2020 Hugos: Best Novelette

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Today I’m looking back at the Best Novelette finalists for the 2020 Hugos.  Two of my five nominations made the ballot, and I had two more I needed to read after the finalists were announced.

“The Archronology of Love” by Caroline M. Yoachim was also nominated for the Nebula and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial awards.  Yoachim was previously a Hugo finalist for Best Short Story.

This was on my longlist.  The protagonist leads a team on an investigation into the deaths of a group of colonists which included her own life partner.  They do so with a technology which allows them to physically enter a record of the past events.  I found the story very touching with an intriguing concept.

“Away With the Wolves” is Sarah Gailey’s third Hugo nomination for her short fiction.  They previously won a Hugo for Best Fan Writer, and they were a finalist for Best Related Work as well.  Gailey was also a past finalist for the Astounding Award for Best New Writer (formerly known as the John W. Campbell Award).

This was one of my own nominees.  The main character is a werewolf who deals with chronic pain while in human form.  But in her wolf form, she’s causing problems that the other villagers are getting tired of dealing with.  What I really loved here was the beautiful depiction of friendship between the protagonist and her best friend, between the friend and the protagonist in wolf form, and finally between two wolves.

“The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye” by Sarah Pinsker was also nominated for the Nebula, the Locus, and the World Fantasy awards.  Pinsker has three previous Hugo nominations for her short fiction.

When this showed up on the Nebula list, I was surprised I had forgotten about it because Pinsker’s stories are often favorites.  I had to skim back over this one to remember how it went.  A mystery writer stumbles onto a murder mystery while in a remote location trying to avoid distractions from finishing her next book.  The atmosphere is impressively creepy, but I found the resolution unsatisfying because it was so unexpected.

Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin was also a finalist for the Locus Award.  This is Jemisin’s seventh Hugo nomination including her historical three consecutive wins for Best Novel.

This was one of the two I still needed to read after the finalists came out.  I borrowed it through Kindle Unlimited which gives you access to both the ebook and audio narration by Jason Isaacs.  Written in second person, you are on a mission to retrieve a resource from Earth guided by an AI implanted in your brain.  The AI is astonished to see that Earth is recovered from the ruin that was left behind and is especially disgusted by the people of diverse races, genders, and abilities.  The second person point of view was enhanced by listening to the audio version, but I was more than ready to get that obnoxious AI out of my head long before it was over.

“For He Can Creep” by Siobhan Carroll was also nominated for the Nebula, the Locus, and the World Fantasy awards.  This is Carroll’s first Hugo nomination.

This was the other one of my own nominees that made the ballot.  A cat living in asylum is determined to protect a poet from the Devil and his demons.  The characterization of our main cat character is an absolute delight.  I love the story even more after finding out it’s inspired by the real life of the poet Christopher Smart.

“Omphalos” by Ted Chiang is one of eleven total Hugo nominations including three wins that Chiang has received for his short fiction.  It has already won the Locus Award and is a finalist for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award.  He is a previous winner of the Astounding Award for Best New Writer and is on the ballot this year in the Best Novella category as well.

This was the other novelette finalist that I had yet to read when the finalists were announced.  In a world where there is significant empirical evidence for divine creation only a few thousand years ago, an expert in these studies comes into knowledge of an astronomical discovery which shakes her faith in God.  I liked this one more than Chiang’s nominated novella, but I wasn’t really wowed.

The first two spots went to my own nominees.  I loved both of them, but the wolves edged out the cats.  I enjoyed the concepts in the next two.  But the first of them didn’t quite make my ballot, and the second wouldn’t have either if I had read it in time.  Surprisingly two of my favorite authors wind up in the last two places with stories that just didn’t work for me this time.  Here’s how I ranked them:

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

Will the first time finalist creep in on little cat feet and win this one over names more familiar to Hugo voters?

 

2020 Hugos: Best Novella

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Today I’m looking back at the Best Novella finalists for the 2020 Hugos.  Two of my five nominations made the ballot, and I only had one novella left to read after the finalists were announced.  My other three nominees were from paid magazines:  “New Atlantis” by Lavie Tidhar (Fantasy & Science Fiction, May/Jun 2019), “Waterlines” by Suzanne Palmer (Asimov’s, Jul/Aug 2019), and “The Work of Wolves” by Tegan Moore (Asimov’s, Jul/Aug 2019).  The two from Asimov’s were available online, and all three were on the Locus Recommended Reading List.  I’ll be curious to see if any of them appear on the Hugo longlist.

“Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom” appeared in Ted Chiang’s Exhalation collection and is one of eleven total Hugo nominations including three wins that Chiang has received for his short fiction.  It was also a finalist for the Nebula and Locus awards.  He is a previous winner of the Astounding Award for Best New Writer (formerly known as the John W. Campbell Award) and is on the ballot this year in the Best Novelette category as well.

This was the only novella finalist that I had yet to read, and I think I’ve only read one other story from Chiang prior to the two on the ballot this year.  In a world otherwise like our own, there are devices which allow one to temporarily communicate with an alternate reality in which a different choice led to a different life.  The premise is well-written and thoroughly explored, but it just didn’t hold much interest for me.

The Deep by Rivers Solomon has already won the Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror.  It was also a finalist for the Nebula and Locus awards and on the honor list for the Otherwise Award (formerly known as the James Tiptree Jr. Award).  Solomon is on the ballot this year in the Best Short Story category as well, and they were a two-time past finalist for the Astounding Award for Best New Writer.

This came very close to making my nomination ballot.  If I had one more spot, this would have been my pick.  I really enjoyed the world-building which further develops the same premise which the group Clipping (Daveed Diggs, William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes) had in their Hugo-nominated song of the same name.  Solomon presents us with an elaborate culture based on the idea of the pregnant slaves thrown overboard during the Middle Passage giving birth to mermaids.  But I ended up feeling like I wanted to like the story itself more than I actually did.

The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark was also a finalist for the Nebula and the Locus awards.  Clark was on the Hugo ballot last year in both the Best Novella and Best Short Story categories.

I thought this story was good but didn’t stand out enough to make my own nomination ballot.  It gives us a glimpse of a fascinating alternate twentieth century Cairo with djinn and automatons, but this particular story of the investigation into the titular tram car didn’t really grab me.  I would love to see more in this setting though.

In an Absent Dream is Seanan McGuire’s fifth Best Novella nomination out of twenty total Hugo nominations between her own name and her Mira Grant pseudonym.  This is the fourth book in the Wayward Children series, and all four have received Best Novella nominations with a win for the first.  (I expect an appearance in Best Series once the required word count is met in a few more installments.)  McGuire is also on the ballot this year for Best Novel and Best Series.  She is a past winner of the Astounding Award for Best New Writer and a two-time Hugo winner for Best Fancast as well.

This was on my own nomination ballot.  These stories of children who discover portals to other worlds continue to delight me.  I found the Goblin Market where everything is negotiated for fair value, the ability to go back and forth between the Market and one’s own world until turning eighteen, and the fact that our protagonist’s father has traveled to the Market before her provided some fascinating new twists on the overall setting.  I was also pleased to finally learn the backstory on one of the minor characters from the first book.

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone has already won the Nebula, the Locus, and the British Science Fiction Association awards.  It was also nominated for the Shirley Jackson Award, the Kitschies Red Tentacle, the Aurora Award, and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award.  El-Mohtar is a past Hugo winner for Best Short Story, and Gladstone is a previous Hugo finalist for Best Series.

I imagine the authors had a ton of fun writing this, passing the story back and forth like their protagonists traded letters, and challenging each other to create evermore elaborate situations.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have as much fun reading it.  I had to push myself to make it though, and I just wasn’t sold on the enemies-to-lovers romance between these two agents on opposite sides of a conflict which I never really understood.

To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers was also a finalist for the Nebula and the British Science Fiction Association awards.  Chambers is a past winner of the Hugo for Best Series and two of the books in that series were finalists for Best Novel as well.

The other one of my nominees which appeared on the ballot, I went into this with high expectations from Chambers’ Hugo winning Wayfarers series, and I was not disappointed.  It does an excellent job of portraying this small family-like group of scientists as they study four very different planets.  Their love of scientific discovery and their care for one another comes through clearly and was incredibly moving.

My first two spots went to my own nominees which were really tough to choose between.  Surprisingly I went with the science fiction story where I often favor fantasy.  It could have easily gone the other way, and I’ll be just as happy with either winning.  Next we have the two stories I liked for their world-building, but not enough from them to make it onto my own ballot.  Finally, two stories that were well-written but didn’t really work for me.  Here’s what I ended up with:

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

Not gonna lie, I rather This Is How You Lose the Time War didn’t take home another win.  Maybe In an Absent Dream, the one story it hasn’t come up against yet, will triumph instead.  What do you think?

2020 Hugos: Best Novel

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Now that Hugo voting has closed, I’m going to take a look back at the finalists for Best Novel and share my thoughts.  Four out of my five nominations made the ballot, and I only had one left to read after the finalists were announced.  My one nominee which didn’t make the ballot was The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie.  It was a Best Fantasy Novel finalist for the Locus Awards, and I imagine we’ll see it on the Hugo longlist.

The City in the Middle of the Night is Charlie Jane Anders’ second nomination for Best Novel.  It has already won the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel and is on the shortlist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award.  Anders also appears on the ballot this year as a co-host of the Hugo Award winning fancast Our Opinions Are Correct, and she previously won the Hugo for Best Novelette as well.

I went into this with high hopes that it would be one of my nominees after how much I enjoyed Ander’s previous Best Novel finalist, All the Birds in the Sky.  The world-building is fascinating and ambitious, but I found the characters frustrating.  I wish we had gotten to titular city sooner and focused more on the efforts to bridge the chasm between its inhabitants and the human society.

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir has already won the Locus Award for Best First Novel and the William L. Crawford Award, presented by the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts for a first book of fantasy fiction.  Muir’s debut novel was also a finalist for the Nebula.

This was the one finalist here that I didn’t bother to read before nominations closed.  I was a little leery of the massive hype, and the promise of skeletons and necromancy didn’t intrigue me.  Of course, it had no trouble making the ballot without me, and I’m happy it did.  It was a hell of a lot of fun, and I look forward to the sequel although I was a little disappointed in the ending.

The Light Brigade is Kameron Hurley’s first Hugo nomination for fiction writing, but she has previously been honored for her non-fiction.  She has won Hugos for both Best Related Work and Best Fan Writer, and she was a finalist for Best Related Work again.  This book was also a finalist for the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel and is on the shortlist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award.

One of my own nominees, Hurley levels up with a classic yet fresh take on military science fiction combined with an intricate time travel narrative.  There is a wonderful camaraderie between characters which never loses sight of the fact that they are at different points in their relationships due to the tangled timelines.  A puzzle box of a story that unlocks a satisfying conclusion.

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine has already won the Compton Cook Award, presented by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society for the best first novel in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres.  It was also a finalist for the Nebula and the Locus Award for Best First Novel, and it is on the shortlist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award.

Another of my own nominees, this is, as others have said, in the vein of Ann Leckie and Yoon Ha Lee: a space empire as seen from an expert outsider and someone who’s struggling with integrating individual and collective selves.  This stands alone, but I am really looking forward to the next book.

Middlegame is Seanan McGuire’s fifth Best Novel nomination out of twenty total Hugo nominations between her own name and her Mira Grant pseudonym.  This book has already won the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel.  She is also on the ballot this year for Best Novella and Best Series.  She has three previous Hugo wins: one for Best Novella and two for Best Fancast.  She has definitely lived up to the promise of winning the Campbell Award for Best New Writer (now renamed the Astounding Award).

This one was also on my nomination ballot.  Like Hurley, McGuire is taking her writing to the next level and playing with timelines but in a fantasy setting.  Anecdotally, I’ve seen a few people who are big fans of her ongoing urban fantasy series not as enthusiastic about this one.  On the other hand, those, like me, who know her mostly from the Wayward Children novellas, generally seemed to enjoy it more.  Written to stand alone, I was excited to hear recently that there will be a sequel.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow was also a finalist for the Nebula and the Locus Award for Best First Novel.  It made the shortlists of the Compton Cook, the William L. Crawford, and the Kitschies Golden Tentacle awards for debut novels as well.  She previously won the Hugo for Best Short Story and has been nominated in that category again this year.

This was one of my highly anticipated books after loving Harrow’s Hugo-winning short story “A Witch’s Guide to Escape.”  For whatever reason, I almost didn’t get to it in time but immediately had to add this one to my nominating ballot.  It is a beautifully written combination of so many things I adore: portal fantasy, a book within the book, a wonderful dog companion, great characterization and relationships.

We have three experienced novelists taking their writing to new heights and three debut novelists whose work is already award worthy.  My first spot easily goes to my favorite read from 2019.  My other nominees were tough to decide amongst for the next three slots.  It came down to my preference for fantasy over science fiction and seeing a little more polish in experienced versus debut novelist.  The fifth spot went to the one I liked but not as much as my own nominees.  For sixth place, the interesting world-building pulled me through in the face of some frustrating characters.  Here’s how that shook out:

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

Tell me who you would like to see win or who you expect will win.

2020 Hugos: My Final Ballot

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Voting for the Hugo Awards, the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer closed last night.  The winners will be presented by CoNZealand in a virtual ceremony at 11 am on August 1st NZST (UTC +12, 7 pm on July 31st EDT).  Here is how I ranked the finalists:

Best Novel

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

Best Novella

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

Best Novelette

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

Best Short Story

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

Best Series

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

Best Related Work

  1. Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin, produced and directed by Arwen Curry
  2. The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick, by Mallory O’Meara (Hanover Square)
  3. Joanna Russ, by Gwyneth Jones (University of Illinois Press (Modern Masters of Science Fiction))
  4. The Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein, by Farah Mendlesohn (Unbound)
  5. Becoming Superman: My Journey from Poverty to Hollywood, by J. Michael Straczynski (Harper Voyager US)
  6. “2019 John W. Campbell Award Acceptance Speech”, by Jeannette Ng

Best Graphic Story or Comic

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

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

  1. Good Omens, written by Neil Gaiman, directed by Douglas Mackinnon (Amazon Studios/BBC Studios/Narrativia/The Blank Corporation)
  2. Us, written and directed by Jordan Peele (Monkeypaw Productions/Universal Pictures)
  3. 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)
  4. 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))
  5. Avengers: Endgame, screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo (Marvel Studios)
  6. 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)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

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

Best Editor, Short Form

  1. Sheila Williams
  2. Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas
  3. Ellen Datlow
  4. Jonathan Strahan
  5. C.C. Finlay
  6. Neil Clarke

Best Editor, Long Form

  1. Brit Hvide
  2. Navah Wolfe
  3. Sheila E. Gilbert
  4. Diana M. Pho
  5. Devi Pillai
  6. Miriam Weinberg

Best Professional Artist

  1. Tommy Arnold
  2. Galen Dara
  3. Alyssa Winans
  4. Yuko Shimizu
  5. Rovina Cai
  6. John Picacio

Best Semiprozine

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. Beneath Ceaseless Skies, editor Scott H. Andrews
  5. 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
  6. Strange Horizons, Vanessa Rose Phin, Catherine Krahe, AJ Odasso, Dan Hartland, Joyce Chng, Dante Luiz and the Strange Horizons staff

Best Fanzine

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

Best Fancast

  1. Claire Rousseau’s YouTube channel, produced & presented by Claire Rousseau
  2. Our Opinions Are Correct, presented by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders
  3. Be The Serpent, presented by Alexandra Rowland, Freya Marske and Jennifer Mace
  4. Galactic Suburbia, presented by Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce and Tansy Rayner Roberts, producer Andrew Finch
  5. The Coode Street Podcast, presented by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe
  6. 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

Best Fan Writer

  1. Adam Whitehead
  2. Cora Buhlert
  3. Bogi Takács
  4. Paul Weimer
  5. James Davis Nicoll
  6. Alasdair Stuart

Best Fan Artist

  1. Iain Clark
  2. Ariela Housman
  3. Grace P. Fong
  4. Elise Matthesen
  5. Meg Frank
  6. Sara Felix

Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book (not a Hugo)

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

Astounding Award for Best New Writer, sponsored by Dell Magazines (not a Hugo)

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

Let me know how you voted or which of the finalists you’re rooting for.

2020 Hugo Voters Packet

Published on by Laura6 Comments

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 (also in the new writer packet)

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 (The 2018 packet had well-formatted epub and mobi files.  Many of these are also available for free download from the author’s website.)
    • 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, 2 anthologies, 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
    • complete anthology of Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories 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, different files from those included in the novella packet)
  • Navah Wolfe
    • sampler of edited novels in EPUB*, MOBI*, and PDF

BEST PROFESSIONAL ARTIST (14 pro art images, 3 pro art 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 fan art 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 one which is also 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
  • 3 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 art samplers
  • 14 pro art 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 art 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

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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?

2020 Hugos: Serial Categories

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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 Expanse, InCryptid, 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 Skies, Strange 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

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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

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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?