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Here are the finalists for the 2026 Hugo Awards

Some of the best works from 2025!

Here are the finalists for the 2026 Hugo Awards
Image: Andrew Liptak

Earlier this week, the Los Angeles World Science Fiction Convention (LAcon V) announced the finalists for this year's Hugo Awards! These awards are held up as the pinnacle of achievement within SF/F circles, and are a good representation for what the genre community is enjoying.

My initial impression is that it's an interesting list: there's the usual handful of books that I enjoyed that didn't make the cut, but the ones that have made it on there are ones that I've heard lots of good things about – particularly Antonia Hodgson's The Raven Scholar and Emily Tesh's The Incandescent. I'm also currently reading Robert Jackson Bennett's The Tainted Cup (which earned last year's Best Novel), and if that's anything like this one, I think it'll be a strong contender.

Here are the nominees. I've added links to reviews or related articles that I've published for additional context.

Best Novel

  • A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett
  • Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor (Review)
  • Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky
  • The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow (Review)
  • The Incandescent by Emily Tesh
  • The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson

Best Novella

  • Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz (Review)
  • Cinder House by Freya Marske
  • Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite
  • The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
  • The Summer War by Naomi Novik
  • What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher

Best Novelette

Best Short Story

Best Series

  • Emily Wilde by Heather Fawcett
  • October Daye by Seanan McGuire
  • Old Man’s War by John Scalzi (Feature)
  • The Chronicles of Osreth by Katherine Addison
  • The Craft Wars by Max Gladstone
  • White Space by Elizabeth Bear

Best Graphic Story or Comic

  • Absolute Wonder Woman Vol. 1: The Last Amazon, written by Kelly Thompson, art by Hayden Sherman and Mattia de Iulis, coloring by Jordie Bellaire, lettering by Becca Carey
  • A Girl and Her Fed, written by KB Spangler, art by Ale Presser
  • A Wizard of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel, written by Ursula K. Le Guin, adapted and art by Fred Fordham
  • The Invisible Parade by Leigh Bardugo and John Picacio
  • The Power Fantasy Volume 1: The Superpowers, written by Kieron Gillen, art by Caspar Wijngaard, lettering by Clayton Cowles
  • The Space Cat, written by Nnedi Okorafor, art by Tana Ford
  • Colourfields: Writing About Writing About Science Fiction by Paul Kincaid
  • Inventing the Renaissance by Ada Palmer
  • Last War in Albion: “The Cuddled Little Vice (Sandman)” by Elizabeth Sandifer
  • Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler by Susana M. Morris (Review)
  • “Ragnarök vs the Long Night” by Ashaya and Aziz
  • The Hugo Spreadsheet of Doom, maintained by Renay

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

  • Andor (Season 2), written by Tom Bissell, Dan Gilroy, Tony Gilroy, and Beau Willimon, directed by Ariel Kleiman, Janus Metz, Alonso Ruizpalacios,
  • Frankenstein, screenplay by Guillermo del Toro, directed by Guillermo del Toro
  • KPop Demon Hunters, screenplay by Danya Jimenez & Hannah McMechan, Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans; directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans
  • Mickey 17, screenplay by Bong Joon Ho, directed by Bong Joon Ho
  • Sinners, screenplay by Ryan Coogler, directed by Ryan Coogler
  • Superman, screenplay by James Gunn, directed by James Gunn

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

  • Doctor Who: “The Story & the Engine”, written by Inua Ellams, directed by Makalla McPherson
  • Murderbot: “All Systems Red”, written by Paul Weitz & Chris Weitz, directed by Roseanne Liang, based on the book All Systems Red by Martha Wells
  • Murderbot: “The Perimeter”, written Chris Weitz & Paul Weitz, directed by Paul Weitz, based on the book All Systems Red by Martha Wells
  • Pluribus: “We Is Us”, written and directed by Vince Gilligan, directed by Vince Gilligan
  • Severance: “Cold Harbor”, written by Dan Erickson, directed by Ben Stiller
  • The Wheel of Time: “The Road to the Spear”, written by Rafe Lee Judkins, directed by Thomas Napper, based on the book The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan

Best Game or Interactive Work

  • Blue Prince, developed by Dogubomb, published by Raw Fury
  • Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, developed by Jump Over the Age, published by Fellow Traveller
  • Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, developed by Sandfall Interactive, published by Kepler Interactive
  • Dispatch, developed and published AdHoc Studio
  • Hades II, developed and published by Supergiant Games
  • Hollow Knight: Silksong, developed and published by Team Cherry

Best Editor Short Form

  • Scott H. Andrews
  • Jennifer Brozek
  • Neil Clarke
  • Lee Harris
  • Michael Damian Thomas
  • Sheila Williams

Best Editor Long Form

  • Carl Engle-Laird
  • Jaymee Goh
  • Lee Harris
  • Jenni Hill
  • Joe Monti
  • Diana M. Pho

Best Professional Artist

  • Lulu Chen
  • Kelly Chong
  • Dave Kellett
  • Tran Nguyen
  • John Picacio
  • Tom Roberts

Best Semiprozine

  • Escape Pod, editors Mur Lafferty and Valerie Valdes, assistant editors Kevin Wabaunsee and Phoebe Barton, hosts Tina Connolly and Alasdair Stuart, producers Summer Brooks and Adam Pracht, and the entire Escape Pod team
  • khōréō magazine, by team khōréō (publisher Aleksandra Hill; editor-in-chief Zhui Ning Chang; editors Kanika Agrawal, Isabella Kestermann, Danai Christopoulou; audio Lian Xia Rose, Jenelle DeCosta, Grayson Norman, Aaron Kling, E.B.; marketing M.L. Krishnan, Ashley Thompson; art Ambi Sun; copyeditors Jeané Ridges, Eleanor Glewwe, Derek Yen, Ariya Bandy; proofreader Cyrus Chin; first readers Adialyz Del Valle Berríos, Sanjna Bhartiya, Kelsey Costa, Merulai Femi, A.R. Frederiksen, Yuvashri Harish, Zohar Jacobs, Lynn D. Jung, Phoebe Low, Katie McIvor, Adil Mian, Katarzyna Nowacka, A.W. Prihandita, Helena Ramsaroop, Jin Hui Saw, Aditya Sundararajan, Sophia Uy, Madeleine Vigneron, Aaron Voigt, K.S. Walker, Akilah White, MJ Woods, Kelsea Yu, Lilia Zhang, Tina Zhu)
  • On Spec: The Canadian Magazine of the Fantastic, published by the Copper Pig Writers’ Society; managing editor/art director Diane L. Walton; poetry editors Colleen Anderson and Bob Stallworthy; fiction editors Barb Galler-Smith, Ann Marston, Virginia O’Dine, Constantine Kaoukakis, Susan MacGregor, Alyssa Kulchisky, Amanda Wells, Ashley Alton, Lorina Stephens, Lareina Abbott, Matthew Stobie Jackman, Cheryl Merkel, Dan Gyoba, Ethan Zou, Jade Mah-Vierling, Jessica Zdril, Kathleen Phul, Krystle McGrath, Thomas Schwarz, and William Thompson; interviewers Roberta Laurie and Cat McDonald; proofreaders Ashlin McCartney, Isaac Calon, and Mya Colwell
  • Strange Horizons, by the Strange Horizons Editorial Collective
  • The Deadlands, publisher Sean Markey, editor in chief E. Catherine Tobler, poetry editor Nicasio Andres Reed, nonfiction editor David Gilmore, necromancer Amanda Downum, art director Cory Skerry, copy editors Laura Blackwell and Annika Barranti Klein, proofreader Josephine Stewart, designer Christine M. Scott, and social media skeleton Felicia Martínez
  • Uncanny Magazine, publisher and editor-in-chief: Michael Damian Thomas; managing editor Monte Lin; poetry editor Betsy Aoki, podcast producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky

Best Fanzine

Best Fancast

Best Fan Writer

  • Jay Brantner for “Tar Vol”
  • Alex Brown
  • James Davis Nicoll
  • Roseanna Pendlebury
  • Jason Sanford
  • Örjan Westin

Best Fan Artist

  • Terri Ash
  • Geneva Bowers
  • Sara Felix
  • Richard Man
  • España Sheriff
  • Yuumei

Best Poem

Lodestar Award for Best YA Book

  • Among Ghosts by Rachel Hartman
  • Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe by C.B. Lee
  • Holy Terrors by Margaret Owen
  • Oathbound by Tracy Deonn
  • Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
  • They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran

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

  • Sophie Burnham (2nd year of eligibility)
  • Kamilah Cole (2nd year of eligibility)
  • Antonia Hodgson (1st year of eligibility)
  • Molly O’Neill (1st year of eligibility)
  • H.H. Pak (2nd year of eligibility)
  • Jared Pechaček (2nd year of eligibility)

Disqualifications and Withdrawals

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

Best Series:

  • Lady Astronaut, by Mary Robinette Kowal (fewer than 240,000 new words since last appearance on the ballot)
  • The Singing Hills Cycle, by Nghi Vo (fewer than 240,000 words in total)

Astounding Award:

  • Silvia Park (had qualifying publication prior to 2024)
  • Barbara Truelove (had qualifying publication prior to 2024)

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

  • Best Editor, Long Form: Lindsey Hall
  • Best Semiprozine: Beneath Ceaseless Skies

The following nominee received enough votes to qualify for the final ballot, but was withdrawn by the showrunners to abide by the limitation on number of episodes of the same show allowed in the category.

  • Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: Murderbot: “Free Commerce”

The awards will be presented at this year’s LAcon V, Anaheim, California, USA, August 30, 2026 What catches your eye and what are you rooting for?