The finalists for the 2018 Hugo Awards and the 1943 Retrospective Hugo Awards have been announced! You can read the full list below.
1813 valid nominating ballots (1795 electronic and 18 paper) were received and counted from the members of the 2017, 2018, and 2019 World Science Fiction Conventions. For the 1943 Retrospective Hugo Awards, 204 valid nominating ballots (192 electronic and 12 paper) were received.
The final ballot to select this year’s winners will open in April 2018, and will be open to all full Attending and Supporting members of Worldcon 76. Worldcon 76’s Guests of Honor are writers Spider Robinson and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, artist John Picacio, musician Frank Hayes, and fans Pierre and Sandy Pettinger.
The winners of the 1943 Retrospective Hugo Awards will be announced at a highlighted formal ceremony at the convention, on the evening of Thursday, August 16. The winners of the 2018 Hugo Awards will be announced at a highlighted formal ceremony at the convention, on the evening of Sunday, August 19.
2018 Hugo Awards Finalists
Best Novel
- The Collapsing Empire, by John Scalzi (Tor)
- New York 2140, by Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit)
- Provenance, by Ann Leckie (Orbit)
- Raven Stratagem, by Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris)
- Six Wakes, by Mur Lafferty (Orbit)
- The Stone Sky, by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)
Best Novella
- All Systems Red, by Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)
- “And Then There Were (N-One),” by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny, March/April 2017)
- Binti: Home, by Nnedi Okorafor (Tor.com Publishing)
- The Black Tides of Heaven, by JY Yang (Tor.com Publishing)
- Down Among the Sticks and Bones, by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
- River of Teeth, by Sarah Gailey (Tor.com Publishing)
Best Novelette
- “Children of Thorns, Children of Water,” by Aliette de Bodard (Uncanny, July-August 2017)
- “Extracurricular Activities,” by Yoon Ha Lee (Tor.com, February 15, 2017)
- “The Secret Life of Bots,” by Suzanne Palmer (Clarkesworld, September 2017)
- “A Series of Steaks,” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Clarkesworld, January 2017)
- “Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time,” by K.M. Szpara (Uncanny, May/June 2017)
- “Wind Will Rove,” by Sarah Pinsker (Asimov’s, September/October 2017)
Best Short Story
- “Carnival Nine,” by Caroline M. Yoachim (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, May 2017)
- “Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand,” by Fran Wilde (Uncanny, September 2017)
- “Fandom for Robots,” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Uncanny, September/October 2017)
- “The Martian Obelisk,” by Linda Nagata (Tor.com, July 19, 2017)
- “Sun, Moon, Dust” by Ursula Vernon, (Uncanny, May/June 2017)
- “Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience™,” by Rebecca Roanhorse (Apex, August 2017)
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)
- 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)
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)
- Get Out, written and directed by Jordan Peele (Blumhouse Productions / Monkeypaw Productions / QC Entertainment)
- 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)
- 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)
- Wonder Woman, screenplay by Allan Heinberg, story by Zack Snyder & Allan Heinberg and Jason Fuchs, directed by Patty Jenkins (DC Films / Warner Brothers)
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)
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)
2018 Associated Awards (not Hugos)
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)
1943 Retrospective Hugo Awards Finalists
Best Fan Writer
- Forrest J Ackerman
- Jack Speer
- Arthur Wilson “Bob” Tucker
- Harry Warner, Jr.
- Art Widner
- Donald A. Wollheim
Best Fanzine
- Futurian War Digest, edited by J. Michael Rosenblum
- Inspiration, edited by Lynn Bridges
- The Phantagraph, edited by Donald A. Wollheim
- Spaceways, edited by Harry Warner, Jr.
- Voice of the Imagi-Nation, edited by Forrest J Ackerman and Morojo
- Le Zombie, edited by Arthur Wilson “Bob” Tucker
Best Professional Artist
- Hannes Bok
- Margaret Brundage
- Edd Cartier
- Virgil Finlay
- Harold W. McCauley
- Hubert Rogers
Best Editor – Short Form
- John W. Campbell
- Oscar J. Friend
- Dorothy McIlwraith
- Raymond A. Palmer
- Malcolm Reiss
- Donald A. Wollheim
Best Dramatic Presentation – Short Form
- Bambi, written by Perce Pearce, Larry Morey, et al., directed by David D. Hand et al. (Walt Disney
Productions) - Cat People, written by DeWitt Bodeen, directed by Jacques Tourneur (RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.)
- The Ghost of Frankenstein, written by W. Scott Darling, directed by Erle C. Kenton (Universal Pictures)
- I Married a Witch, written by Robert Pirosh and Marc Connelly, directed by René Clair (Cinema Guild
Productions / Paramount Pictures) - Invisible Agent, written by Curtis Siodmak, directed by Edwin L. Marin (Frank Lloyd Productions /
Universal Pictures) - Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book, written by Laurence Stallings, directed by Zoltan Korda (Alexander Korda
Films, Inc. / United Artists)
Best Short Story
- “Etaoin Shrdlu,” by Fredric Brown (Unknown Worlds, February 1942)
- “Mimic,” by Martin Pearson (Donald A. Wollheim) (Astonishing Stories, December 1942)
- “Proof,” by Hal Clement (Astounding Science Fiction, June 1942)
- “Runaround,” by Isaac Asimov (Astounding Science Fiction, March 1942)
- “The Sunken Land,” by Fritz Leiber (Unknown Worlds, February 1942)
- “The Twonky,” by C.L. Moore and Henry Kuttner (Astounding Science Fiction, September 1942)
Best Novelette
- “Bridle and Saddle,” by Isaac Asimov (Astounding Science Fiction, June 1942)
- “Foundation,” by Isaac Asimov (Astounding Science Fiction, May 1942)
- “Goldfish Bowl,” by Anson MacDonald (Robert A. Heinlein) (Astounding Science Fiction, March 1942)
- “The Star Mouse,” by Fredric Brown (Planet Stories, Spring 1942)
- “There Shall Be Darkness,” by C.L. Moore (Astounding Science Fiction, February 1942)
- “The Weapon Shop,” by A.E. van Vogt (Astounding Science Fiction, December 1942)
Best Novella
- “Asylum,” by A.E. van Vogt (Astounding Science Fiction, May 1942)
- “The Compleat Werewolf,” by Anthony Boucher (Unknown Worlds, April 1942)
- “Hell is Forever,” by Alfred Bester (Unknown Worlds, August 1942)
- “Nerves,” by Lester del Rey (Astounding Science Fiction, September 1942)
- “The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag,” by John Riverside (Robert A. Heinlein) (Unknown
Worlds, October 1942) - “Waldo,” by Anson MacDonald (Robert A. Heinlein) (Astounding Science Fiction, August 1942)
Best Novel
- Beyond This Horizon, by Anson MacDonald (Robert A. Heinlein) (Astounding Science Fiction, April & May
1942) - Darkness and the Light, by Olaf Stapledon (Methuen / S.J.R. Saunders)
- Donovan’s Brain, by Curt Siodmak (Black Mask, September-November 1942)
- Islandia, by Austin Tappan Wright (Farrar & Rinehart)
- Second Stage Lensmen, by E. E. “Doc” Smith (Astounding Science Fiction, November 1941 to February
1942) - The Uninvited, by Dorothy Macardle (Doubleday, Doran / S.J.R. Saunders)
Part of me really really wants Second Stage Lensmen to win.
“1813 valid nominating ballots (1795 electronic and 18 paper) were received and counted from the members of the 2017, 2018, and 2019 World Science Fiction Conventions. For the 1943 Retrospective Hugo Awards, 204 valid nominating ballots (192 electronic and 12 paper) were received.”
So does this mean we can burninate the Retro Hugoes with fire yet?
#1/@sps49 — I adore Second Stage Lensman. My husband and I met at a party in 1986, where we sat in a corner and talked about science fiction while everyone else got drunk and danced. Partway through the multi-hour discussion of favorite SF novels, one of us shyly confessed that although we were embarrassed to admit it, we secretly adored the Lensman novels. And the other one said, “YES! Me, too! The prose is purple, and they’re objectively not very good, and yet I LOVE them.”
Sadly, we no longer remember which of us was brave enough to confess first. :-)
Has there been a mistake posting the Dramatic Presentation finalists for the Retro Hugos? The ballot had both Long Form and Short Form categories, but this page currently shows only the Short Form heading. I see Ghost of Frankenstein seems to have a running time of 100 minutes, which would put it in the Long Form category… Jungle Book is 109 minutes. Haven’t checked the others yet. Cat People is 73 minutes. If the dividing line between short and long form is 90 minutes, we seem to have a mix. Has that category been consolidated into a single one?
Was American War not eligible for some reason? Best thing I read in 2017.
@5: Who is American War by?
Fantastic showing by The Good Place. Best show on TV, genre irrelevant. :)
‘American War’ seems a not very pleasant dystopian near future novel from an author I have never heard of.
I do not see many reviews on Goodreads.com and especially not very many 5 star reviews.
American War is by Omar El Akkad. It’s received good reviews outside of the genre.
“Was American War not eligible for some reason? “
I suspect it’s not on the final ballot because not enough people nominated it.
@9: Thanks. I hadn’t heard of this.
What up “B”!!!
Only read Provenance out of the best novel noms so far. I liked it well enough, but wouldn’t say it was year’s best.
Long form drama I’d give a 3-way tie to Thor, WW, and Shape of Water.
Short form drama Doctor Who. Not Star Trek, unless they had nominated the “Lethe” episode. Perhaps the Black Mirror homage/critique of Trek.
In best related work, Paul Kincaid’s study of Iain M Banks is important. Le Guin’s may edge it out as a tribute to her recent passing.
I love Coode Street in the fancast, but they are sometimes hampered by technical difficulties. It’s best when the two friends just chat like we’re overhearing a phone conversation. When you add conference calls and more guests, sound issues tend to creep in. They really need a sound tech.
@3: Nadreck is The Man, uh, The Palainian.
I suspect he’s based on some over literal on-the-spectrum engineer that drove Doc crazy.
@@.-@ — Best Dramatic Long Form is for works of 90 minutes or longer, and it looks like back in 1942, there weren’t any Dramatic Form nominees that exceeded that mark, so everything went into short form.
(Well, Jungle Book is 108 minutes, but that’s within 20% of the BDP:SF cutoff, so the administrators probably just moved it into Short Form rather than putting it into a bracket all by itself.)
Altered Carbon?
@3: I find that story very romantic.
@16: ‘Altered Carbon’ premiered in February. It is eligble next year.
Surprised not to see The Screwtape Letters in 1943, but que sera. Excited as ever for the (2018) novellas; there’s a lot of really good work going on in that length.
American War is one of those interesting cases where something is genre or literary as a marketing distinction more than based on content, since it is certainly speculative fiction. But it received a great deal of mainstream literary attention, and appeared on basically all the “notable” lists that such books aspire to. But then it’s all kind of arbitrary. It isn’t as if the Hugos are nominating Lincoln in the Bardo either, though it too could be called “speculative”. (And not just in the sense that all fiction is a “what if?” proposition.) In case, 2017’s a bit odd for me in that I’ve read both War and Bardo, but only one of the nominated novels, so I’m ill-equipped to have an opinion beyond “I guess I just read way more fantasy, which rarely gets a look”.
I’m always interested to see the finalists, but I rarely recognize any of them, because (a) I rarely buy new books — I mostly wait for titles to appear at my local library, and (b) I haven’t subscribed to an SFF periodical in 20 years. I wonder if this is a common dynamic?
(Has anybody ever written a “what to look for when nominating in each Hugo category” guide? Long- and short-form dramatic presentations are easy to categorize, but I’m puzzled as to how one discerns the qualities to pick an editor, and the “what’s the best fan artist Hugo?” panel at the 2015 Worldcon revealed that nobody was quite sure what it was meant to celebrate.)
@19: To be fair, I did nominate Lincoln in the Bardo, but clearly not many other voters did. My approach to the genre/litfic divide is to consider litfic novels with speculative elements unless the author is someone like Atwood who would probably just decline the nom anyway.
@21: I have to admit that I don’t nominate for Best Editor (I’m not sure how voters who aren’t literary editors/bloggers themselves, or “funemployed” taking lots of advantage of the local library, could do that one), and I only made one nom for fan artist. On the short fiction in particular, I found the Locus magazine longlist to be really helpful. And nearly all the novels and novellas I read for the nominating period were public library, but I’m a member of a really good one with a great e-lending app. Some ideas for your nominating process next year? The Locus longlist is a particularly great resource, especially as they link directly to all of the short fiction that’s in the magazines.
While I’m glad to have a nice, clean list (not much in line with my taste particularly in Novel, but Hugo season is a good time to stretch my horizons), can I admit I’m a little frustrated realizing how much of the list is published by Orbit and therefore won’t be in the packet? Annoying. Much prefer Tor’s generous approach to the voter packet!
@7 Agreed! And I would probably put “The Trolley Problem” as my favorite episode, but “Michael’s Gambit” was really good as well.
@15/hoopmannj: Aside from Jungle Book, there was another notable “long form” movie released in 1942,The Devil’s Envoys (Les Visiteurs du Soir) directed by the great Marcel Carné (Children of Paradise). It’s five minutes short of two hours long, according to IMDb. I guess not enough people nominated it, aside from me!
The only reason long and short dramatic presentations were separated in the first place was to give TV shows a better chance of winning a Hugo Award. For years prior to the development of television, the RetroHugos should go back to the old rules.
I am not big on awards of any kind as I rarely agree. What I like about the Hugo’s, at least the ‘finalist lists,’ is it gives me a chance to look at titles I may never have heard of or bypassed for some reason. I always find a least a couple of good reads a year that I would have other wise missed.
Glad to see that Kim Stanley Robinson’s New York 2140 made the short list. Am currently reading it and enjoying it quite a bit.
“My Favorite Thing Is Monsters” is my favorite thing. Really though it is a fantastic and dizzying work and I cannot wait for the second volume (the release date of which no two stores, online or brick, seem to agree on.)
Read American War for the Compton Crook Awards. I -think- it might be one of the finalists, not sure.
It’s a really good first novel. Bit predictable in places, but overall well done. Not Hugo material. On the other hand, if the author can keep up that quality level while in writing that isn’t so force-it-down-your-throat A Parable, he might be Hugo material in the future.
I consider myself something of a SFF fan, so I’m always surprised at how few of the things in these awards list I’m familiar with.
Best Novel
Collapsing Empire is the only nominee I’ve read so far, although I did thoroughly enjoy it. Provenance and Six Wakes are on my TBR list, though.
Best Novella
Down Among the Sticks and Bones is the only one I’ve read here. Another good story from McGuire. Of the others, the only one’s I’ve heard of are Binti: Home and River of Teeth, neither of which made it onto my TBR list.
Best Dramatic Presentation – Long Form
My sentimental choice would be Blade Runner 2049, although that choice might be influenced by how much I love the original Blade Runner. Of the others, I’d rather expect Wonder Woman will win this category.
Best Dramatic Presentation – Short Form
Haven’t actually seen any of these, although Black Mirror is on my to watch list.
Best Series
I’ve read at least one book out of The Books of the Raksura, InCryptid, and The Memoirs of Lady Trent. Out of these, the Raksura was probably my personal favorite.
1943 Retrospective Hugo Awards Finalists
I’m only familiar with a few of these authors and works. Not enough to really have an overall opinion in any category.
I really would have gone with “World Enough and Time” for Doctor Who for short form drama. It was a really excellent episode, clever use of sci fi concepts and made the Cybermen really scary.
As the category stands, I’m going to have a hard time choosing between the two Good Place episodes.
Hey, you didn’t mention that Worldcon 76 is being held in San Jose CA this year.
Ah this makes me remember the one time I had bought a worldcon member ship but ended up not being able to go, I think it was in Florida. Anyway I had receive a list, not sure if it was the finalist list or the list of nominees, but I remember trudging down to the library, trying to find each book or the issue which had each story. Also went the video rental store to get whatever movies were nominated too. I remember watching one of the nominated films “Being John Malkovich” and going WTF did I just watch? Funny thing. After all the time and effort spent I am not sure I mailed it off!
Rather surprisingly excited to see “Islandia” on the Retro nomination list, I thought it was a bit of a cult work and acquired taste, and also daunting (I remember my well worn trade paperback copy was nearly 2.5 inches thick.) I’m guessing it doesn’t have much chance, though with the name shout outs of Heinlein, E E Doc Smith, and Stapledon to contend with, eh?
I am flabbergasted that Episode 5 Season 2 of The Expanse , HOME, was not nominated in the Dramatic Presentation Short Form!
This was the best TV science fiction I have seen in the 21st century.
Makes no sense.