The 2019 Hugo Award nominees have been announced; the Hugos will be presented this summer at the 2019 World Science Fiction Convention in Dublin, Ireland.
Normally, I find that I’ve read and reviewed a huge slice of the year’s finalists, but this year is different; I’ve done a lot less reading lately, partly because I wrote two books in 2018 and partly because the new EU Copyright Directive ate my life for about 10 months in the past year.
I was a little sad to be so far behind the curve when I saw the new list, but then I realized that this meant that I had a bunch of really exciting books to add to my to-be-read pile!
One notable inclusion: the Archive of Our Own fanfic archive — a project of the Organization for Transformative Works (for whose advisory board I volunteer) — is up for “Best Related Work.”
Congrats to all the nominees!
Best Novel
* The Calculating Stars, by Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor)
* Record of a Spaceborn Few, by Becky Chambers (Hodder & Stoughton / Harper Voyager)
* Revenant Gun, by Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris)
* Space Opera, by Catherynne M. Valente (Saga)
* Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik (Del Rey / Macmillan)
* Trail of Lightning, by Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga)
Best Novella
* Artificial Condition, by Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)
* Beneath the Sugar Sky, by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
* Binti: The Night Masquerade, by Nnedi Okorafor (Tor.com Publishing)
* The Black God’s Drums, by P. Djèlí Clark (Tor.com Publishing)
* Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach, by Kelly Robson (Tor.com Publishing)
* The Tea Master and the Detective, by Aliette de Bodard (Subterranean Press / JABberwocky Literary Agency)
Best Novelette
* “If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again,” by Zen Cho (B&N Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog, 29 November 2018)
* “The Last Banquet of Temporal Confections,” by Tina Connolly (Tor.com, 11 July 2018)
* “Nine Last Days on Planet Earth,” by Daryl Gregory (Tor.com, 19 September 2018)
* The Only Harmless Great Thing, by Brooke Bolander (Tor.com Publishing)
* “The Thing About Ghost Stories,” by Naomi Kritzer (Uncanny Magazine 25, November- December 2018)
* “When We Were Starless,” by Simone Heller (Clarkesworld 145, October 2018)
Best Short Story
* “The Court Magician,” by Sarah Pinsker (Lightspeed, January 2018)
* “The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society,” by T. Kingfisher (Uncanny Magazine 25, November-December 2018)
* “The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington,” by P. Djèlí Clark (Fireside Magazine, February 2018)
* “STET,” by Sarah Gailey (Fireside Magazine, October 2018)
* “The Tale of the Three Beautiful Raptor Sisters, and the Prince Who Was Made of Meat,” by Brooke Bolander (Uncanny Magazine 23, July-August 2018)
* “A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies,” by Alix E. Harrow (Apex Magazine, February 2018)
Best Series
* The Centenal Cycle, by Malka Older (Tor)
* The Laundry Files, by Charles Stross (most recently Tor.com Publishing/Orbit)
* Machineries of Empire, by Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris)
* The October Daye Series, by Seanan McGuire (most recently DAW)
* The Universe of Xuya, by Aliette de Bodard (most recently Subterranean Press)
* Wayfarers, by Becky Chambers (Hodder & Stoughton / Harper Voyager)
Best Related Work
* Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
* Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction, by Alec Nevala-Lee (Dey Street Books)
* The Hobbit Duology (documentary in three parts), written and edited by Lindsay Ellis and Angelina Meehan (YouTube)
* An Informal History of the Hugos: A Personal Look Back at the Hugo Awards, 1953- 2000, by Jo Walton (Tor)
* www.mexicanxinitiative.com: The Mexicanx Initiative Experience at Worldcon 76 (Julia Rios, Libia Brenda, Pablo Defendini, John Picacio)
* Ursula K. Le Guin: Conversations on Writing, by Ursula K. Le Guin with David Naimon (Tin House Books)
Best Graphic Story
* Abbott, written by Saladin Ahmed, art by Sami Kivelä, colours by Jason Wordie, letters by Jim Campbell (BOOM! Studios)
* Black Panther: Long Live the King, written by Nnedi Okorafor and Aaron Covington, art by André Lima Araújo, Mario Del Pennino and Tana Ford (Marvel)
* Monstress, Volume 3: Haven, written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda (Image Comics)
* On a Sunbeam, by Tillie Walden (First Second)
* Paper Girls, Volume 4, written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Cliff Chiang, colours by Matt Wilson, letters by Jared K. Fletcher (Image Comics)
* Saga, Volume 9, written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Fiona Staples (Image Comics)
Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
* Annihilation, directed and written for the screen by Alex Garland, based on the novel by Jeff VanderMeer (Paramount Pictures / Skydance)
* Avengers: Infinity War, screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo (Marvel Studios)
* Black Panther, written by Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole, directed by Ryan Coogler (Marvel Studios)
* A Quiet Place, screenplay by Scott Beck, John Krasinski and Bryan Woods, directed by John Krasinski (Platinum Dunes / Sunday Night)
* Sorry to Bother You, written and directed by Boots Riley (Annapurna Pictures)
* Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, screenplay by Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman, directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman (Sony)
Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
* The Expanse: “Abaddon’s Gate,” written by Daniel Abraham, Ty Franck and Naren Shankar, directed by Simon Cellan Jones (Penguin in a Parka / Alcon Entertainment)
* Doctor Who: “Demons of the Punjab,” written by Vinay Patel, directed by Jamie Childs (BBC)
* Dirty Computer, written by Janelle Monáe, directed by Andrew Donoho and Chuck Lightning (Wondaland Arts Society / Bad Boy Records / Atlantic Records)
* The Good Place: “Janet(s),” written by Josh Siegal & Dylan Morgan, directed by Morgan Sackett (NBC)
* The Good Place: “Jeremy Bearimy,” written by Megan Amram, directed by Trent O’Donnell (NBC)
* Doctor Who: “Rosa,” written by Malorie Blackman and Chris Chibnall, directed by Mark Tonderai (BBC)
Best Professional Editor, Short Form
* Neil Clarke
* Gardner Dozois
* Lee Harris
* Julia Rios
* Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas
* E. Catherine Tobler
Best Professional Editor, Long Form
* Sheila E. Gilbert
* Anne Lesley Groell
* Beth Meacham
* Diana Pho
* Gillian Redfearn
* Navah Wolfe
Best Professional Artist
* Galen Dara
* Jaime Jones
* Victo Ngai
* John Picacio
* Yuko Shimizu
* Charles Vess
Best Semiprozine
* Beneath Ceaseless Skies, editor-in-chief and publisher Scott H. Andrews
* Fireside Magazine, edited by Julia Rios, managing editor Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, copyeditor Chelle Parker, social coordinator Meg Frank, special features editor Tanya DePass, founding editor Brian White, publisher and art director Pablo Defendini
* FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, executive editors Troy L. Wiggins and DaVaun Sanders, editors L.D. Lewis, Brandon O’Brien, Kaleb Russell, Danny Lore, and Brent Lambert
* Shimmer, publisher Beth Wodzinski, senior editor E. Catherine Tobler
* Strange Horizons, edited by Jane Crowley, Kate Dollarhyde, Vanessa Rose Phin, Vajra Chandrasekera, Romie Stott, Maureen Kincaid Speller, and the Strange Horizons Staff
* Uncanny Magazine, publishers/editors-in-chief Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, managing editor Michi Trota, podcast producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky, Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction Special Issue editors-in-chief Elsa Sjunneson-Henry and Dominik Parisien
Best Fanzine
* Galactic Journey, founder Gideon Marcus, editor Janice Marcus
* Journey Planet, edited by Team Journey Planet
* Lady Business, editors Ira, Jodie, KJ, Renay & Susan
* nerds of a feather, flock together, editors Joe Sherry, Vance Kotrla and The G
* Quick Sip Reviews, editor Charles Payseur
* Rocket Stack Rank, editors Greg Hullender and Eric Wong
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
* Fangirl Happy Hour, hosted by Ana Grilo and Renay Williams
* Galactic Suburbia, hosted by Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce, and Tansy Rayner Roberts, produced by Andrew Finch
* Our Opinions Are Correct, hosted by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders
* The Skiffy and Fanty Show, produced by Jen Zink and Shaun Duke, hosted by the Skiffy and Fanty Crew
Best Fan Writer
* Foz Meadows
* James Davis Nicoll
* Charles Payseur
* Elsa Sjunneson-Henry
* Alasdair Stuart
* Bogi Takács
Best Fan Artist
* Sara Felix
* Grace P. Fong
* Meg Frank
* Ariela Housman
* Likhain (Mia Sereno)
* Spring Schoenhuth
Best Art Book
* The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition, illustrated by Charles Vess, written by Ursula K. Le Guin (Saga Press /Gollancz)
* Daydreamer’s Journey: The Art of Julie Dillon, by Julie Dillon (self-published)
* Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History, by Michael Witwer, Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, Sam Witwer (Ten Speed Press)
* Spectrum 25: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, ed. John Fleskes (Flesk Publications)
* Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – The Art of the Movie, by Ramin Zahed (Titan Books)
* Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth, ed. Catherine McIlwaine (Bodleian Library)
John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
* Katherine Arden (2nd year of eligibility)
* S.A. Chakraborty (2nd year of eligibility)
* R.F. Kuang (1st year of eligibility)
* Jeannette Ng (2nd year of eligibility)
* Vina Jie-Min Prasad (2nd year of eligibility)
* Rivers Solomon (2nd year of eligibility)
Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book
* The Belles, by Dhonielle Clayton (Freeform / Gollancz)
* Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi (Henry Holt / Macmillan Children’s Books)
* The Cruel Prince, by Holly Black (Little, Brown / Hot Key Books)
* Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland (Balzer + Bray)
* The Invasion, by Peadar O’Guilin (David Fickling Books / Scholastic)
* Tess of the Road, by Rachel Hartman (Random House / Penguin Teen)