I love science fiction and fantasy books, and I try to keep up with genre news. In the past few years, a lot of that news has centered around the Hugo Awards. The Hugo Awards are yearly awards given to works in the science fiction and fantasy fields. They are nominated and voted on by members of Worldcon, an organization anyone can join if they pay forty dollars.
In 2015, a group of far-right reactionaries (the Sad and Rabid Puppies) took advantage of flaws in the nomination process to push through a slate of works that aligned with their political views. I don’t want to go into the whole situation, and it’s easy enough to find other articles on the situation. What I want to talk about is this year’s Hugo finalists.
Despite the best effort of the Puppies, this year’s finalists ballot is a diverse set of authors, not just the straight, white cis men who have long dominated the awards. This may be the first time ever that two trans authors are finalists for Best Novel, and half of the best novel finalists are people of color. Two-thirds are women.
Among the Best Novella finalists are two stories that specifically reimagine the work of Lovecraft, an extremely influential horror author who was also extremely racist, to be more inclusive of women and people of color. Among the other Best Novella finalists is a story about queer men in a world based on ancient Africa and a story with a canonically asexual lead.
In the Best Short Story category, half of the stories are again by people of color, and five out of the six are written by women. Black Panther, the first black superhero, and Ms. Marvel, a comic book about a Muslim heroine, have both been nominated for Best Graphic Story. Hidden Figures has made the ballot for Best Dramatic Presentation – Long Form, and “San Junipero,” a science fiction love story between two women, is a finalist for Best Dramatic Presentation – Short Form.
Despite the best efforts of a concerted group of agitators, the Hugo Awards continue to move towards the future, becoming more representative of the world at large and showcasing emerging new voices within the genre.