2017 Hugo Award Winners

[James Nicoll]

Best Novel

The Obelisk Gate, by N. K. Jemisin (Orbit Books)

Best Novella

Every Heart a Doorway, by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com publishing)

Best Novelette

"The Tomato Thief", by Ursula Vernon (Apex Magazine, January 2016)

Best Short Story

"Seasons of Glass and Iron", by Amal El-Mohtar (The Starlit Wood:
New Fairy Tales, Saga Press)

Best Related Work

Words Are My Matter: Writings About Life and Books, 2000-2016, by
Ursula K. Le Guin (Small Beer)

Best Graphic Story

Monstress, Volume 1: Awakening, written by Marjorie Liu, illustrated
by Sana Takeda (Image)

Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form)

Arrival, screenplay by Eric Heisserer based on a short story by Ted Chiang
, directed by Denis Villeneuve (21 Laps Entertainment/FilmNation
Entertainment/Lava Bear Films)

Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form)

The Expanse: "Leviathan Wakes", written by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby,
directed by Terry McDonough (SyFy)

Best Editor Short Form

Ellen Datlow

Best Editor Long Form

Liz Gorinsky

Best Professional Artist

Julie Dillon

Best Semiprozine

Uncanny Magazine, edited by Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas,
Michi Trota, Julia Rios, and podcast produced by Erika Ensign & Steven
Schapansky

Best Fanzine

Lady Business, edited by Clare, Ira, Jodie, KJ, Renay, and Susan

Best Fancast

Tea and Jeopardy, presented by Emma Newman with Peter Newman

Best Fan Writer

Abigail Nussbaum

Best Fan Artist

Elizabeth Leggett

Best Series

The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen)

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

Ada Palmer (1st year of eligibility)

--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My Livejournal at http://www.livejournal.com/users/james_nicoll
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

[James Nicoll]

In article <omle2p$of1$1...@reader2.panix.com>,

James Nicoll <jdni...@panix.com> wrote:
>Best Novel
>
> The Obelisk Gate, by N. K. Jemisin (Orbit Books)
>

The other two back-to-back Best Novel wins were by Bujold in the
1990s and Card in the 1980s.

[Garrett Wollman]

In article <omle2p$of1$1...@reader2.panix.com>,
James Nicoll <jdni...@panix.com> wrote:

>Best Novelette
>
> "The Tomato Thief", by Ursula Vernon (Apex Magazine, January 2016)
>
>Best Short Story
>
> "Seasons of Glass and Iron", by Amal El-Mohtar (The Starlit Wood:
>New Fairy Tales, Saga Press)

I was only able to read the nominees in these two categories (ran out
of time!) but I have to say that all the nominees -- Puppy items
excepted -- were super super strong, and I had a lot of trouble
ranking them on my ballot. (I had both of these stories ranked
second, but it was a close thing.) And check out Ursula Vernon's
acceptance speech.

Lots of buzz on the panels for novel nominee Ninefox Gambit (Yoon Ha
Lee), even though it didn't win.

-GAWollman
(still in Helsinki for another day)
--
Garrett A. Wollman | "Act to avoid constraining the future; if you can,
wol...@bimajority.org| act to remove constraint from the future. This is
Opinions not shared by| a thing you can do, are able to do, to do together."
my employers. | - Graydon Saunders, _A Succession of Bad Days_ (2015)

[James Nicoll]

In article <omrda5$2s0d$3...@grapevine.csail.mit.edu>,

Garrett Wollman <wol...@bimajority.org> wrote:
>In article <omle2p$of1$1...@reader2.panix.com>,
>James Nicoll <jdni...@panix.com> wrote:
>>Best Novelette
>>
>> "The Tomato Thief", by Ursula Vernon (Apex Magazine, January 2016)
>>
>>Best Short Story
>>
>> "Seasons of Glass and Iron", by Amal El-Mohtar (The Starlit Wood:
>>New Fairy Tales, Saga Press)
>
>I was only able to read the nominees in these two categories (ran out
>of time!) but I have to say that all the nominees -- Puppy items
>excepted -- were super super strong, and I had a lot of trouble
>ranking them on my ballot. (I had both of these stories ranked
>second, but it was a close thing.) And check out Ursula Vernon's
>acceptance speech.

The series Hugo made it very, very difficult to read everything this
year :)

[D B Davis]

Garrett Wollman <wol...@bimajority.org> wrote:
> In article <omle2p$of1$1...@reader2.panix.com>,
> James Nicoll <jdni...@panix.com> wrote:
>>Best Novelette
>>
>> "The Tomato Thief", by Ursula Vernon (Apex Magazine, January 2016)
>>
>>Best Short Story
>>
>> "Seasons of Glass and Iron", by Amal El-Mohtar (The Starlit Wood:
>>New Fairy Tales, Saga Press)
>
> I was only able to read the nominees in these two categories (ran out
> of time!) but I have to say that all the nominees -- Puppy items
> excepted -- were super super strong, and I had a lot of trouble
> ranking them on my ballot. (I had both of these stories ranked
> second, but it was a close thing.) And check out Ursula Vernon's
> acceptance speech.
>
> Lots of buzz on the panels for novel nominee Ninefox Gambit (Yoon Ha
> Lee), even though it didn't win.

"An Unimaginable Light" (Wright) appears on the Puppy list. [1] It's the
only Hugo short story finalist that's not available for free.

Did you actually read "An Unimaginable Light?" If so, do you care to
rebut the Frisky Pagan's take on it?

In any event, ["An Unimaginable Light"] will give enough
food for though[t] even -and that's the important bit- if you
disagree with it or some of its conclusions in one way or
another, which is the best a philosophical sci-fi story can
do (and I guess you could classify this one as "message
fiction.") The other Hugo finalists, on the other hand, purport
to be "political", hip, or progressive but they ask nothing
of you except to applaud them or nod respectfully. They don't
even ask questions for you to agree or disagree with. [2]

Earlier the Frisky Pagan says that "An Unimaginable Light" subverts
well known tropes. It's also contains dystopian elements.

OK. Those things are of interest to me. YMMV.

Note.

1. http://file770.com/?p=34186
2. https://friskypagan.wordpress.com/2017/04/27/reading-the-hugos-an-unimaginable/

Thank you,

--
Don

[Garrett Wollman]

In article <2017...@crcomp.net>, D B Davis <g...@crcomp.net> wrote:
>"An Unimaginable Light" (Wright) appears on the Puppy list. [1] It's the
>only Hugo short story finalist that's not available for free.
>
>Did you actually read "An Unimaginable Light?"

Nope. It wasn't in the voter's packet, so I left it off my ballot.
"Alien Strippier [etc]" was in the packet, and I read the first few
pages of it before deciding it didn't really belong.

Was there any category in which the Puppy nominee ranked above "No
Award"? I have the feeling that a lot of voters may have downvoted
the Puppy nominees without reading them, out of sheer annoyance. (And
note that this year's business meeting voted to reduce the membership
period for nominating from three years to two.)

In the final tally, "An Unimaginable Light" received 394 votes to "No
award" 1253; "Alien Stripper" 274 to 1137; for editor, long form, Vox
Day 97 to 1148; for fanzine, Castalia House blog 118 to 850; for
fancast, The Rageaholic 139 to 523; for fan writer, Jeffro Johnson 195
to 702; for the Campbell, J. Mulrooney (Puppy or not?) 339 to 382.
The fully results are at
<http://www.worldcon.fi/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/HugoReport1_voting.pdf>.

-GAWollman

[mcdow...@sky.com]

On Monday, August 14, 2017 at 2:55:24 PM UTC+1, James Nicoll wrote:
> >acceptance speech.
>
> The series Hugo made it very, very difficult to read everything this
> year :)
>
>
> --
> My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
> My Livejournal at http://www.livejournal.com/users/james_nicoll
> My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

Despite the :) I'm going to shout out to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_(statistics) just because it is one of the truly great ideas that is still being overlooked, e.g. by public sector organizations trying to monitor the quality of the service they are providing. Very often they try to collect a small amount of data every time something happens, when they should be collecting a large amount of data at randomly chosen times. To some public sector organizations, the idea of a "secret shopper" would be an innovation of alien technology proportions.

PS - I'm genuinely impressed and surprised that the best series award went to the Vorkosigan Saga - great SF that is a good advertisement for the genre for new readers.

[James Nicoll]

In article <4f5a7299-8e01-4d73...@googlegroups.com>,

<mcdow...@sky.com> wrote:
>On Monday, August 14, 2017 at 2:55:24 PM UTC+1, James Nicoll wrote:
>> >acceptance speech.
>>
>> The series Hugo made it very, very difficult to read everything this
>> year :)
>>

>Despite the :) I'm going to shout out to
>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_(statistics) just because it is
>one of the truly great ideas that is still being overlooked, e.g. by
>public sector organizations trying to monitor the quality of the service
>they are providing. Very often they try to collect a small amount of
>data every time something happens, when they should be collecting a
>large amount of data at randomly chosen times. To some public sector
>organizations, the idea of a "secret shopper" would be an innovation of
>alien technology proportions.
>
>PS - I'm genuinely impressed and surprised that the best series award
>went to the Vorkosigan Saga - great SF that is a good advertisement for
>the genre for new readers.

I wasn't crazy about Rivers of London, the world building in
the Temeraire series drives me nuts and I have not read any of the
McGuires but there didn't seem to be any unjustifiable choices in
series, just ones not to my taste. It's not like the Sadly Rabids
managed to slip one of their crap fests onto that part of the ballot.

[Jaimie Vandenbergh]

On Mon, 14 Aug 2017 05:43:33 +0000 (UTC), wol...@bimajority.org
(Garrett Wollman) wrote:

>And check out Ursula Vernon's
>acceptance speech.

Do you have a link? Youtube has her 2012 acceptance, but I'm not finding
this years.

Cheers - Jaimie
--
Good judgement comes from experience.
Experience comes from bad judgement.

[Garrett Wollman]

In article <vos3pcp21jmjn93jf...@4ax.com>,

Jaimie Vandenbergh <jai...@sometimes.sessile.org> wrote:
>On Mon, 14 Aug 2017 05:43:33 +0000 (UTC), wol...@bimajority.org
>(Garrett Wollman) wrote:
>
>>And check out Ursula Vernon's
>>acceptance speech.
>
>Do you have a link? Youtube has her 2012 acceptance, but I'm not finding
>this years.

There was supposed to be a livestream, but due to technical
difficulties it didn't go out, but the Hugo ceremony was recorded and
should be uploaded soon. (You'll probably have to scrub through the
whole ceremony to find it.)

-GAWollman

[David Goldfarb]

In article <omsif9$5s0$1...@grapevine.csail.mit.edu>,

Garrett Wollman <wol...@bimajority.org> wrote:
>In article <2017...@crcomp.net>, D B Davis <g...@crcomp.net> wrote:
>>Did you actually read "An Unimaginable Light?"
>
>Nope. It wasn't in the voter's packet, so I left it off my ballot.

Yes it was. I read it and thought it was awful.

>"Alien Strippier [etc]" was in the packet, and I read the first few
>pages of it before deciding it didn't really belong.

I didn't bother reading any of that one.

I did read Chuck Tingle's entry for Best Fan Writer, and discovered,
rather to my surprise, that he (if indeed Tingle is a he) can actually
write. The barely literate act on Twitter is in fact just an act.

I started Mulrooney's novel for the Campbell packet, and gave up
in disgust after a couple of chapters -- and that was *before* I
looked at the lists and found out he was Beale's pick.

>Was there any category in which the Puppy nominee ranked above "No
>Award"? I have the feeling that a lot of voters may have downvoted
>the Puppy nominees without reading them, out of sheer annoyance.

There was none.

--
David Goldfarb | "All love is unrequited."
goldf...@gmail.com |
gold...@ocf.berkeley.edu | -- Babylon 5, "Rising Star"

[larry]

+1 I still reread the series .

--
After investigation, believe that which you have yourselves
tested and found reasonable, and which is for your good
and that of others.
Gautama.

[James Nicoll]

In article <on27bf$s3a$1...@dont-email.me>, larry <ljm...@wightman.ca> wrote:
>On 2017-08-14, mcdow...@sky.com <mcdow...@sky.com> wrote:
>> On Monday, August 14, 2017 at 2:55:24 PM UTC+1, James Nicoll wrote:
>>> >acceptance speech.
>>>
>>> The series Hugo made it very, very difficult to read everything this
>>> year :)
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
>>> My Livejournal at http://www.livejournal.com/users/james_nicoll
>>> My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll
>>
>> Despite the :) I'm going to shout out to
>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_(statistics) just because it is
>one of the truly great ideas that is still being overlooked, e.g. by
>public sector organizations trying to monitor the quality of the service
>they are providing. Very often they try to collect a small amount of
>data every time something happens, when they should be collecting a
>large amount of data at randomly chosen times. To some public sector
>organizations, the idea of a "secret shopper" would be an innovation of
>alien technology proportions.
>>
>> PS - I'm genuinely impressed and surprised that the best series award
>went to the Vorkosigan Saga - great SF that is a good advertisement for
>the genre for new readers.
>
>+1 I still reread the series .
>

So, I've gotten in the habit of devoting Fridays to some grand project:
50 Nortons, Tanith Lee, Waterloo Region. The down side is A: there are
not a lot of authors with enough books to keep me busy for a year, and
B: that's a good way to get burned out on an author. Next year I am
thinking of rotating four series on Fridays and one would be Vorkosigan.

[Ahasuerus]

On Monday, August 14, 2017 at 1:28:03 PM UTC-4, mcdow...@sky.com wrote:
[snip]

> PS - I'm genuinely impressed and surprised that the best series award
> went to the Vorkosigan Saga - great SF that is a good advertisement
> for the genre for new readers.

Considering how many wins and near-wins the series has racked up over
the years (http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/eaw.cgi?13), I think it's
fair to say that Hugo voters tend to like it.

[hamis...@gmail.com]

Not a surprise, it's well written, interesting characters, lots of stuff happens, some deep thought.

Of course kitten trees cause issues for some...

[David Goldfarb]

In article <oupHJ...@kithrup.com>,

David Goldfarb <goldf...@gmail.com> wrote:
>In article <omsif9$5s0$1...@grapevine.csail.mit.edu>,
>Garrett Wollman <wol...@bimajority.org> wrote:
>>In article <2017...@crcomp.net>, D B Davis <g...@crcomp.net> wrote:
>>>Did you actually read "An Unimaginable Light?"
>>
>>Nope. It wasn't in the voter's packet, so I left it off my ballot.
>
>Yes it was. I read it and thought it was awful.

I feel like expanding on this a bit. I would go so far as to say
that "An Unimaginable Light" is not actually a story: a story
should have a plot, or characters, or preferably both; while "Light"
has neither. It is, rather, an extended fit of screaming about the
existence of political views that Wright doesn't agree with.

To approach it as a work of fiction is to take on the role of the
man in the Monty Python sketch, who went looking for intellectual
stimulation and received curse words and physical blows.

--
David Goldfarb |"Come on, characters with super-strength don't
goldf...@gmail.com | *do* inertia! Or leverage."
gold...@ocf.berkeley.edu | -- Dani Zweig

[Moriarty]

On Saturday, August 12, 2017 at 9:19:55 AM UTC+10, James Nicoll wrote:

<snip>

I've just gone through the list of nominees and note that China Mieville's "This Census-Taker" was a rabid puppy nomination. Since <understatement> Mieville's politics don't exactly align with the puppies </understatement>, I have to ask WHY?

-Moriarty

[Robert Woodward]

In article <e6d428c5-8191-4d1b...@googlegroups.com>,

You are confusing the Sad Puppies with the Rabid Puppies. The Sad
Puppies had a political orientation (though perhaps not as much as some
claim); the Rabid Puppies are oriented strictly to the goals of the
diseased one. His goals, the best I can tell, is promoting himself and
his publishing company and contamination by association (and thus China
Mieville).

--
"We have advanced to new and surprising levels of bafflement."
Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan describes progress in _Komarr_.
—-----------------------------------------------------
Robert Woodward robe...@drizzle.com

[Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy]

Robert Woodward <robe...@drizzle.com> wrote in
news:robertaw-B64C96...@news.individual.net:

> In article
> <e6d428c5-8191-4d1b...@googlegroups.com>,
> Moriarty <blu...@ivillage.com> wrote:
>
>> On Saturday, August 12, 2017 at 9:19:55 AM UTC+10, James Nicoll
>> wrote:
>>
>> <snip>
>>
>> I've just gone through the list of nominees and note that China
>> Mieville's "This Census-Taker" was a rabid puppy nomination.
>> Since <understatement> Mieville's politics don't exactly align
>> with the puppies </understatement>, I have to ask WHY?
>>
>
> You are confusing the Sad Puppies with the Rabid Puppies.

James, confusing two groups whose only characteristic in common is
that they don't meet his political purity test? Nah, never happened.
Never could.

Nobody has _ever_ confliated the two gruops, you know.

--
Terry Austin

Vacation photos from Iceland:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/collection/QaXQkB

"Terry Austin: like the polio vaccine, only with more asshole."
-- David Bilek

Jesus forgives sinners, not criminals.

[Dorothy J Heydt]

In article <robertaw-B64C96...@news.individual.net>,

Robert Woodward <robe...@drizzle.com> wrote:
>In article <e6d428c5-8191-4d1b...@googlegroups.com>,
> Moriarty <blu...@ivillage.com> wrote:
>
>> On Saturday, August 12, 2017 at 9:19:55 AM UTC+10, James Nicoll wrote:
>>
>> <snip>
>>
>> I've just gone through the list of nominees and note that China Mieville's
>> "This Census-Taker" was a rabid puppy nomination. Since <understatement>
>> Mieville's politics don't exactly align with the puppies </understatement>, I
>> have to ask WHY?
>>
>
>You are confusing the Sad Puppies with the Rabid Puppies. The Sad
>Puppies had a political orientation (though perhaps not as much as some
>claim); the Rabid Puppies are oriented strictly to the goals of the
>diseased one. His goals, the best I can tell, is promoting himself and
>his publishing company and contamination by association (and thus China
>Mieville).

I've been paying as little attention as possible to the puppies
(I am, after all, a cat person); but at this point I have to ask,
who's "the diseased one"?

--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com

[Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy]

djh...@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) wrote in
news:ouuC2...@kithrup.com:

That would be Vox Day, aka. Theodore Beale, notable for his wingnut
poltiical deals and eagerness to be as obnoxious as he possibly can
because he likes pissing people off. He is, appaerntly, a complete,
utter loser, which pisses him off no end, and he apparently feels
he shouldn't be the only one pissed off.

Ordinarily, when liberals are reduced to calling their opponents
mentally ill, you can safely dismiss them as irrelevant, and unable
to refute the things their opponent is saying that they wish
desperately weren't true, but in Beale's case, it's merely the pot
calling the kettle black.

In short, he's bascially the neighborhood kid who spray paints
dirty words on your fence because you don't want him eating your
flowers trying to get high.

[Dorothy J Heydt]

In article <XnsA7D479AD6B5...@69.16.179.43>,

Oh, him.

Thanks.

[Robert Woodward]

In article <ouuC2...@kithrup.com>,

There is a certain individual whose initials are TB and whose pseudonym
has the initials VD. A couple of years ago, somebody pointed out that
those could stand for Tuberculosis and Venereal Disease and I have been
referring to that individual as the "diseased one" ever since.

--
"We have advanced to new and surprising levels of bafflement."
Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan describes progress in _Komarr_.

-------------------------------------------------------
Robert Woodward robe...@drizzle.com

[larry]

Might I suggest the late Ian M Banks, and Charles Stross, for one of the
Fridays (call it Scottish Night?)


Other candidates
Andre Norton
Arthur C Clarke
Isaac Asimov
Katherin Anne McLean

[Jaimie Vandenbergh]

On Mon, 21 Aug 2017 13:04:04 -0000 (UTC), larry <ljm...@wightman.ca>
wrote:

>On 2017-08-16, James Nicoll <jdni...@panix.com> wrote:
>> So, I've gotten in the habit of devoting Fridays to some grand project:
>> 50 Nortons, Tanith Lee, Waterloo Region. The down side is A: there are
>> not a lot of authors with enough books to keep me busy for a year, and
>> B: that's a good way to get burned out on an author. Next year I am
>> thinking of rotating four series on Fridays and one would be Vorkosigan.
>>
>>
>Might I suggest the late Ian M Banks, and Charles Stross, for one of the
>Fridays (call it Scottish Night?)

Although I'd be keen, Charlie's a Leeds lad who's just living in
Scotland because he's very sensible. If we count him, Jane Yolen
likewise? Or Ken MacLeod, Peter Hamilton for True Scotsmen.

Discovering Hannu Rajaniemi lives there explains a couple of things
(primarily why Charlie's getting to drink with him!)

Cheers - Jaimie
--
I like my coffee how I like my women... frothing.

[James Nicoll]

She was the focus of 50 Nortons in 50 Weeks.

>Katherin Anne McLean

I don't think she has twelve novel-length things to review, does she?

[larry]

Unfortunately, no.