SFF Hot from Printers: New Releases discussion

Hey friends, I thought I would start a thread where we can share what we are considering nominating for the different categories of the Hugo ballot next year. I don't remember when nominations are due (January/February?) In any case, we are running out of time and I think seeing each other's considerations could help us focus on what we want to try to get to before we send in nominations.

I'm ranking all my lists first to last. (So Ariadne is my favorite and The Chosen and the Beautiful my least favorite.)

Best novel:
Ariadne
The Memory Theater
Sorrowland
Jade Legacy
Far from the Light of Heaven
The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina
The Chosen and the Beautiful

Best Novella:
Comfort Me With Apples
We Shall Sing a Song Into the Deep
One Day All This Will Be Yours
A Psalm for the Wild-Built

Best Novelette:
Haven't read any yet.

Best Short Story:
Haven't read any yet.

Best Series:
The Green Bone Saga Fonda Lee
Dandelion Dynasty Ken Liu
Rampart Trilogy M.R. Carey
Kingston Cycle C.L. Polk

Best Related Work: (I haven't really ranked this category.)
FIYAHCon 2021
Do Better: SFF without Sexual Violence (Goodreads group. https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...)
Mask Off - Lindsay Ellis (https://youtu.be/C7aWz8q_IM4)
Levar Burton Reads (podcast)
How Twitter can ruin a life: Isabel Fall’s complicated story (https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/225...)

Best Graphic Story:

Best Dramatic Presentation Short Form:

Best Dramatic Presentation Long Form:
Infinity Train season 4
Wandavision season 1

Best Fancast:

Lodestar:

Astounding Award: (Not totally sure about how eligibility works for this one.)
Micaiah Johnson
Hao Jingfang
Chana Porter
Jennifer Saint
Andrea Stewart

Thanks Kristenelle for starting the thread! the nomination usually ends in mid-March, but with a lot to select from, early start is a nice idea

In best novel and novelette I plan to have Adrian Tchaikovsky works. In shorter pieces - check ones I add for this month's reads here https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I haven't read that many new releases this year. Going through my ratings and the memory of my impressions I would go for novels:

Shards of Earth
Birds of Paradise
Hummingbird Salamander
The Memory Theater
We Are Satellites (this one probably being the only one that could end up on the official nomination list)

Novellas it's only two

One Day All This Will Be Yours
We Shall Sing a Song Into the Deep

Gabi wrote: "I haven't read that many new releases this year. Going through my ratings and the memory of my impressions I would go for novels:

Shards of Earth
Birds of Paradise
..."

Ooh, I hadn't heard of Birds of Paradise! I'll have to check that one out.

I, too, haven't read all that many 2021 books - and of those I have read, I've disliked many. The ones I could see as award-worthy are
The Memory Theater
A Desolation Called Peace
Project Hail Mary
Bear Head

I don't think I've read enough novels to really decide yet. But I've read half the novella field, and I think I'm going for:

Elder Race
One Day All This Will Be Yours
Fugitive Telemetry
A Psalm for the Wild-Built
Across the Green Grass Fields

I'm not sure about the double Tchaikovsky nomination though.

I know we have talked about the downsides of the GR awards, but just a note that Project Hail Mary won the SF category this year, I believe.

I highly highly doubt I'll have read enough to fill out a full ballot. Just too busy and new releases aren't making the cut for my reading priorities since the end of summer.

Novels: I've read The Memory Theater and Version Zero in this group, and will be nominating The Memory Theater, but not Version Zero.

Nominating in Novella:
One Day All This Will Be Yours
Fugitive Telemetry
A Psalm for the Wild-Built

Read but not nominating in Novella: Fireheart Tiger, though I bet it'll be in the final ballot...

Rebecca wrote: "I know we have talked about the downsides of the GR awards, but just a note that Project Hail Mary won the SF category this year, I believe."

Yeah, I wonder if that is just due to its recognition factor being by an author that has a major movie of a previous book.

Kristenelle wrote: "Yeah, I wonder if that is just due to its recognition factor being by an author that has a major movie of a previous book."

I guess it is because this is a really nice SF. After all, his Artemis hasn't won a few years back being closer to the movie time. And I guess/hope it'll be on the final ballot.

I guess we may start another thread to discuss GR awards but I'm surprised how 1st place in SF and fantasy outpaces others, while in most other categories no such lead

I have fallen behind my previous years' benchmarks for reading new books, mostly because many have been disappointing.

(omits rant about not reading books she doesn't like just because they are selected)