Several years ago our erstwhile founding editor The G asked the flock here at Nerds of a Feather if we would come together to put out a longlist of works we would recommend for Hugo consideration. Flock Together we did.
The rules for inclusion were simple--just: (a) meet the eligibility criteria; and (b) be "award worthy" (i.e. good). Given the subjectivity of the latter, it should come as no surprise that the selections on our longlist reflect the spectrum of tastes, tendencies and predilections found among our group of writers. You'll find selections ranging from the obscure and literary to the unabashedly popular and commercial, and from all corners and subdivisions of the genresphere.
That said, this is not nor intends to be a comprehensive survey of the field. Some books that are undoubtedly "award worthy," for example, are absent for the simple reason that we haven't read them yet. Thus we encourage you to think of this as a list of candidates to consider--alongside others.
Given the vast number of Hugo categories, we've also made the decision to split the longlist up into multiple posts. Today we look at the fiction categories (Novel, Novella, Novelette and Short Story, Series, and the Not a Hugo Lodestar Award for YA Novel). For fiction that is available free of charge, we've embedded a direct link to the story. For novels and works of short fiction that are not available for free, the embedded link redirects to a review.
In the interest of being transparent, it is worth noting that several of our writers have published fiction in 2018. Because it would be a conflict of interest, we are not including them on our longlist, but would still invite anyone interested to take a look at their work. Charles has a list of his eligible fiction here and Chloe has her list of fiction here.
Novel
Arden, Katherine. The Girl in the Tower [Del Rey]**
Baker, Mishell. Impostor Syndrome [Saga]
Bennett, Robert Jackson. Foundryside [Crown]
Chambers, Becky. Record of a Spaceborn Few [Harper Voyager]
de Bodard, Aliette. In the Vanishers' Palace [JABberwocky Literary Agency]
Donnelly, Lara Elena. Armistice [Tor]
Drayden, Nicky. Temper [Harper Voyager]
Emrys, Ruthanna. Deep Roots [Tor.com Publishing]
Hartman, Rachel. Tess of the Road [Random House]
Kowal, Mary Robinette. The Calculating Stars [Tor]
Kowal, Mary Robinette. The Fated Sky [Tor]
Kuang, R.F. The Poppy War [Harper Voyager]
Lee, Yoon Ha. Revenant Gun [Solaris]
Morrow, Bethany C. Mem [Unnamed Press]
Newman, Emma. Before Mars [Ace]
Novik, Naomi. Spinning Silver [Del Rey]
O'Dell, Claire. A Study in Honor [Harper Voyager]
Older, Malka. State Tectonics [Tor.com Publishing]
Powell, Gareth. Embers of War [Titan]
Roanhorse, Rebecca. Trail of Lightning [Saga]
Scalzi, John. Head On [Tor]
Scalzi, John. The Consuming Fire [Tor]
Valente, Catherynne M. Space Opera [Saga]
**The Girl in the Tower may have been published in 2017 and would then not be eligible for the Hugo Award. That said, it's a wonderful novel and worth reading.
Novella
Berger, Michele Tracy, "Nussia" [The Book Smugglers, June 26]
Clark. P Djeli. The Black Gods Drums [Tor.com Publishing]
Gilman, Caroline Ives, "Umberlight" [Clarkesworld, Feb 2018]
Jacobs, John Horner. The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky [Harper Voyager]
Jones, Rachel K. Every River Runs to Salt [Fireside]
McGuire, Seanan. Beneath the Sugar Sky [Tor.com Publishing]
Robson, Kelly. Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach [Tor.com Publishing]
Sanford, Jason. "The Emotionless, In Love" [Beneath Ceeaseless Skies: Issue 246]
Tchaikovsky, Adrian. The Expert System's Brother [Tor.com Publishing]
Wallace, Matt. Taste of Wrath [Tor.com Publishing]
Watts, Peter. The Freeze Frame Revolution [Tachyon]
Wells, Martha. Artificial Condition [Tor.com Publishing]
Wells, Martha. Rogue Protocol [Tor.com Publishing]
Wells, Martha. Exit Strategy [Tor.com Publishing]
Willrich, Chris. "Shadowdrop" [Beneath Ceaseless Skies: Issue 261]
Wilson, Lena. Accelerants [The Book Smugglers]
Yang, JY. "Between the Firmaments" [The Book Smugglers, Oct 9-11]
Yang, JY. The Descent of Monsters [Tor.com Publishing]
Novelette
Bolander, Brooke. The Only Harmless Great Thing [Tor.com Publishing]
Bolander, Brooke. "No Flight Without the Shatter" [Tor.com, Aug 15]
Cipri, Nino, “Dead Air” [Nightmare, Aug 2018]
Johnson, Kij, “The Privilege of the Happy Ending” [Clarkesworld, Aug 2018]
Longxiang, Luo, translated by Dudak, Andy, “The Foodie Federation’s Dinosaur Farm”[Clarkesworld, Sep 2018]
Pang, Y.M., “The Palace of the Silver Dragon” [Strange Horizons, Oct 1]
Rolon, Nelson, “Saudade" [Fiyah: Issue 8]
Ronald, Margaret, “Silence in Blue Glass” [Beneath Ceaseless Skies: Issue 250]
Rustad, A. Merc & Hoffmann, Ada, “I Sing Against the Silent Sun” [Lightspeed, June 2018]
Thompson, Tade. "Kaseem's Way" [Creatures: The Legacy of Frankenstein]
Tsamaase, Tlotlo, “Murders Fell From Our Wombs” [Apex: Issue 107]
Wanak, LaShawn M. "Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Memphis Minnie Sings the Stumps Down Good" [Fiyah: Issue 7]
Wilde, Fran. "Disconnect" [Uncanny: Issue 24]
Yap, Isabel. "How to Swallow the Moon" [Uncanny: Issue 25]
Short Story
Alexander, William, “The House on the Moon” [Uncanny: Issue 24]
Beautement, Tiah Marie, “Momento Mori” [Omenana, Aug 30]
Clarke, Phenderson Djeli. "The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington" [Fireside Fiction, Feb 2018]
Dollarhyde, Kate, "A Taxonomy of Hurts" [Fireside Fiction, Aug 2018]
Gailey, Sarah. "STET" [Fireside Fiction, Oct 2018]
Harrow, Alix E., “A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies” [Apex]
Hoffman, Ada, “Variations on a Theme from Turandot” [Strange Horizons, May 14]
Kritzer, Naomi. "The Thing About Ghost Stories" [Uncanny, Issue 25]
Lee, PH. "A House by the Sea" [Uncanny, Issue 24]
Muneshwar, Ian, “Salt Lines” [Strange Horizons, May 28]
McGuire, Seanan. "Swear Not by the Moon" [Infinity's End]
Nagata, Linda. "Longing for Earth" [Infinity's End]
Pinsker, Sarah. "The Court Magician" [Lightspeed, Jan 2018]
Prasad, Vina Jie-Min, “Pistol Grip” [Uncanny: Issue 21]
Royce, Eden. "Every Good-bye Ain't Gone" [Strange Horizons, July 30]
Sjunneson-Henry, Elsa and A. Merc Rustad. "By Claw, By Hand, By Silent Speech" [Uncanny, Issue 23]
Szpara, K.M., “You Can Make a Dinosaur, but You Can’t Help Me” [Uncanny: Issue 23]
Wong, Alyssa. "All the Time We've Left to Spend" [Robots vs. Fairies]
Series
The Arcadia Project, by Mishell Baker
The Bel Dame Apocrypha, by Kameron Hurley
The Centenel Cycle, by Malka Older
The Devil's West, by Laura Anne Gilman
Foreigner, by C.J. Cherryh
Guardians of Aandor, by Edward Lazellari
The Illuminae Files, by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
The Machineries of Empire, by Yoon Ha Lee
Majestic-12, by Mike Martinez
October Daye, by Seanan McGuire
The Planetfall Novels, by Emma Newman
The Railhead Trilogy, by Philip Reeve
The Recluce Saga, by L.E. Modesitt, Jr
The Seraphina / Goredd Books, by Rachel Hartman
Sin du Jour, by Matt Wallace
Wild Cards, by George R.R. Martin
The Yesterday's Kin Trilogy, by Nancy Kress
Lodestar (YA Novel)
Hartman, Rachel. Tess of the Road [Random House]
Ireland, Justina. Dread Nation [Balzer + Bray]
Kemp, Juliet. A Glimmer of Silver [Book Smugglers]
Lien, Henry. Peasprout Chen, Future Legend of Skate and Sword [Henry Holt]
Pierce, Tamora. Tempests and Slaughter [Random House]
Westerfeld, Scott. Impostors [Scholastic]
Wilson, Lena. Accelerants [Book Smugglers]
POSTED BY: Joe Sherry - Co-editor of Nerds of a Feather, 2017 & 2018 Hugo Award Finalist for Best Fanzine. Minnesotan.
