Nominations are now open for the 2018 Hugo Awards.  We have until 11:59pm Pacific Daylight Time (UTC−7:00) on March 16th to pick out our favorites from 2017.  First up, I’m looking at Best Novel:

A science fiction or fantasy story of 40,000 words or more that appeared for the first time in 2017.

So far, I’ve got a couple that will probably be on my ballot:

• The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
• Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty

And I’m currently reading The Stone Sky by N. K. Jemisin.  At this point, it’s definitely on track to join my short list.  [Update 2/8/18:  Finished it last night and just added it to my ballot!]

In a world where I could read all I wanted (or at least read faster than I do), here are some others I’d consider:

• Phantom Pains by Mishell Baker
• Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys
• The Ruin of Angels by Max Gladstone
• Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
• The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley
• Clockwork Boys by T. Kingfisher
• The Changeling by Victor LaValle
• Provenance by Ann Leckie [added to my ballot 2/13/18]
• Jade City by Fonda Lee
• Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee
• The Five Daughters of the Moon by Leena Likitalo
• Autonomous by Annalee Newitz
• New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson
• Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
• The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi
• The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland
• Borne by Jeff VanderMeer [added to my ballot 2/17/18]
• Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn

Any thoughts on what I should prioritize from that list?

Here are some places to find recommendations:

• 2017 Locus Recommended Reading List
• 2018 Nerds of a Feather Hugo Awards Longlist, Part 1: Fiction Categories
• File 770’s 2017 Recommended SF/F List
• Hugo Nominees 2018 Wiki
• 2018 Hugo Spreadsheet of Doom
• Nebula Reading List

At last year’s WSFS Business Meeting, a committee was formed to look into possible changes to the Hugo Award categories.  Obviously Best Novel is here to stay, but I could see the word count requirement being raised.  The average novel length has definitely gotten longer, and books marketed as novellas are pushing into the lower end of this category.