My Nominations for the 2016 Hugos

It's getting near to the end of Hugo Award nomination season, and I figured that since I'm entitled to suggest some worthy works and individuals (having attended Sasquan last year), I'd probably better get around to doing it.

After all, while I haven't heard of any nefarious schemes by cliques of house pets, barnyard livestock, amoebae, left-handed buggy whips, lesser-known flavours of Jello, strains of grass seed or brands of breakfast cereals aimed at hijacking the process for their own narrow ends, the scars of last year's stupidity remain, and the best way to ensure that everybody has a voice, and that a diverse field of high-quality contenders gets a shot at being recognized, is for as many people as possible to nominate everything out there that's good. Does that mean every deserving contender will make the final ballot? No. The universe of science fiction and fantasy and all of their various subgenres has become just too big and is continuing to expand every day. I'm not sure it's possible to have read or seen or heard everything that's been released everywhere in the past year. But, as individuals, we can nominate what we have encountered that's good and hope that other fans feel the same. And we can share our nomination choices and talk about why we think they're deserving, and, as part of that discussion, agree and disagree with each other without resorting to flame wars or bullying or threats or forming gangs to squeeze out opposition or tear the awards down. Because we're better than that. Or, at least, I hope we are. And so, in order to ensure that we're better than the mistakes of the recent past, we all need to get out there and make our nominations and in so doing make all of our voices heard. And then get on with our lives and get back to reading and watching and listening to all of the good sf out there, because there's just so much of it to experience that we can't afford to waste time fighting with each other.

So. My picks for the Hugos — or, at least the categories I'm able to make nominations for, since some of them just aren't areas that I've paid close enough attention to or have enough of an appreciation for. Some of them you've probably heard of. Others may be new to you — in which case I'd suggest that you go out and read them or watch them or listen to them because, for my part, I think they're pretty awesome. Feel free to agree or disagree with my choices. But, at the end of the day, they're mine. You should make yours, whatever they are.

Note: my nominations within each category are listed in no particular order.


Best Novel:

• Where by Kit Reed
• Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson
• The Dinosaur Lords by Victor Milan
• Valkyrie's Song by MD Lachlan
• The Affinities by Robert Charles Wilson

Best Novella:
(No nominations made — I didn't read any novellas last year)


Best Novelette:
(No nominations made — I didn't read any novelettes last year)


Best Short Story:

• "The Gladiator Lie" by Kelly Robson (from Licence Expired — The Unauthorized James Bond)
• "Two Graves" by Ian Rogers (from Licence Expired — The Unauthorized James Bond)
• "Black Dog" by Neil Gaiman (from Trigger Warning)

Best Related Work:
(No nominations made)


Best Graphic Story:

• We Stand on Guard issue #6 by Brain K Vaughan (writer) & Steve Skroce (artist)
• Star Wars — Darth Vader issue #1 by Kieron Gillen (writer) & Salvador Larroca (artist)

Best Dramatic Presentation — Long Form:

• Mad Max — Fury Road
• The Martian
• Ex Machina
• Star Wars — The Force Awakens
• Ant-Man

Best Dramatic Presentation — Short Form:

• Sense8 season 1, episode 11 "Just Turn the Wheel and the Future Changes"
• Daredevil season 1, episode 13 "Daredevil"
• Gotham season 2, episode 6 "By Fire"
• Game of Thrones season 5, episode 10 "Mother's Mercy"
• The Last Man on Earth season 1, episode 2 "The Elephant in the Room"

Best Professional Editor — Short Form:
(No nominations made)


Best Professional Editor — Long Form:
(No nominations made)


Best Professional Artist:
(No nominations made)


Best Semiprozine:

• On-Spec Magazine

Best Fanzine:
(No nominations made)


Best Fancast:

• The Three Hoarsemen
• MF Galaxy
• SF Signal Podcast
• Coode Street Podcast

Best Fan Writer:
(No nominations made)


Best Fan Artist:
(No nominations made)


The John W Campbell Award:
(No nominations made)