Hugo Award Winners Announced

On September 2nd the 2012 Hugo Awards were handed out in Chicago. There are myriad categories, from traditional print science fiction publications to fan writers and artists. The category I was eyeing was best novel. There were some heavyweights in this category: George R.R. Martin for A Dance With Dragons, China Meiville for Embassytown, Jo Walton for Among Others (which won the 2011 Nebula Award for Best Novel), Mira Grant for Deadline (she won the 2010 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer), and James S.A. Corey for Leviathan Wakes. The last nominee is a newcomer, as this is the first book by the collaborative pseudonym for authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. As well, Abraham and Franck have been writing individually for a short period of time as well. If there was a dark horse, this would be it.

The Award went to... Jo Walton for Among Others. She has been writing for several years, and won the 2002 John W. Campbell Award for best new writer. Among Others is. according to the Macmillan website, “at once the compelling story of a young woman struggling to escape a troubled childhood, a brilliant diary of first encounters with the great novels of modern fantasy and SF, and a spellbinding tale of escape from ancient enchantment.” Interestingly, it is categorized as Adult Science Fiction in one place, and Young Adult in another. It is being dubbed as her “breakout book” and so perhaps this award selection is due. However, I am surprised that the award did not go to Martin or Meiville, as they have been two prominent names in SF in the last few years (Martin did have some consolation, however: He did win an award as part of the writing team for Game of Thrones: Season 1).

You can find the complete list of winners and nominees here.