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Here are the finalists for this year’s Hugo Awards

A good selection of nominees!

Here are the finalists for this year’s Hugo Awards

The 80th World Science Fiction convention, ChiCon8, has announced its finalists for this year's Hugo Awards!

Named for editor Hugo Gerbsback and handed out every year since 1953 (with the exception of 1954), the award is one of the major prizes within the science fiction and fantasy community, one that highlights the year's notable works and tastes of SF Fandom. By and large, it's a good barometer for excellence in the field, and this year's selection of nominees looks like it's a solid list of books.

This year's awards will be formally announced in September at ChiCon 8, and the recipients will be selected by members of the convention, who'll now get to read up and vote from this selection.

Skimming the list today, there's a whole bunch that made my end of the year best list, which is neat validation for it: the novel list is largely an excellent one (I bounced hard off of Project Hail Mary, but I can see its appeal), but what really stands out to me is the short story finalists this year.

Seanan McGuire was nominated for a short Magic: The Gathering story, which I think is the first time a tie-in work has actually been nominated? I remember looking into this a while back because the question arose for me, and I think the closest thing that I was able to find was Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey. I don't know how much that actually counts as a tie-in film, given that he wrote it alongside the film, and the way it's been presented to the general public. I know I thought for a long time that the film was based on the book, or at least, that the book came before it. Not actually the case!

If it's actually the case that this is the first such tie-in, that feels like a somewhat big thing to me, given how resistant the traditional SF community seems to be towards those types of books: we've had decades of tie-ins for Star Wars, Star Trek, D&D, and just about everything else, and while there's lots of those books that aren't award-worthy, there are some (Matthew Stover's Star Wars books spring to mind, for example), but that's the case with anything, isn't it? That we haven't at least seen nominations over the years, that feels a bit like a bit of an aberation, or at least something that says something about the tastes of Hugo voters and fandom. (Not particularly anything good or bad, mind, just an interesting data point.)

The other neat surprise is to see Blue Neustifter's story "Unknown Number" pop up, given that that was published directly to Twitter in the form of iMessage screenshots. It's a neatly innovative story, and it's a departure from those published in typical print and online publications. That strikes me as a good thing: the internet really unlocks the potential for exploring how stories can be told, and this is a neat example of that experimentation in form (and, you know, it's a pretty good story, too.). Hopefully, it'll encourage more experimentation.

Other thoughts: I'm happy to see that the Best Related Work section appears to have largely returned to nonfiction books (I'm also happy to see True Believer and Never Say You Can't Survive make the list), rather than reactionary blog posts or essays. There's one exception here: Emily St. John's examination of the Isabel Fall controversy is an excellent piece of well-researched journalism, and it's certainly worthy for its deep dive into the situation and its impact on Fall. There's been good and valid winners and nominees in the category, but it's one of those categories that feels... adrift because it's so nebulous.

Here are the finalists for the 2021 Nebula Awards
The winners will be announced on May 22nd during this year’s Nebula Conference
Transfer OrbitAndrew Liptak

Here's the full list of nominees:

Best Novel

  • A Desolation Called Peace, by Arkady Martine (Tor)
  • The Galaxy, and the Ground Within, by Becky Chambers (Harper Voyager / Hodder & Stoughton)
  • Light From Uncommon Stars, by Ryka Aoki (Tor / St Martin’s Press)
  • A Master of Djinn, by P. Djèlí Clark (Tordotcom / Orbit UK)
  • Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir (Ballantine / Del Rey)
  • She Who Became the Sun, by Shelley Parker-Chan (Tor / Mantle)

Best Novella

  • Across the Green Grass Fields, by Seanan McGuire (Tordotcom)
  • Elder Race, by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tordotcom)
  • Fireheart Tiger, by Aliette de Bodard (Tordotcom)
  • The Past Is Red, by Catherynne M. Valente (Tordotcom)
  • A Psalm for the Wild-Built, by Becky Chambers (Tordotcom)
  • A Spindle Splintered, by Alix E. Harrow (Tordotcom)

Best Novelette

Best Short Story

Best Series

  • The Green Bone Saga, by Fonda Lee (Orbit)
  • The Kingston Cycle, by C. L. Polk (Tordotcom)
  • Merchant Princes, by Charles Stross (Macmillan)
  • Terra Ignota, by Ada Palmer (Tor Books)
  • Wayward Children, by Seanan McGuire (Tordotcom)
  • The World of the White Rat, by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon) (Argyll Productions)

Best Graphic Story or Comic

  • DIE, vol. 4: Bleed, written by Kieron Gillen, art by Stephanie Hans, lettering by Clayton Cowles (Image)
  • Far Sector, written by N.K. Jemisin, art by Jamal Campbell (DC)
  • Lore Olympus, vol. 1, by Rachel Smythe (Del Rey)
  • Monstress, vol. 6: The Vow, written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda (Image)
  • Once & Future, vol. 3: The Parliament of Magpies, written by Kieron Gillen, illustrated by Dan Mora, colored by Tamra Bonvillain (BOOM!)
  • Strange Adventures, written by Tom King, art by Mitch Gerads and Evan “Doc” Shaner (DC)
  • Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman’s Fight to End Ableism, by Elsa Sjunneson (Tiller Press)
  • The Complete Debarkle: Saga of a Culture War, by Camestros Felapton (Camestros Felapton)
  • Dangerous Visions and New Worlds: Radical Science Fiction, 1950 to 1985, edited by Andrew Nette and Iain McIntyre (PM Press)
  • “How Twitter can ruin a life”, by Emily St. James (Vox, Jun 2021)
  • Never Say You Can’t Survive, by Charlie Jane Anders (Tordotcom)
  • True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee, by Abraham Riesman (Crown)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

  • Dune, screenplay by Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, and Eric Roth; directed by Denis Villeneuve; based on the novel Dune by Frank Herbert (Warner Bros / Legendary Entertainment)
  • Encanto, screenplay by Charise Castro Smith and Jared Bush; directed by Jared Bush, Byron Howard, and Charise Castro Smith (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
  • The Green Knight, written and directed by David Lowery (BRON Studios/A24)
  • Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, screenplay by Dave Callaham, Destin Daniel Cretton, Andrew Lanham; directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
  • Space Sweepers, written and directed by Jo Sung-hee (Bidangil Pictures)
  • WandaVision, screenplay by Peter Cameron, Mackenzie Dohr, Laura Donney, Bobak Esfarjani, Megan McDonnell, Jac Schaeffer (created by and head writer), Cameron Squires, Gretchen Enders, Chuck Hayward; directed by Matt Shakman (Disney+)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

  • The Wheel of Time: “The Flame of Tar Valon,” written by Justine Juel Gillmer, directed by Salli Richardson-Whitfield, based on The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (Amazon Studios)
  • For All Mankind: “The Grey,” written by Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi; directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan (Tall Ship Productions/Sony Pictures Television)
  • Arcane: “The Monster You Created,” written by Christian Linke and Alex Yee; story by Christian Linke, Alex Yee, Conor Sheehy, and Ash Brannon; directed by Pascal Charrue and Arnaud Delord (Netflix)
  • The Expanse: “Nemesis Games,” written by Daniel Abraham, Ty Franck, and Naren Shankar; directed by Breck Eisner (Amazon Studios)
  • Loki: “The Nexus Event,” written by Eric Martin, directed by Kate Herron, created for television by Michael Waldron (Disney+)
  • Star Trek: Lower Decks: “wej Duj,” written by Kathryn Lyn, directed by Bob Suarez (CBS Eye Animation Productions)

Best Editor, Short Form

  • Neil Clarke
  • Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki
  • Mur Lafferty & S.B. Divya
  • Jonathan Strahan
  • Sheree Renée Thomas
  • Sheila Williams

Best Editor, Long Form

  • Ruoxi Chen
  • Nivia Evans
  • Sarah T. Guan
  • Brit Hvide
  • Patrick Nielsen Hayden
  • Navah Wolfe

Best Professional Artist

  • Tommy Arnold
  • Rovina Cai
  • Ashley Mackenzie
  • Maurizio Manzieri
  • Will Staehle
  • Alyssa Winans

Best Semiprozine

  • Beneath Ceaseless Skies, editor Scott H. Andrews
  • Escape Pod, editors S.B. Divya, Mur Lafferty, and Valerie Valdes; assistant editors Benjamin C. Kinney and Premee Mohamed; guest editor Brent C. Lambert; hosts Tina Connolly and Alasdair Stuart; audio producers Summer Brooks and Adam Pracht; and the entire Escape Pod team
  • FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, publisher Troy L Wiggins; executive editor DaVaun Sanders; managing editor Eboni Dunbar; poetry editor B. Sharise Moore; reviews editor and social media manager Brent Lambert; art director L. D. Lewis; web editor Chavonne Brown; non-fiction editor Margeaux Weston; guest editors Summer Farah and Nadia Shammas; acquiring editors Kaleb Russell, Rebecca McGee, Kerine Wint, Joshua Morley, Emmalia Harrington, Genine Tyson, Tonya R. Moore, Danny Lore; technical assistant Nelson Rolon
  • PodCastle, co-editors Jen R. Albert, C. L. Clark, Shingai Njeri Kagunda, and Eleanor R. Wood; assistant editors Summer Fletcher and Sofía Barker; audio producer Peter Adrian Behravesh; host Matt Dovey; and the entire PodCastle team
  • Strange Horizons, Vanessa Aguirre, Joseph Aitken, Kwan-Ann Tan, Rachel Ayers, M H Ayinde, Tierney Bailey, Scott Beggs, Drew Matthew Beyer, Gautam Bhatia, Tom Borger, S. K. Campbell, Emma Celi, Zhui Ning Chang, Rita Chen, Tania Chen, Liz Christman, Emma-Grace Clarke, Linda H. Codega, Kristian Wilson Colyard, Bruhad Dave, Sarah Davidson, Tahlia Day, Arinn Dembo, Belen Edwards, Rebecca Evans, Ciro Faienza, Courtney Floyd, Lila Garrott, Guananí Gómez-Van Cortright, Colette Grecco, Julia Gunnison, Dan Hartland, Sydney Hilton, Angela Hinck, Amanda Jean, Jamie Johnson, Sean Joyce-Farley, Erika Kanda, Kat Kourbeti, Catherine Krahe, Anna Krepinsky, Clayton Kroh, Natasha Leullier, Dante Luiz, Gui Machiavelli, Cameron Mack, Samantha Manaktola, Marisa Manuel, Jean McConnell, Heather McDougal, Maria Morabe, Amelia Moriarty, Sarah Noakes, Aidan Oatway, AJ Odasso, Joel Oliver-Cormier, Kristina Palmer, Karintha Parker, Anjali Patel, Juliana Pinho, Nicasio Reed, Belicia Rhea, Abbey Schlanz, Elijah Rain Smith, Alyn Spector, Hebe Stanton, Melody Steiner, Romie Stott, Yejin Suh, Sonia Sulaiman, Ben Tyrrell, Renee Van Siclen, Kathryn Weaver, Liza Wemakor, Aigner Loren Wilson, E.M. Wright, Vicki Xu, and The Strange Horizons Editorial Collective
  • Uncanny Magazine, publishers and editors-in-chief Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas; managing/poetry editor Chimedum Ohaegbu; nonfiction editor Elsa Sjunneson; podcast producers Erika Ensign & Steven Schapansky

Best Fanzine

  • The Full Lid, by Alasdair Stuart and Marguerite Kenner
  • Galactic Journey, founder Gideon Marcus; editor Janice L. Newman; associate writers Gwyn Conaway, Jason Sacks, and John Boston
  • Journey Planet, edited by Erin Underwood, Jean Martin, Sara Felix, Vanessa Applegate, Chuck Serface, Errick Nunnally, Evan Reeves, Steven H Silver, James Bacon, and Christopher J Garcia
  • Quick Sip Reviews, editor Charles Payseur
  • Small Gods, Lee Moyer (Icon) and Seanan McGuire (Story)
  • Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog, editors Amanda Wakaruk and Olav Rokne

Best Fancast

  • Be The Serpent, presented by Alexandra Rowland, Freya Marske, and Jennifer Mace
  • The Coode Street Podcast, presented by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe, Jonathan Strahan producer
  • Hugo, Girl!, hosts Haley Zapal, Amy Salley, and Lori Anderson; producer/editor Kevin Anderson
  • Octothorpe, by John Coxon, Alison Scott, and Liz Batty
  • Our Opinions Are Correct, presented by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders, produced by Veronica Simonetti
  • Worldbuilding for Masochists, presented by Cass Morris, Rowenna Miller, and Marshall Ryan Maresca

Best Fan Writer

  • Chris M. Barkley
  • Bitter Karella
  • Alex Brown
  • Cora Buhlert
  • Jason Sanford
  • Paul Weimer

Best Fan Artist

  • Iain J. Clark
  • Lorelei Esther
  • Sara Felix
  • Ariela Housman
  • Nilah Magruder
  • Lee Moyer

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

  • Chaos on CatNet, by Naomi Kritzer (Tor Teen)
  • Iron Widow, by Xiran Jay Zhao (Penguin Teen / Rock the Boat)
  • The Last Graduate, by Naomi Novik (Del Rey Books)
  • Redemptor, by Jordan Ifueko (Amulet Books / Hot Key Books)
  • A Snake Falls to Earth, by Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido)
  • Victories Greater Than Death, by Charlie Jane Anders (Tor Teen / Titan)

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

  • Tracy Deonn (2nd year of eligibility)
  • Micaiah Johnson (2nd year of eligibility)
  • A.K. Larkwood (2nd year of eligibility)
  • Everina Maxwell (1st year of eligibility)
  • Shelley Parker-Chan (1st year of eligibility)
  • Xiran Jay Zhao (1st year of eligibility)