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The Nominees for the 2015 Hugo Awards

Andrew Liptak -

The nominees for the 2015 Hugo Awards were announced today, and it’s an interesting ballot, with a number of newcomers earning their first nod and a shot at the genre’s most recognized honor. A full list of the nominees follows.

[Update 4/19/15: This post has been updated to reflect recent changes on the Hugo ballot.]

Best Novel (Best work of 40,000 words or more)

Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie

Ann Leckie’s sequel to her blockbuster novel Ancillary Justice follows Breq as she’s sent to a distant, corrupt space station to keep the peace as the Raadchai Empire is beginning to splinter. Given the critical acclaim of its predecessor and a nomination for this year’s Nebula Award, there’s little surprise that Ancillary Sword has made the ballot.

The Dark Between the Stars by Kevin J. Anderson

The first novel in Kevin J. Anderson’s new series, Saga of the Shadows, this novel picks up twenty years after his epic Saga of Seven Suns space opera series as a new threat emerges to challenge humanity. Despite his prolific output, this is Anderson’s first time making the final novel ballot for the Hugo Awards.

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (Sarah Monette)
This novel from Katherine Addison (pen name of Sarah Monette) follows Maia Drazhar as he is thrust onto the Imperial throne following the demise of his father and brothers. With this new burden, he’s forced to navigate court politics and win the affection of those he rules. The Goblin Emperor has also picked up a nomination for this year’s Nebula Award.

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu and Ken Liu (translator)

One of the most successful sci-fi novels ever in China, and one of a scant few translated works to be nominated for a Hugo, Cixin Liu’s trilogy-starter is a story of a terrified world preparing for first contact with an alien race. Celebrated author Ken Liu handled the translation duties.

Skin Game: A Novel of the Dresden Files, by Jim Butcher
The fifteenth entry in Jim Butcher’s well-loved Dresden Files series, in which Harry Dresden is tasked with aiding one of his long-time enemies with breaking into a vault owned by Hades, Lord of the Underworld.

Despite the popularity of the series, this is the first time one of the novels has been nominated for the Best Novel Hugo (Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle was nominated for a Best Graphic Story Hugo in 2009)

Here are the finalists for the other categories:

Best Novella (Best work between 17,500 and 40,000 words)

  • Big Boys Don’t Cry, by Tom Kratman
  • “Flow,” by Arlan Andrews, Sr.
  • One Bright Star to Guide Them, by John C. Wright
  • “Pale Realms of Shade,” by John C. Wright
  • “The Plural of Helen of Troy,” by John C. Wright

Best Novelette (Best work between 7,500 and 17,500 words)

  • “Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, Earth to Alluvium” by Gray Rinehart
  • “Championship B’tok,” by Edward M Lerner
  • “The Day the World Turned Upside Down,” by Thomas Olde Heuvelt and Lia Belt (translator)
  • “The Journeyman: In the Stone House,” by Michael F. Flynn
  • “The Triple Sun: A Golden Age Tale,” by Rajnar Vajra

Best Short Story (Best work 7,500 words and under)

  • “On A Spiritual Plain,” by Lou Antonelli
  • “A Single Samurai,” by Steven Diamond
  • “The Parliament of Beasts and Birds” by John C. Wright
  • “Totaled,” by Kary English
  • “Turncoat,” by Steve Rzasa

Best Related Work

  • “The Hot Equations: Thermodynamics and Military SF,” by Ken Burnside
  • Letters from Gardner, by Lou Antonelli
  • Transhuman and Subhuman: Essays on Science Fiction and Awful Truth, by John C. Wright
  • “Why Science is Never Settled,” by Tedd Roberts
  • Wisdom from my Internet, by Michael Z. Williamson

Best Graphic Story

  • Ms. Marvel Vol 1: No Normal, written by G. Willow Wilson, illustrated by Adrian Alphona and Jake Wyatt
  • Rat Queens Volume 1: Sass and Sorcery, written by Kurtis J. Weibe, art by Roc Upchurch
  • Zombie Nation Book #2: Reduce Reuse Reanimate, by Carter Reid
  • Saga, Vol. 3, written by Brian K. Vaughan, illustrated by Fiona Staples
  • Sex Criminals, Vol. 1: One Weird Trick, written by Matt Fraction, art by Chip Zdarsky

Dramatic Presentation (Long Form – 90 minutes or longer)

  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier, screenplay by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, concept and story by Ed Brubaker, directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
  • Edge of Tomorrow, screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth, and John-Henry Butterworth, directed by Doug Liman
  • Guardians of the Galaxy, written by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman, directed by James Gunn
  • Interstellar, screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, directed by Christopher Nolan
  • The Lego Movie, written by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, story by Dan Hageman, Kevin Hageman, Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, directed by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller

Dramatic Presentation (Short Form – 90 minutes or less)

  • Doctor Who: “Listen” written by Steven Moffat directed by Douglas Mackinnon
  • The Flash: “Pilot” teleplay by Andrew Kreisberg & Geoff Johns, story by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg & Geoff Johns, directed by David Nutter
  • Game of Thrones: “The Mountain and the Viper” written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss, directed by Alex Graves
  • Grimm: “Once We Were Gods” written by Alan DiFiore, directed by Steven DePaul
  • Orphan Black: “By Means Which Have Never Yet Been Tried”written by Graham Manson, directed by John Fawcett

Best Editor (Short Form)

  • Jennifer Brozek
  • Vox Day
  • Mike Resnick
  • Edmund R. Schubert
  • Bryan Thomas Schmidt

Best Editor (Long Form)

  • Vox Day
  • Sheila Gilbert
  • Jim Minz
  • Anne Sowards
  • Toni Weisskopf

Best Professional Artist

  • Julie Dillon
  • Jon Eno
  • Nick Greenwood
  • Alan Pollack
  • Carter Reid

Best Semiprozine

  • Abyss & Apex, Wendy Delmater editor and publisher
  • Andromeda Spaceways In-Flight Magazine, Andromeda Spaceways Publishing Association Incorporated, 2014 editors David Kernot and Sue Bursztynski
  • Lightspeed Magazine, edited by John Joseph Adams, Stefan Rudnicki, Rich Horton, Wendy N. Wagner, and Christie Yant
  • Beneath Ceaseless Skies, edited by Scott H. Andrews
  • Strange Horizons, Niall Harrison Editor-in-Chief

Best Fanzine

  • Elitist Book Reviews, edited by Steve Diamond
  • Journey Planet, edited by James Bacon, Chris Garcia, Alissa McKersie, Colin Harris and Helen Montgomery
  • The Revenge of Hump Day, edited by Tim Bolgeo
  • Tangent SF Online, edited by Dave Truesdale

Best Fancast

  • Adventures in SF Publishing, Brent Bower (Executive Producer), Kristi Charish, Timothy C. Ward & Moses Siregar III
  • Dungeon Crawlers Radio, Daniel Swenson (Producer/Host), Travis Alexander & Scott Tomlin (Hosts), Dale Newton (Host/Tech), Damien Swenson
  • Galactic Suburbia Podcast, Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce, Tansy Rayner Roberts (Presenters) and Andrew Finch (Producer)
  • The Sci Phi Show, Jason Rennie
  • Tea and Jeopardy, Emma Newman & Peter Newman

Best Fan Writer

  • Dave Freer
  • Amanda S. Green
  • Jeffro Johnson
  • Laura J. Mixon
  • Cedar Sanderson

Best Fan Artist

  • Ninni Aalto
  • Brad Foster
  • Elizabeth Leggett
  • Spring Schoenhuth
  • Steve Stiles

Campbell Award for Best New Writer

Award for the best new professional science fiction or fantasy writer of 2013 or 2014, sponsored by Dell Magazines (not a Hugo Award).

  • Wesley Chu *
  • Jason Cordova
  • Kary English *
  • Rolf Nelson
  • Eric. S. Raymond

*Finalists in their 2nd year of eligibility.

The Hugos will be handed out at Sasquan in Spokane, Washington on August 22.