The 2019 Hugo Awards were held on August 18th at the Dublin World Science Fiction Convention (also known as Worldcon) to honor the best science fiction and fantasy works from the last year.
As has been the welcome trend for the past few years, women once again almost completely swept the Hugos. Mary Robinette Kowal’s The Calculating Stars (the first in her Lady Astronaut series) won Best Novel; Artificial Condition by Martha Wells took home Best Novella; If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again by Zen Cho won Best Novelette; and A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies by Alix E. Harrow won Best Short Story. Best Series went to Becky Chambers’ Wayfarers books.
Also notable was the win for Best Related Work by popular fan fiction site Archive of Our Own, which has broken ground for providing a space for fans to share and read fanfic online. While it wasn’t the first fan fiction community on the internet, it did provide a safe place for authors to write without the limitations that other platforms like LiveJournal or FanFiction.net had put into place, particularly for more adult stories.
Here’s the complete list of nominees; the winners are highlighted in bold.
Best Novel
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers Revenant Gun by Yoon Ha Lee Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
Best Novella
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach by Kelly Robson The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard
Best Novelette
If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again by Zen Cho, Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog The Last Banquet of Temporal Confections by Tina Connolly, Tor.com Nine Last Days on Planet Earth by Daryl Gregory, Tor.com The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander, Tor.com The Thing About Ghost Stories by Naomi Kritzer, Uncanny Magazine When We Were Starless by Simone Heller, Clarkesworld Magazine
Best Short Story
The Court Magician by Sarah Pinsker, Lightspeed Magazine The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society by T. Kingfisher, Uncanny Magazine The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington by P. Djèlí Clark, Fireside Magazine STET by Sarah Gailey, Fireside Magazine The Tale of the Three Beautiful Raptor Sisters, and the Prince Who Was Made of Meatby Brooke Bolander, Uncanny Magazine A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies by Alix E. Harrow, Apex Magazine
Best Series
The Centenal Cycle by Malka Older The Laundry Files by Charles Stross Machineries of Empire by Yoon Ha Lee The October Daye Series by Seanan McGuire The Universe of Xuya by Aliette de Bodard Wayfarers by Becky Chambers
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 The Hobbit Duology (a documentary in three parts), written and edited by Lindsay Ellis and Angelina Meehan An Informal History of the Hugos: A Personal Look Back at the Hugo Awards 1953-2000, by Jo Walton The Mexicanx Initiative Experience at Worldcon 76 by Julia Rios, Libia Brenda, Pablo Defendini, and John Picacio Ursula K. Le Guin: Conversations on Writing by Ursula K. Le Guin with David Naimon
Best Graphic Story
Abbott, written by Saladin Ahmed, art by Sami Kivelä, colors by Jason Wordie, letters by Jim Campbell Black Panther: Long Live the King, written by Nnedi Okorafor and Aaron Covington, art by André Lima Araújo, Mario Del Pennino, and Tana Ford Monstress, Volume 3: Haven, written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda (Image Comics) On a Sunbeam, by Tillie Walden Paper Girls, Volume 4, written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Cliff Chiang, colors by Matt Wilson, letters by Jared K. Fletcher Saga, Volume 9, written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Fiona Staples
Best Dramatic Presentation – Long Form
Annihilation, directed and written for the screen by Alex Garland, based on the novel by Jeff VanderMeer Avengers: Infinity War, screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo Black Panther, written by Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole, directed by Ryan Coogler A Quiet Place, screenplay by Scott Beck, John Krasinski, and Bryan Woods, directed by John Krasinski Sorry to Bother You, written and directed by Boots Riley Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, screenplay by Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman, directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman
Best Dramatic Presentation – Short Form
The Expanse: “Abaddon’s Gate,” written by Daniel Abraham, Ty Franck and Naren Shankar, directed by Simon Cellan Jones Doctor Who: “Demons of the Punjab,” written by Vinay Patel, directed by Jamie Childs Dirty Computer, written by Janelle Monáe, directed by Andrew Donoho and Chuck Lightning The Good Place: “Janet(s),” written by Josh Siegal & Dylan Morgan, directed by Morgan Sackett The Good Place: “Jeremy Bearimy,” written by Megan Amram, directed by Trent O’Donnell Doctor Who: “Rosa,” written by Malorie Blackman and Chris Chibnall, directed by Mark Tonderai
Best Editor – Short Form
Neil Clarke Gardner Dozois Lee Harris Julia Rios Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas E. Catherine Tobler
Best 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, 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 Daydreamer’s Journey: The Art of Julie Dillon by Julie Dillon Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History by Michael Witwer, Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, and Sam Witwer Spectrum 25: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, editor John Fleskes Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – The Art of the Movie by Ramin Zahed Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth, editor Catherine McIlwaine
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