Category: other sff awards

2024 Nebula Awards Finalists

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The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) has announced the 59th Annual Nebula Awards finalists for works published in 2023.  I’m pleased to see some of my Hugo nominees as well as one of my Astounding and one of my Lodestar nominees.

Nebula Award for Novel

  • The Saint of Bright Doors, Vajra Chandrasekera (Tordotcom)
  • The Water Outlaws, S.L. Huang (Tordotcom; Solaris UK)
  • Translation State, Ann Leckie (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
  • The Terraformers, Annalee Newitz (Tor; Orbit UK)
  • Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon, Wole Talabi (DAW, Gollancz)
  • Witch King, Martha Wells (Tordotcom)

The Water Outlaws, Translation State, and Witch King were on my Hugo Award ballot.  I’ve heard great things about the other three and would be happy to see any of them as Hugo finalists as well.  Martha Wells declined a nomination for System Collapse.  She has previously declined recent nominations for the Murderbot Diaries as they have already received multiple accolades.

Nebula Award for Novella

  • The Crane Husband, Kelly Barnhill (Tordotcom)
  • “Linghun”, Ai Jiang (Linghun)
  • Thornhedge, T. Kingfisher (Tor; Titan UK)
  • Untethered Sky, Fonda Lee (Tordotcom)
  • The Mimicking of Known Successes, Malka Older (Tordotcom)
  • Mammoths at the Gates, Nghi Vo (Tordotcom)

From here I had The Crane Husband and The Mimicking of Known Successes on my Hugo ballot.  The novellas from T. Kingfisher, Fonda Lee, and Nghi Vo are all ones I want to read.  I’ll have to add Ai Jiang’s to my list as I’ve enjoyed the other stories I’ve read by her.

Nebula Award for Novelette

  • “A Short Biography of a Conscious Chair”, Renan Bernardo (Samovar 2/23)
  • I Am AI, Ai Jiang (Shortwave)
  • “The Year Without Sunshine”, Naomi Kritzer (Uncanny 11-12/23)
  • “Imagine: Purple-Haired Girl Shooting Down The Moon”, Angela Liu (Clarkesworld 6/23)
  • “Saturday’s Song”, Wole Talabi (Lightspeed 5/23)
  • “Six Versions of My Brother Found Under the Bridge”, Eugenia Triantafyllou (Uncanny 9-10/23)

Ai Jiang makes her second appearance on this ballot.  Another two of my Hugo nominees show up here: “The Year Without Sunshine” and “Saturday’s Song”.  I nominated Angela Liu for the Astounding Award although I haven’t read this particular story yet.  I also haven’t gotten to Eugenia Triantafyllou’s story although I’ve really liked other stories by her.  Finally, Renan Bernardo’s story is very touching and was translated from Portuguese by the author.  (The original language version can be found in that same issue of Samovar as well.)

Nebula Award for Short Story

  • “Once Upon a Time at The Oakmont”, P.A. Cornell (Fantasy 10/23)
  • “Tantie Merle and the Farmhand 4200”, R.S.A Garcia (Uncanny 7-8/23)
  • “Window Boy”, Thomas Ha (Clarkesworld 8/23)
  • “The Sound of Children Screaming”, Rachael K. Jones (Nightmare 10/23)
  • “Better Living Through Algorithms”, Naomi Kritzer (Clarkesworld 5/23)
  • “Bad Doors”, John Wiswell (Uncanny 1-2/23)

Naomi Kritzer gets a second nod here.  Her story was a favorite although I didn’t nominate this one.  On the other hand, John Wiswell’s story didn’t work for me even though I normally find his stories very charming.  The remaining Clarkesworld, Fantasy, and Uncanny stories are still waiting on my ereader.  Not being a big horror fan, I seldom read Nightmare, but maybe I’ll make an exception for this finalist.

Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction

  • To Shape a Dragon’s Breath, Moniquill Blackgoose (Del Rey)
  • The Inn at the Amethyst Lantern, J. Dianne Dotson (Android)
  • Liberty’s Daughter, Naomi Kritzer (Fairwood)
  • The Ghost Job, Greg van Eekhout (Harper)

Naomi Kritzer appears here for a third time.  I haven’t read this book, but I recognize the Seastead setting from a series of stories published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.  I nominated To Shape a Dragon’s Breath for the Lodestar Award.  I hadn’t previously seen the other two books, but I’m far from the target audience so that’s unsurprising.

Nebula Award for Game Writing

  • The Bread Must Rise, Stewart C Baker, James Beamon (Choice of Games)
  • Alan Wake II, Sam Lake, Clay Murphy, Tyler Burton Smith, Sinikka Annala (Remedy Entertainment, Epic Games Publishing)
  • Ninefox Gambit: Machineries of Empire Roleplaying Game, Yoon Ha Lee, Marie Brennan (Android)
  • Dredge, Joel Mason (Black Salt Games, Team 17)
  • Chants of Sennaar, Julien Moya, Thomas Panuel (Rundisc, Focus Entertainment)
  • Baldur’s Gate 3, Adam Smith, Adrienne Law, Baudelaire Welch, Chrystal Ding, Ella McConnell, Ine Van Hamme, Jan Van Dosselaer, John Corcoran, Kevin VanOrd, Lawrence Schick, Martin Docherty, Rachel Quirke, Ruairí Moore, Sarah Baylus, Stephen Rooney, Swen Vincke (Larian Studios)

Not much to say here since I’m not a gamer.  I did love Yoon Ha Lee’s Machineries of Empire books which the Ninefox Gambit RPG is based on, and Marie Brennan is another favorite author.  I will still be interested in seeing if there is any overlap with the new Best Game or Interactive Work Hugo Award.

Ray Bradbury Nebula Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation

  • Nimona, Robert L. Baird, Lloyd Taylor, Pamela Ribon, Marc Haimes, Nick Bruno, Troy Quane, Keith Bunin, Nate Stevenson (Annapurna Animation, Annapurna Pictures)
  • The Last of Us: “Long, Long Time”, Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin (HBOMax)
  • Barbie, Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach (Warner Bros., Heyday Films, LuckyChap Entertainment)
  • Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Michael Gilio, Chris McKay (Paramount Pictures, Entertainment One, Allspark Pictures)
  • Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Dave Callaham (Columbia Pictures, Marvel Entertainment, Avi Arad Productions)
  • The Boy and the Heron, Hayao Miyazaki (Studio Ghibli, Toho Company)

Barbie, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse were on my Hugo ballot.  I haven’t seen the others yet.

Winners will be present at a ceremony on June 8th at 8pm Pacific Time during the Nebula Conference in Pasadena, California.  What do you think of these finalists?  Did you nominate any of them for a Hugo?

2020 Nebula Winners

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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

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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 January, A 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 015, This 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 Skies, Strange 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 Russ, The 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?

BooktubeSFF Awards Shortlist Announced

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The fouth annual BooktubeSFF Awards shortlist was announced yesterday.  They will have discussions of the finalists from March through May with final voting in June.  Find out more at their goodreads group and twitter.

Some rules changes implemented this year have produced what looks to me like a pretty nice list.  Here they are interspersed with my reading plans:

Best Science Fiction Novel
Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee
Borne by Jeff VanderMeer
The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi
Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel

The first three were already on my TBR.  Raven Stratagem is book 2, but Ninefox Gambit was a Hugo finalist last year and one I nominated myself.  Waking Gods is also book 2, but I still need to read Sleeping Giants.

Best Fantasy Novel
The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
Red Sister by Mark Lawrence
A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

I’ve read the first two, and they’re on my Hugo ballot.  Red Sister is book 1 of a trilogy, but I believe it’s the third trilogy in this universe.  A Conjuring of Light is book 3.  So I don’t think I’ll be getting to those two just yet.

Best Debut Novel
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames
The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty

As I said above, I’ve read The Bear and the Nightingale, and I’ll probably put Katherine Arden on my ballot for the Campbell Award.  I own Kings of the Wyld, and I’ve borrowed The City of Brass from my library.  I believe both of those authors are eligible for the Campbell as well.

Best YA
Strange The Dreamer by Laini Taylor
Windwitch by Susan Dennard
Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab

I’ve picked up Strange The Dreamer from my library.  The other two are both the second in their respective series.

Best Middle Grade
Whichwood by Tahereh Mafi
Magnus Chase and the Ship of the Dead by Rick Riordan
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding by Alexandra Bracken

The first two are book 2 and book 3 in their series.  My library has a print edition of Nevermoor, and they also have a digital copy of The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding available through Hoopla.   I may or may not give those a try.

Best Graphic Work
Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda
Everyone’s a aliebn when ur a aliebn too by Jomny Sun
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters by Emil Ferris
Paper Girls, Vol. 3 by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, Matthew Wilson

I own Monstress, Vol. 2, and I really need to read it already.  Last year Vol. 1 won the Hugo for Best Graphic Story, and I loved it.

Looks like I’d have to do interlibrary loan to get my hands on Everyone’s a aliebn when ur a aliebn too.  (Incidentally, the title has me thinking of “Alien Like You” by The Pigott Brothers and that makes me want to binge watch Being Erica.  Something you’ll probably only understand if you’re Canadian.)

My Favorite Thing Is Monsters is available from my library and is wafting its way to my branch now.

I read Vol. 1 of Paper Girls as a Hugo finalist last year and wasn’t motivated to continue.  I can get Vols. 2 & 3 through Hoopla, but I don’t know if I’ll bother.

Best Short Work
Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor

I own all three of these, and coincidentally I have three novella spots to fill in my Hugo ballot.  So out of the list I was thinking of getting to, I guess I’ll bump these to the top.

 

Look forward to reading and hearing the discussions!