2025 Hugo Award Nomination Picks

Navigating the Chaos and Celebrating the Fantastic

The world may be a five-alarm fire, but even amidst the chaos, the things we love remain important. The 2025 Hugo Awards offer a chance to celebrate the best in science fiction and fantasy, reminding us of the power of imagination and storytelling.

The nominating period is open until March 14th, providing ample time to champion our favorite works and creators.

Personal Projects and a Fond Farewell

My book, Track Changes: Selected Reviews, is eligible for Best Related Work, having already earned a spot on the Locus Recommended Reading List and a longlisting for the BSFA Award. A Hugo nomination would be the cherry on top!

Additionally, let's not forget the late Steven Attewell, eligible for Best Fan Writer. This is our last chance to honor his insightful contributions, from his analysis of A Song of Ice and Fire to his thought-provoking Tumblr posts. A nomination would be a fitting tribute.

Best Novel: Exploring Literary Frontiers and Mind-Bending Concepts

Julia Armfield's Private Rites, a haunting climate fiction novel, blends family drama with elements of horror, demanding recognition for its literary merit and genre-bending prowess.

Kaliane Bradley's The Ministry of Time cleverly disguises a profound exploration of immigration and colonialism within a seemingly lighthearted time travel romcom. Its relevance to contemporary issues makes it all the more impactful.

Seth Dickinson's Exordia is a masterpiece of hard science fiction, presenting a terrifyingly plausible alien invasion and challenging our understanding of physics, mathematics, and morality. This is the kind of groundbreaking work the Hugos are meant to celebrate.

Kelly Link's The Book of Love, her first novel in years, captures the weird and wonderful essence of her short story collections, following three teens as they navigate the complexities of life, death, and magical creatures.

Still on my to-read list are compelling titles like Rakesfall, The West Passage, and several others that have piqued my interest.

Best Novella: Diverse Voices and Genre-Pushing Narratives

From Korean military science fiction in Bae Myung-hoon's The Proposal to Alex Jeffers' poignant exploration of grief in A Mourning Coat, this category showcases the breadth and depth of the novella form.

Sofia Samatar returns to fantasy with The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain, a remarkable feat of worldbuilding that examines the role of academia in a stratified future society.

Neon Hemlock Press shines with three exceptional novellas: A.D. Sui's fast-paced space opera The Dragonfly Gambit, and Ursula Whitcher's thought-provoking North Continent Ribbon, which explores themes of AI rights and criminal justice.