Avengers: Infinity War, The Good Place among 2019 Hugo Award finalists

The finalists for the 2019 Hugo Awards have been announced, and several major Hollywood properties made the list, including Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, The Good Place, and A Quiet Place.

The annual awards honor the year’s best in science fiction and fantasy, including everything from literature to cinema to television to graphic novels in the various categories. Named after Amazing Stories editor Hugo Gernsback, the Hugo Awards have existed since 1953 and mark one of the highest honors in the genre. They are overseen by the World Science Fiction Society and voted on by members of the World Science Fiction Convention, a.k.a. Worldcon. The awards will be given out in Dublin in August.

Last year, N.K. Jemesin became the first author to win the award for best novel three years consecutively, and while there are no similar titles up for grabs in this year’s crop of finalists, there are still plenty of buzzy names on the list. The nominees for Best Novel are Mary Robinette Kowal for The Calculating Stars, Becky Chambers for Record of a Spaceborn Few, Yoon Ha Lee for Revenant Gun, Catherynne M. Valente for Space Opera, Naomi Novik for Spinning Silver, and Rebecca Roanhorse for Trail of Lightning.

In the past, the Hugo Awards have been a tense battleground for issues of sexism, homophobia, racism, and more in publishing. As recently as 2015, there were active far-right campaigns against a growing push for diversity and equity among the finalists. So it marks a significant moment that the majority of the finalists for Best Novel identify as women.

This year’s graphic novel nominees once again represent the best in the form. Montress earned its third consecutive nomination; having won the category the past two years, it wouldn’t be a surprise if writer Marjorie Liu and artist Sana Takeda repeated N.K. Jemisin’s recent Hugo hat trick (and check out our piece from last year about why Monstress is worth reading).

Saga and Paper Girls, both written by Brian K. Vaughan, are also repeat nominees this year — and with Saga currently on hiatus, it could be that best-selling sci-fi comic’s last appearance for a while (if you’re all caught up, read our interview with Vaughan and artist Fiona Staples about why they’re taking a break after the last issue’s traumatic twist). Writer Saladin Ahmed was nominated last year for Marvel’s Black Bolt (his comics debut) and again this year for his creator-owned mystical Detroit crime story Abbott.

On the Hollywood side of things, everything from superhero properties to philosophical comedies about what it means to be a good person received a nod. For Long-form Dramatic Presentation, Annihilation, Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, A Quiet Place, Sorry to Bother You, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse were named as finalists. Comic books reigned supreme with two Marvel Studios projects and Sony’s critically adored Into the Spider-Verse on the list, though more offbeat titles like Boots Riley’s satire Sorry to Bother You, John Krasinski’s original horror film A Quiet Place, and Alex Garland’s Annilihation make for a well-balanced list.

On the television side, known as the Short-form Dramatic Presentation category, episodes of The Expanse, Doctor Who, and The Good Place received nominations, alongside a nod for the companion video for Janelle Monae’s album Dirty Computer. Both Doctor Who and The Good Place scored two nominations each, and The Good Place notably earned attention for both its midseason and season finales, including the remarkable “Janet(s)” episode in which D’Arcy Carden played a dizzying number of versions of the title character.

The Hugo Awards will also feature retrospective awards for work from 1943, which includes films like Heaven Can Wait and Cabin in the Sky in the funning. See the full list of finalists below.

Best Novel

• The Calculating Stars, by Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor)
• Record of a Spaceborn Few, by Becky Chambers (Hodder & Stoughton / Harper Voyager)
• Revenant Gun, by Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris)
• Space Opera, by Catherynne M. Valente (Saga)
• Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik (Del Rey / Macmillan)
• Trail of Lightning, by Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga)

Best Novella

• Artificial Condition, by Martha Wells (Tor.com publishing)
• Beneath the Sugar Sky, by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com publishing)
• Binti: The Night Masquerade, by Nnedi Okorafor (Tor.com publishing)
• The Black God’s Drums, by P. Djèlí Clark (Tor.com publishing)
• Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach, by Kelly Robson (Tor.com publishing)
• The Tea Master and the Detective, by Aliette de Bodard (Subterranean Press / JABberwocky Literary Agency)

Best Novelette

• “If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again,” by Zen Cho (B&N Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog, 29 November 2018)
• “The Last Banquet of Temporal Confections,” by Tina Connolly (Tor.com, 11 July 2018)
• “Nine Last Days on Planet Earth,” by Daryl Gregory (Tor.com, 19 September 2018)
• The Only Harmless Great Thing, by Brooke Bolander (Tor.com publishing)
• “The Thing About Ghost Stories,” by Naomi Kritzer (Uncanny Magazine 25, November-December 2018)
• “When We Were Starless,” by Simone Heller (Clarkesworld 145, October 2018)

Best Short Story

• “The Court Magician,” by Sarah Pinsker (Lightspeed, January 2018)
• “The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society,” by T. Kingfisher (Uncanny Magazine 25, November-December 2018)
• “The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington,” by P. Djèlí Clark (Fireside Magazine, February 2018)
• “STET,” by Sarah Gailey (Fireside Magazine, October 2018)
• “The Tale of the Three Beautiful Raptor Sisters, and the Prince Who Was Made of Meat,” by Brooke Bolander (Uncanny Magazine 23, July-August 2018)
• “A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies,” by Alix E. Harrow (Apex Magazine, February 2018)

Best Series

• The Centenal Cycle, by Malka Older (Tor.com publishing)
• The Laundry Files, by Charles Stross (most recently Tor.com publishing/Orbit)
• Machineries of Empire, by Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris)
• The October Daye Series, by Seanan McGuire (most recently DAW)
• The Universe of Xuya, by Aliette de Bodard (most recently Subterranean Press)
• Wayfarers, by Becky Chambers (Hodder & Stoughton / Harper Voyager)

Best Related Work

• Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
• Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction, by Alec Nevala-Lee (Dey Street Books)
• The Hobbit Duology (documentary in three parts), written and edited by Lindsay Ellis and Angelina Meehan (YouTube)
• An Informal History of the Hugos: A Personal Look Back at the Hugo Awards, 1953-2000, by Jo Walton (Tor)
• http://www.mexicanxinitiative.com: The Mexicanx Initiative Experience at Worldcon 76(Julia Rios, Libia Brenda, Pablo Defendini, John Picacio)
• Ursula K. Le Guin: Conversations on Writing, by Ursula K. Le Guin with David Naimon (Tin House Books)

Best Graphic Story

• Abbott, written by Saladin Ahmed, art by Sami Kivelä, colours by Jason Wordie, letters by Jim Campbell (BOOM! Studios)
• Black Panther: Long Live the King, written by Nnedi Okorafor and Aaron Covington, art by André Lima Araújo, Mario Del Pennino and Tana Ford (Marvel)
• Monstress, Volume 3: Haven, written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda (Image Comics)
• On a Sunbeam, by Tillie Walden (First Second)
• Paper Girls, Volume 4, written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Cliff Chiang, colours by Matt Wilson, letters by Jared K. Fletcher (Image Comics)
• Saga, Volume 9, written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Fiona Staples (Image Comics)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

• Annihilation, directed and written for the screen by Alex Garland, based on the novel by Jeff VanderMeer (Paramount Pictures / Skydance)
• Avengers: Infinity War, screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo (Marvel Studios)
• Black Panther, written by Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole, directed by Ryan Coogler (Marvel Studios)
• A Quiet Place, screenplay by Scott Beck, John Krasinski and Bryan Woods, directed by John Krasinski (Platinum Dunes / Sunday Night)
• Sorry to Bother You, written and directed by Boots Riley (Annapurna Pictures)
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, screenplay by Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman, directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman (Sony)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

• The Expanse: “Abaddon’s Gate,” written by Daniel Abraham, Ty Franck and Naren Shankar, directed by Simon Cellan Jones (Penguin in a Parka / Alcon Entertainment)
• Doctor Who: “Demons of the Punjab,” written by Vinay Patel, directed by Jamie Childs (BBC)
• Dirty Computer, written by Janelle Monáe, directed by Andrew Donoho and Chuck Lightning (Wondaland Arts Society / Bad Boy Records / Atlantic Records)
• The Good Place: “Janet(s),” written by Josh Siegal & Dylan Morgan, directed by Morgan Sackett (NBC)
• The Good Place: “Jeremy Bearimy,” written by Megan Amram, directed by Trent O’Donnell (NBC)
• Doctor Who: “Rosa,” written by Malorie Blackman and Chris Chibnall, directed by Mark Tonderai (BBC)

Best Editor, Short Form

• Neil Clarke
• Gardner Dozois
• Lee Harris
• Julia Rios
• Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas
• E. Catherine Tobler

Best Editor, Long Form

• Sheila E. Gilbert
• Anne Lesley Groell
• Beth Meacham
• Diana Pho
• Gillian Redfearn
• Navah Wolfe

Best Professional Artist

• Galen Dara
• Jaime Jones
• Victo Ngai
• John Picacio
• Yuko Shimizu
• Charles Vess

Best Semiprozine

• Beneath Ceaseless Skies, editor-in-chief and publisher Scott H. Andrews
• Fireside Magazine, edited by Julia Rios, managing editor Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, social coordinator Meg Frank, special features editor Tanya DePass, founding editor Brian White, publisher and art director Pablo Defendini
• FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, executive editors Troy L. Wiggins and DaVaun Sanders, editors L.D. Lewis, Brandon O’Brien, Kaleb Russell, Danny Lore, and Brent Lambert
• Shimmer, publisher Beth Wodzinski, senior editor E. Catherine Tobler
• Strange Horizons, edited by Jane Crowley, Kate Dollarhyde, Vanessa Rose Phin, Vajra Chandrasekera, Romie Stott, Maureen Kincaid Speller, and the Strange Horizons Staff
• Uncanny Magazine, publishers/editors-in-chief Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, managing editor Michi Trota, podcast producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky, Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction Special Issue editors-in-chief Elsa Sjunneson-Henry and Dominik Parisien

Best Fanzine

• Galactic Journey, founder Gideon Marcus, editor Janice Marcus
• Journey Planet, edited by Team Journey Planet
• Lady Business, editors Ira, Jodie, KJ, Renay & Susan
• nerds of a feather, flock together, editors Joe Sherry, Vance Kotrla and The G
• Quick Sip Reviews, editor Charles Payseur
• Rocket Stack Rank, editors Greg Hullender and Eric Wong

Best Fancast

• Be the Serpent, presented by Alexandra Rowland, Freya Marske and Jennifer Mace
• The Coode Street Podcast, presented by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe
• Fangirl Happy Hour, hosted by Ana Grilo and Renay Williams
• Galactic Suburbia, hosted by Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce, and Tansy Rayner Roberts, produced by Andrew Finch
• Our Opinions Are Correct, hosted by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders
• The Skiffy and Fanty Show, produced by Jen Zink and Shaun Duke, hosted by the Skiffy and Fanty Crew

Best Fan Writer

• Foz Meadows
• James Davis Nicoll
• Charles Payseur
• Elsa Sjunneson-Henry
• Alasdair Stuart
• Bogi Takács

Best Fan Artist

• Sara Felix
• Grace P. Fong
• Meg Frank
• Ariela Housman
• Likhain (Mia Sereno)
• Spring Schoenhuth

Best Art Book
Under the WSFS Constitution every Worldcon has the right to add one category to the Hugo Awards for that year only. Dublin 2019 has chosen to use this right to create an award for an art book.

• The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition, illustrated by Charles Vess, written by Ursula K. Le Guin (Saga Press /Gollancz)
• Daydreamer’s Journey: The Art of Julie Dillon, by Julie Dillon (self-published)
• Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History, by Michael Witwer, Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, Sam Witwer (Ten Speed Press)
• Spectrum 25: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, ed. John Fleskes (Flesk Publications)
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – The Art of the Movie, by Ramin Zahed (Titan Books)
• Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth, ed. Catherine McIlwaine (Bodleian Library)

There are two other Awards administered by Worldcon 76 that are not Hugo Awards:

Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book

• The Belles, by Dhonielle Clayton (Freeform / Gollancz)
• Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi (Henry Holt / Macmillan Children’s Books)
• The Cruel Prince, by Holly Black (Little, Brown / Hot Key Books)
• Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland (Balzer + Bray)
• The Invasion, by Peadar O’Guilin (David Fickling Books / Scholastic)
• Tess of the Road, by Rachel Hartman (Random House / Penguin Teen)

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

• Katherine Arden*
• S.A. Chakraborty*
• R.F. Kuang
• Jeannette Ng*
• Vina Jie-Min Prasad*
• Rivers Solomon*

*Finalist in their second year of eligibility.

Related content:

• The best comics of 2018
• 27 female authors who rule sci-fi and fantasy right now
• N.K. Jemisin becomes first author to win Hugo Award for Best Novel three years in a row