written by David Steffen
Having previously listing out award-eligible works that were written or published by me, here is my list of works that I think you might want to consider for Hugo and Nebula awards that were not written or published by me.
I’m working mostly from the Hugo Award categories, with a focus on fiction categories.
The Short Story category is the one that means the most to me, so to help suggest more reading for anyone interested, I’ve listed 10 stories instead of 5.
I left out the Campbell Award for Best New Writer, because I know a lot of amazing people on that list and I don’t want to make people feel bad they got left out (but I’m still going to have to pick 5 for my actual ballot!).
Novel
The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden, Harper Collins
It Devours by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, Harper Collins
Novella
“River of Teeth” by Sarah Gailey, Macmillan
“The Dragon of Dread Peak” (and part 2) by Jeremiah Tolbert, at Lightspeed
Novelette
“The Bridgegroom” by Bo Balder, at Clarkesworld
“Who Won the Battle of Arsia Mons?” by Sue Burke, at Clarkesworld
“The Chaos Village” (and part 2) by M.K. Hutchins, at Podcastle
“Owl Vs. the Neighborhood Watch” by Darcie Little Badger, at Strange Horizons
“The Secret Life of Bots” by Suzanne Palmer, at Clarkesworld
“Remote Presence” by Susan Palwick, at Lightspeed
“That Lingering Sweetness” by Tony Pi, at Beneath Ceaseless Skies
“A Series of Steaks” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad, at Clarkesworld
Short story
“How I Became Coruscating Queen of All the Realms, Pierced the Obsidian Night, Destroyed a Legendary Sword, and Saved My Heart’s True Love” by Baker & Dovey, at No Shit There I Was, reprinted in Podcastle
“Unit Two Does Her Makeup” by Laura Duerr, at Escape Pod
“Planetbound” by Nancy Fulda, in the anthology Chasing Shadows, reprinted in Escape Pod
“Infinite Love Engine” by Joseph Allen Hill, at Lightspeed
“The Greatest One-Star Restaurant in the Whole Quadrant” by Rachael K. Jones, at Lightspeed
“Home is a House that Loves You” by Rachael K. Jones, at Podcastle
“Vegetablemen in Peanut Town” by August Marion, at Escape Pod
“All the Cuddles With None of the Pain” by J.J. Roth, at Podcastle
“Carnival Nine” by Caroline M. Yoachim, at Beneath Ceaseless Skies
“Texts From the Ghost War” by Alex Yuschik, at Escape Pod
Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Semiprozine
There are quite a few that I might list here, but mostly I would love to see some award recognition go to my favorite podcasts at Escape Artists: Escape Pod, Podcastle, Pseudopod, and Cast of Wonders. For too long podcasts have been thought of in fiction as afterthoughts, but they’ve proven that they can find amazing original fiction and present it professionally.
Editor, Short Form
Likewise, I’d be especially excited to see Escape Artists editors get nods here. S.B. Divya, Mur Lafferty, and Norm Sherman for Escape Pod (you can nominate jointly). Jen Albert and Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali for Podcastle. Shawn Garret and Alex Hofelich for Pseudopod. Marguerite Kenner for Cast of Wonders.
