mage too.  It will be hard enough to rank the ones I nominated here, and I don’t think adding these two will make it any easier.

Have you read any of these?  What did you think?

The Expanse by James S.A. Corey

The Expanse by James S.A. Corey is one of the 2020 Hugo Award finalists for Best Series.  It was previously a finalist in 2017, and an episode of the TV show won that year for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.  The first book in the series was a Best Novel finalist in 2012.  Daniel Abraham, who along with Ty Franck is behind the James S.A. Corey pseudonym, was a Best Novelette finalist in 2008.

Novels:

  1. Leviathan Wakes (2011)
  2. Caliban’s War (2012)
  3. Abaddon’s Gate (2013)
  4. Cibola Burn (2014)
  5. Nemesis Games (2015)
  6. Babylon’s Ashes (2016)
  7. Persepolis Rising (2017)
  8. Tiamat’s Wrath (2019)

Short Fiction:

  • The Butcher of Anderson Station (2011)
  • Gods of Risk (2012)
  • “Drive”, originally published in the anthology Edge of Infinity, edited by Jonathan Strahan (Solaris, 2012)
  • The Churn (2014)
  • The Vital Abyss (2015)
  • Strange Dogs (2017)
  • “The Last Flight of the Cassandra”, published in The Expanse Roleplaying Game (Green Ronin, 2019)
  • Auberon (2019)

All of the above were published by Orbit except where indicated.  A ninth and final novel in the series is expected to be released later this year.  Unfortunately that means the series won’t be eligible next year after its completion.  (A previous Best Series finalist must have at least two additional works comprising at least 240,000 words since their last appearance.  Previous winners are permanently ineligible in future years.)

In addition to the TV series, I discovered there is a comic adaptation called The Expanse: Origins which delves into the backstories of the main characters.  Both a board game and a roleplaying game were created in collaboration with the authors as well.

I read the first three books and the first two short fiction pieces not long after release.  I have all the novels and at least one more of the short fiction ebooks.  I just haven’t gotten to them.  My partner has read all the books, and we’ve watched the TV show.  (I know I’ve spoiled myself for book 4.)  I was hoping to catch up when the series got nominated last time, but I got wrapped up with other series I hadn’t read at all.  Hopefully this is the year!

Have you read these?  Watch the show?  Played the games?  What did you think?

2019 Hugo Awards: Longlist

I started this post just after the Hugo Award Ceremony last year, but got busy and didn’t finish until now.  So while we wait for this year’s finalist announcement, let’s take one last look at the results from 2019.

On August 18th, Dublin 2019 – An Irish Worldcon presented the 2019 Hugo Awards, the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, and the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.  Here are the winners, the finalists in the order they placed, and the longlist of nominees.  The number in parentheses indicates the finalist’s place at the nomination stage.

Best Novel

Finalists

  1. (1) The Calculating Stars, by Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor)
  2. (2) Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik (Del Rey / Macmillan)
  3. (4) Record of a Spaceborn Few, by Becky Chambers (Hodder & Stoughton / Harper Voyager)
  4. (3) Trail of Lightning, by Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga)
  5. (5) Revenant Gun, by Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris)
  6. (6) Space Opera, by Catherynne M. Valente (Saga / Corsair)

Longlist

  1. The Poppy War, by R.F. Kuang (Harper Voyager)
  2. Blackfish City, by Sam J. Miller (Ecco / Orbit)
  3. Foundryside, by Robert Jackson Bennett (Crown / Jo Fletcher)
  4. Witchmark, by C.L. Polk (Tor.com Publishing)
  5. The Consuming Fire, by John Scalzi (Tor)
  6. Circe, by Madeline Miller (Little, Brown / Bloomsbury)
  7. In the Vanishers’ Palace, by Aliette de Bodard (JABberwocky Literary Agency)
  8. Semiosis, by Sue Burke (Tor / Harper Voyager)
  9. Before Mars, by Emma Newman (Ace / Gollancz)
  10. Red Moon, by Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit)

Best Novella

Finalists

  1. (2) Artificial Condition, by Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)
  2. (1) The Tea Master and the Detective, by Aliette de Bodard (Subterranean Press / JABberwocky Literary Agency)
  3. (3) Beneath the Sugar Sky, by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
  4. (7) The Black God’s Drums, by P. Djèlí Clark (Tor.com Publishing)
  5. (8) Binti: The Night Masquerade, by Nnedi Okorafor (Tor.com Publishing)
  6. (5) Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach, by Kelly Robson (Tor.com Publishing)

Longlist

  1. (declined) Exit Strategy, by Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)
  2. (declined) Rogue Protocol, by Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)
  3. Time Was, by Ian McDonald (Tor.com Publishing)
  4. The Descent of Monsters, by JY Yang (Tor.com Publishing)
  5. The Flowers of Vashnoi, by Lois McMaster Bujold (Spectrum Literary Agency)
  6. The Freeze-Frame Revolution, by Peter Watts (Tachyon)
  7. “Umbernight,” by Carolyn Ives Gilman (Clarkesworld 137, February 2018)
  8. The Expert System’s Brother, by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tor.com Publishing)
  9. Kingdom of Needle and Bone, by Mira Grant (Subterranean Press)
  10. Alice Payne Arrives, by Kate Heartfield (Tor.com Publishing)

Best Novelette

Finalists

  1. (2) “If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again,” by Zen Cho (B&N Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog, 29 November 2018)
  2. (3) “The Last Banquet of Temporal Confections,” by Tina Connolly (Tor.com, 11 July 2018)
  3. (4) “The Thing About Ghost Stories,” by Naomi Kritzer (Uncanny Magazine 25, November-December 2018)
  4. (6) “Nine Last Days on Planet Earth,” by Daryl Gregory (Tor.com, 19 September 2018)
  5. (1) The Only Harmless Great Thing, by Brooke Bolander (Tor.com Publishing)
  6. (5) “When We Were Starless,” by Simone Heller (Clarkesworld 145, October 2018)

Longlist

  1. “How to Swallow the Moon,” by Isabel Yap (Uncanny Magazine 25, November-December 2018)
  2. “The Substance of My Lives, the Accidents of Our Births,” by José Pablo Iriarte (Lightspeed, January 2018)
  3. “A Study In Oils,” by Kelly Robson (Clarkesworld 144, September 2018)
  4. “An Agent of Utopia,” by Andy Duncan (An Agent of Utopia, Small Beer Press)
  5. “The Privilege of the Happy Ending,” by Kij Johnson (Clarkesworld 143, August 2018)
  6. “Evernight,” by Victor Milán (Tor.com, 14 February 2018)
  7. “Thirty-Three Percent Joe,” by Suzanne Palmer (Clarkesworld 145, October 2018)
  8. “The Nearest,” by Greg Egan (Tor.com, 19 July 2018)
  9. “A World to Die For,” by Tobias S. Buckell (Clarkesworld 136, January 2018)
  10. “No Flight Without the Shatter,” by Brooke Bolander (Tor.com, 15 August 2018)

Best Short Story

Finalists

  1. (1) “A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies,” by Alix E. Harrow (Apex Magazine, February 2018)
  2. (3) “The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington,” by P. Djèlí Clark (Fireside Magazine, February 2018)
  3. (4) “The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society,” by T. Kingfisher (Uncanny Magazine 25, November-December 2018)
  4. (2) “STET,” by Sarah Gailey (Fireside Magazine, October 2018)
  5. (5) “The Court Magician,” by Sarah Pinsker (Lightspeed, January 2018)
  6. (6) “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)

Longlist

  1. “Meat And Salt And Sparks,” by Rich Larson (Tor.com, 6 June 2018)
  2. “Field Biology of the Wee Fairies,” by Naomi Kritzer (Apex Magazine, September 2018)
  3. “Waterbirds,” by G.V. Anderson (Lightspeed, July 2018)
  4. “Sour Milk Girls,” by Erin Roberts (Clarkesworld 136, January 2018)
  5. “She Still Loves the Dragon,” by Elizabeth Bear (Uncanny Magazine 20, January-February 2018)
  6. “The Starship and the Temple Cat,” by Yoon Ha Lee (Beneath Ceaseless Skies 244, 1 February 2018)
  7. “You Can Make a Dinosaur, but You Can’t Help Me,” by K.M. Szpara (Uncanny Magazine 23, July-August 2018)
  8. “Mother Tongues,” by S. Qiouyi Lu (Asimov’s Science Fiction, January-February 2018)
  9. “Asphalt, River, Mother, Child,” by Isabel Yap (Strange Horizons, 8 October 2018)
  10. “And Yet,” by A.T. Greenblatt (Uncanny Magazine 21, March-April 2018)

Best Series

Finalists

  1. (2) Wayfarers, by Becky Chambers (Hodder & Stoughton / Harper Voyager)
  2. (4) The Laundry Files, by Charles Stross (most recently Orbit / Tor.com publishing)
  3. (1) Machineries of Empire, by Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris)
  4. (3) The October Daye Series, by Seanan McGuire (most recently DAW)
  5. (5) The Universe of Xuya, by Aliette de Bodard (most recently Subterranean Press)
  6. (6) The Centenal Cycle, by Malka Older (Tor.com Publishing)

Longlist

  1. The Earthsea Cycle, by Ursula K. Le Guin (most recently Saga / Gollancz)
  2. The Murderbot Diaries, by Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)
  3. Wild Cards, edited by George R.R. Martin with Melinda M. Snodgrass (most recently Tor / Harper Voyager)
  4. The Foreigner Universe, by C.J. Cherryh (most recently DAW)
  5. Planetfall, Emma Newman (Ace / Gollancz)
  6. The Invisible Library, by Genevieve Cogman (Pan / Ace)
  7. Sin du Jour, by Matt Wallace (Tor.com Publishing)
  8. The Fractured Europe Sequence, by Dave Hutchinson (Solaris)
  9. The Arcadia Project, by Mishell Baker (Saga)
  10. Peter Grant / Rivers of London, by Ben Aaronovitch (most recently Gollancz / DAW)

Best Related Work

Finalists

  1. (2) Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
  2. (6) Ursula K. Le Guin: Conversations on Writing, by Ursula K. Le Guin with David Naimon (Tin House Books)
  3. (3) An Informal History of the Hugos: A Personal Look Back at the Hugo Awards, 1953-2000, by Jo Walton (Tor)
  4. (4) The Mexicanx Initiative Experience at Worldcon 76 (Julia Rios, Libia Brenda, Pablo Defendini, John Picacio)
  5. (5) The Hobbit Duology (documentary in three parts), written and edited by Lindsay Ellis and Angelina Meehan (YouTube)
  6. (1) 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)

Longlist

  1. Fire and Blood, by George R.R. Martin (Bantam / Harper Voyager)
  2. Strange Stars: David Bowie, Pop Music, and the Decade Sci-Fi Exploded, by Jason Heller (Melville House)
  3. Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece, by Michael Benson (Simon & Schuster)
  4. “I Belong Where the People Are: Disability and The Shape of Water,” by Elsa Sjunneson-Henry (Tor.com, 16 January 2018)
  5. “Hard Enough,” by Marissa Lingen (Uncanny Magazine 21, March-April 2018)
  6. How to Invent Everything: A Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveler, by Ryan North (Riverhead)
  7. “The 2017 #BlackSpecFicReport,” by Cecily Kane (Fireside Magazine, August 2018)
  8. Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin, written and directed by Arwen Curry (Grasshopper Film)
  9. “One Atom of Justice, One Molecule of Mercy, and the Empire of Unsheathed Knives,” by Alexandra Rowland (festive.ninja, 17 November 2018)
  10. “On motherhood and erasure: people-shaped holes, hollow characters and the illusion of impossible adventures,” by Aliette de Bodard (Intellectus Speculativus, 3 December 2018)

Best Graphic Story

Finalists

  1. (1) Monstress, Volume 3: Haven, written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda (Image Comics)
  2. (4) 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)
  3. (3) Abbott, written by Saladin Ahmed, art by Sami Kivelä, colors by Jason Wordie, letters by Jim Campbell (BOOM! Studios)
  4. (2) Saga, Volume 9, written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Fiona Staples (Image Comics)
  5. (6) Paper Girls, Volume 4, written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Cliff Chiang, colors by Matt Wilson, letters by Jared K. Fletcher (Image Comics)
  6. (5) On a Sunbeam, by Tillie Walden (First Second)

Longlist

  1. The Wicked + The Divine, Volume 7: Mothering Invention, written by Kieron Gillen, art by Jamie McKelvie, colors by Matt Wilson, letters by Clayton Cowles (Image Comics)
  2. The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins, written by Clint McElroy, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, and Travis McElroy; art by Carey Pietsch (First Second)
  3. Ms. Marvel, Volume 9: Teenage Wasteland, written by G. Willow Wilson, art by Nico Leon, colors by Ian Herring, letters by Joe Caramagna (Marvel)
  4. The Electric State, by Simon Stålenhag (Simon & Schuster UK / Skybound Books)
  5. Shuri: The Search for Black Panther, written by Nnedi Okorafor, art by Leonardo Romero, colors by Jodie Bellaire, letters by Joe Sabino (Marvel)
  6. X-Men Gold, Annual #2, written by Seanan McGuire, art by Marco Failla, colors by Rachelle Rosenberg, letters by Cory Petit (Marvel)
  7. Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider, Issue #1, written by Seanan McGuire, art by Rosi Kämpe, colors by Ian Herring, letters by Clayton Cowles (Marvel)
  8. Mister Miracle, Issues #1-12, written by Tom King, art and colors by Mitch Gerads, letters by Clayton Cowles (DC Comics)
  9. Runaways, Volume 1: Find Your Way Home, written by Rainbow Rowell, art by Kris Anka, colors by Matthew Wilson, letters by Joe Caramagna (Marvel)
  10. The Forever War: Forever Free, written by Joe Haldeman and Gay Haldeman, art by Marvano (Titan)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

Finalists

  1. (2) Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, screenplay by Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman, directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman (Sony)
  2. (1) Black Panther, written by Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole, directed by Ryan Coogler (Marvel Studios)
  3. (4) Avengers: Infinity War, screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo (Marvel Studios)
  4. (3) Annihilation, directed and written for the screen by Alex Garland, based on the novel by Jeff VanderMeer (Paramount Pictures / Skydance)
  5. (6) A Quiet Place, screenplay by Scott Beck, John Krasinski, and Bryan Woods, directed by John Krasinski (Platinum Dunes / Sunday Night)
  6. (5) Sorry to Bother You, written and directed by Boots Riley (Annapurna Pictures)

Longlist

  1. A Wrinkle in Time, screenplay by Jennifer Lee and Jeff Stockwell, based on the novel by Madeleine L’Engle, directed by Ava DuVernay (Walt Disney Pictures / Whitaker Entertainment)
  2. Solo: A Star Wars Story, written by Jonathan Kasdan and Lawrence Kasdan, based on characters by George Lucas, directed by Ron Howard (Lucasfilm)
  3. The Expanse (Season 3), developed by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, based on the series of novels by James S. A. Corey (Penguin in a Parka / Alcon Entertainment)
  4. Incredibles 2, written and directed by Brad Bird (Walt Disney Pictures / Pixar Animation Studios)
  5. Ready Player One, screenplay by Zak Penn and Ernest Cline, based on the novel by Ernest Cline, directed by Steven Spielberg (Warner Bros. Pictures)
  6. Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, written by Charlie Brooker, directed by David Slade (House of Tomorrow / Netflix)
  7. Deadpool 2, screenplay by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Ryan Reynolds, directed by David Leitch (20th Century Fox / Marvel Entertainment)
  8. Isle of Dogs, written and directed by Wes Anderson (Indian Paintbrush / American Empirical Pictures)
  9. She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (Season 1), developed by Noelle Stevenson (DreamWorks Animation Television / Netflix)
  10. Ant-Man and the Wasp, written by Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Paul Rudd, Andrew Barrer, and Gabriel Ferrari, directed by Peyton Reed (Marvel Studios)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

Finalists

  1. (2) The Good Place: “Janet(s),” written by Josh Siegal & Dylan Morgan, directed by Morgan Sackett (NBC)
  2. (5) 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)
  3. (4) Doctor Who: “Demons of the Punjab,” written by Vinay Patel, directed by Jamie Childs (BBC)
  4. (3) Doctor Who: “Rosa,” written by Malorie Blackman and Chris Chibnall, directed by Mark Tonderai (BBC)
  5. (6) The Good Place: “Jeremy Bearimy,” written by Megan Amram, directed by Trent O’Donnell (NBC)
  6. (1) Dirty Computer, written by Janelle Monáe and Chuck Lightning, directed by Andrew Donoho and Chuck Lightning (Wondaland Arts Society / Bad Boy Records / Atlantic Records)

Longlist

  1. Doctor Who: “The Woman Who Fell to Earth,” written by Chris Chibnall, directed by Jamie Childs (BBC)
  2. She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: “Promise,” written by Noelle Stevenson, storyboard by  Polly Guo and Mickey Quinn, directed by Jen Bennett (DreamWorks Animation Television / Netflix)
  3. Westworld: “Kiksuya,” written by Carly Wray and Dan Dietz, directed by Uta Briesewitz (HBO)
  4. Steven Universe: “Reunited,” written and storyboarded by Miki Brewster, Jeff Liu, Katie Mitroff, and Paul Villeco, directed by Joe Johnston and Liz Artinian (Cartoon Network)
  5. The Expanse: “Immolation,” written by Alan DiFiore, directed by Jeff Woolnough (Penguin in a Parka / Alcon Entertainment)
  6. The Magicians: “A Life in the Day,” written by Mike Moore, directed by John Scott (Syfy)
  7. She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: “Princess Prom,” written by Josie Campbell, storyboard by  Jasmine Goggins, Polly Guo, Kiki Manrique, and Mickey Quinn, directed by Jen Bennett (DreamWorks Animation Television / Netflix)
  8. Star Trek: Discovery: “What’s Past Is Prologue,” written by Ted Sullivan, directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi (CBS)
  9. The Expanse: “Fallen World,” written by Dan Nowak, directed by Jennifer Phang (Penguin in a Parka / Alcon Entertainment)
  10. DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: “The Good, the Bad and the Cuddly,” written by Marc Guggenheim and Phil Klemmer, directed by Dermott Downs (DC Entertainment / The CW)

Best Editor, Short Form

Finalists

  1. (4) Gardner Dozois
  2. (3) Neil Clarke
  3. (6) Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas
  4. (5) Julia Rios
  5. (2) Lee Harris
  6. (1) E. Catherine Tobler

Longlist

  1. Jonathan Strahan
  2. John Joseph Adams
  3. Sheila Williams
  4. C. C. Finlay
  5. Scott H. Andrews
  6. Ellen Datlow
  7. S.B. Divya and Mur Lafferty
  8. Dominik Parisien
  9. Trevor Quachri
  10. Ann VanderMeer

Best Editor, Long Form

Finalists

  1. (1) Navah Wolfe
  2. (5) Sheila E. Gilbert
  3. (6) Beth Meacham
  4. (4) Diana Pho
  5. (2) Gillian Redfearn
  6. (3) Anne Lesley Groell

Longlist

  1. Joe Monti
  2. Jenni Hill
  3. Brit Hvide
  4. Sarah Guan
  5. Lee Harris
  6. Liz Gorinsky
  7. Miriam Weinberg
  8. Anne Sowards
  9. Toni Weisskopf
  10. Devi Pillai

Best Professional Artist

Finalists

  1. (2) Charles Vess
  2. (3) Galen Dara
  3. (5) Yuko Shimizu
  4. (6) Victo Ngai
  5. (1) John Picacio
  6. (4) Jaime Jones

Longlist

  1. Tommy Arnold
  2. Julie Dillon
  3. Will Staehle
  4. Greg Ruth
  5. Simon Stålenhag
  6. Rovina Cai
  7. Sana Takeda
  8. Michael Komarck
  9. Reiko Murakami
  10. Maurizio Manzieri

Best Semiprozine

Finalists

  1. (1) 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
  2. (2) Strange Horizons, edited by Jane Crowley, Kate Dollarhyde, Vanessa Rose Phin, Vajra Chandrasekera, Romie Stott, Maureen Kincaid Speller, and the Strange Horizons Staff
  3. (4) 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
  4. (5) Beneath Ceaseless Skies, editor-in-chief and publisher Scott H. Andrews
  5. (6) 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
  6. (3) Shimmer, publisher Beth Wodzinski, senior editor E. Catherine Tobler

Longlist

  1. Escape Pod, edited by Mur Lafferty and S.B. Divya
  2. The Book Smugglers, edited by Ana Grilo and Thea James
  3. PodCastle, edited by Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali and Jen R. Albert
  4. Interzone, edited by Andy Cox
  5. GigaNotoSaurus, edited by Rashida J. Smith
  6. Lightspeed Magazine, edited by John Joseph Adams
  7. Cast of Wonders, edited by Marguerite Kenner
  8. Shoreline of Infinity, edited by Noel Chidwick
  9. Apex Magazine, edited by Jason Sizemore
  10. GlitterShip, edited by Keffy R. M. Kehrli

Best Fanzine

Finalists

  1. (1) Lady Business, editors Ira, Jodie, KJ, Renay & Susan
  2. (4) nerds of a feather, flock together, editors Joe Sherry, Vance Kotrla, and The G
  3. (3) Journey Planet, edited by Team Journey Planet
  4. (6) Galactic Journey, founder Gideon Marcus, editor Janice Marcus
  5. (5) Quick Sip Reviews, editor Charles Payseur
  6. (7) Rocket Stack Rank, editors Greg Hullender and Eric Wong

Longlist

  1. (declined) File 770, edited by Mike Glyer
  2. Women Write About Comics, edited by Megan Purdy
  3. The Rec Center, edited by Elizabeth Minkel and Gavia Baker-Whitelaw
  4. SF Bluestocking, edited by Bridget McKinney
  5. Banana Wings, edited by Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer
  6. The Drink Tank, edited by Chris Garcia and Alissa McKersie
  7. Black Gate, edited by John O’Neill
  8. The Wertzone, edited by Adam Whitehead
  9. Ansible, edited by David Langford
  10. SF in Translation, edited by Rachel Cordasco

Best Fancast

Finalists

  1. (6) Our Opinions Are Correct, hosted by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders
  2. (5) Fangirl Happy Hour, hosted by Ana Grilo and Renay Williams
  3. (2) Be the Serpent, presented by Alexandra Rowland, Freya Marske, and Jennifer Mace
  4. (4) Galactic Suburbia, hosted by Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce, and Tansy Rayner Roberts, produced by Andrew Finch
  5. (3) The Skiffy and Fanty Show, produced by Jen Zink and Shaun Duke, hosted by Jen Zink, Shaun Duke, Paul Weimer, Alex Acks, Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Trish Matson, and team
  6. (1) The Coode Street Podcast, presented by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe

Longlist

  1. Ditch Diggers, hosted by Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace
  2. Sword and Laser, hosted by Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt
  3. Verity!, hosted by Deborah Stanish, Erika Ensign, Katrina Griffiths, L.M. Myles, Lynne M. Thomas, and Tansy Rayner Roberts
  4. Breaking the Glass Slipper, hosted by Megan Leigh, Charlotte Bond, and Lucy Hounsom
  5. Kalanadi, hosted by Rachel
  6. Booksandpieces, hosted by Elizabeth
  7. Hammer House of Podcast, hosted by Paul Cornell and L.M. Myles
  8. Fansplaining, hosted by Flourish Klink and Elizabeth Minkel
  9. Jay & Miles Xplain the X-men, hosted by Jay Edidin and Miles Stokes
  10. Lindsey Ellis, hosted by Lindsey Ellis

Best Fan Writer

Finalists

  1. (4) Foz Meadows
  2. (3) Bogi Takács
  3. (6) Elsa Sjunneson-Henry
  4. (5) James Davis Nicoll
  5. (1) Alasdair Stuart
  6. (2) Charles Payseur

Longlist

  1. Orjan Westin
  2. Adam Whitehead
  3. Sarah Gailey
  4. Cora Buhlert
  5. Liz Bourke
  6. Mike Glyer
  7. Paul Weimer
  8. Jason Sanford
  9. Abigail Nussbaum
  10. Erin Horáková

Best Fan Artist

Finalists

  1. (1) Likhain (Mia Sereno)
  2. (6) Grace P. Fong
  3. (2) Sara Felix
  4. (5) Meg Frank
  5. (4) Spring Schoenhuth
  6. (3) Ariela Housman

Longlist

  1. Jemina Malkki
  2. Richard Man
  3. Steve Stiles
  4. Maurine Starkey
  5. Vandy Hall
  6. Michael Carroll
  7. Elizabeth Leggett
  8. Iguanamouth
  9. Geneva Benton
  10. Caio Santos

Best Art Book

Finalists

  1. (3) The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition, illustrated by Charles Vess, written by Ursula K. Le Guin (Saga Press /Gollancz)
  2. (6) Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – The Art of the Movie, by Ramin Zahed (Titan Books)
  3. (2) Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History, by Michael Witwer, Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, Sam Witwer (Ten Speed Press)
  4. (5) Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth, ed. Catherine McIlwaine (Bodleian Library)
  5. (1) Daydreamer’s Journey: The Art of Julie Dillon, by Julie Dillon (self-published)
  6. (7) Spectrum 25: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, ed. John Fleskes (Flesk Publications)

Longlist

  1. (ineligible, 2017 publication) Terry Pratchett’s Discworld Imaginarium, by Paul Kidby (Gollancz)
  2. Beyond Science Fiction: The Alternative Realism of Michael Whelan, by Michael Whelan (Baby Tattoo)
  3. A Middle-earth Traveler: Sketches from Bag End to Mordor, by John Howe (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
  4. The Art of Black Panther, by Eleni Roussos (Marvel)
  5. The Chronicles of Exandria, Vol II: The Legend of Vox Machina, art direction by Taliesin Jaffe, Liam O’Brien, and Lauryn Ipsum; layout and design by Lauryn Ipsum; cover art by Matteo Scalera and Moreno Denisio; copy by James Haeck, Taliesin Jaffe, Sam Riegel, Liam O’Brien, and Matthew Mercer (Hunters)
  6. Marvelocity: The Marvel Comics Art of Alex Ross, by Alex Ross, Chip Kidd, and Geoff Spear (Pantheon)
  7. The Electric State, written and illustrated by Simon Stålenhag, translated by Martin Dunelind (Skybound)
  8. Monster Portraits, images by Del Samatar, text by Sofia Samatar (Rose Metal)
  9. Cicada, by Shaun Tan (Arthur A. Levine)
  10. Yoshitaka Amano: The Illustrated Biography – Beyond the Fantasy, by Florent Gorges, translated by Laure Dupont (Dark Horse)

Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book

Finalists

  1. (2) Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi (Henry Holt / Macmillan Children’s Books)
  2. (1) Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland (Balzer + Bray)
  3. (3) Tess of the Road, by Rachel Hartman (Random House / Penguin Teen)
  4. (4) The Cruel Prince, by Holly Black (Little, Brown / Hot Key Books)
  5. (5) The Invasion, by Peadar O’Guilin (David Fickling Books / Scholastic)
  6. (6) The Belles, by Dhonielle Clayton (Freeform / Gollancz)

Longlist

  1. Skyward, by Brandon Sanderson (Delacorte)
  2. Tempests and Slaughter, by Tamora Pierce (Random House)
  3. Peasprout Chen: Future Legend of Skate and Sword, by Henry Lien (Henry Holt)
  4. Muse of Nightmares, by Laini Taylor (Little, Brown)
  5. Arabella the Traitor of Mars, by David D. Levine (Tor)
  6. Girls of Paper and Fire, by Natasha Ngan (Little, Brown)
  7. The Hidden City, by David Bowles (IFWG)
  8. Obsidio, by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Knopf)
  9. The Hazel Wood, by Melissa Albert (Flatiron)
  10. Cross Fire, by Fonda Lee (Scholastic)

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

Finalists

  1. (3) Jeannette Ng
  2. (1) Rivers Solomon
  3. (6) S.A. Chakraborty
  4. (5) Katherine Arden
  5. (2) R.F. Kuang
  6. (4) Vina Jie-Min Prasad

Longlist

  1. Tasha Suri
  2. Tomi Adeyemi
  3. Nibedita Sen
  4. Alexandra Rowland
  5. Karen Osborne
  6. C.L. Polk
  7. Sam Hawke
  8. K. Arsenault Rivera
  9. Simone Heller
  10. Anna Smith Spark

More details are available in the official 2019 Hugo Results report (pdf).  Six of my first choices and five of my second took home the trophy — just over half the ballot!  Several of my nominees which didn’t make the final ballot turned up on the longlist.  Any further thoughts on last year before we learn this year’s finalists?

 

Jonathan Strahan’s The Year’s Best Science Fiction, Vol. 1

Saga Press revealed the table of contents for Jonathan Strahan’s The Year’s Best Science Fiction, Vol. 1 which will be available on September 8, 2020.  It includes the following 28 stories (1 novella, 8 novelettes, and 19 short stories) originally published in 2019:

Novella

Novelettes

  • “The Archronology of Love”, Caroline M. Yoachim (Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 107)
  • “At the Fall”, Alec Nevala‑Lee (Analog Science Fiction and Fact, May/Jun 2019)
  • “Contagion’s Eve at the House Noctambulous”, Rich Larson (Fantasy & Science Fiction, Mar/Apr 2019)
  • “Emergency Skin”, N.K. Jemisin (Forward, Amazon)
  • “Kali_Na”, Indrapramit Das (The Mythic Dream, Saga)
  • “Now Wait for This Week”, Alice Sola Kim (A People’s Future of the United States: Speculative Fiction from 25 Extraordinary Writers, One World)
  • “Reunion”, Vandana Singh (The Gollancz Book of South Asian Science Fiction, Hachette India)
  • “This is Not the Way Home”, Greg Egan (Mission Critical, Solaris)

Short Stories

Of those that I’ve read, my favorite is “The Work of Wolves” by Tegan Moore.  I put it on my Hugo ballot.  “The Archronology of Love” by Caroline M. Yoachim and “A Catalog of Storms” by Fran Wilde are also Nebula finalists in their respective categories.

Have you read any of these?  What are your thoughts?

 
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