2014 Hugo Awards Finalists Announced (We Are One Of Them!)

The finalists for the 2014 Hugo Awards (and finalists for the 1939 Retrospective Hugo Awards) were announced last Saturday AND WE ARE ONE OF THEM: we are delighted to say that The Book Smugglers is on the ballot for Best Fanzine. It’s been so hard to keep a semblance of calm and coolness about the nomination since we first learnt about it a few days before the big announcement. When we first started this blog almost seven years ago, we could hardly expect something like this to ever happen and we are extremely grateful, proud and happy about the nomination. A huge thank you to those who nominated us and made it all possible.

Now, just like every year, the Hugos announcement does not come without its share of controversy. This year, it was very interesting to watch it all happen live on Twitter and follow the wave of excitement about the fan awards like Best Fanzine, Best FanCast, Best Fan Writer (OH MY GOD, THIS IS AN IMPOSSIBLE CATEGORY OF AWESOME) turn into a wave of befuddlement (including ours) when the fiction categories started rolling in. The most controversial entry would be the presence of the author known as Vox Day – who is known to be vilely sexist, homophobic and racist – in the novelette category. John Scalzi, Abigail Nussbaum, Kameron Hurley and Natalie Luhrs all have thoughtful, posts that are well worth reading, covering the topic.

The full list of nominees are below.

Best Novel

Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie (Orbit US/Orbit UK)
Neptune’s Brood, Charles Stross (Ace / Orbit UK)
Parasite, Mira Grant (Orbit US/Orbit UK)
Warbound, Book III of the Grimnoir Chronicles, Larry Correia (Baen Books)
The Wheel of Time, Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson (Tor Books / Orbit UK)
Note: The Wheel of Time series was nominated as and ruled to be a multi-part serialized single work, as defined in Section 3.2.4 of the WSFS constitution.

Best Novella

The Butcher of Khardov, Dan Wells (Privateer Press)
“The Chaplain’s Legacy”, Brad Torgersen (Analog, Jul-Aug 2013)
“Equoid”, Charles Stross (Tor.com, 09-2013)
Six-Gun Snow White, Catherynne M. Valente (Subterranean Press)
“Wakulla Springs”, Andy Duncan and Ellen Klages (Tor.com, 10-2013)

Best Novelette

“Opera Vita Aeterna”, Vox Day (The Last Witchking, Marcher Lord Hinterlands)
“The Exchange Officers”, Brad Torgersen (Analog, Jan-Feb 2013)
“The Lady Astronaut of Mars”, Mary Robinette Kowal (maryrobinettekowal.com/Tor.com, 09-2013)
“The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling”, Ted Chiang (Subterranean, Fall 2013)
“The Waiting Stars”, Aliette de Bodard (The Other Half of the Sky, Candlemark & Gleam)

Best Short Story

“If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love”, Rachel Swirsky (Apex Magazine, Mar-2013)
“The Ink Readers of Doi Saket”, Thomas Olde Heuvelt (Tor.com, 04-2013)
“Selkie Stories Are for Losers”, Sofia Samatar (Strange Horizons, Jan-2013)
“The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere”, John Chu (Tor.com, 02-2013)
Note: Category had only 4 nominees due to the minimum 5% requirement of Section 3.8.5 of the WSFS constitution.

Best Related Work

Queers Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the LGBTQ Fans Who Love It, Edited by Sigrid Ellis & Michael Damian Thomas (Mad Norwegian Press)
Speculative Fiction 2012: The Best Online Reviews, Essays and Commentary, Justin Landon & Jared Shurin (Jurassic London)
“We Have Always Fought: Challenging the Women, Cattle and Slaves Narrative”, Kameron Hurley (A Dribble of Ink)
Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction, Jeff VanderMeer, with Jeremy Zerfoss (Abrams Image)
Writing Excuses Season 8, Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, and Jordan Sanderson

Best Graphic Story

Girl Genius, Volume 13: Agatha Heterodyne & The Sleeping City, written by Phil and Kaja Foglio; art by Phil Foglio; colors by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)
“The Girl Who Loved Doctor Who”, written by Paul Cornell, illustrated by Jimmy Broxton (Doctor Who Special 2013, IDW)
The Meathouse Man, adapted from the story by George R.R. Martin and illustrated by Raya Golden (Jet City Comics)
Saga, Volume 2, written by Brian K. Vaughan, illustrated by Fiona Staples (Image Comics )
“Time”, Randall Munroe (XKCD)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

Frozen,screenplay by Jennifer Lee, directed by Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee (Walt Disney Studios)
Gravity, written by Alfonso Cuarón & Jonás Cuarón, directed by Alfonso Cuarón (Esperanto Filmoj; Heyday Films; Warner Bros.)
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, screenplay by Simon Beaufoy & Michael Arndt, directed by Francis Lawrence (Color Force; Lionsgate)
Iron Man 3, screenplay by Drew Pearce & Shane Black, directed by Shane Black (Marvel Studios; DMG Entertainment; Paramount Pictures)
Pacific Rim, screenplay by Travis Beacham & Guillermo del Toro, directed by Guillermo del Toro (Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros., Disney Double Dare You)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

An Adventure in Space and Time, written by Mark Gatiss, directed by Terry McDonough (BBC Television)
Doctor Who: “The Day of the Doctor”, written by Steven Moffat, directed by Nick Hurran (BBC Television)
Doctor Who: “The Name of the Doctor”, written by Steven Moffat, directed by Saul Metzstein (BBC Televison)
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, written & directed by Peter Davison (BBC Television)
Game of Thrones: “The Rains of Castamere”, written by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, directed by David Nutter (HBO Entertainment in association with Bighead, Littlehead; Television 360; Startling Television and Generator Productions)
Orphan Black: “Variations under Domestication” written by Will Pascoe, directed by John Fawcett (Temple Street Productions; Space/BBC America)
Note: Category has six nominees due to a tie for the final position.

Best Editor, Short Form

John Joseph Adams
Neil Clarke
Ellen Datlow
Jonathan Strahan
Sheila Williams

Best Editor, Long Form
Ginjer Buchanan
Sheila Gilbert
Liz Gorinsky
Lee Harris
Toni Weisskopf

Best Professional Artist

Galen Dara
Julie Dillon
Daniel Dos Santos
John Harris
John Picacio
Fiona Staples
Note: Category has six nominees due to a tie for the final position.

Best Semiprozine

Apex Magazine, edited by Lynne M. Thomas, Jason Sizemore, and Michael Damian Thomas
Beneath Ceaseless Skies, edited by Scott H. Andrews
Interzone, edited by Andy Cox
Lightspeed Magazine, edited by John Joseph Adams, Rich Horton, and Stefan Rudnicki
Strange Horizons, edited by Niall Harrison, Brit Mandelo, An Owomoyela, Julia Rios, Sonya Taaffe, Abigail Nussbaum, Rebecca Cross, Anaea Lay, and Shane Gavin

Best Fanzine

The Book Smugglers, edited by Ana Grilo and Thea James
A Dribble of Ink, edited by Aidan Moher
Elitist Book Reviews, edited by Steven Diamond
Journey Planet, edited by James Bacon, Christopher J Garcia, Lynda E. Rucker, Pete Young, Colin Harris, and Helen J.Montgomery
Pornokitsch, edited by Anne C. Perry and Jared Shurin

Best Fancast

The Coode Street Podcast, Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe
Galactic Suburbia Podcast, Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce, Tansy Rayner Roberts (Presenters) and Andrew Finch
(Producer)
SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester
The Skiffy and Fanty Show, Shaun Duke, Jen Zink, Julia Rios, Paul Weimer, David Annandale, Mike Underwood, and Stina Leicht
Tea and Jeopardy, Emma Newman
Verity! Deborah Stanish, Erika Ensign, Katrina Griffiths, L.M. Myles, Lynne M. Thomas, and Tansy Rayner Roberts
The Writer and the Critic, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond
Note: Category has seven nominees due to a tie for the final position.

Best Fan Writer

Liz Bourke
Kameron Hurley
Foz Meadows
Abigail Nussbaum
Mark Oshiro

Best Fan Artist

Brad W. Foster
Mandie Manzano
Spring Schoenhuth
Steve Stiles
Sarah Webb

The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
Award for the best new professional science fiction or fantasy writer of 2012 or 2013, sponsored by Dell Magazines. (Not a Hugo Award, but administered along with the Hugo Awards.)

Wesley Chu
Max Gladstone*
Ramez Naam*
Sofia Samatar*
Benjanun Sriduangkaew

++++

And that’s it! We wish best of luck to everybody nominated. To the other nominees for Best Fanzine: GAME ON.

A Hugo Voter Packet of nominated works will be released as soon as it is available. Only supporting and attending members of Loncon 3, the 2014 Worldcon, are eligible to vote on the final Hugo Award ballot.

The 2014 Hugo Award and John W. Campbell Award winners will be announced Sunday, August 17, 2014, during the Hugo Awards Ceremony. The 1939 Retrospective Hugo Award winners will be announced Thursday, August 14, 2014, during the Retro-Hugo Awards Ceremony. Both events will be at Loncon 3 in London.