Hugo Awards Announced on Sunday

I will be in Virginia when the Hugo Awards are announced, but I actually voted this year for the first time.  I'm not sure if I "should" share my votes, although it doesn't hurt anything since this is a popular vote.  You can watch the live coverage here, and see the entire list of nominees here.  I'm going to write brief comments on the item I voted #1 for in each category. 

I should also note that when you vote, you vote from 1-5.  That way if your top voted item gets discarded for low votes, your vote still somehow counts for something.  For me, it was far easier to pick a winner than to differentiate between 3 and 4.

Did you vote in the Hugo Awards?  Do you have a beef with my selections?  Leave a comment!

Best Novel

• Embassytown, China Miéville (Macmillan / Del Rey)

In the end, the world building and very interesting aliens won me over.  This was a slow read, and I really had to invest time as a reader.  I suspect that will turn many readers off, and expect Martin or Walton to win.

Best Novella

• Silently and Very Fast, Catherynne M. Valente (WSFA)

I'm afraid that when Valente is on the list, I don't see the others, but only because I think she is amazing.  I did read them all.   "Inside, Neva is infinite. She peoples her Interior."

Best Novelette

• “Ray of Light”, Brad R. Torgersen (Analog) 

This category was harder, but in the end I went with the underocean community.  

Best Short Story

• “The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees”, E. Lily Yu (Clarkesworld)

This story was my favorite from the Nebula pool too!

Best Related Work

• The Steampunk Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Imaginary Airships, Corsets and Goggles, Mad Scientists, and Strange Literature, Jeff VanderMeer and S. J. Chambers (Abrams Image)
• Writing Excuses, Season 6 (podcast series), Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Jordan Sanderson

I unfortunately can't find my ballot.  I know I voted for one of these.  I deliberated a long time because Writing Excuses is one of my favorite podcasts, and has been very entertaining and useful to me.  The Steampunk Bible was a beautifully put together coffee table book about steampunk, and has its own share of the recent controversy.  I discovered new music and new authors because of some of the entries.

Best Graphic Story

• Locke & Key Volume 4: Keys To The Kingdom, written by Joe Hill, illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW)
• The Unwritten (Volume 4): Leviathan, created by Mike Carey and Peter Gross, written by Mike Carey, illustrated by Peter Gross (Vertigo)

I voted for Locke & Key, and will go back to read the entire run.  The Unwritten had a story line that really appealed to me, and beautiful art.  (See, voting was hard.  I would have been happy to assign multiple first places.)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, screenplay by Steve Kloves; directed by David Yates (Warner Bros.)

Yeah yeah yeah, I know.  But I loved this rendition of the triumphant end.

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

I recused myself from this category.  Maybe by next year, I will have caught up with Doctor Who!

Best Semiprozine

• Locus, edited by Liza Groen Trombi, Kirsten Gong-Wong, et al.

This category was impossible because each of these zines has a different focus and a different audience.  It was completely based on which I thought I'd go back to.  And then last month Locus Online linked to my blog about Shared Worlds.  It was fate.

Best Fanzine

• SF Signal, edited by John DeNardo

Another difficult choice.

Best Fancast

• SF Squeecast, Lynne M. Thomas, Seanan McGuire, Paul Cornell, Elizabeth Bear, and Catherynne M. Valente

Another completely impossible category, but I think this fancast is the best representation of the female perspective, of which I am one.  :)

Best Editor, Long Form

• Lou Anders

Wow, Lou has brought a lot of important authors to print.

Best Editor, Short Form

• John Joseph Adams

I wanted to vote for Adams and Strahan.  Adams is one of the central forces that pulled me into being a more serious SF/F reader, and I will never forget.

I didn't vote on the art categories.

The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

• Karen Lord
• E. Lily Yu

I wanted to vote for both of these authors.  In the end, I chose Karen Lord because I had voted for E. Lily Yu for her story.  Both have great futures ahead of them, and I will continue reading their work!