PHENOMENAL news, Space Unicorns! Five Uncanny Magazine stories are finalists for the prestigious Hugo Award! “Loneliness Universe” by Eugenia Triantafyllou is a finalist for the Best Novelette Hugo Award, “Signs of Life” by Sarah Pinsker is a finalist for the Best Novelette Hugo Award, “Marginalia” by Mary Robinette Kowal is a finalist for the Best Short Story Hugo Award, “Stitched to Skin like Family Is” by Nghi Vo is a finalist for the Best Short Story Hugo Award, and “Three Faces of a Beheading” by Arkady Martine  is a finalist for the Best Short Story Hugo Award! Plus, “We Drink Lava” by Ai Jiang is a finalist for the Best Poem Hugo Award, and “there are no taxis for the dead” by Angela Liu is a finalist for the Best Poem Hugo Award! Congratulations to everybody!

Even more wonderful news! Uncanny Magazine (Publishers/Editors-in-Chief Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, Managing Editor Monte Lin, Poetry Editor Betsy Aoki, and Podcast Producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky) is once again a finalist for Best Semiprozine!

Another fantastic thing! Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas are also finalists for the Best Editor- Short Form Hugo Award!

And that’s not all! Uncanny Magazine Interviewer Caroline M. Yoachim’s “We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read” from Lightspeed Magazine is a finalist for the Best Short Story Hugo Award!

It is an amazing list of Hugo Award finalists, many of whom are Uncanny authors and friends. CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYBODY!!! Thank you to everyone who nominated these works, and to the hard-working Seattle Worldcon staff. We are honored, ecstatic, and overwhelmed.

Below is the Hugo Award Press Release Ballot from the Seattle Worldcon:

Media Release #2

Seattle Worldcon 2025

August 13-17, 2025

For further information contact [email protected]

April 5, 2025.

For Release on April 6, 2025 at 12:30 p.m. PDT (UTC-7)

Seattle Worldcon 2025, the 83rd World Science Fiction Convention is delighted to announce the finalists for the 2025 Hugo Awards, Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, and Astounding Award for Best New Writer. A full list of the Finalists can be found at the Seattle Worldcon 2025 Webpage.

 

1,738 valid electronic nominating ballots were received by the deadline of March 14 at 11:59 p.m. PDT and counted from the members of the 2024 and 2025 World Science Fiction Conventions for the 2025 Hugo Awards. ​​ Unfortunately, 2 mailed ballots were received 2.5 weeks later on April 3rd after the deadline of receipt. Voting on the final ballot will open during April 2025.

 

Only Seattle Worldcon 2025 WSFS members will be able to vote on the final ballot and choose the winners for the 2025 Awards. The 2025 Hugo Awards, the Lodestar Award, and the Astounding Award will be presented on Saturday evening, August 16, 2025 at a formal ceremony at Seattle Worldcon 2025.

 

Seattle Worldcon 2025 is also pleased to announce that the Hugo Awards Base will be designed by Joy Alyssa Day, a professional glass sculpture artist. Joy specializes in blown glass sculptures that capture the awe and beautifulness of space. Joy, with her partner BJ, have previously designed the Hugo Awards base for LonCon in 2014.

 

Joy lived for many years in the Pacific Northwest, and it holds a place dear to her. She says, “I began going to conventions with my parents at the young age of 14, and have always loved the community of fandom, from small, local cons, to the Worldcon level. To be able to use my artwork to honor those who help bring the fans together is a great gift. Having lived in the Pacific Northwest for a number of years, I have loved the beauty of the land, and the connection to the fandom there, my friends. It was natural to want to continue to be a part of that fandom’s history, and I’m so happy to be chosen.”  Examples of Joy’s sculptures can be found at her website, GlassSculpture.

 

Questions about the Hugo Awards process may be directed to [email protected] .

 

Best Novel

Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Orbit US, Tor UK)

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (Avid Reader Press, Sceptre)

Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tordotcom)

Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell (DAW)

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher (Tor)

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett (Del Rey, Hodderscape UK)

1078 ballots cast for 554 nominees, Finalists range 90 to 157

 

Best Novella

The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo (Tordotcom)

The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed (Tordotcom)

Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard (Tordotcom)

The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia Samatar (Tordotcom)

The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler (Tordotcom)

What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher (Nightfire)

739 ballots cast for 209 nominees, Finalists range 75 to 135

 

Best Novelette

“The Brotherhood of Montague St. Video” by Thomas Ha (Clarkesworld, May 2024)

“By Salt, By Sea, By Light of Stars” by Premee Mohamed (Strange Horizons, Fund Drive 2024)

“The Four Sisters Overlooking the Sea” by Naomi Kritzer (Asimov’s, September/October 2024)

“Lake of Souls” by Ann Leckie in Lake of Souls (Orbit)

“Loneliness Universe” by Eugenia Triantafyllou (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 58)

“Signs of Life” by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 59)

394 ballots cast for 188 nominees, Finalists range 36 to 58

 

Best Short Story

“Five Views of the Planet Tartarus” by Rachael K. Jones (Lightspeed Magazine, Jan 2024 (Issue 164))

“Marginalia” by Mary Robinette Kowal (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 56)

“Stitched to Skin Like Family Is” by Nghi Vo (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 57)

“Three Faces of a Beheading” by Arkady Martine (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 58)

“We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read” by Caroline M. Yoachim (Lightspeed Magazine, May 2024 (Issue 168))

“Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole” by Isabel J. Kim (Clarkesworld, February 2024)

610 ballots cast for 673 nominees, Finalists range 32 to 110

 

Best Series

Between Earth and Sky by Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga Press)

The Burning Kingdoms by Tasha Suri (Orbit)

InCryptid by Seanan McGuire (DAW)

Southern Reach by Jeff VanderMeer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson (Tor Books)

The Tyrant Philosophers by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Ad Astra)

621 ballots cast for 201 nominees, Finalists range 57 to 90

 

Best Graphic Story or Comic

The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag (Graphix)

The Hunger and the Dusk: Vol. 1 written by G. Willow Wilson, art by Chris Wildgoose (IDW Publishing)

Monstress, Vol. 9: The Possessed written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda (Image)

My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Book 2 by Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics)

Star Trek: Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way written by Ryan North, art by Chris Fenoglio (IDW Publishing)

We Called Them Giants written by Kieron Gillen, art by Stephanie Hans, lettering by Clayton Cowles (Image)

265 ballots cast for 259 nominees, Finalists range 13 to 37

 

Best Related Work

“Charting the Cliff: An Investigation into the 2023 Hugo Nomination Statistics” by Camestros Felapton and Heather Rose Jones (File 770, February 22, 2024)

r/Fantasy’s 2024 Bingo Reading Challenge (r/Fantasy on Reddit), presented by the r/Fantasy Bingo team: Alexandra Forrest (happy_book_bee), Lisa Richardson, Amanda E. (Lyrrael), Arka (RuinEleint), Ashley Rollins (oboist73), Christine Sandquist (eriophora), David H. (FarragutCircle), Diana Hufnagl, Pia Matei (Dianthaa), Dylan H. (RAAAImmaSunGod), Dylan Kilby (an_altar_of_plagues), Elsa (ullsi), Emma Surridge (PlantLady32), Gillian Gray (thequeensownfool), Kahlia (cubansombrero), Kevin James, Kopratic, Kristina (Cassandra_sanguine), Lauren Mulcahy (Valkhyrie), Megan, Megan Creemers (Megan_Dawn), Melissa S. (wishforagiraffe), Mike De Palatis (MikeOfThePalace), Para (improperly_paranoid), Sham, The_Real_JS, Abdellah L. (messi1045), AnnTickwittee, Chad Z. (shift_shaper), Emma Smiley (Merle), Rebecca (toughschmidt22), smartflutist661

“The Spectacular Failure of the Star Wars Hotel” by Jenny Nicholson (YouTube)

Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right by Jordan S. Carroll (University of Minnesota Press)

Track Changes by Abigail Nussbaum (Briardene Books)

“The 2023 Hugo Awards: A Report on Censorship and Exclusion” by Chris M. Barkley and Jason Sanford (Genre Grapevine and File770, February 14, 2024)

431 ballots cast for 209 nominees, Finalists range 28 to 95

 

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

Dune: Part Two, screenplay by Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts, directed by Denis Villeneuve (Legendary Pictures / Warner Bros. Pictures)

Flow, screenplay by Gints Zilbalodis and Matīss Kaža, directed by Gints Zilbalodis (Dream Well Studio)

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, screenplay by George Miller and Nick Lathouris, directed by George Miller (Warner Bros. Pictures)

I Saw the TV Glow, screenplay by Jane Schoenbrun, directed by Jane Schoenbrun (Fruit Tree / Smudge Films / A24)

Wicked, screenplay by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, directed by Jon M. Chu (Universal Pictures)

The Wild Robot, screenplay by Chris Sanders and Peter Brown, directed by Chris Sanders (DreamWorks Animation)

610 ballots cast for 217 nominees, Finalists range 80 to 219

 

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

Fallout: “The Beginning” written by Gursimran Sandhu, directed by Wayne Che Yip (Amazon Prime Video)

Agatha All Along: “Death’s Hand in Mine” written by Gia King & Cameron Squires, directed by Jac Schaeffer (Marvel, Disney+)

Doctor Who: “Dot and Bubble” written by Russell T  Davies, directed by Dylan Holmes Williams (BBC, Disney+)

Star Trek: Lower Decks: “Fissure Quest” created by Mike McMahan and written by Lauren McGuire based on Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry, directed by Brandon Williams (CBS Eye Animation Productions for Paramount+)

Star Trek: Lower Decks: “The New Next Generation” created and written by Mike McMahan, based on Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry, directed by Megan Lloyd (CBS Eye Animation Productions for Paramount+)

Doctor Who: “73 Yards” written by Russell T Davies, directed by Dylan Holmes Williams (BBC, Disney+)

451 ballots cast for 302 nominees, Finalists range 31 to 59

 

Best Game or Interactive Work

Caves of Qud, co-creators Brian Bucklew and Jason Grinblat; contributors Nick DeCapua, Corey Frang, Craig Hamilton, Autumn McDonell, Bastia Rosen, Caelyn Sandel, Samuel Wilson (Freehold Games); sound design A Shell in the Pit; publisher Kitfox Games

Dragon Age: The Veilguard produced by BioWare

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom produced by Nintendo

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes produced by Simogo

Tactical Breach Wizards developed by Suspicious Developments

1000xRESIST developed by sunset visitor 斜陽過客, published by Fellow Traveller

298 ballots cast for 187 nominees, Finalists range 19 to 34

 

 

Best Editor Short Form

Scott H. Andrews

Jennifer Brozek

Neil Clarke

Jonathan Strahan

Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas

Sheila Williams

322 ballots cast for 165 nominees, Finalists range 28 to 80

 

Best Editor Long Form

Carl Engle-Laird

Ali Fisher

Lee Harris

David Thomas Moore

Diana M. Pho

Stephanie Stein

162 ballots cast for 89 nominees, Finalists range 15 to 40

 

Best Professional Artist

Micaela Alcaino

Audrey Benjaminsen

Rovina Cai

Maurizio Manzieri

Tran Nguyen

Alyssa Winans

214 ballots cast for 209 nominees, Finalists range 14 to 37

 

 

Best Semiprozine

The Deadlands, publisher Sean Markey; editors E. Catherine Tobler, Nicasio Andres Reed, David Gilmore, Laura Blackwell, Annika Barranti Klein; proofreader Josephine Stewart; columnist Amanda Downum; art and design Cory Skerry, Christine M. Scott; social media Felicia Martínez; assistant Shana Du Bois.

Escape Pod, editors Mur Lafferty and Valerie Valdes, assistant editors Premee Mohamed and Kevin Wabaunsee, hosts Tina Connolly and Alasdair Stuart, producers Summer Brooks and Adam Pracht; and the entire Escape Pod team

FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, publisher and executive editor DaVaun Sanders, poetry editor B. Sharise Moore, art director Christian Ivey, acquiring editors Rebecca McGee, Kerine Wint, Egbiameje Omole, Emmalia Harrington, Genine Tyson, Tonya R. Moore, sponsor coordinator Nelson Rolon

khōréō – produced by Zhui Ning Chang, Aleksandra Hill, Danai Christopoulou, Isabella Kestermann, Kanika Agrawal, Sachiko Ragosta, Lian Xia Rose, Jenelle DeCosta, Melissa Ren, Elaine Ho, Ambi Sun, Cyrus Chin, Nivair H. Gabriel, Jeané Ridges, Lilivette Domínguez, Isaree Thatchaichawalit, Jei D. Marcade, M. L. Krishnan, Ysabella Maglanque, Aaron Voigt, Adialyz Del Valle Berríos, Adil Mian, Akilah White, Alexandra Millatmal, Anselma Widha Prihandita, E. Broderick, K. S. Walker, Katarzyna Nowacka, Katie McIvor, Kelsea Yu, Lynn D. Jung, Madeleine Vigneron, Marie Croke, Merulai Femi, Phoebe Low, S. R. Westvik, Sanjna Bhartiya, Sara Messenger, Sophia Uy, Tina Zhu, Yuvashri Harish, Zohar Jacobs

Strange Horizons, by the Strange Horizons Editorial Collective

Uncanny Magazine, publishers and editors-in-chief: Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas; managing editor Monte Lin; poetry editor Betsy Aoki, podcast producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky.

334 ballots cast for 94 nominees, Finalists range 38 to 108

 

Best Fanzine

Ancillary Review of Books, editors Jake Casella Brookins, Zachary Gillan, Lane Gillespie, Misha Grifka Wander, Gareth A. Reeves, Bianca Skrinyár, Cynthia Zhang

Black Nerd Problems, editors William Evans and Omar Holmon

The Full Lid, written by Alasdair Stuart and edited by Marguerite Kenner

Galactic Journey, founder Gideon Marcus, editor Janice L. Newman, associate writers Cora Buhlert, Jessica Holmes, Kerrie Dougherty, Kris Vyas-Myall, and Natalie Devitt, and the rest of the Journey team

Journey Planet, edited by Allison Hartman Adams, Amanda Wakurak, Ann Gry, Jean Martin, Sara Felix,  Sarah Gulde, Chuck Serface, David Ferguson, Olav Rokne, Paul Weimer, Steven H Silver, Christopher J. Garcia and James Bacon

Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog, editors Olav Rokne and Amanda Wakaruk

243 ballots cast for 77 nominees, Finalists range 25 to 67

 

Best Fancast

The Coode Street Podcast, presented by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe, producer Jonathan Strahan

Eight Days of Diana Wynne Jones, presented by Emily Tesh and Rebecca Fraimow

Hugo, Girl!, presented by Haley Zapal, Amy Salley, Lori Anderson, and Kevin Anderson

Hugos There, presented by Seth Heasley

A Meal of Thorns, presented by Jake Casella Brookins

Worldbuilding for Masochists, presented by Marshall Ryan Maresca, Cass Morris and Natania Barron

376 ballots cast for 197 nominees, Finalists range 24 to 64

 

Best Fan Writer

Camestros Felapton

Abigail Nussbaum

Roseanna Pendlebury

Jason Sanford

Alasdair Stuart

Örjan Westin

329 ballots cast for 158 nominees, Finalists range 27 to 62

 

Best Fan Artist

Iain J. Clark

Sara Felix

Meg Frank

Michelle Morrell

Alison Scott

España Sheriff

186 ballots cast for 120 nominees, Finalists range 16 to 37

 

Best Poem

Calypso by Oliver K. Langmead (Titan)

“Ever Noir” by Mari Ness (Haven Spec Magazine, Issue 16, July 2024)

“there are no taxis for the dead” by Angela Liu (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 58)

“A War of Words” by Marie Brennan (Strange Horizons, September 2024)

“We Drink Lava” by Ai Jiang (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 56)

“Your Visiting Dragon” by Devan Barlow (Strange Horizons, Fund Drive 2024)

219 ballots cast for 266 nominees, Finalists range 11 to 26

 

Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult  Book

The Feast Makers by H.A. Clarke (Erewhon)

Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao (Tundra Books)

The Maid and the Crocodile by Jordan Ifueko (Amulet)

Moonstorm by Yoon Ha Lee (Delacorte Press)

Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido)

So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

268 ballots cast for 175 nominees, Finalists range 18 to 52

 

Astounding Award for Best New Writer (sponsored by Dell Magazines)

Moniquill Blackgoose (2nd year of eligibility)

Bethany Jacobs (2nd year of eligibility)

Hannah Kaner (2nd year of eligibility)

Angela Liu (2nd year of eligibility)

Jared Pechaček (1st year of eligibility)

Tia Tashiro (2nd year of eligibility)

341 ballots cast for 168 nominees, Finalists range 28 to 96

 

The following nominees received enough votes to qualify for the final ballot, but were found to be ineligible:

• Best Series: The Singing Hills Cycle, by Nghi Vo (fewer than 240,000 words in total)
• Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: Dune, the Musical (first performed in 2023)

 

The following nominees received enough votes to qualify for the final ballot, but declined nomination:

 

• Lodestar Award: Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White (Peachtree Teen)
• Best Semiprozine: Beneath Ceaseless Skies

 

In three different categories – Best Novella, Best Related Work and Best Professional Artist –  the same total number of total nominees received nominating votes.