Beyond Selidor

As with last week, my Friday open thread prompt is about the Hugo finalists, which again I'm splitting up into subcategories. This week, I'm asking about editorial categories (editors, various magazines), and the grab-bag category for everything that doesn't fit elsewhere, Best Related Work.

All finalists can be found on the Hugo Awards website.

Best Related Work

All These Worlds: Reviews & Essays by Niall Harrison (Briardene Books)

中国科幻口述史, 第二卷, 第三卷，(Chinese Science Fiction: An Oral History, vols 2 and 3) ed. 杨枫 / Yang Feng (8-Light Minutes Culture & Chengdu Time Press)

A City on Mars by Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith (Penguin Press; Particular Books)

The Culture: The Drawings, by Iain M. Banks (Orbit)
雨果X访谈 (Discover X), presented by 王雅婷 (Tina Wong)

A Traveller in Time: The Critical Practice of Maureen Kincaid Speller, by Maureen Kincaid Speller, edited by Nina Allan (Luna Press Publishing)

Best Editor Short Form

Scott H. Andrews

Neil Clarke

刘维佳 (Liu Weijia)

Jonathan Strahan

Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas

杨枫 (Yang Feng)

Best Editor Long Form

Ruoxi Chen

Lindsey Hall

Lee Harris

Kelly Lonesome

David Thomas Moore

姚海军 (Yao Haijun)

Best Semiprozine

Escape Pod, editors Mur Lafferty and Valerie Valdes; assistant editors Benjamin C. Kinney, Premee Mohamed and Kevin Wabaunsee; hosts Tina Connolly and Alasdair Stuart; producers Summer Brooks and Adam Pracht; and the entire Escape Pod team

FIYAH Literary Magazine, publisher and executive editor DaVaun Sanders, poetry editor B. Sharise Moore, special projects manager L. D. Lewis, art director Christian Ivey, acquiring editors Rebecca McGee, Kerine Wint, Joshua Morley, Emmalia Harrington, Genine Tyson, Tonya R. Moore, sponsor coordinator Nelson Rolon

GigaNotoSaurus, editor LaShawn M. Wanak, associate editors Mia Tsai and Edgard Wentz, along with the GNS Slushreaders Team

khōréō, produced by Aleksandra Hill, Zhui Ning Chang, Kanika Agrawal, Isabella Kestermann, Rowan Morrison, Sachiko Ragosta, Lian Xia Rose, Jenelle DeCosta, Melissa Ren, Elaine Ho, Lilivette Domínguez, Jei D. Marcade, Jeané Ridges, Isaree Thatchaichawalit, Danai Christopoulou, M. L. Krishnan, Ysabella Maglanque, Aaron Voigt, Adil Mian, Alexandra Millatmal, E. Broderick, K. S. Walker, Katarzyna Nowacka, Katie McIvor, Kelsea Yu, Marie Croke, Osahon Ize-Iyamu, Phoebe Low, S. R. Westvik, Sara S. Messenger

Strange Horizons, by the Strange Horizons Editorial Collective

Uncanny Magazine, publishers and editors-in-chief: Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas; managing editor Monte Lin; nonfiction editor Meg Elison; podcast producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky.

Best Fanzine

Black Nerd Problems, editors Omar Holmon and William Evans

The Full Lid, written by Alasdair Stuart and edited by Marguerite Kenner

Idea, editor Geri Sullivan

Journey Planet, edited by Michael Carroll, Vincent Docherty, Sara Felix, Ann Gry, Sarah Gulde, Allison Hartman Adams, Arthur Liu, Jean Martin, Helena Nash, Pádraig Ó Méalóid, Yen Ooi, Chuck Serface, Alan Stewart, Regina Kanyu Wang, James Bacon and Christopher J. Garcia

Nerds of a Feather, Flock Together, editors Roseanna Pendlebury, Arturo Serrano, Paul Weimer; senior editors Joe Sherry, Adri Joy, G. Brown, Vance Kotrla.

Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog, editors Olav Rokne and Amanda Wakaruk

I have no strong opinions on these categories so far, apart from feeling it's ridiculous that the Uncanny team are still putting themselves forward for consideration. I like the material they publish, but it gets to the point that people should behave in a more collegiate manner and refuse nomination for a while, for the health of the field.

If you are voting this year, let me know your thoughts on the various categories (or individual works). If you're not a voter, but you have thoughts on some of the finalists on this list, feel free to comment on your assessment of them. Or is there anything you feel should have made the shortlist that didn't? For various reasons I will be slow to reply, but hopefully you can all chat to each other in the comments.

This was the last full day of the convention, and it was a really packed one! As always, panel titles and descriptions are in plain text, with my remarks in italics.

( Two panels, a kaffeeklatsch, a meet-up, and the Hugo Awards ceremony )

After the ceremony, Matthias and I headed back to the hotel room, where it took me a very long time to come down from the high.

I'm nearing the end of my series of Hugo Awards discussion posts -- this one's a short one for a change, covering just two categories. As always feel free to join in the discussion in the comments, where I will set up a dedicated thread for each award category. You're welcome to interpret this call for discussion in any way, whether that's setting out how you're planning to vote, offering your thoughts on a single finalist, or something else entirely.

The finalists are as follows:

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 Fan Writer

Foz Meadows
James Davis Nicoll
Charles Payseur
Elsa Sjunneson-Henry
Alasdair Stuart
Bogi Takács

You can see the finalists in all categories here.

This is the third of my Hugo Awards discussion posts, which I'm publishing in the lead up to this year's Worldcon.

I know there are a fair few of my friends here on Dreamwidth who are also voting, and I thought it might be nice to do a series of posts where people could discuss the nominated works/individuals. 'Discuss' could be that you actually talk about how you're planning to vote in the applicable categories and explain your reasoning, or it could be just pulling out elements you like or dislike about any of the nominated works. People who have read/watched the work(s) in question but are not Hugos voters are of course also welcome to join in -- many of them are freely available online so you wouldn't necessarily have to buy your own copy if you wanted to participate.

I've designed the post so that there is a dedicated thread for comments on each award category, so can you try to keep your comments in the relevant thread if possible?

Today's post is about the nominees in the editorial categories: Best Editor (Long Form), Best Editor (Short Form), Best Semiprozine, and Best Fanzine. These are as follows:

Best Editor, Long Form

Sheila E. Gilbert

Anne Lesley Groell

Beth Meacham

Diana Pho

Gillian Redfearn

Navah Wolfe

Best Editor, Short Form

Neil Clarke

Gardner Dozois

Lee Harris

Julia Rios

Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas

E. Catherine Tobler

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

You can see the nominees in all the Hugo Award categories here. I'll make other posts for other categories on a staggered basis, so look out for those over the course of the time leading up to Worldcon.

It's my first year as a voter in the Hugo Awards, and the voter packet was just released this weekend, containing pretty much every nominated work of fiction, representative samples of fiction edited by those in the Best Editor and publication categories, selections of writing/art by the Best Fanwriter, Fan Artist and Professional Artist nominees, and books by the Campbell Award nominees.

I know there are a fair few of my friends here on Dreamwidth who are also voting, and I thought it might be nice to do a series of posts where people could discuss the nominated works/individuals. 'Discuss' could be that you actually talk about how you're planning to vote in the applicable categories and explain your reasoning, or it could be just pulling out elements you like or dislike about any of the nominated works. People who have read/watched the work(s) in question but are not Hugos voters are of course also welcome to join in -- many of them are freely available online so you wouldn't necessarily have to buy your own copy if you wanted to participate.

I've designed the post so that there is a dedicated thread for comments on each award category, so can you try to keep your comments in the relevant thread if possible?

Today's post is about the nominees in the short fiction categories: Best Novella, Best Novelette, and Best Short Story. These are as follows:

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)

You can see the nominees in all the Hugo Award categories here. I'll make other posts for other categories on a staggered basis, so look out for those over the course of the time leading up to Worldcon.

ETA: Putting the whole post behind a cut, for including discussion of abusive behaviour and links to posts that discuss the same.

( Post is behind the cut )

Comments are screened, and will only be posted publicly if you indicate that that's okay.

____________________________
*I also feel that if you were happy with Kameron Hurley's win last year for Fan Writer, it's hypocritical to view Mixon's presence on the ballot as illegitimate. Although Hurley had a larger body of fan-writing work, and while I can't know the motivations behind those who nominated and voted for her, I suspect she owed her presence on the ballot in the Fan Writer category to her essay 'We Have Always Fought', which resonated with a great number of voters, and for this reason could be said to have been nominated on the strength of a single work. Your mileage may vary on the validity of this comparison.

This is the obligatory Hugo Awards reaction post. I'll add more links as the appear, but at the moment most of the winners and nominees are probably feeling the aftereffects of last night's celebrations and haven't had time to write anything.

This year was different. There was a sense both of a tipping point, and of a real struggle for the soul of the speculative fiction community. And, as fozmeadows said, the awards results showed that the community turned a corner, and headed in the right direction.

Here is a full breakdown of the voting. I'm feeling particularly gleeful about the result for Novelette.

Here is the writeup by Hannah Ellis-Petersen at The Guardian, which quotes Best Short Story winner John Chu:

Other major winners included John Chu, who won best short story for his deeply personal work The Water that Falls on You from Nowhere, which grapples with questions of sexuality and tradition within a fantasy framework.

Picking up the award, a visibly overwhelmed Chu described the challenges he faced in getting his story published. "I can't begin to describe how much this award means to me," he said. "When I started writing, so many people's words were 'I'm not racist, but …', 'I'm not homophobic, but …' There were so many buts, and they all told me, sometimes in those exact words, that no one was interested and no one would publish anything I would ever write. So to win a Hugo, and for this story, I can't put into words how much that means to me."

John Scalzi's writeup makes some more good points:

[Larry] Correia was foolish to put his own personal capital as a successful and best selling novelist into championing Vox Day and his novelette, because Vox Day is a real bigoted shithole of a human being, and his novelette was, to put it charitably, not good (less charitably: It was like Gene Wolfe strained through a thick and rancid cheesecloth of stupid). Doing that changed the argument from something perfectly legitimate, if debatable — that conservative writers are often ignored for or discounted on award ballots because their personal politics generally conflict with those of the award voters — into a different argument entirely, i.e., fuck you, we got an undeserving bigoted shithole on the Hugo ballot, how you like them apples.

Which is a shame. It’s fine for Correia to beclown himself with Day, if such is his joy, and he deserves to reap the fruits of such an association. I suspect, however, there are others whom he championed for his “sad puppy” slate who were less thrilled to find themselves looped in with Day by involuntary association.

I am most happy about Ancillary Justice winning Best Novel. It's the best book I've read all year, and I'm thrilled that it swept the board of speculative fiction awards. A most deserved win.

I was also very happy about the nominees for Best Fan Writer, and to be honest, wished that all five could've won. But Kameron Hurley is a truly deserving winner, and her second Hugo for Best Related Work was just icing on the cake. (Speaking of which, if you haven't yet read 'We Have Always Fought', go out and do so now.

I'll leave you with a quote from Hurley's acceptance speech, which was read by kateelliott:

The conflict of narrative we’re engaged in online, in convention spaces, in stories, and in the wider world is a real one. It’s no less than a struggle for our inclusion in our own history. Not just my history, my future. But yours. Your friends’. Your colleagues. All of us, struggling together to write a better, truer story.

Tell them stories indeed.

The list of Hugo Awards nominees is out. John Scalzi has his thoughts on the matter here. Neil Gaiman's response is here. This is Abigail Nussbaum's reaction. As for me, I don't know much about the nominees in most categories, but choosing between Neil Gaiman and Cory Doctorow (Best Novel for, respectively, The Graveyard Book and Little Brother) would be like choosing a favourite child. Also, if Dr Horrible doesn't win in its category, I may have to jump out of the window.

Edit: Cory Doctorow's thoughts here on BoingBoing.