You're a Hugo Finalist! and you're a Hugo Finalist! And you're...
April 2, 2019 8:45 AM   Subscribe

The 2019 Hugo Awards Finalists have been announced and the most interesting nomination is that of Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works. Does that mean that everybody that has stories published there can now call themselves a Hugo Finalist?
posted by MartinWisse (65 comments total) 27 users marked this as a favorite
 
They can call themselves Hugo Award finalists to the same extent that the members of Doctors Without Borders can call themselves Nobel Peace Prize winners.
posted by jscalzi at 8:51 AM on April 2, 2019 [15 favorites]


Then there was that time when we were all Time's Person of the Year, so I think we're all doing OK, awards-wise.
posted by Strange Interlude at 8:56 AM on April 2, 2019 [32 favorites]


The Hobbit Duology (documentary in three parts), written and edited by Lindsay Ellis and Angelina Meehan (YouTube)

!!
posted by The Whelk at 8:56 AM on April 2, 2019 [15 favorites]


If we must go there, I'll accept the burden of being a Hugo Finalist by association.
posted by blithers at 8:57 AM on April 2, 2019 [2 favorites]


Mostly I'm just excited to see The Good Place's Jeremy Bearimy episode nominated.
posted by blithers at 8:57 AM on April 2, 2019 [6 favorites]


Yay! Over the past couple years, I've found so many fantastic books by digging through the Hugo nominations. That's how I found out about N.K. Jemisin, Becky Chambers, Ann Leckie, even you, John Scalzi. I can't wait to look through all these! And it's great to see so many women represented in the Best Novel category (which is my favorite).
posted by rue72 at 8:57 AM on April 2, 2019 [5 favorites]


Oh, and I LOVED Spinning Silver, so happy to see that it was nominated. Such great character development in that one.
posted by rue72 at 8:58 AM on April 2, 2019 [8 favorites]


Thanks, rue72.

I'm very pleased with the ballots this year. Such good work. It makes it difficult to choose for voting. Which is exactly as it should be.
posted by jscalzi at 8:59 AM on April 2, 2019 [4 favorites]


Back on topic: I haven't been following the sturm und drang of the nominations this year, and don't know a lot about the actual nominees. So I ask the hivemind: Based on these picks, can we assume that the Sad Puppy contingent has been fully overthrown and will hopefully never be back?
posted by Strange Interlude at 9:00 AM on April 2, 2019 [2 favorites]


Just as long as you vote for me^wAO3 in best related work, Scalzi!
posted by MartinWisse at 9:00 AM on April 2, 2019


The Hobbit Duology (documentary in three parts), written and edited by Lindsay Ellis and Angelina Meehan (YouTube)

Huzzah - that was really great, and it's nice to see Lindsay and Angelina get some notice. Also really happy to see Spiderman: Into the SpiderVerse up for Dramatic Presentation, Long Form.

As a general comment, my initial impression of some of the categories was "my god, it's full of women" - which is not at all a complaint, but more of a feeling of "at last"; I've really been trying the last few years to read more SF&F by women and POC after looking at my bookshelves and realizing my reading habit was an awful lot of white men, so I'm really happy to see the diversity in this list.
posted by nubs at 9:03 AM on April 2, 2019 [13 favorites]


Yoon Ha Lee!!! Yes!! The Machineries of Empire series was so good, it's one of the only things I've ever read, finished, and immediately re-read again.
posted by weed donkey at 9:03 AM on April 2, 2019 [3 favorites]


Wait, you mean people have to choose between Jeremy Bearimy and Dirty Computer?

Also, I am so putting "Hugo Award Nominee" into everything. My Avengers knitting fic deserves that recognition!
posted by Katemonkey at 9:14 AM on April 2, 2019 [14 favorites]


Based on these picks, can we assume that the Sad Puppy contingent has been fully overthrown and will hopefully never be back?

They seem to be gone for now, but if the past few years have taught us anything it's that we can never assume they won't be back.
posted by Ragged Richard at 9:15 AM on April 2, 2019 [12 favorites]


That's a really strong Hugo ballot. It'll be fascinating to see who wins.

I'm chuffed to see AO3 on there, but particularly happy to see Sorry to Bother You, since it didn't get any other nominations, and it's one of the most creative movies I've seen in the last few years. It won't win, not against Black Panther, but I'm so glad it made the list.

Also surprised to see Space Opera, as I thought the buzz over that had died down.

In the series category, the only one I've never heard of is the Centenal Cycle by Malka Older; what's that about?
posted by suelac at 9:17 AM on April 2, 2019


I have mixed hopes for Dirty Computer, which I rank as a perfect album but wasn't quite as overwhelmed by the extended video. I suspect The Good Place will take the short-form drama award because it was nearly perfect and not quite as challenging. I'm happy to continue to stan for Dirty Computer regardless.

Spaceborn Few comes out over Space Opera for me, although I didn't read many novels last year. Granted Spaceborn Few probably won't satisfy anyone who absolutely must have either an antagonist or disaster to drive the plot. It actually is a post-apocalypse novel, but the apocalypse is generations in the past and what's left are questions about cultural continuity.

For me, I like Spider-Verse over Black Panther, but I'll be happy with anything other than Infinity War.

I've honestly not read as much sturm and drang this year around.
posted by GenderNullPointerException at 9:20 AM on April 2, 2019 [1 favorite]


Wait, what...? There's a Best Art Book Hugo?! When did that happen?
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 9:23 AM on April 2, 2019


Katemonkey, link please? I mean, we had a fic recommendation thread, but if it was there I missed it and would like more (any?) Avengers knitfic.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 9:26 AM on April 2, 2019 [2 favorites]


Hell YES I'm a Hugo finalist
posted by potrzebie at 9:28 AM on April 2, 2019 [3 favorites]


Wait, what...? There's a Best Art Book Hugo?! When did that happen?

To answer my own question... last year

Nice mixture of books nominated
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 9:31 AM on April 2, 2019


I'm happy to see a bunch of stuff I nominated out there, partially because it's very validating and partially because it means I'll have less of a mad dash to finish reading everything on time.

It also seems like a very strong year, novel-wise - or at least compared to last year. I liked Revenant Gun and Spinning Silver, and have heard really good thing about The Calculating Stars and Record of a Spaceborn Few. Trail of Lightning wasn't really my thing because of genre preferences, but I wouldn't be upset if it won.

(Lindsay Ellis's reaction to being nominated is great)

Also: over on Fanfare talk, I'm wondering if anyone wants to have a Hugo Finalists club.
posted by dinty_moore at 9:31 AM on April 2, 2019 [1 favorite]


I don't know about how MSF has handled their Nobel Prize but the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was jointly awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize (along with Al Gore). The IPCC has clarified whether members of the IPCC can be referred to as Nobel Laureates: "The prize was awarded to the IPCC as an organization, and not to any individual associated with the IPCC. Thus it is incorrect to refer to any IPCC official, or scientist who worked on IPCC reports, as a Nobel laureate or Nobel Prize winner. It would be correct to describe a scientist who was involved with AR4 or earlier IPCC reports in this way: 'X contributed to the reports of the IPCC, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.'"
posted by ElKevbo at 10:01 AM on April 2, 2019 [3 favorites]


The Wayfarers novels don't lack conflict, they lack a savior narrative where the systemic problems faced by the characters can be fixed thorough revolutionary and heroic action. The conflict is how to negotiate those systems of inequality to create local change and accommodation.
posted by GenderNullPointerException at 10:11 AM on April 2, 2019 [10 favorites]


> "Does that mean that everybody that has stories published there can now call themselves a Hugo Finalist?"

By that logic, I actually won a Hugo Award in 2016.

...

...

yeah ok i'll take it
posted by kyrademon at 10:18 AM on April 2, 2019 [2 favorites]


I think I've nominated AO3 every year I was eligible to nominate so this is very gratifying.
posted by tofu_crouton at 10:20 AM on April 2, 2019 [6 favorites]


The Wayfarers novels don't lack conflict, they lack a savior narrative where the systemic problems faced by the characters can be fixed thorough revolutionary and heroic action.

Yeah, but... Pepper? *waves hands in nonspoilery ways*
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 10:44 AM on April 2, 2019


I continue to blame every last bit of my AO3 nonsense output on the Metafilter Cannibal Club, so really, if AO3 wins, I think Metafilter should feel free to take some credit.
posted by Stacey at 10:48 AM on April 2, 2019 [8 favorites]


That list is fucking stacked. In every category.

On preview: "How do I cope with being in love with someone different from me?" and "how can I live in a society I find troubling?" and "how far will I go to help a friend?" are some of the oldest conflicts in fiction and Wayfarers features all of them and more.
posted by East14thTaco at 10:48 AM on April 2, 2019 [1 favorite]


How does the voting work for Hugos? Would the two Good Places and two Drs Who split the vote for them? As much I enjoy the Expanse, I want to see Dirty Computer win everything.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 10:50 AM on April 2, 2019 [1 favorite]


The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition? Yes plz

I really loved Blackfish City (Sam Miller) and The Mere Wife (Maria D Headley) both of which I would have thought were both eligible this year and great Hugo material. shrug.
posted by bgribble at 10:52 AM on April 2, 2019 [1 favorite]


In the series category, the only one I've never heard of is the Centenal Cycle by Malka Older; what's that about?

Near-ish SF with a really interesting alternate world democracy system that is run almost entirely by a Google analogue. It's really interesting - the first book is super dry but full of ideas, the second one is a lot more fun, and I need to get the third one.

Yay Lindsay Ellis! That series of videos was spectacular - I really like where her work has been going, although to be clear I have been a big fan since the Labyrinth video. The Archive of Our Own nom is really interesting and I'm desperately curious to see how the voting plays out.

Man, I think Janelle Monae's previous album was a more apt choice but I am fucking delighted to see her on the ballot at last. I don't know that she'll win - it's a fit for the category but not a traditional one, and if I were a betting man I'd put my money on The Good Place or Doctor Who - but I'm pleased to see it regardless. This may be the first ballot in a few years where I'm honestly more excited about all the cool nominees than super invested in who wins.

Basically all the other categories are confused for me by the number of personal relationships/feuds/crushes I have in science fiction, but it's very clear that I'm behind on my reading if nothing else.
posted by restless_nomad at 10:57 AM on April 2, 2019 [4 favorites]


I also thought for sure that Blackfish City would be on the list bgribble. So good.
posted by tofu_crouton at 11:18 AM on April 2, 2019 [1 favorite]


How does the voting work for Hugos? Would the two Good Places and two Drs Who split the vote for them? As much I enjoy the Expanse, I want to see Dirty Computer win everything.

They use a ranked choice instant runoff voting system, so splitting votes between two episodes of the same show isn't a problem. And as much as I love Jeremy Bearimy (and it's delightful middle finger to those who would worry about consistency of timelines), the second Good Place episode, Janet(s) is just a magical performance by D'arcy Carden.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 11:18 AM on April 2, 2019 [6 favorites]


> Then there was that time when we were all Time's Person of the Year, so I think we're all doing OK, awards-wise.

just wanted to remind everyone that in a relatively small number of years you'll all have to get used to having conversations with people who were not yet born in 2006 and therefore were not that year's Time Magazine's Person of the Year.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 11:24 AM on April 2, 2019 [6 favorites]


...people who were not yet born in 2006 and therefore were not that year's Time Magazine's Person of the Year.

The kids are alright, I guess...
posted by The Tensor at 11:44 AM on April 2, 2019


One of my favorite days of the year!

Over the past few years I've gone from hearing about the Puppies, to (post-Puppies) trying to read all the Best Novel finalists before the awards, to nominating and voting for them. Worldcon at San Jose was my first time, I bought voting membership this year even though I can't make it, and I plan to attend Worldcon in New Zealand in 2020. I'm excited to see several of my picks out there and that I've read 4 of the novels and 3 novellas. Jemisin's wins were well-deserved but it's interesting to have everything be "wide open" again, and I'm glad I could put Yoon Ha Lee down for Best Series since it's tough awards-wise to have your novels come out at the same time as Broken Earth.

I've also been dabbling in more of the non-literature categories, having recently put nerds of a feather into my RSS reader and listening to a bunch of Our Opinions Are Correct episodes on my commute. It's exciting to see just how much good content, new voices, and new stories are out there, after trying out all the old-school sci-fi in high school/college and feeling like I was supposed to like it more than I did.

Now off to listen to Dirty Computer again!
posted by j.r at 1:12 PM on April 2, 2019 [3 favorites]


Good Best Related Work list this year.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:13 PM on April 2, 2019


Very happy to see two nominations for Seanan McGuire.
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 1:15 PM on April 2, 2019 [3 favorites]


Oh, hey, STET by Sarah Gailey (discussed here previously) was nominated. What an excellent gut punch of a short story.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 1:47 PM on April 2, 2019 [5 favorites]


Does this count toward SFWA membership?
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 1:48 PM on April 2, 2019


Counterpoint: If Ao3 doesn't win its category, does that mean whoever does win it beats everyone on Ao3?
posted by scaryblackdeath at 1:50 PM on April 2, 2019


Oh, hey, STET by Sarah Gailey (discussed here previously) was nominated.

You what now?
posted by stet at 1:58 PM on April 2, 2019 [4 favorites]


So now I have Hugo Award Nominated Miraculous Ladybug fanfiction, two Bulwer-Lytton Dishonorable Mentions, and a tiny mention in High Weirdness By Email on my resume.

Yep! That's a career.
posted by delfin at 2:05 PM on April 2, 2019 [4 favorites]


(cracks knuckles)
(head to library)
posted by doctornemo at 2:34 PM on April 2, 2019


Retro Hugo. Damn that has a nice ring to it.
posted by RolandOfEld at 5:43 PM on April 2, 2019


So thrilled on Calculating Stars, Spinning Silver, Murderbot, that story about the tastes, STET, Naomi Kritzer, etc.

BUT OCTOBER DAYE UP FOR BEST SERIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seriously, do y'all know how many details she's got in those books? (Disclaimer: self-link because I created a website to try to keep track.) How much foreshadowing is going on? How many future stories she juggles in these? I think that series is the most impressive I've ever read and even the more complicated series I read don't juggle this much stuff. God, I hope she wins for that one especially.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:20 PM on April 2, 2019 [2 favorites]




Quick, let's figure out how to put fanfic on our resumes, now that I can write "Teresa Nielsen Hayden linked to my Buffy story once" AND "Hugo-nominated" for mine!
posted by nicebookrack at 6:37 PM on April 2, 2019


I became a huge fan of Martha Wells' Murderbot series, which had the first one win last year, so happy to see it here again. It was absolutely perfect for my one friend who hates everything.
posted by emjaybee at 6:41 PM on April 2, 2019 [1 favorite]


I am so pleased that Chuck Tingle is still the best and also that Chuck Tingle has discovered Chuck Tingle fanfic starring Chuck Tingle.
posted by nicebookrack at 6:41 PM on April 2, 2019 [3 favorites]


emjaybee: Delightfully enough, Murderbot is also easily described as that one friend who hates everything (except Sanctuary Moon).
posted by nicebookrack at 6:44 PM on April 2, 2019 [5 favorites]


I looked upon my AO3 output and contemplated which of my fics deserves a Hugo nomination, and I have settled upon my Yuletide fic for 17776: What Football Will Look Like in the Future. Not that I'm not proud of all the rest of them, but that one's pretty much my only and/or most scifi work.

I'll also put in a couple quick recs for fics that I think are the kind of scifi that you'll only really find on AO3:

you're my cherry pie, by novembersmith (Venom) - this one is a cry laughing, hilarious take on just how alien Venom is, and the interspecies negotiations and understanding that Venom and Eddie Brock's symbiotic and/or sexual and/or romantic relationship requires. (mind the tags, this one's, uh, pretty explicit.)
YOU THOUGHT I WAS INTERESTED,” Venom repeats blankly, and feels the need despite its lack of eyelids to blink rapidly. “IN SEX? WITH YOU? Eddie stares at back at it with an expression that indicates Venom is getting something crucial wrong in this conversation. "BUT YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE SPORES."
And I've recced this one on Metafilter before, but I think it's such a great example of using a pretty standard scifi trope--swapping bodies/consciousness with your past self--to tell a story about trauma, memory, identity, and choice, to devastating and lovely emotional effect:

to memory now I can't recall by etharei (Captain America)
While on a mission storming a HYDRA facility, James Buchanan Barnes touches one of the many strange alien devices collected by the Red Skull. He does this, in fact, twice— in the past, and in the future.

Next thing he knows, Bucky Barnes is opening his eyes in the 21st century, which is full of great gadgets and coffee, and at least includes his old pal Steve. (And, inexplicably, a different Stark.) Meanwhile, the Winter Soldier finds himself in the middle of World War Two, helping Captain America hunt down HYDRA (which is at least familiar), pretending to be Bucky Barnes (which is not), and figuring out the very noisy group of soldiers who call themselves the Howling Commandos.
posted by yasaman at 8:56 PM on April 2, 2019 [7 favorites]


Oh are we linking our AO3 stuff now , okay then, I have zero shame

INTERVIEW WITH AN EMPATH
(NBC Hannibal) A Season 4 situation with our duo on the run in New Orleans facing possible copy-cat killers AND married life ennui. Mythological references abound.

BROTHER TOUCHERS 2.0
(Archer) I actually wrote this as part of my Spec script packet with the help of Metafilter.

FAST BREAK AT TIFFANY'S
(Avengers) literally a one shot Marvel pitch I turned into a prose thing. Natasha and Clint have a fun adventure in Midtown.

THE TALENTED MR. BENSON
(Mad Men)
Did you know I was briedly the top rated Mad Men fanfic author on AO3? That's wild. Anyway, gayness, history, and giving Bob a voice.

PROBLEMS FROM EVERYDAY LIFE
(NBC Hannibal)
What if the first season but ..on Ask Metafilter?
posted by The Whelk at 9:18 PM on April 2, 2019 [9 favorites]


Aw, Yasaman, that 17776 story is one of my favorites. Voyager 2 is just so gosh danged happy!
posted by tavella at 9:54 PM on April 2, 2019 [1 favorite]


Here's the Hugo Awards' Official Rules for best Related Work:
Best Related Work: Awarded to a work related to the field of science fiction, fantasy, or fandom, appearing for the first time during the previous calendar year or which has been substantially modified during the previous calendar year. The type of works eligible include, but are not limited to, collections of art, works of literary criticism, books about the making of a film or TV series, biographies and so on, provided that they do not qualify for another category. Specifically, the Constitution says that any work in this category must be “either non-fiction or, if fictional, is noteworthy primarily for aspects other than the fictional text, and which is not eligible in any other category.” Nonfiction collections are eligible here, but fiction anthologies generally are not because all of the individual works within the anthology are eligible in one of the “story” categories. There is no category for “Best Anthology.”
I love AO3, but I'm surprised to see that it apparently qualified.
posted by Joe in Australia at 10:34 PM on April 2, 2019


AO3 is likely not nominated because of fan-work, but because of its noteworthiness in its implementation. It's a primarily hobbyist-built website that runs better than most professionally-developed sites, with apparently, a highly advanced classification system.

the concept of fan-fiction didn't get nominated; a specific platform got nominated. They deserve technical kudos.
posted by Merus at 10:54 PM on April 2, 2019 [7 favorites]


AO3 definitely deserves the technical kudos, but it's also important not to divide the concept of fanwork from the implementation. It's Archive Of OUR Own; the fans built themselves the site to use and support each other's labor and train each other in the work, under the shared community of fandom's gift economy. Labor that is highly valued within fandom/AO3 can also be labor that is not valued outside those spaces, like fannish research & reference guides with analysis of fannish tropes and writing advice and instructions on how to format your AO3 story to look like it has iMessages embedded.
posted by nicebookrack at 12:31 AM on April 3, 2019 [7 favorites]


Quick, let's figure out how to put fanfic on our resumes, now that I can write "Teresa Nielsen Hayden linked to my Buffy story once" AND "Hugo-nominated" for mine!

You're producing on-demand entertainment for a targeted audience.
posted by Katemonkey at 1:43 AM on April 3, 2019 [3 favorites]


Please let October Daye win !! It’s sooooo good!!
posted by Pendragon at 9:30 AM on April 3, 2019 [2 favorites]


Know what I love? Not having to read any “respectfully decline” messages from authors nominated by slate. That’s a fucking improvement over recent years. Those broke my heart. Hooray that nominated writers can just accept their nominations knowing that people liked their stuff on its own merit, and feel good about it.

Also yay for AO3 and bonus yay for Chuck Tingle’s tweet.
posted by greermahoney at 6:14 PM on April 3, 2019 [1 favorite]


Man, that is a great ballot. I was afraid the slate-that-wasn't-a-slate-but-was-totally-a-slate from the Nebulas would have crept in. We'll have to wait for the breakdown of nominees after the actual awards, but my gut tells me that E Pluribus Hugo continues to do its thing (ie not allow slates to creep into the ballot).

Also, congratulations to all of you AO3 finalists. If you win, good luck with the rotation schedule for the rocket.
posted by RakDaddy at 9:07 PM on April 3, 2019 [2 favorites]


I'll just... drop this here. Chuck Tingle's latest.
posted by suelac at 10:34 PM on April 4, 2019


On the principle that I have paid for things I definitely enjoy a lot less than endless stucky AUs and the joy that is Venom selfcest (I haven't even seen the movie guys!) I gave AO3 some money this morning and am happy to see they have surpassed their funding goals for this round.

Looking over the full nomination list I see lots of things that are totally unfamiliar, which is understandable given just how much fanfic I have been reading lately. Maybe it's time to give my screen addled eyes a break and try books again.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 9:57 AM on April 5, 2019


Most of the short stories and novelettes are available for free online, lots of links in the Fanfare Talk, if you want to read them.
posted by Margalo Epps at 10:35 PM on April 5, 2019




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