1989 Hugo Longlist

The 1989 Hugo Longlist is the result of the work of a dedicated fan (who has, the last time I checked, asked to remain anonymous) going through the pages of decades-old fanzines and digging up posts from Usenet news groups and compiling the resulting data into a usable form. This is a form of fannish archaeology that makes things like the Hugo Longlist Project possible, and fondom is forever indebted to the people who do these sorts of tedious and thankless tasks for no reason other than a desire to contribute to the sum total of knowledge regarding fannish history.

In most cases, the Longlist reveals facts about history beyond just the names of the people and works that had just missed making it onto the list of finalists. The deep dive into the data that resulted in the longlist also revealed a couple of works that would have made it onto the list of finalists if they had not been disqualified. In the Best Related Work category, Stephen Hawking's Brief History of Time received enough votes to qualify for the final ballot, but was either declared ineligible or withdrawn. In the fanzine category, Aboriginal SF received enough votes to be a finalist, but was ineligible as it did not publish any issues in 1988. Finally, both Elizabeth Moon and Daniel Keys Moran received sufficient votes to be Campbell Finalists, but were both ineligible as they had their first professional publication in 1986 and 1982, respectively. These facts were omitted from the official published Hugo data until they were unearthed by diligent fan research.

A larger revelation contained in the overall shape of the information provided in the longlist is simply how difficult many fans seem to have found determining eligibility in the pre-internet era. Most of the non-fiction categories had at least one ineligible nominee show up either on the longlist or the list of finalists. The prevalence of ineligible nominees is especially notable in the Campbell Award, where there were not only two ineligible authors would received sufficient votes that they would have been finalists otherwise, but three more ineligible authors on the longlist. The salient detail to be drawn from this data is that prior to the internet making the details of publishing transparent to a wider spectrum of the public interested in such things, Hugo voters seem to have spent a fair amount of time figuratively groping in the dark over eligibility issues.

Best Novel

Finalists:
Cyteen by C.J. Cherryh [winner]
Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Guardsman by P.J. Beese and Todd Cameron Hamilton [nomination deleted]
Islands in the Net by Bruce Sterling
Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson
Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card

Longlisted Nominees:
Alternities by Michael P. Kube-McDowell
Deserted Cities of the Heart by Lewis Shiner
Dragonsdawn by Anne McCaffrey
The Gold Coast by Kim Stanley Robinson
Hellspark by Janet Kagan
Ivory by Mike Resnick
Orphan of Creation by Roger MacBride Allen
The Paladin by C.J. Cherryh
Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov

Best Novella

Finalists:
The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians by Bradley Denton
Journals of the Plague Years by Norman Spinrad

The Last of the Winnebagos by Connie Willis [winner]

The Scalehunter's Beautiful Daughter by Lucius Shepard
Surfacing by Walter Jon Williams

Longlisted Nominees:
Backward Turn Backward by James Tiptree, Jr.
The Blabber by Vernor Vinge
The Color of Neanderthal Eyes by James Tiptree, Jr.
The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
Fatal Statistics by Pauline Ashwell
The Flies of Memory by Ian Watson
Nomans Land by Lucius Shepard
The Skin Trade by George R.R. Martin
Trapping Run by Harry Turtledove
Waiting for the Olympians by Frederik Pohl
We Are for the Dark by Robert Silverberg
Wires by F. Paul Wilson

Best Novelette

Finalists:
Do Ya, Do Ya, Wanna Dance? by Howard Waldrop
The Function of Dream Sleep by Harlan Ellison
Ginny Sweethips' Flying Circus by Neal Barrett, Jr.
Peaches for Mad Molly by Steven Gould

Schrödinger's Kitten by George Alec Effinger [winner]

Longlisted Nominees
The Earth Doth Like a Snake Renew by James Tiptree, Jr.
Glacier by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Lunatics by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Hob by Judith Moffett
Sanctuary by James White
Two by Pat Cadigan

Best Short Story

Finalists:
The Fort Moxie Branch by Jack McDevitt
The Giving Plague by David Brin
Our Neural Chernobyl by Bruce Sterling

Kirinyaga by Mike Resnick [winner]

Ripples in the Dirac Sea by Geoffrey A. Landis
Stable Strategies for Middle Management by Eileen Gunn

Longlisted Nominees
Eidolons by Harlan Ellison
Mrs. Shummel Exits a Winner by John Kessel
On a Phantom Tide by William F. Wu
Slow, Slow Burn by George Alec Effinger

Best Nonfiction, Related, or Reference Work

Finalists:
A Biographical Dictionary of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists by Robert Weinberg

A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes by Stephen W. Hawking [unclear whether this was ineligible or withdrawn]

First Maitz by Don Maitz

The Motion of Light in Water: Sex and Science Fiction Writing in the East Village 1957-1965 by Samuel R. Delany [winner]

The New Encyclopedia of Science Fiction edited by James E. Gunn

Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror: 1987 by Charles N. Brown and William G. Contento

Longlisted Nominees:
Bare-Faced Messiah: The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard by Russell Miller [ineligible]
Bio of an Ogre: The Autobiography of Piers Anthony by Piers Anthony
Imagination: The Art & Technique of David A. Cherry by David A. Cherry [ineligible]
The New Dinosaurs: An Alternative Evolution by Dougal Dixon
Strokes: Essays and Reviews 1966-1986 by John Clute
Women of Vision: Essays by Women Writing Science Fiction by Denise Du Pont

Best Dramatic Presentation

Finalists:
Alien Nation
Beetlejuice
Big
Who Framed Roger Rabbit? [winner]
Willow

Longlisted Nominees:
Lair of the White Worm
The Lady in White
The Land Before Time
Nolacon II Gripe Session [ineligible]
Star Trek - The Next Generation: Elementary, Dear Data
They Live

Best Professional Editor

Finalists:
Gardner Dozois [winner]
Edward L. Ferman
David G. Hartwell
Charles C. Ryan
Stanley Schmidt

Longlisted Nominees:
Lou Aronica
Jim Baen
Ellen Datlow
George R.R. Martin
Beth Meacham
Shawna McCarthy
Elizabeth "Betsy" Mitchell

Price, ? (it is unclear whether this is Patrick Lucien Price of Amazing Stories or Robert M. Price of Crypt of Cthulhu)

Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Brian Thomsen

Best Professional Artist

Finalists:
Thomas Canty
David A. Cherry
Bob Eggleton
Todd Cameron Hamilton [nomination deleted]
Don Maitz
Michael Whelan [winner]

Longlisted Nominees:
Janet Aulisio
Jim Burns
Vincent Di Fate
Phil Foglio
James Gurney
Tom Kidd
Carl Lundgren
David B. Mattingly
J.K. Potter
Barclay Shaw

Best Semi-Prozine

Finalists:
Aboriginal SF edited by Charles C. Ryan [ineligible]
Interzone edited by David Pringle and Simon Ounsley

Locus edited by Charles N. Brown [winner]

The New York Review of Science Fiction edited by David G. Hartwell, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Teresa Nielsen Hayden, Susan Palwick, and Kathryn Cramer

Science Fiction Chronicle edited by Andrew I. Porter
Thrust edited by D. Douglas Fratz

Longlisted Nominees:
Argos: Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine edited by Ross Emry [ineligible]
File 770 edited by Mike Glyer [placed in the fanzine category]
Horror Show edited by David B. Silva
New Pathways Into Science Fiction And Fantasy edited by Michael G. Adkisson
Pulphouse edited by Kristine Kathryn Rusch [ineligible]
Science Fiction Eye edited by by Stephen P. Brown and Dan Steffan

Weird Tales edited by George H. Scithers, Darrell Schweitzer, and John Gregory Betancourt

Best Fanzine

Finalists:

File 770 edited by Mike Glyer [winner]

FOSFAX edited by Timothy Lane
Lan's Lantern edited by George "Lan" Laskowski
Niekas edited by Edmund R. Meskys, Mike Bastraw, and Anne Braude
OtherRealms edited by Chuq Von Rospach

Longlisted Nominees:
Delineator edited by Alan White
Jane's Fighting SMOFs edited by Jane Dennis and Scott Dennis
Nova Express edited by Lawrence Person
Pirate Jenny edited by Pat Mueller [ineligible]
Pulp edited by Avedon Carol, Rob Hansen, John Harvey and Vincent Clarke
Pulsar! edited by Arlan Andrews
Science Fiction Randomly edited by Hawk and Steve Antczak
Texas SF Enquirer edited by Pat Mueller
Trap Door edited by Robert Lichtman
YHOS edited by Art Widner

Best Fan Writer

Finalists:
Avedon Carol
Mike Glyer
Arthur D. Hlavaty

Dave Langford [winner]

Guy H. Lillian, III
Chuq Von Rospach

Longlisted Nominees:
T.L. Bohman
Richard Brandt
Jeanne Gomoll
Andrew Hooper
Susan Landerman
George Laskowski
Joseph T. Major
Pat Mueller
Leslie Turek [ineligible]
Harry Warner, Jr.
Owen Whiteoak

Best Fan Artist

Finalists:
Brad W. Foster [winner]
Teddy Harvia
Merle Insinga
Stu Shiffman
Taral Wayne

Diana Gallagher Wu [winner]

Longlisted Nominees:
Steve Fox
Alexis Gilliland
Jeanne Gomoll
Jon “Lang” Langford
Joe Mayhew
Ingrid Neilson
Diana Harlan Stein
Arthur Thomson (aka ATom)

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

Finalists:
P.J. Beese and Todd Cameron Hamilton
Christopher Hinz
Elizabeth Moon [ineligible]
Daniel Keys Moran [ineligible]
Melanie Rawn
Michaela Roessner [winner]
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
William Sanders
Delia Sherman

Longlisted Nominees:
Andrea I. Alton
Richard Kadrey [ineligible]
Ian McDonald [ineligible]
Loren J. McGregor
Rebecca Ore [ineligible]
Matt Ruff
Mary Stanton

Go to previous year's longlist: 1984
Go to subsequent year's longlist: 2001

Go to 1989 Hugo Finalists and Winners

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