The nomination period for the 2020 Hugo Awards, the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer closed in the wee hours of Saturday morning (midnight on the US West Coast, 3 a.m. my time). I received confirmation of the last change to my ballot at 2:30 p.m. on Friday giving me 12 and a half glorious hours to spare! Not bad. The finalists will be announced in early April, and the winners will be presented at CoNZealand on August 1st. Here are my choices:
Best Novel
- The Light Brigade, Kameron Hurley (Saga)
- A Memory Called Empire, Arkady Martine (Tor)
- Middlegame, Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
- The Raven Tower, Ann Leckie (Orbit)
- The Ten Thousand Doors of January, Alix E. Harrow (Redhook)
Best Novella
- In an Absent Dream, Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
- “New Atlantis”, Lavie Tidhar (Fantasy & Science Fiction, May/Jun 2019)
- To Be Taught, If Fortunate, Becky Chambers (Harper Voyager)
- “Waterlines”, Suzanne Palmer (Asimov’s, Jul/Aug 2019)
- “The Work of Wolves”, Tegan Moore (Asimov’s, Jul/Aug 2019)
Best Novelette
- “Across the Bough Bridge”, Mackenzie Kincaid (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue 281)
- “Away With the Wolves”, Sarah Gailey (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 30)
- “For He Can Creep”, Siobhan Carroll (Tor.com, 10 Jul 2019)
- “A Handful of Sky”, Elly Bangs (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue 280)
- “Life Sentence”, Matthew Baker (Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 105)
Best Short Story
- “Adrianna in Pomegranate”, Samantha Mills (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue 271)
- “Articulated Restraint”, Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor.com, 6 Feb 2019)
- “Death of an Air Salesman”, Rich Larson (Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 150)
- “Gundark Island, or, Tars Tarkas Needs Your Help”, Matthew Corradi (Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 107)
- “The Hundredth House Had No Walls”, Laurie Penny (Tor.com, 11 Sep 2019)
Best Series
- The Wheel of Time, Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson; “A Fire Within the Ways”, Unfettered III: New Tales by Masters of Fantasy (Grim Oak)
- Wild Cards, George R.R. Martin and Melinda M. Snodgrass; “Naked, Stoned, and Stabbed”, Bradley Denton (Tor.com, 16 Oct 2019)
Best Related Work
- Apollo 11 in Real Time, Ben Feist (apolloinrealtime.org/11/)
- Lost Transmissions: The Secret History of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Desirina Boskovich (Abrams)
- Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror & Speculative Fiction, Lisa Kröger and Melanie R. Anderson (Quirk)
- The Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein, Farah Mendlesohn (Unbound)
- Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin, Arwen Curry (Grasshopper Film)
Best Graphic Story or Comic
- The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel, Margaret Atwood and Renée Nault (Nan A. Talese)
- Invisible Kingdom, Vol. 1: Walking the Path, G. Willow Wilson and Christian Ward (Berger)
- LaGuardia, Nnedi Okorafor and Tanna Ford (Berger)
- The Seventh Voyage, Stanislaw Lem and Jon J Muth (Graphix)
- Starport, George R.R. Martin and Raya Golden (Bantam)
Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
- Carnival Row, Season 1 (Prime)
- Good Omens (Prime)
- His Dark Materials, Season 1 (HBO)
- Orphan Black: The Next Chapter (Serial Box)
- Prospect (Gunpowder & Sky)
Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
- The Expanse, “Cibola Burn” (Prime)
- Game of Thrones, “The Iron Throne” (HBO)
- The Magicians, “No Better to Be Safe Than Sorry” (Syfy)
- Star Trek: Discovery, “Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2” (CBS)
- The Witcher, “Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials” (Netflix)
Best Editor, Short Form
- John Joseph Adams
- Neil Clarke
- Ellen Datlow
- C.C. Finlay
- Jason Sizemore
Best Editor, Long Form
- Nivia Evans
- Will Hinton
- Priyanka Krishnan
- Joe Monti
- Devi Pillai
Best Professional Artist
- John Howe, illustrations for A Song of Ice and Fire 2020 Calendar
- Miranda Meeks, cover art for The Cold Is in Her Bones by Peternelle van Arsdale
- Tran Nguyen, cover art for The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson
- Magali Villeneuve, interior art for Assassin’s Apprentice, 25th Anniversary Illustrated Edition by Robin Hobb
- Alyssa Winans, cover art for Desdemona and the Deep by C.S.E. Cooney
Best Semiprozine
- Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Scott H. Andrews
- Strange Horizons, Vanessa Rose Phin
- Uncanny Magazine, Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas
Best Fanzine
- Camestros Felapton, Camestros Felapton
- nerds of a feather, flock together, The G, Adri Joy, Vance Kotrla, and Joe Sherry
- Quick Sip Reviews, Charles Payseur
- Rocket Stack Rank, Greg Hullender and Eric Wong
- The Wertzone, Adam Whitehead
Best Fancast
Best Fan Writer
Best Fan Artist
- Iain J. Clark, cover art for the Dublin 2019 Souvenir Book
- Ariela Housman, Dragon Naturalist Nouveau (The Memoirs of Lady Trent)
- Jemina Malkki, The Graysons (Star Trek: Discovery)
- Matt Olson, SFF180 channel art
- Laya Rose, portraits for Wilder Girls by Rory Power
Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book
- Catfishing on CatNet, Naomi Kritzer (Tor Teen)
- Dragon Pearl, Yoon Ha Lee (Disney Hyperion)
- The Everlasting Rose, Dhonielle Clayton (Freeform)
- Riverland, Fran Wilde (Amulet)
- The Wicked King, Holly Black (Little, Brown)
Astounding Award for Best New Writer
- Brit E.B. Hvide, “A Catalog of Love at First Sight” (Uncanny 28)
- R.F. Kuang, The Poppy War (Harper Voyager)
- Samantha Mills, “Strange Waters” (Strange Horizons, 2 Apr 2018)
- Y.M. Pang, “The Palace of the Silver Dragon” (Strange Horizons, 1 Oct 2018)
- Emma Törzs, “From the Root” (Lightspeed 97)
What were your favorites from 2019?
Laura's Library 