Thoughts on the 2022 Hugos

The Hugo Awards (Science Fiction and Fantasy award given out at WorldCon; anyone who bought a ticket can nominate and vote) were given out this past weekend. Here is a link to all the awards and winners. I just wanted to share a few of my thoughts, organized by category.

Best Novel - I’d read and enjoyed Becky Chambers’ The Galaxy and the Ground Within, so it was a bummer it didn’t win. I’ve heard a lot of good things about P. Djèlí Clark’s A Master of Djinn. I hope to get to it some time in the next few years.

Best Novella - I haven’t read any of these, but it was a very strong field. I’m a fan of nearly all the authors, including Becky Chambers, who took the category this time.

Best Novelette - My only comment here is - WOW, Catherine M. Valente WRITES. (She’s represented in quite a few of these categories)

Best Short Story - I didn’t read any of these, but I recognized nearly all the names from the various SFF magazines I’m subscribed to.

Best Series - I JUST started the Wayward Children series this year, but based on the first book, I’m not surprised that Seanan McGuire won.

Best Graphic Story of Comc - No commentary

Best Related Work - it was nice to see Charlie Jane Anders win. More about that later.

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form - I’d seen both Encanto and WandaVision. I appreciate Encanto for introducing me (and many others) to magical realism and for having Latin representation from South America. That said, I think I enjoyed WandaVision more. (And I’m not really even invested in the MCU)

Best Dramatic, Short Form - The only one I’d seen was the Lower Decks episode and I’m really enjoying that little bit of the Trek universe.

Best Editor, Short Form - As a subscriber of Clarkesworld and having met Neil Clarke in person, I’m glad he won. Would have also been happy for Mur Lafferty and S.B. Divya for the work they do on EscapePod and the other *Pod* podcasts.

Best Editor, Long Form - I recognize the guy from Tor, but that’s about it.

Best Semi-Prozine - lots of great contenders here. I also subscribe to Uncanny Magazine, so good to see it win here, too. I’m sure it’s a nice capper to the great Kickstarter campaign they just had.

Best Fanzine - No familiarity here

Best FanCast - Very happy for Our Opinions Are Correct. This podcast, by Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz, always gives me new and cool ways to think about SFF stories and culture. While it’s not a main  focus of the podcast, they have had a few episodes where they focus on marginalized voices (LGBT or gendered, for example) and how being a part of that group can affect how you write genre fiction or how you experience it. It’s been incredibly eye-opening for me.

Best Fan Writer - I don’t recognize any of them.

Best Fan Artist - I don’t recognize any of them.

Best Young Adult Book (technically not a Hugo) - I recognize some of the names, but not the books.

New Writer (also not a Hugo) - I didn’t recognize any of these.

Congrats to all the winners!!