2018 Hugo Awards – The Finalists

The Hugo Award ceremony is this Sunday, August 19!

Click the jump for an updated list of the finalists, including links to reviews, where you can find the stories (for free or for purchase) and my guesses for who might win the award.

Best Novel

The Collapsing Empire, by John Scalzi (Tor) PG Review
New York 2140, by Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit) PG Review
Provenance, by Ann Leckie (Orbit) PG Review
Raven Stratagem, by Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris) PG Review
Six Wakes, by Mur Lafferty (Orbit) PG Review
The Stone Sky, by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit) PG Review

PG pick for winner: Tough choice here. Okay, maybe not so tough; N.K. Jemisin won the award last year and the year before for the first two books in The Broken Earth trilogy, so The Stone Sky seems like a safe bet. Plus, it’s astoundingly good; powerful and tragic and glorious.

Best Novella

All Systems Red, by Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing) PG Review
And Then There Were (N-One), by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny, March/April 2017) PG Review
Binti: Home, by Nnedi Okorafor (Tor.com Publishing) PG Review
The Black Tides of Heaven, by JY Yang (Tor.com Publishing) PG Review
Down Among the Sticks and Bones, by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing) PG Review
River of Teeth, by Sarah Gailey (Tor.com Publishing) PG Review

PG pick for winner: I’m gonna go with Binti:Home for this one, although Seanan McGuire’s novella from her Wayward Children series comes in at a VERY close second.

Best Novelette

“Children of Thorns, Children of Water,” by Aliette de Bodard (Uncanny, July-August 2017) PG Review
“Extracurricular Activities,” by Yoon Ha Lee (Tor.com, February 15, 2017) PG Review
“The Secret Life of Bots,” by Suzanne Palmer (Clarkesworld, September 2017) PG Review
“A Series of Steaks,” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Clarkesworld, January 2017) PG Review
“Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time,” by K.M. Szpara (Uncanny, May/June 2017) PG Review
“Wind Will Rove,” by Sarah Pinsker (Asimov’s, September/October 2017) PG Review

PG pick for winner: “Wind Will Rove”, the musical, poetical, sci-fi generation ship story. I still love “A Series Of Steaks” best though.

Best Short Story

“Carnival Nine,” by Caroline M. Yoachim (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, May 2017) PG Review
“Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand,” by Fran Wilde (Uncanny, September 2017) PG Review
“Fandom for Robots,” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Uncanny, September/October 2017) PG Review
“The Martian Obelisk,” by Linda Nagata (Tor.com, July 19, 2017) PG Review
“Sun, Moon, Dust” by Ursula Vernon, (Uncanny, May/June 2017) PG Review
“Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience™,” by Rebecca Roanhorse (Apex, August 2017) PG Review

PG pick for winner: “Sun, Moon Dust”. I know I said in my review that “Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand” had the best chance of winning, but I’m second-guessing myself here and I do so love a good Ursula Vernon short story.

Best Related Work

Crash Override: How Gamergate (Nearly) Destroyed My Life, and How We Can Win the Fight Against Online Hate, by Zoe Quinn (PublicAffairs)
Iain M. Banks (Modern Masters of Science Fiction), by Paul Kincaid (University of Illinois Press)
A Lit Fuse: The Provocative Life of Harlan Ellison, by Nat Segaloff (NESFA Press)
Luminescent Threads: Connections to Octavia E. Butler, edited by Alexandra Pierce and Mimi Mondal (Twelfth Planet Press)
No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters, by Ursula K. Le Guin (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Sleeping with Monsters: Readings and Reactions in Science Fiction and Fantasy, by Liz Bourke (Aqueduct Press)

 

Best Graphic Story

Black Bolt, Volume 1: Hard Time, written by Saladin Ahmed, illustrated by Christian Ward, lettered by Clayton Cowles (Marvel)
Bitch Planet, Volume 2: President Bitch, written by Kelly Sue DeConnick, illustrated by Valentine De Landro and Taki Soma, colored by Kelly Fitzpatrick, lettered by Clayton Cowles (Image Comics)
Monstress, Volume 2: The Blood, written by Marjorie M. Liu, illustrated by Sana Takeda (Image Comics) PG Review
My Favorite Thing is Monsters, written and illustrated by Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics)
Paper Girls, Volume 3, written by Brian K. Vaughan, illustrated by Cliff Chiang, colored by Matthew Wilson, lettered by Jared Fletcher (Image Comics)
Saga, Volume 7, written by Brian K. Vaughan, illustrated by Fiona Staples (Image Comics) PG Review

PG pick for winner: Hardly seems fair to pick one when I only managed to read two of the entries, but what the hell, Saga Volume 7. That really was quite an ending.

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

Blade Runner 2049, written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, directed by Denis Villeneuve (Alcon Entertainment / Bud Yorkin Productions / Torridon Films / Columbia Pictures) PG Review
Get Out, written and directed by Jordan Peele (Blumhouse Productions / Monkeypaw Productions / QC Entertainment) PG Review
The Shape of Water, written by Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor, directed by Guillermo del Toro (TSG Entertainment / Double Dare You / Fox Searchlight Pictures) PG Review
Star Wars: The Last Jedi, written and directed by Rian Johnson (Lucasfilm, Ltd.)
Thor: Ragnarok, written by Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle, and Christopher Yost; directed by Taika Waititi (Marvel Studios) PG Review
Wonder Woman, screenplay by Allan Heinberg, story by Zack Snyder & Allan Heinberg and Jason Fuchs, directed by Patty Jenkins (DC Films / Warner Brothers) PG Review

PG pick for winner: I’ve seen four of the six entries, and oddly enough I think the winner will be one of the ones I didn’t actually manage to see: Get Out.

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

Black Mirror: “USS Callister,” written by William Bridges and Charlie Brooker, directed by Toby Haynes (House of Tomorrow)
“The Deep” [song], by Clipping (Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, Jonathan Snipes)
Doctor Who: “Twice Upon a Time,” written by Steven Moffat, directed by Rachel Talalay (BBC Cymru Wales)
The Good Place: “Michael’s Gambit,” written and directed by Michael Schur (Fremulon / 3 Arts Entertainment / Universal Television)
The Good Place: “The Trolley Problem,” written by Josh Siegal and Dylan Morgan, directed by Dean Holland (Fremulon / 3 Arts Entertainment / Universal Television)
Star Trek: Discovery: “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad,” written by Aron Eli Coleite & Jesse Alexander, directed by David M. Barrett (CBS Television Studios)

PG pick for winner: OMG, I loved the Doctor Who Christmas story this year. Loved it, loved it, loved it. And…I’m still picking Black Mirror: “USS Callister”. Because I just saw that one a few weeks ago and EEEEEEE. Amazing.

Best Editor, Short Form

John Joseph Adams
Neil Clarke
Lee Harris
Jonathan Strahan
Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas
Sheila Williams

 

Best Editor, Long Form

Sheila E. Gilbert
Joe Monti
Diana M. Pho
Devi Pillai
Miriam Weinberg
Navah Wolfe

 

Best Professional Artist

Galen Dara
Kathleen Jennings
Bastien Lecouffe Deharme
Victo Ngai
John Picacio
Sana Takeda

 

Best Semiprozine

Beneath Ceaseless Skies, editor-in-chief and publisher Scott H. Andrews
The Book Smugglers, edited by Ana Grilo and Thea James
Escape Pod, edited by Mur Lafferty, S.B. Divya, and Norm Sherman, with assistant editor Benjamin C. Kinney
Fireside Magazine, edited by Brian White and Julia Rios; managing editor Elsa Sjunneson-Henry; special feature editor Mikki Kendall; publisher & art director Pablo Defendini
Strange Horizons, edited by Kate Dollarhyde, Gautam Bhatia, A.J. Odasso, Lila Garrott, Heather McDougal, Ciro Faienza, Tahlia Day, Vanessa Rose Phin, and the Strange Horizons staff
Uncanny Magazine, edited by Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas, Michi Trota, and Julia Rios; podcast produced by Erika Ensign & Steven Schapansky

 

Best Fanzine

File 770, edited by Mike Glyer
Galactic Journey, edited by Gideon Marcus
Journey Planet, edited by Team Journey Planet
nerds of a feather, flock together, edited by The G, Vance Kotrla, and Joe Sherry
Rocket Stack Rank, edited by Greg Hullender and Eric Wong
SF Bluestocking, edited by Bridget McKinney

 

Best Fancast

The Coode Street Podcast, presented by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe
Ditch Diggers, presented by Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace
Fangirl Happy Hour, presented by Ana Grilo and Renay Williams
Galactic Suburbia, presented by Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce and Tansy Rayner Roberts; produced by Andrew Finch
Sword and Laser, presented by Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt
Verity!, presented by Deborah Stanish, Erika Ensign, Katrina Griffiths, L.M. Myles, Lynne M. Thomas, and Tansy Rayner Roberts

 

Best Fan Writer

Camestros Felapton
Sarah Gailey
Mike Glyer
Foz Meadows
Charles Payseur
Bogi Takács

 

Best Fan Artist

Geneva Benton
Grace P. Fong
Maya Hahto
Likhain (M. Sereno)
Spring Schoenhuth
Steve Stiles

 

Best Series

The Books of the Raksura, by Martha Wells (Night Shade)
The Divine Cities, by Robert Jackson Bennett (Broadway)
InCryptid, by Seanan McGuire (DAW)
The Memoirs of Lady Trent, by Marie Brennan (Tor US / Titan UK)
The Stormlight Archive, by Brandon Sanderson (Tor US / Gollancz UK)
World of the Five Gods, by Lois McMaster Bujold (Harper Voyager / Spectrum Literary Agency)

 

The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

Katherine Arden
Sarah Kuhn
Jeannette Ng
Vina Jie-Min Prasad
Rebecca Roanhorse
Rivers Solomon

The World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) Award for Best Young Adult Book

Akata Warrior, by Nnedi Okorafor (Viking)
The Art of Starving, by Sam J. Miller (HarperTeen)
The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage, by Philip Pullman (Knopf)
In Other Lands, by Sarah Rees Brennan (Big Mouth House)
A Skinful of Shadows, by Frances Hardinge (Macmillan UK / Harry N. Abrams US)
Summer in Orcus, written by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon), illustrated by Lauren Henderson (Sofawolf Press) PG Review

PG pick for winner: Again, only read one of these, so it hardly seems fair…Summer in Orcus. Because Ursula Vernon.

 

Special thank you to The Verge for providing all the links for the novelettes and short stories!