Random Thought - Things to Consider for 2016 Hugo Nominations

As most people in the genre fiction world are aware by now, the Sad and Rabid Puppies created a campaign slate and bloc voted in the nominations phase of the 2015 Hugo Awards to pack the ballot with candidates of their choosing that ranged from mediocre to incredibly awful. At the awards ceremony the WorldCon voters let the Puppies them know just how much they appreciated this effort and relegated virtually every Puppy nominee to a position behind No Award.

Many people have looked at the raw statistics and have used various methodologies to try to "un-Puppy" that Hugo ballot and figure out who would have been nominated but for the unethical slate -based tactics used by the Puppies. That is a worthy effort, and I may do that at some future point, so that I can have a central place to keep track of my reading for those authors whose works were shut out of Hugo nominations by the actions of the Puppies. But that's not what I want to do today, because quite frankly this year's Puppies have become quite tiresome. Today, I want to look forward to the 2016 Hugo Awards.

It is almost certain that the Puppies will return for the 2016 Hugo Awards and do the same routine again. The Rabid Puppies will put forward a slate. The Sad Puppies will dance around the issue a lot, but in the end, what they come up with will be a slate. The Puppy supporters will be nominating out of spite - as some Puppy commenters have tried to rationalize, even though their nominees were humiliated in the voting, at least they managed to keep other people off the ballot. By loudly declaring their intent to use next year's nominating process as "revenge" for losing the vote in the actual awards this year, any pretense that their actions are anything other than organized thuggery evaporates. The Puppies have revealed themselves to be vandals, and nothing more. No matter what happens, their selection of nominees will both be generally terrible and dominate the ballot. For the most part, no matter what anyone else does in the nominating process will matter.

As depressing as this fact is, this does not mean everyone else should simply throw in the towel and not bother to nominate anything. The Hugo Awards are the end of the process, not the beginning. Most voters nominate works they love, and people whose work they loved. To do that, you have to read it and love it during the year prior to the nominating process. The reward for the author (and the fan) is loving the work, not the decision of who gets the hardware.

With all that in mind, I am starting a list of the eligible works that I have read (in the case of written works) or watched (in the case of dramatic presentations) and either have already reviewed, or will review shortly after they are added to the list. This is an ongoing list: Works or people will be added to the list as I read them, watch them, or become familiar with their work (in the case of nominees for categories like Fan Writer, Fan Artist, or the Campbell). Anyone who wants to suggest potential nominees should do so in the comments, and I will try to get to as many as I can.

Note: Although I have endeavored to place all of the stories and people in the right categories, I'm not a Hugo Administrator, so I cannot be certain of the accuracy of my placement. In the case of the short fiction, I am placing them in the category the publication the appeared in said they were, but sometimes that doesn't align with what the Hugo rules say they are. I'm not going to sit down and do a word count of every story to be sure. I'm also mostly guessing at what does and does not qualify to be a Semiprozine. I know Clarkesworld doesn't qualify in that category any more, but the ones I've listed here still do, I think.

Best Novel (a work of fiction greater than 40,000 words)

Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie
The Buried Life by Carrie Patel
Cress by Marissa Meyer
The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu (translated by Joel Martinsen)
Dawnbreaker by Jay Posey
Dearest by Alethea Kontis
Empire Ascendant by Kameron Hurley
Fairest by Marissa Meyer
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
Flex by Ferrett Steinmetz
The Flux by Ferret Steinmetz
Galápagos Regained by James Morrow
Golden Son by Pierce Brown
The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard
Kalahari by Jessica Khoury
Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear
The Left-Hand Way by Tom Doyle
Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente
Raising Caine by Charles E. Gannon
The Rebirths of Tao by Wesley Chu
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
Seraphina and Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
Time Salvager by Wesley Chu
Updraft by Fran Wilde
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Winter by Marissa Meyer

Best Novella (a work of fiction between 17,500 and 40,000 words)

The Children of Gal by Allen M. Steele, found in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 39, Nos. 4 & 5 (April/May 2015)

Defender of Worms by Richard A. Lovett, found in Analog Science Fiction and Fact: Vol. CXXXV, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

Inhuman Garbage by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, found in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 39, No. 3 (March 2015)

Johnny Rev by Rachel Pollack, found in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Volume 129, Nos. 1 & 2 (July/August 2015)

The New Mother by Eugene Fischer, found in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 39, Nos. 4 & 5 (April/May 2015)

On the Night of the Robo-Bulls and Zombie Dancers by Nick Wolven, found in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 39, No. 2 (February 2015)

Slow Bullets by Alastair Reynolds
The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson
Trixter by Alethea Kontis

What Has Passed Shall in Kinder Light Appear by Bao Shu (translated by Ken Liu), found in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Vol. 128, Nos. 3 & 4 (March/April 2015)

Best Novelette (a work of fiction between 7,500 and 17,500 words)

The Body Pirate by Van Aaron Hughes, found in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Volume 129, Nos. 1 & 2 (July/August 2015)

The Curse of the Myrmelon by Matthew Hughes, found in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Volume 129, Nos. 1 & 2 (July/August 2015)

Day Job by Tom Purdom, found in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 39, Nos. 4 & 5 (April/May 2015)

The Deepwater Bride by Tamsyn Muir, found in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Volume 129, Nos. 1 & 2 (July/August 2015)

Ether by Zhang Ran, found in Clarkesworld: Issue 100 (January 2015)

Farewell Blues by Bud Webster, found in Fantasy Science Fiction: Vol. 128, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

The Great Leap of Shin by Henry Lien, found in Analog Science Fiction and Fact: Vol. CXXXV, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

The Gun Between the Veryush and the Cloud Mothers by Anna Tambour, found in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 39, Nos. 4 & 5 (April/May 2015)

Jubilee: A Seastead Story by Naomi Kritzer, found in Fantasy Science Fiction: Vol. 128, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

Just Browsing by Stephen Lombard, found in Analog Science Fiction and Fact: Vol. CXXXV, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

Lightning Jack's Last Ride by Dale Bailey, found in Fantasy Science Fiction: Vol. 128, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

Lock Up Your Chickens and Daughters - H'ard and Andy Are Come to Town! by Michael Swanwick and Gregory Frost, found in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 39, Nos. 4 & 5 (April/May 2015)

The Long Goodnight of Violet Wild by Catherynne M. Valente, Part 1 found in Clarkesworld: Issue 100 (January 2015)

Malnutrition by J.T. Sharrah, found in Analog Science Fiction and Fact: Vol. CXXXV, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

The Mantis Tattoo by Paul M. Berger, found in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Vol. 128, Nos. 3 & 4 (March/April 2015)

No Decent Patrimony by Elizabeth Bear, found in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 39, No. 2 (February 2015)

Pareidolia by Kathleen Bartholomew and Kage Baker, found in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 39, No. 3 (March 2015)

Prisoner of Pandarius by Matthew Hughes, found in Fantasy Science Fiction: Vol. 128, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

Portrait of a Witch by Albert E. Cowdrey, found in Fantasy Science Fiction: Vol. 128, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

Rattlesnakes and Men by Michael Bishop, found in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 39, No. 2 (February 2015)

Red Legacy by Eneasz Brodski, found in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 39, No. 2 (February 2015)

A Residence for Friendless Ladies by Alice Sola Kim, found in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Vol. 128, Nos. 3 & 4 (March/April 2015)

Twelve and Tag by Gregory Norman Bossert, found in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 39, No. 3 (March 2015)

Usher by Jay Werkheiser, found in Analog Science Fiction and Fact: Vol. CXXXV, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

Best Short Story (a work of fiction of less than 7,500 words)

An Exile of the Heart by Jay Lake, found in Clarkesworld: Issue 100 (January 2015)

The Apartment Dweller's Bestiary by Kij Johnson, found in Clarkesworld: Issue 100 (January 2015)

Bilingual by Henry Lien, found in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Vol. 128, Nos. 3 & 4 (March/April 2015)

Cat Pictures Please by Naomi Kritzer, found in Clarkesworld: Issue 100 (January 2015)

The Chart of the Vagrant Mariner by Alan Baxter, found in Fantasy Science Fiction: Vol. 128, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

Dixon's Road by Richard Chwedyk, found in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Volume 129, Nos. 1 & 2 (July/August 2015)

Fool's Errand by Judith Tarr, found in Analog Science Fiction and Fact: Vol. CXXXV, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

Forgiveness by Leah Cypess, found in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 39, No. 2 (February 2015)

The Gazelle Who Begged for Her Life by Francis Marion Soty, found in Fantasy Science Fiction: Vol. 128, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

Ghost Colors by Derek Künsken, found in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 39, No. 2 (February 2015)

La Héron by Charlotte Ashley, found in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Vol. 128, Nos. 3 & 4 (March/April 2015)

History's Best Places to Kiss by Nik Houser, found in Fantasy Science Fiction: Vol. 128, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

Holding the Ghosts by Gwendolyn Clare, found in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 39, No. 3 (March 2015)

How to Masquerade as a Human Before the Invasion by Jenn Reese, found in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Vol. 128, Nos. 3 & 4 (March/April 2015)

How to Walk Through Historic Graveyards in the Post-Digital Age by Fran Wilde, found in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 39, Nos. 4 & 5 (April/May 2015)

Into the Fiery Planet Gregor Hartmann, found in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Volume 129, Nos. 1 & 2 (July/August 2015)

Last Transaction by Nik Constantine, found in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Vol. 128, Nos. 3 & 4 (March/April 2015)

Little Girls in Bone Museums by Sadie Bruce, found in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Vol. 128, Nos. 3 & 4 (March/April 2015)

Long Way Gone by David L. Clements, found in Analog Science Fiction and Fact: Vol. CXXXV, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

The Man from X by Gregor Hartmann, found in Fantasy Science Fiction: Vol. 128, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

Marduk's Folly by Sean Vivier, found in Analog Science Fiction and Fact: Vol. CXXXV, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

The Marriage of the Sea by Liz Williams, found in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 39, Nos. 4 & 5 (April/May 2015)

Military Secrets by Kit Reed, found in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 39, No. 3 (March 2015)

Oneness: A Triptych by James Patrick Kelly, found in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Volume 129, Nos. 1 & 2 (July/August 2015)

Orion, Rising by Arlan Andrews, Sr., found in Analog Science Fiction and Fact: Vol. CXXXV, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

Out of the Jar by Eric Schwitzgebel, found in Fantasy Science Fiction: Vol. 128, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

Paradise and Trout by Betsy James, found in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Volume 129, Nos. 1 & 2 (July/August 2015)

Paul and His Son by Joe M. McDermott, found in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 39, Nos. 4 & 5 (April/May 2015)

The Quintessence of Dust by Oliver Buckram, found in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Volume 129, Nos. 1 & 2 (July/August 2015)

Samsara and Ice by Andy Dudak, found in Analog Science Fiction and Fact: Vol. CXXXV, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

The Sentry by Frank Smith, found in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 39, Nos. 4 & 5 (April/May 2015)

The Silicon Curtain: A Seastead Story by Naomi Kritzer, found in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Volume 129, Nos. 1 & 2 (July/August 2015)

A Small Diversion on the Road to Hell by Jonathan L. Howard, found in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Vol. 128, Nos. 3 & 4 (March/April 2015)

Telling Stories to the Sky by Eleanor Arnason, found in Fantasy Science Fiction: Vol. 128, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

Things Worth Knowing by Jay O'Connell, found in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Vol. 128, Nos. 3 & 4 (March/April 2015)

This Is the Way the Universe Ends: With a Bang by Brian Dolton, found in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Vol. 128, Nos. 3 & 4 (March/April 2015)

Three Cups of Grief, by Starlight by Aliette de Bodard, found in Clarkesworld: Issue 100 (January 2015)

Tuesdays by Suzanne Palmer, found in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 39, No. 3 (March 2015)

Ulenge Prime by Chuck Rothman, found in Analog Science Fiction and Fact: Vol. CXXXV, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

A Universal Elegy by Tang Fei (translated by John Chu), found in Clarkesworld: Issue 100 (January 2015)

Unmother by Lex Wilson, found in Analog Science Fiction and Fact: Vol. CXXXV, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

A User’s Guide to Increments of Time by Kat Howard, found in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Vol. 128, Nos. 3 & 4 (March/April 2015)

What I Intend by Robert Reed, found in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 39, Nos. 4 & 5 (April/May 2015)

Why the Titanic Hit the Iceberg by Jerry Oltion, found in Analog Science Fiction and Fact: Vol. CXXXV, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

Willing Flesh by Jay O'Connell, found in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 39, Nos. 4 & 5 (April/May 2015)

The Yoni Sutra by Priya Chand, found in Analog Science Fiction and Fact: Vol. CXXXV, Nos. 1 & 2 (January/February 2015)

Best Nonfiction, Related, or Reference Work

The Call of the Sad Whelkfins by Annalee Flower Horne and Natalie Luhrs
Death Rays and the Popular Media, 1876-1939 by William J. Fanning, Jr.

Empire of Imagination: Gary Gygax and the Birth of Dungeons & Dragons by Michael Witwer

John Scalzi Is Not a Very Popular Author and I Myself Am Quite Popular: How SJWs Always Lie About Our Comparative Popularity Levels by Alexandra Erin

J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, and the Birth of Modern Fantasy by Deke Parsons

Letters to Tiptree edited by Alisa Krasnostein and Alexandra Pierce

These Are the Voyages: TOS, Season Three¹ by Marc Cushman and Susan Osborne

You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) by Felicia Day

¹ These Are the Voyages is a three volume account of the making of the original Star Trek series. Because neither of the first two volumes were nominated for the Hugo Award, the entire three volume series should be eligible to be nominated for the 2016 Hugo Award.

Best Graphic Story

All-New Invaders, Volume 3: The Martians Are Coming by James Robinson, Steve Pugh, and Mark Laming

Bitch Planet, Book One: Extraordinary Machine by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine de Landro

Lumberjanes: Beware the Kitten Holy¹ by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, and Brooke Allen

Lumberjanes: Friendship to the Max¹ by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, and Brooke Allen

Ms. Marvel: Crushed by G. Willow Wilson, Elmo Bondoc, and Takeshi Miyazawa

Ms. Marvel: Generation Why by G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona, and Jacob Wyatt

Ms. Marvel: Last Days by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona
Nimona² by Noelle Stevenson
ODY-C, Volume 1: Off to Far Ithaca by Matt Fraction and Christian Ward
Order of the Stick (Strips 972 to 1016) by Rich Burlew

Rat Queens, Volume Two: The Far-Reaching Tentacles of N'rygoth by Kurtis J. Wiebe, Roc Upchurch, and Stjepan Sejic

Saga, Volume Five by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Sex Criminals, Volume Two: Two Worlds, One Cop by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky

¹ Both volumes of Lumberjanes were published in 2015, and are thus individually eligible to be nominated for the Hugo Award. The two volumes together form a single story arc, which means they are eligible to be nominated together as a single unit, which I intend to do.
² Nimona's eligibility for the 2015 Hugo awards is unclear. The web comic technically ended in 2014, and if counted from that date, it would not be eligible for the 2016 Hugo Awards. The graphic novel was published in 2015, and if that is treated as a continuation of the prior work, then it would be eligible.

Best Dramatic Presentation: Long Form

Ant-Man
The Avengers: Age of Ultron
Jurassic World
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Tomorrowland

Best Dramatic Presentation: Short Form

Daredevil: Condemned
Daredevil: Cut Man
Daredevil: Daredevil
Jessica Jones: AKA Sin Bin
Jessica Jones: AKA Smile
Jessica Jones: AKA You're a Winner!
Justice League: Gods and Monsters
President Snakes by The Doubleclicks
Sense 8: I Can't Leave Her
Sense 8: What's Going On?

Spock's Brain by Five Year Mission which includes Spock's Dog and (For His Head Is Hollow and I Have Touched) Spock's Brain

Supergirl: Human for a Day

Best Professional Editor: Short Form

Neil Clarke
Charles Coleman Finlay
David Steffen
Lynne M. Thomas
Gordon van Gelder
Sheila Williams

Best Professional Editor: Long Form

Claire Eddy
Sheila Gilbert
Liz Gorinsky
Anne Groell
David G. Hartwell
Beth Meacham
Patrick Neilsen Hayden

Best Professional Artist

Brooke Allen
Adrian Alphona
Elmo Bondoc
Valentine de Landro
Marc Laming
Takeshi Miyazawa
Steve Pugh
Stjepan Sejic
Fiona Staples
Noelle Stevenson
Christian Ward
Jake Wyatt
Chip Zdarsky

Best Semi-Prozine

Apex Magazine [no longer eligible]
Beneath Ceaseless Skies
Lightspeed Magazine [no longer eligible]
Strange Horizons

Best Fanzine

File 770
Journey Planet
SF Mistressworks
SF Revu

Best Fan Writer

Liz Bourke who blogs at Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Alexandra Erin who blogs at Blue Author Is About to Write
Natalie Luhrs who blogs at Pretty Terrible
Foz Meadows who blogs at Shattersnipe: Malcontent & Rainbows
Abigail Nussbaum who blogs at Asking the Wrong Questions
Alexandra Pierce who blogs at Randomly Yours, Alex

Best Fan Artist

Savannah O'Connor who did the artwork for these shirts

Brian Patterson who has art on d20Monkey

Lorraine Schleter who has art on Deviant Art, Tumblr, and her website Lor Illustration

Best Fancast

Alethea Kontis' Fairy Tale Rants
The Audio Guide to Babylon 5
Dive into Worldbuilding
Galactic Suburbia Podcast
Sword and Laser
Verity!
Under Discussion: The Undergophers Podcast

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

Pierce Brown
Liz Colter
S.L. Huang
Carmen Maria Machado [sadly ineligible]
Megan E. O'Keefe
Carrie Patel
Noelle Stevenson
Andy Weir [eligibility unclear]
Alyssa Wong
John F. Zeigler

What Are the Hugo Awards?

Go to previous year's nominees: 2015

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