The 2022 Hugo Awards
September 5, 2022 9:17 AM   Subscribe

The 2022 Hugo Awards ceremony happened last night! The ceremony, hosted by Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz, can be viewed on Youtube. You can also check out the full list of winners and the full voting statistics.

It was a tight 2-hour ceremony, sprinkled with fun riffing from the hosts, heartfelt speeches, and a moving tribute to those the community has lost since the last awards. There were also incredible outfits, many of which were highlighted by Meg Elison on Twitter using the #HugoRedCarpet or #HugosRedCarpet hashtag!
posted by j.r (41 comments total) 35 users marked this as a favorite
 
A Memory Called Empire was something special. A Desolation Called Peace was too. Both strong books. Arkady Martine is on my permanent look-for list now. Reminded me of reading Downbelow Station or Ancillary Justice for the first time.
posted by bonehead at 9:22 AM on September 5, 2022 [9 favorites]


I like them both, but thought Desolation wasn't as strong as Memory. Still very happy she won for both.
posted by signal at 9:25 AM on September 5, 2022 [5 favorites]


I'm not so happy about Wayward Children winning best series. I think Fonda Lee tells a better story.
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:39 AM on September 5, 2022 [4 favorites]


One of the nominated movies, Space Sweepers, is new to me. (Although not new to Fanfare.) "a 2021 South Korean space Western film". Sounds fun!
posted by Nelson at 9:42 AM on September 5, 2022 [6 favorites]


brainwane's nominations post has a good roundup of previouslies, and for the categories that are rich in online content, here are a few relevant links: posted by Wobbuffet at 9:58 AM on September 5, 2022 [16 favorites]


Yup, LOVED the Teixcalaan series by Martine, am disappointed she's left that writing that universe for now. She said she will return to it.

Bloody Stars, May it be soon!
posted by lalochezia at 9:58 AM on September 5, 2022 [1 favorite]


I didn't even know this was happening (I don't pay that much attention to awards ceremonies generally, although I love the work the Hugos honor and kind of knew this was coming up) but I am DELIGHTED to know it's viewable online and even more delighted to know the hosts were Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz.

I'm especially appreciative of Wobbuffet's links to the many things I can read online.

This is a big bundle of delight. Thank you so much for posting it, j.r - and for the links, Wobbuffet! Yay!
posted by kristi at 10:03 AM on September 5, 2022 [5 favorites]


Terra Ignota is the best sci fi I've ever read, hands down... Missing the best series spot, after getting passed over for best novel four times, means I should finally but the bullet and become a Hugo voter...
posted by kaibutsu at 10:29 AM on September 5, 2022 [7 favorites]


Also, noticing the Merchant Princes on the best series nominee list makes me realize I missed the release of Invisible Sun... By almost two years, apparently. Better late than never, though.
posted by kaibutsu at 10:34 AM on September 5, 2022


I have seen one winner (Dune, which was pretty good, although I haven't seen it on the big screen or without being interrupted, ahem) and only read part of a single winner (the first book in Wayward Children, which was very disappointing).

I've only read a few of the other nominees: Project Hail Mary (which I enjoyed), and 1/2way into the first Terra Ignota book (which is excellent). Space Sweepers was nice. For All Mankind: "The Grey" was excellent. Not a fan of Our Opinions Are Correct.
posted by doctornemo at 10:50 AM on September 5, 2022


I say this with NO snark whatsoever: there was no awful drama about the Hugos this year?!

Anyway, other than that, congratulations to Seanan, who is my favorite author. Even if I think October Daye is her best series and really needs to win Best Series someday (I like Wayward Children well enough and I get why people are obsessed with it, but it's not my favorite) I'm glad she got some awards. I'm not really clear on how "Small Gods" is a fanzine though?
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:58 AM on September 5, 2022 [2 favorites]


So cool that The Expanse won best TV presentation! Especially since the other sci fi series last year are very good too.
posted by polymodus at 11:03 AM on September 5, 2022 [2 favorites]


One of my friends is on the Hugo committee (which I didn't realize until she showed her ribbon on FB last night--I knew she was involved in fandom politics and conrunning but not at that level) and I was so pleased for her that the presentation went well. I know she put a lot of effort into Worldcon this year and it's great to see that work rewarded with a drama-free ceremony.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 11:05 AM on September 5, 2022


The worst drama I've seen (so far) is a couple folks who are upset about The Last Graduate showing up in the YA category and taking a spot away from a "real YA" book--and then winning. I can quibble about my own Hugo pet peeves and faves I think were robbed, but it was a joyful celebration and I wanted to focus on that.
posted by j.r at 11:14 AM on September 5, 2022 [1 favorite]


I say this with NO snark whatsoever: there was no awful drama about the Hugos this year?!

Indeed. I don't really follow them that closely as I am not reading that much contemporary genre fiction, but I fully expected the link to be a recap of emotion raw and stark with the usual bitter, festering grudges erupting into open hostility over abstruse disagreements. Pleasing to see it is just some good writers being lauded.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 11:23 AM on September 5, 2022 [2 favorites]


Ah, there was some hurt around the laughter at the really long list of Strange Horizons staff. Sonia Sulaiman articulates that here. And reading or not reading all the names. There are responses from Annalee and Charlie Jane too. It happens at 45:40 in the video if you'd like to see what happened.
posted by j.r at 11:24 AM on September 5, 2022 [2 favorites]


Strange Horizons confirmed that they okayed not reading all the names. Sorry about the multiple posts, it's just unfolding as I type these. I'll go back to lurking and thinking about how I don't read nearly enough short fiction, as the awards always remind me, right about...now!
posted by j.r at 11:32 AM on September 5, 2022 [1 favorite]


I'm particularly happy about the wins for A Desolation Called Peace, Nemesis Games, The Last Graduate, and Shelley Parker-Chan. Yay!

> "a couple folks who are upset about The Last Graduate showing up in the YA category"

Eh. I'd like to see someone try to tell my teenaged niece who might very well EXPLODE with excited anticipation before the next book in the series comes out that it's not YA.
posted by kyrademon at 11:41 AM on September 5, 2022


“Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather” is an excellent short story.
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:55 AM on September 5, 2022 [4 favorites]


If you want to just watch a few bits of the video, IMO it's particularly worth watching Neil Clarke's speech accepting for Best Editor Short Form, and the speech Seanan McGuire gave when accepting on Lee Moyer's behalf for Best Fan Artist, and Sarah Pinsker's speech accepting Best Short Story (which has a prop), and Becky Chambers's speech for Best Novella (read aloud by Annalee Newitz), and the cute presenter schtick Alec Nevala-Lee did when presenting the Best Related Work award.
posted by brainwane at 12:19 PM on September 5, 2022 [1 favorite]


Hey, if we have to listen to every single person's name at a graduation, you can suck it up to hear everyone on the staff of Strange Horizons.
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:38 PM on September 5, 2022 [1 favorite]


“Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather” is an excellent short story.

I feel sorry for Catherynne Valente, not only losing in three separate categories, but losing to a story published in the same issue as her nominated story.

(and my god, Valente's dress deserves a nomination for Best Related Work next year)
posted by Etrigan at 1:19 PM on September 5, 2022 [2 favorites]


If someone at a graduation demanded that every member of their extremely extended family be announced along with their name, people would laugh too. Despite an argument that each person contributed in some way. Award ceremonies have formats and limits to make them work.
posted by tavella at 6:48 PM on September 5, 2022 [2 favorites]


I watched "Space Sweepers" after seeing it recommended here, and I purely loved it.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:59 PM on September 5, 2022 [2 favorites]


I got to be there this year, for the first time in a while, and as a bonus got to do the nominee thing (as an acceptor for someone who didn't win) and the best part was getting to admire extremely fabulous outfits up close. Gods and demons, there were some nice dresses (and other things!) at that show.
posted by restless_nomad at 7:39 PM on September 5, 2022 [3 favorites]


The closest I've seen to kerfuffle was when Elsa Sjunesson made a point of making the broadcast include the sign language interpreter to normalise there being one. She's usually very good at highlighting incidents of ableism in the community and... there seems not to have been any? Which feels slighty impossible.

Wayward Children is so good (though I agree the first one is the weakest), but there's always an element of "is this fair" when big ongoing series like that go up against something like Fonda Lee's Jade Cycle, a classic trilogy that's absolutely brilliant in its own closed form. Honestly, the classic way she ups scope and stakes there, the ending that must have always been... I haven't been as close to choking up in a book in ages, and they're so exquisitely rereadable too, so many details and characters and Fonda's a genius plotter.

And yet for an ongoing series a Hugo nod is a big boost to the author actually getting to finish the series, which Seanan has planned for a good long while since she mentioned that for example Kade isn't getting a solo book until near the end. There just aren't enough Hugos to go around for all the brilliant stuff that gets published lately, and there's a bit of an Oscar effect where Seanan previously only won one Hugo (for the first novella in this series, natch) while building a big readership through multiple long-running series, because publishing 3 books in 12 months is a slow year for her. And hey, Seanan has also promised to float herself in a Seattle swamp in that purple ballgown if she won, possibly that got her a vote or three :)
posted by I claim sanctuary at 12:43 AM on September 6, 2022 [4 favorites]


Drama aside, I'm grinning with delight imagining the Sad Puppies' reaction to Newitz and Anders hosting. :)

And yay for Monk and Robot!
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 7:11 AM on September 6, 2022 [2 favorites]


I really need to actually to renew my Worldcon supporting membership so I can nominate works again this year. I didn't renew a couple years ago because it felt like too much work read everything on the final ballot.

Also, now, six years in, I acknowledge that many of the arguments of why a "Best Series" was not a good idea where probably correct. Of the six winners, none of them are really completed series, and all but The Expanse (which won the year book 8 of 9 came out) and The Wayfarers already won one or more Hugos for individual volumes. On the other hand, the shortlists have generally been really good with 3 of 5 nominees generally being really great. Maybe they just need to tweak the rules a little.

Also, they really should use a better preference ballot tally than Instant Runoff Voting
posted by 3j0hn at 8:12 AM on September 6, 2022 [1 favorite]


There was an ASL interpreter! You could argue that the interpreter should be part of the main broadcast, or more obvious. Or the interpreter stream should include an inset of the main feed so it's easier to see what else is going on on stage without juggling multiple windows. I don't use ASL so I will defer to those community members who do if they have opinions on the accommodations. I watched with live captions on and they were pretty good, at least. By the way, Elsa Sjunneson's book really is fantastic and I highly recommend it.

I struggle with the Best Series Hugo. I try to read as much of the whole ballot as I can, but have basically never read the series unless I was already interested, because I just don't have the time. And then, do I vote if I've only read one whole series? Can I judge a series if I've only read the first book? I've been meaning to read both Jade City and Witchmark and see if I want to continue. Part of the appeal is that those are just trilogies. Terra Ignota I was going to finish regardless, and I think it's pretty special. But my TBR is so intractable that as soon as something crosses ~4 books I tend to drift away from it or never start, because I like to read widely rather than focus on one thing.

In fact, rather than going deep into series, I think this is the year I'm going to finally start diving into short fiction. I want to get more into it because 1) there's so much out there, with fewer gatekeepers, so it's able to be more experimental and different; 2) it's where many more lesser-known, marginalized, and wildly talented people can get published and I want to see more than just the same names over and over; 3) I want to get better at writing short fiction, so I have to read it; and 4) it'll take way less time to read a lot of short things than a lot of long things. I hope by March I feel more equipped to actually nominate in the short story and novelette categories. I never have because I've felt so overwhelmed by decision paralysis, but (as talented as they are) that's how the familiar names and the same publications end up there year after year.
posted by j.r at 9:44 AM on September 6, 2022 [2 favorites]


j.r, please imagine me waving pompoms and cheering you on! Please check out the "not enough people know about these!" magazines in this list of short sf/f venues I posted on the blue last year.
posted by brainwane at 10:21 AM on September 6, 2022 [7 favorites]


Also, now, six years in, I acknowledge that many of the arguments of why a "Best Series" was not a good idea where probably correct.

I don't know the ins and outs of the decision (no SMOF, I), but I imagine it was put into place because, historically, later books in series don't win. Bujold's wins aren't really a counter-argument, since, while they are all loosely linked, many of the books work as stand alone novels. Anyway, that leaves a situation where, if the first book in a series doesn't win, none of the later ones will, either. On the other hand, would that be so bad? I don't really see a need for the movie and tv show Hugos, but not every award needs to be to my tastes.

Similarly, I don't really get the love for the Jade Cycle. I am gamely trying to plow through the first book and bouncing off it repeatedly. A lot of people love it, so I'll keep trying, but I kind of wish it was a 40 episode TV show instead.
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:44 AM on September 6, 2022


Holy wow, brainwane, that's incredible! I don't know why it never occurred to me to add those to my RSS reader, but I will fix that posthaste.
posted by j.r at 11:14 AM on September 6, 2022 [1 favorite]


I had the distinct pleasure (honor, really) of being the supportive partner of the chair of Chicon 8, and I hope she'll be able to take some time to read some of these responses. Making Chicon happen has been her goal for a decade, and she's deeply invested in the Hugo Awards, having been both a losing and winning finalist herself.

It was a great ceremony to watch, as I gasped for breath after running the whole length of the facility twice in order to fetch and hand out the event programme.
posted by ChrisR at 12:08 PM on September 6, 2022 [12 favorites]


It was interesting for me to be there this year because I had quite a few friends, con buddies, and acquaintances up for awards (I've been pretty socially embedded in the SF scene since the last Chicon, ten years ago) and I am usually pretty diligent about nominating/reading/voting. But my life, like so many people's, is a complete disaster right now and I wasn't sure I'd be able to make it, so I did not sign up in time to vote, let alone nominate, and didn't read anything specially for the awards. (I confess I didn't even read the story I was there as an acceptor for, which I remain slightly embarrassed about and will remedy as soon as my brain returns from the war.) So I was able to just cheerfully enjoy the entire process, sincerely congratulate and commiserate with my friends, and not feel the least particle of guilt or disappointment. Next year, since I'll be able to nominate, I'll be way more invested - I've been pretty good about reading current stuff this year and I have Opinions - but for a year in which I have zero spare emotional energy, it was nice to just be able to enjoy the show.

And while the process was not without hiccups, the actual event organizers were lovely people and pleasant to work with, and it was a very smooth and painless night compared with some I've seen. Very well done by all. I'm still dying to see the formal reception photography because that was where I got to do my bit, which I very much want to show off.
posted by restless_nomad at 6:33 AM on September 7, 2022 [1 favorite]


Please let us know when the photos are posted!
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:22 AM on September 7, 2022


In hindsight I wish I'd tried to set up a meetup there. Dang it...
posted by ChrisR at 10:52 AM on September 7, 2022


You might well have handed me a program!
posted by restless_nomad at 11:04 AM on September 7, 2022


A Psalm for the Wind-Built was one of the best books I read this year. Just such a complete, original bit of world-building, and a lovely, gentle story.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:57 PM on September 7, 2022 [3 favorites]


Ugh...that should be Wild-Built.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:23 PM on September 7, 2022


Agreed, Thorzdad. It took me much longer to finish that story than it should have because I kept having to shut it and step away over feeling personally hurt at not getting to live in that world. I just want to be a nonbinary tea monk cycling around my villages and befriending self-actualized robots ...
posted by DingoMutt at 8:48 PM on September 7, 2022 [2 favorites]


I just finished A Prayer for the Crown-Shy. Tears. I can't even deal with reading anything else next because it was just what I needed now. The last Wayfarers book is seeming like the only reasonable follow-up.
posted by mollweide at 5:48 PM on September 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


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