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Recent Hugo Award winners
Winners of the premier awards for sci-fi and fantasy literature since 2020.
Published on October 31, 2023
Nettle & Bone
T. Kingfisher2023 Best Novel: Some call “Nettle & Bone” a subversion of fairy tales, others say it’s a feminist reinterpretation. All agree that it’s brilliant. After discovering her middle sister is married to a violent prince, Marra sets off on a quest to save her, with a rag-tag team of whimsical helpers in tow. From princesses to knights to fairy godmothers, the characters here are all familiar — but in Kingfisher’s superb hands, they’re also entirely new.
Where the Drowned Girls Go
Seanan McGuire2023 Best Novella: Unlike Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, the Whitethorn Institute wants students to forget their magical adventures. Cora enrolls, hoping to move on, but soon discovers Whitethorn is more sinister than supportive. McGuire’s seventh “Wayward Children” story celebrates authenticity over conformity, and manages to retain the series’ signature whimsy despite a darker turn.
A Desolation Called Peace
Arkady Martine2022 Best Novel: The sequel to Martine’s “A Memory Called Empire” (also a Hugo-winner for Best Novel) is an engrossing look at how politicking and imperialism complicate first contact. As alien forces encroach on the Teixcalaanli Empire, Ambassador Mahit Dzmare and Imperial Official Three Seagrass must find a way to make contact — and peace. But other political powerhouses, eager for war, undermine their efforts and risk the future of the Empire.
Every Heart a Doorway
Seanan McGuire2022 Best Series: The School for Wayward Children is a place for the young people who went on adventures in fantasy realms to readjust to our world again — with varying degrees of success. This novella (the first in the “Wayward Children” series) strikes a great balance between taking the emotional reality of its characters seriously and winking at the reader.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built
Becky Chambers2022 Best Novella: After self-aware robots separated from humankind centuries ago, a tea monk finds themself struggling with feelings of dissatisfaction and restlessness. They connect with a friendly robot and embark on a journey together, all while making sense of one another’s existence and pondering their purpose in life. “A Psalm for the Wild-Built” is the first in Chambers’ “Monk and Robot” series.
Bots of the Lost Ark by Suzanne Palmer (audio): This episode features "Bots of the Lost Ark" written by Suzanne Palmer. Published in the June 2021 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine and read by Kate Baker. - The text version of this story can be found at: http://clarkesworldmagazine.
Bots of the Lost Ark by Suzanne Palmer (audio): This episode features "Bots of the Lost Ark" written by Suzanne Palmer. Published in the June 2021 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine and read by Kate Baker. - The text version of this story can be found at: http://clarkesworldmagazine.
Clarkesworld Magazine2022 Best Novelette: Bot 9, a helpful robot aboard a spacecraft in stasis, must awaken a human crewmember when the ship comes in contact with a potentially dangerous alien race. But the mission is complicated by other rebellious robots on board. “Bots of the Lost Ark” is hilariously absurd while boasting a fully developed sci-fi universe, an impressive feat for a story of this length.
Never Say You Can't Survive
Charlie Jane Anders2022 Best Related Work: Blending memoir and how-to, “Never Say You Can’t Survive” explores how we can use our creativity to overcome life’s challenges, including political and social upheaval. It’s also a concise lesson in fiction writing, which is Anders’ (“Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak”) area of expertise.
Our Opinions Are Correct
155 podcast episodes
Our Opinions Are Correct
155 podcast episodes2022 & 2020 Best Fancast: “Our Opinions Are Correct” dives deep into science fiction, exploring everything from genre tropes to individual works to how fact and speculative fiction collide. This podcast is hosted by authors Annalee Newitz (“The Terraformers”) and Charlie Jane Anders (whose Hugo-winning book, “Never Say You Can't Survive,” appears in this list.)
Network Effect
Martha Wells2021 Best Novel: Following four hit novellas featuring Murderbot (a security robot that hacked its own code and now operates as an independent agent), “Network Effect” is the first full-length story in the series. Murderbot goes on a rescue mission to save a group of kidnapped humans, including the daughter of a previous client. This story shows us what it means to be human through the eyes of something that isn’t.
All Systems Red [Dramatized Adaptation]: The Murderbot Diaries 1
Martha Wells2021 Best Series: “All Systems Red” — which won the Hugo for Best Novella in 2018 — introduces the beloved “Murderbot” series mentioned in the previous blurb. It’s a fun, fast-paced read full of dry humor that’s balanced by a poignant examination of the ethics of artificial intelligence. Let AI droid Murderbot steal your heart and suck you into the series.
The Empress of Salt and Fortune
Nghi Vo2021 Best Novella: Surprisingly complex for its length, this is a story of political intrigue and monarchical obligation. It follows the friendship between Rabbit, a court handmaiden, and titular empress In-Yo, who must overcome isolation and mistrust (she’s a foreigner, and a woman) to save her people.
The Best Horror of the Year
NBN Books2021 Best Novelette: This volume of “The Best Horror of the Year” includes Hugo-winner “Two Truths and a Lie” by Sarah Pinsker. She’s not sure why she does it, but Stella lies. This time, she asks a friend if he remembers a made-up (and super creepy) TV show from childhood. To her surprise, he remembers it — and he’s not the only one. Stella’s tangled web only gets weirder from there.
Beowulf: A New Translation
Maria Dahvana Headley2021 Best Related Work: If the first word of the text — “Bro!” — doesn’t make it obvious, this is not the same old “Beowulf” you read in high school. Headley first reimagined monster Grendel’s mother in her 2018 novel “The Mere Wife.” Here, she offers a thrilling retelling of the poem as a whole, giving modern context (including a feminist twist) to an age-old tale of male bravado.
The Coode Street Podcast
624 podcast episodes
The Coode Street Podcast
624 podcast episodes2021 Best Fancast: From deep-dives into specific works to author interviews to genre explorations, hosts Gary K. Wolfe and Jonathan Strahan offer what they call “discussion and digression” on a variety of sci-fi and fantasy topics. “The Coode Street Podcast” has been nominated for Hugo’s “Best Fancast” nearly every year since the category was added in 2012.
This Is How You Lose the Time War
Amal El-Mohtar2020 Best Novella: The chaos of time and space converge in this beautifully short, never-ending love story. Two women, Red and Blue, fight for opposing factions in the ceaseless time war, flowing from the past to the future, from timeline to timeline. Through a series of letters sent via tea and lava and other delightful delivery systems, Red and Blue fall for each other, and combine for some of the best purple prose around.