Summer Genre Awards – The Hugos

This is the award I was the most excited for by far! Awarded by the World Science Fiction Society, the Hugo Awards are the Emmys of the Science Fiction and Fantasy community, with awards going to books, TV shows and more and winners being decided by members of the society, who are often readers.

They were also the center of a controversy a few years ago in which a group of science fiction readers, self titled as the “Sad Puppies” hijacked the awards in an effort to promote a right-wing, anti-diversity agenda that aimed to remove the “political” and “message-fic” books by diverse authors and women that were “taking over” the Hugos.

Luckily, this was resolved in the favor of good taste, and the last few best novels have been wonderful books by women and women of color that I have loved and that absolutely deserved every award they won.

The 2019 Hugo Awards

Best Novel: The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

A fantastic alternate history of the space race that touches on everything from climate change to the inter-sectional of structural racism and structural sexism while still being a wonderful story as well.

Best Graphic Story: Monstress, Volume 3: Haven written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda

This series is beautifully drawn and is about a world where old and new magics battle for their right to survive. It is also a wonderful coming of age novel where the protagonist must decide who she can trust and what the right path will be.

Marjorie Liu was the first women to win an Eisner Award for Volume 1 of this series!

Best Series: Wayfarers by Becky Chambers

This trio of books, which each are also standalone books, start with The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. The story of humans fleeing Earth and finding home, belonging and family with the ships and people they have in space.

Best Young Adult Book: Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi