The 2015 Hugo Award Nominees

On April 4, this year’s Hugo nominations were announced at Norwescon. Five nominees were selected in each category by registered members of Loncon, Sasquan, and MidAmericon II (the 2014, 2015, and 2016 World Science Fiction Conventions). This year broke the previous voting record with 2,122 ballots received. Winners will be selected by members of Sasquan 2015 and will be announced at the Hugo Awards Ceremony on Saturday, August 22.

The voting and nominating process for the Hugos differs from other award ceremonies in that anyone who can afford a supporting membership to Worldcon (USD$50) can participate. The goal of this system is to enable the fans themselves to determine the best in scifi and fantasy of a given year, rather than leave it to a selected jury. However, this also means that it is easier for groups to campaign for certain works and for creators to end up on the shortlist.

This is how the group Sad Puppies, run by Larry Correira and Brad R. Torgesen, and the Rabid Puppies, run by Vox Day, managed to sweep nearly every category with a slate of works the two groups felt were more in line with traditional science fiction. That is, more white and more male.

The politics of the situation will be left for another post. Below are the nominees, along with resources to read or purchase their works and decide on the quality for yourself. However, I feel that we should also be aware which works were actively promoted by these two groups, and have marked them as such (*). Now, this shouldn’t stop you from supporting creators whose work you genuinely enjoy, nor is it any reason to blame the authors for the politics of their fans.

Below are the Hugo nominees for 2015. Beside each category I have included the number of valid ballots and suggested entries received for that category, and each entry is accompanied with relevant links.

Novel Category
1827 ballots, 587 entries

Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie (Orbit US/Orbit UK)
Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie

This sequel to Ancillary Justice finds Breq, a former AI-controlled warship whose consciousness was transferred to a human body, in service of the emperor and on her way to protect the family of the lieutenant she murdered. Upon her arrival she discovers that not everything is as it seems, and threats are imminent in the form of unfriendly aliens, troubled AI, and old political factions.
Read an excerpt | Purchase

*The Dark Between the Stars by Kevin J Anderson (Tor)
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In the first book of the Saga of Shadows series, humans must repair faltering relations with the Ildiran Empire to save the galaxy from the mysterious new threat that has emerged twenty years after The Elemental War nearly destroyed it.
Purchase

The Goblin Emperor  by Katherine Addison (Tor)
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

One young, naïve half-goblin heir finds himself the new emperor after an “accident” leaves his father and three half-siblings dead. Having spent most of his life in exile, he must now learn how to rule his new kingdom, all the while aware of possible attack from those who killed the former king.
Read an excerpt | Purchase

*Lines of Departure by Marko Kloos (47 North)
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This sequel to Terms of Enlistment follows protagonist Andrew Greyson as he is shipped off to a distant colony with other troublemakers and malcontents. He dreams of finishing his time and retiring from military service, but between political strife and the decay of civilization, will there be a home for him to return to?
Purchase

*Skin Game by Jim Butcher (Roc Books)
hugo3

Skin Game, book 15 in The Dresden Files series, finds Harry Dresden working with Nicodemus Archleone and a group of other supernatural villains to steal the Holy Grail from the highest-security vault in the Nevernever: the vault guarding the treasure horde of Hades himself.
Read an Excerpt | Purchase

Best Novella
1083 ballots, 201 entries

*Big Boys Don’t Cry by Tom Kratman (Castalia House)
hugo4

Ratha is a sentient war machine designed to fight Earth’s battles against dozens of alien worlds. However, upon discovering it has a conscience, it may not maintain that obedience for long.
Purchase

*”Flow” by Arlan Andrews Sr. (Analog)
AFFN14_Cover

Young northerner Rist has decided to leave his icy homeland for the first time. On his journey south he discovers much about the rest of the world: different people, new religions, and technology that leaves him awestruck. But after stealing a spindle of thread-like filament, he must flee for his life to the ends of the earth.
Buy the issue

*One Bright Star to Guide Them by John C Wright (Castalia House)
hugo6

Years after a childhood adventure to a magical land, Tommy Robertson has been summoned to defend England against the Knight of Ghosts and Shadows. But Tommy has grown up, as have his childhood companions.
Purchase

*”Pale Realms of Shade” by John C. Wright (The Book of Feasts & Seasons, Castalia House)
hugo7

A ghost story of a murdered man, Matthias, seeking rest and passage from the mortal world.
Read | Purchase

*”The Plural of Helen of Troy” by John C. Wright (City Beyond Time: Tales of the Fall of Metachronopolis, Castalia House)
hugo8

One part of City Beyond Time, the collection of short stories that presents John C Wrights perspective of time travel.

Purchase 

Best Novelette
1031 ballots, 314 entries

*”Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, Earth to Alluvium” by Gray Rinehart (Orson Scott Card’s InterGalactic Medicine Show)
Read

*”Championship B’tok” by Edward M. Lerner (Analog)
Purchase

*”The Journeyman: In the Stone House” by Michael F. Flynn (Analog)
Buy the issue

*”The Triple Sun: A Golden Age Tale” by Rajnar Vajra (Analog)
Buy the issue

*”Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus” by John C. Wright (The Book of Feasts & Seasons, Castalia House)
Purchase

Best Short Story
1174 ballots, 728 entries

*”Goodnight Stars” by Annie Bellet (The End is Now, Broad Reach Publishing)
Purchase

*”On a Spiritual Plain” by Lou Antonelli (Sci Phi Journal #2)
Buy the issue

*”The Parliament of Beasts and Birds” by John C. Wright (The Book of Feasts & Seasons, Castalia House)
Purchase

*”Totaled” by Kary English (Galaxy’s Edge Magazine)
Purchase

*”Turncoat” by Steve Rzasa (Riding the Red Horse, Castalia House)
Read | Purchase

Best Related Work
1150 ballots, 346 entries

*”The Hot Equations: Thermodynamics and Military SF” by Ken Burnside (Riding the Red Horse, Castalia House)
Purchase

*Letters from Gardner by Lou Antonelli (The Merry Blacksmith Press)
Purchase

*Transhuman and Subhuman: Essays on Science Fiction and Awful Truth by John C. Wright (Castalia House)
Read an excerpt | Purchase

*”Why Science is Never Settled” by Tedd Roberts (Baen.com)
Read an excerpt

*Wisdom from My Internet by Michael Z. Williamson (Patriarchy Press)
Purchase

Best Graphic Story
785 ballots, 325 entries

Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal written by G. Willow Wilson, illustrated by Adrian Alphona & Jake Wyatt (Marvel Comics)
Ms. Marvel Vol. 1

Purchase

Rat Queens Volume 1: Sass and Sorcery written by Kurtis J. Weibe, illustrated by Roc Upchurch (Image Comics)
rat-queens-vol-01-releases

Purchase

Saga Volume 3 written by Brian K. Vaughan, illustrated by Fiona Staples (Image Comics)
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Purchase

Sex Criminals Volume 1: One Weird Trick written by Matt Fraction, illustrated by Chip Zdarsky (Image Comics)
sex-criminals-vol-01-releases

Purchase

*The Zombie Nation Book #2: Reduce Reuse Reanimate by Carter Reid (The Zombie Nation)
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Purchase

Best Long Form Dramatic Presentation
1285 ballots, 189 entries

Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Captain America: The Winter Soldier,
 screenplay by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, concept and story by Ed Brubaker, directed by Anthony Russo & Joe Russo (Marvel Entertainment, Perception, Sony Pictures Imageworks)

Edge of Tomorrow
Edge of Tomorrow, 
screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth, and John-Henry Butterworth, directed by Doug Liman (Village Roadshow, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, 3 Arts Entertainment, Viz Productions)

Guardians of the Galaxy
*Guardians of the Galaxy, 
written by James Gunn & Nicole Perlman, directed by James Gunn (Marvel Studios, Moving Picture Company)

Interstellar
*Interstellar, 
screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, directed by Christopher Nolan (Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, Legendary Pictures, Lynda Obst Productions, Syncopy)

The Lego Movie
*The Lego Movie, 
written by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, story by Dan Hagerman, Kevin Hagerman, Phil Lord, and Christopher Miller, directed by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller (Warner Bros. Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, LEGO System A/S, Vertigo Entertainment, Lin Pictures, Warner Bros. Animation)

Best Short Form Dramatic Presentation
938 ballots, 470 entries

Doctor Who: “Listen” by Steven Moffat, directed by Douglas Mackinnon (BBC Television)

*The Flash: “Pilot,” teleplay by Andrew Kreisberg & Geoff Johns, story by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Geoff Johns, directed by David Nutter (The CW, Berlanti Productions, DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television)

*Game of Thrones: “The Mountain and the Viper” written by David Benioff & DB Weiss, directed by Alex Graves (HBO Entertainment in association with Bighead, Littlehead, Television 360, Startling Television, and Generator Productions)

*Grimm: “Once. We Were Gods.” written by Alan DiFiore, directed by Steven DePaul (NBC, GK Productions, Hazy Mills Productions, Universal TV)

Orphan Black: “By Means Which Have Never Yet Been Tried” written by Graham Manson, directed by John Fawcett (Temple Street Productions, Space/BBC America)

Best Short Form Editor
870 ballots, 187 entries

*Jennifer Brozek
*Vox Day
*Mike Resnick
*Edmund R. Schubert
*Bryan Thomas Schmidt

Best Long Form Editor
712 ballots, 124 entries

*Vox Day
*Sheila Gilbert
*Jim Minz
*Anne Sowards
*Toni Weisskopf

Best Professional Artist
753 ballots, 300 entries

Julie Dillon
*Jon Eno
*Nick Greenwood
*Alan Pollack
*Carter Reid

Best Semiprozine
660 ballots, 100 entries

*Abyss & ApexWendy Delmater
*Andromeda Spaceways In-Flight Magazine, Andromeda Spaceways Publishing Association Incorporated, David Kernot & Sue Bursztynski
Beneath Ceaseless SkiesScott H. Andrews
Lightspeed MagazineJohn Joseph Adams, Stefan Rudnicki, Rish Horton, Wendy N. Wagner, and Christie Yant
Strange HorizonsNiall Harrison

Best Fanzine
576 ballots, 162 entries

*Black GateJohn O’Neill
*Elitist Book Reviews, Steven Diamond
Journey PlanetJames Bacon, Christopher J Garcia, Coin Harris, Alissa McKersie, and Helen J. Montgomery
*The Revenge of Hump Day, Tim Bolgeo
*Tangent SF OnlineDave Truesdale

Best Fancast
668 ballots, 162 entries

*Adventures in SF PublishingBrent Bower, Kristi Charish, Timothy C. Ward, and Moses Siregar III
*Dungeon Crawlers RadioDaniel Swenson, Travis Alexander, Scott Tomlin, Dale Newton, and Damien Swenson
Galactic Suburbia PodcastAlisa Kranostein, Alexandra Pierce, Tansy Rayner Roberts, and Andrew Finch
*The Sci Phi ShowJason Rennie
Tea and JeopardyEmma Newman and Peter Newman

Best Fan Writer
777 ballots, 265 entries

*Dave Freer
*Amanda S. Green
*Jeffro Johnson
Laura J. Mixon
*Cedar Sanderson

Best Fan Artist
296 ballots, 198 entries

Ninni Aalto
Brad W. Foster
Elizabeth Leggett
Spring Schoenhuth
Steve Stiles

The John W Campbell Award for best New Writer
851 ballots, 220 entries

Wesley Chu
*Jason Cordova
*Kary English
*Rolf Nelson
*Eric S. Raymond

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KM Bezner

KM Bezner

KM is a queer Nashvillian who reads a lot of books and watches too much TV. She hopes to one day retire as a recluse book printer with a farm of pigs.

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