2018 Hugo Award Voting Begins!

It’s time!  Fans the world over get to make their mark on SF history by casting their votes and determining who and what will win the world’s MOST PRESTIGIOUS* science fiction award in 2018!

It was only logical and fitting that the world’s FIRST international science fiction convention series (Worldcon) would eventually get around to creating the world’s first awards for science fiction excellence.  Begun in 1953 at the 11th Worldcon in Philadelphia (notably the location of what was arguably the host city for the very first SF convention of any sort) and running continuously since 1955.  (And have since added the Retrospective Hugo Awards to fill in the historical gaps all the way back to 1939…eventually.)

In recent years, owing to the SF community’s dedication to diversity and inclusiveness, the awards have begun to gain mainstream attention and are now receiving regular coverage in press outlets such as the NY Times, LA Times, Forbes, Slashdot, Entertainment Weekly and more.

And every year, almost without exception, both the attendance at Worldcon and participation in the nominating and voting, GROWS.

Just a couple of other tidbits of solid info before we get on to listing the Finalists.

ANYONE can join Worldcon – AS A MEMBER – of the World Science Fiction Society, an “unincorporated literary society”.  Membership, either Supporting or Attending, includes the right to nominate for the awards and to vote for the finalists.  (Attending also gets you the right to attend the convention and pariticipate and vote on various issues affecting the World Science Fiction Society at the annual Business Meeting.)  You are a MEMBER who is expected to actively participate (if only by voting).  You are not a “ticket holder” buying entertainment.

Allow me to explain that last in a little more detail, as some seem to have a vested interest in distorting the meaning of Worldcon MEMBERSHIPS.

Buying a ticket gets you into the movie theater and most likely somewhere to sit while entertainment is presented to you, with no thought given or intended as to your active participation.  You can turn off your cell phone, you can make suitable noises to a limited extent and you can choose whether or not to “hold it” if nature calls mid-film.  You can’t stop the film for your bathroom break.  You can’t even get them to turn the volume up or down, stop the endless “approved for general audiences” previews or have a pizza delivered to your seat.  You are nothing more than a paying customer whose rights are severely restricted.

Buying a Membership would be the functional equivalent of being a part owner of the movie theater.  You get input into which films and when they play, what gets served at the concessions counter, how much to charge for tickets and even where the film is going to be shown, year to year.  Without your participation, important stuff might not happen.

One of the ways that responsible WSFS members exercise their participation is by actually engaging with the nominated works that have become Finalists.  WSFS voters don’t look at sales figures (otherwise McD’s BIg Mac would have an unbroken string of wins in the Best Burger category from 1967 on);  they may read reviews and consider the opinions of other Members, but first hand experience is considered the gold standard and most Voters, taking this responsibility seriously, only cast votes for works they are familiar with.

And in recent years, with the advent of the Hugoi Voter’s Packet, that job has become much easier.  This year’s packet is expected to be released in a week or so.

Final Word: Yes.  There IS a conspiracy.  It’s been on-going since at least 1939.  Fans have conspired to create and maintain an egalitarian, inclusive, democratic, non-commercial community for the benefit of themselves, with spill-over into academia and popular entertainment.

This year is also a Retrospective Hugo Award Year (any Worldcon that takes place on a 25, 50, 75 or 100 year anniversary of a convention that did not award the Hugos may offer Retrospective awards.  2018 is the 75th anniversary of the 1943 Worldcon that was not held because of a little kerfuffle called World War II.

Henceforth, the 2018 Hugo Award 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 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)

 
Best Related Work

• Crash Override: How Gamergate (Nearly) Destroyed My Life, and How We Can Win the Fight Against Online Hate, by Zoë 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

• 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)
• Black Bolt, Volume 1: Hard Time, written by Saladin Ahmed, illustrated by Christian Ward, lettered by Clayton Cowles (Marvel)
• 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 William
• 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

 
There are two other Awards administered by Worldcon 76 that are not Hugo Awards:
 
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)

 
John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

• Katherine Arden
• Sarah Kuhn*
• Jeannette Ng
• Vina Jie-Min Prasad
• Rebecca Roanhorse
• Rivers Solomon

 
and, the 1943 Retrospective Hugo Awards:
 
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)

 
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 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 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 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 Editor, Short Form

• John W. Campbell
• Oscar J. Friend
• Dorothy McIlwraith
• Raymond A. Palmer
• Malcolm Reiss
• Donald A. Wollheim

 
Best Professional Artist

• Hannes Bok
• Margaret Brundage
• Edd Cartier
• Virgil Finlay
• Harold W. McCauley
• Hubert Rogers

 
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 Fan Writer

• Forrest J Ackerman
• Jack Speer
• Arthur Wilson “Bob” Tucker
• Harry Warner, Jr.
• Art Widner
• Donald A. Wollheim

 
See the announcements on WorldCon76’s website for the Hugo Awards and Retro Hugo Awards for more details on voting.

*yeah, I’m sticking a finger in just a little.  So sue me.  (No one has yet.)