ladybusiness | The Hugo Awards 2015: A Collection of Nominations

At Lady Business HQ, we thrive on recommendations from friends and strangers alike. As Hugo award season gears up, it's especially helpful so we can collect recommendations and horde them like media dragons (pony dragons? dragon ponies?).

The Hugo Award nominating process is incredibly important, since from it is born the finalists slate, which is that fancy list that comes out once a year to various amount of trumpeting depending on how exciting Easter weekend was. We encourage everyone who enjoys science fiction and fantasy, and who can afford to do so, to buy a supporting membership to Sasquan, this year's WorldCon, and nominate all the things you loved in 2015 (you will also be supporting a fan-run convention!).

A supporting membership gets you: the ability to nominate your favorite media in a wide range of categories, the ability to vote on the finalists, and the ability to nominate for the next year's WorldCon. It may also deliver a packet of media to help assist in assessing the finalists. However, this is not guaranteed. As membership has grown, the packet last year had a few excerpts-only in the novel section. We believe it actually lowers the pressure to read everything in the packet, which is huge even without full novels. The excerpts give you a strong enough picture for you to know if you like a thing and want to hunt it down to finish. :)

To nominate for 2015, you'll need to be a member of Sasquan by January 31 (right? This is still true? Because the website is unhelpful on this score).

Like last year, we made a Hugo spreadsheet in order to keep track of things we wanted to read, things that people were recommending so we didn't lose track, and to help us with categories we were unsure about. Shout out to Cecily, who was a huge help with short fiction this year — thanks for lending us your experience! This year the spreadsheet has exploded as people have helped us create a huge collection of eligible items. Thank you to everyone who has contributed, helped address eligibility issues, and signal boosted our efforts to make everything more accessible to us newbies!

Whether or not you decide to join up as member of Sasquan, feel free to come talk nomination recommendations with us (or link us to your recommendation post!). We're always happy to hear about media other people loved that we might love, too! Below is a collection of our initial nominees for various categories that we're excited to nominate and why; feel free to share yours with us so we can horde them like sparkly gems. #dragonponies2015

text that says Renay's Section

Another year of being super behind going into nomination season. However, I do feel more prepared to dive into short fiction this time around thanks to our handy spreadsheet. I also feel super knowledgeable about the Best Novel category thanks to Chaos Horizon, who has been doing some really interesting analysis over the last few months.

Best Novel
I only have two novels here for sure so far:

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison — despite its popularity in fandom circles, I'm not sure this has much chance because it's such a love it/ZzzzzzzZzz book. It's about an underdog! Who is nice? Do books like this even have a chance, especially when they're secondary fantasy? Although it's not part of a series, which may be a bonus? I love it and am rooting for it really hard. Everyone should give it a try (you will know by page 50 if it's going to be something you like)!

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel — I was so pleased with this book. It's not a dramatic apocalypse narrative; there's something so reflective and thoughtful about it, the different ways we engage in stories, and how hard it can be to create new stories in the aftermath of something that shifts a culture. I need to just write a review of this or something because I have a lot to say. I'm not sure it really has a Hugo chance (it's maybe more Nebula?), but I said when I started participating in this award I was going to nominate what I loved even if it had no chance. Standing by it!

Still investigating: I still have a bunch of books to read before I make final decisions. I want to check out City of Stairs, as it's been repeatedly recommended at me. Ancillary Sword (I'm a terrible fan, I own this book in trade and ebook and still haven't read it), The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, and the Southern Reach trilogy. I can't tell right now if the whole series will be nominated or just the first novel, so I'm just reading the whole thing; does anyone have any idea? I have vague hopes for some others, but I don't know… #TIME

I'm debating nominating Lock In because I enjoyed it so much, but also feel like it'll do fine without me? I'm not sure there's a universe where that book won't be on the ballot, so it makes sense for me to use my nomination slots for something else if I magically managed to read all the books I want to check out.

Best Short Story

I only have one right now, "Never the Same" by Polenth Blake. I still cannot explain why I like this story so much. It's really good, though! I love the central relationship so much.

I have a lot of short stories to read from the spreadsheet, but really hope to find other nomination posts as the season continues...

Best Related Work

Ah, the catch-all category, the category for things that don't have a home anywhere else. Who will be nominated this year? Who will win? A podcast? An anthology? Another blog-related item?

Speculative Fiction 2013 — containing hits by our very own nymeth, frequent guest poster chaila, and myself! Also featuring Hello, Tailor, KateElliottSFF, Foz Meadows, and Liz Bourke of Sleeps with Monsters fame. It's also edited by Ana and Thea from The Book Smugglers. It's an excellent selection and highly recommended. :D

Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy month by Fantasy Cafe — a month full of amazing posts about women in science fiction and fantasy, which I've taken part in the last few years. It's super awesome and I love following along with it every year. :D Plus, our recommendation list continues to be fantastic.

Archive of Our Own — so this may be a pipe dream, as I was told last year in pretty frank terms this is a "platform", not a "fanwork" and thus I'll have a "hard time convincing the committee" it should be eligible, by someone who apparently "knew people on the Hugo committee" (seems legit). Here's my feelings on platforms: many of them are corporate, run by for-profit companies. I wouldn't nominate Dreamwidth, specifically, for this award even though they're fans and built a safe harbor for fan communities, because they're charging money for a service. I wouldn't nominate Tumblr, because they're owned by Yahoo and have people expecting returns on investment and take advertising. But the AO3 was built by fans and for fans over years and years and years by volunteer fan labor. It doesn't have ads. It's also still in beta, and changes year to year as the AO3 Committees keep developing it. It's a project of a fannish non-profit, which takes donations, but charges no fee to post and comment and interact with other fans on it. It's a platform that is literal fanwork that is constantly being improved and adapted. I've basically spent a year stewing over this rejection of its potential eligibility. Probably that's not obvious or anything. AO3 is a wonderful, creative endeavor that hundreds of fans work on and invest time in to create communities every day. EVERYONE NOMINATE IT, it'll be great, and then we can save our fury if it gets rejected (i.e. the only point at which I will give up!).

Rocket Talk — the low key, chatty publishing podcast of my dreams! I love Rocket Talk, but I also like Justin a lot, too, who works really hard to make it a great experience for people who he interviews, but listeners, too, but keeping it fast-paced but thoughtful! I feel like he should get lots of delicious snacks for that one time he went back and re-recorded his entire audio track because the original didn't sound good. That is dedication. I keep trying to pick favorite episodes, but it's hard. Here's a few!

Best Graphic Story

I feel like Saga, Volume 3 may take this yet again. I'm curious if Rat Queens is going to encroach, though, because I feel like I've been hearing amazing things about it from everyone? I still need to read it (plus the first volume of Captain Marvel), but for now, my two for sure nominees:

Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal — so fun and cute! IT'S SO LOVELY.
Sex Criminals Volume 1: One Weird Trick — continues to be the weirdest, most touching thing I read in 2014.

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

I HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM in that I think I have too many nominations for this category? Last year I was overly invested in Best Related Work, this year I'm overly invested in BDP-Long Form. Take this lesson, grasshoppers, that year to year it's okay for your engagement with this award to morph into blobs of emotion and explode all over you.

Especially, for me, in the case of Chris Evans.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Snowpiercer
Under the Skin

As far as I can tell, Snowpiercer and Under the Skin are eligible due to the Extended Eligibility section of the WSFS constitution. How was I supposed to see either in 2013 other than piracy when they didn't come out here in a release wide enough? These have to be eligible.

The trouble comes in when I get to the other things on my list: Guardians of the Galaxy (so much fun, but there's another Marvel movie this year...), The Lego Movie, and How to Train Your Dragon 2. Then the things I haven't seen that seem great: Big Hero 6? We are seriously spoiled for choice this year. So many great things! I did watch Edge of Tomorrow and was annoyed by a) the initial conceit to set up the premise and b) the ending. Emily Blunt blowing stuff up was great! More of that, and less of bad endings.

The problem with this category is that it's sort of new; Dramatic Presentation was split starting in 2003 to Long Form and Short Form, and the Long Form award is pretty confusing on the "popular and fun!" versus "serious business" scale, and it's hard to tell which way it will go (last year: "serious business!"). The voters could decide "heck yeah The Lego Movie was awesome!" or they could decide to fellate Christopher Nolan's Interstellar because ~science~. I'd rather give Kip Thorne a Best Related Work Hugo for The Science of Interstellar and launch Nolan to Pluto so he can think about what he's done.

But let's be real here: I want Captain America: The Winter Soldier to win even if I think Snowpiercer deserves it more.

Best Semiprozine

What's a Semiprozone? People got money for stuff, paid by the owner of said Fanzine, or the fanzine was available for purpose! I guess. TWO of my Fanzine nominees jumped ship to the INDUSTRY this year, those traitors. Watch out, industry bloggers. I've got my eye on you.

pornokitsch — They're posting fiction now, but I haven't really dived in there. My favorite parts of this are when Anne Perry shows up to be amazing, and when they do quirky guest posts. Very fun to read! Sometimes I save posts up from them and read a bunch like an issue of a magazine. It works really well.

The Book Smugglers — WORLD DOMINATION! Having taken over elsewhere, they've moved on to short fiction. They've published some awesome sounding stories (I haven't read them because I'm a jerk) and commissioned such EXCELLENT art for each piece over the last year (all those artists are eligible for Best Professional Artist). And all their regular features are still around: Smugglivus, SFF in Conversation, and oodles of book reviews. Ana and Thea are quality.

Strange Horizons — still an excellent perspective in the wider world of online SF fandom, they've done great work again this year, and also, they publish me, which should totally help them out here. *starts another controversy*

Best Fanzine

Seeing as how two of my faves abandoned this category, I got stuck. I haven't been reading blogs as unique spaces in order to form a coherent picture of what individual projects might be bringing to the table. In 2014 I was reading so widely because of Speculative Fiction 2014 that very few locations really stand out to me as doing cohesive work beyond the regulars who have recused, like SF Signal, and A Dribble of Ink, who won last year and who I cannot nominate because I made a pact with myself not to nominate/vote for repeat winners to break the support momentum. However, I do have TWO.

nerds of a feather, flock together — regular commentary, reviews, and essays, they stood out among the pack because they often raised such good points (even when I disagreed with them 300%). They also started a short fiction column.

Lady Geek Girl & Friends — covering a wide range of media topic, reviews, fanfic recs, and fandom commentary, I forget how I discovered this blog but I am super glad I did.

Best Fancast

I'm shamefully behind on my genre podcasts because I subscribed to so many non-genre ones (I gorged on The Memory Palace last year, and have moved on to the The Moth — both excellent!).

The Writer and the Critic — listen, I feel like they should get a nomination for the AMAZINGLY EPIC ARGUMENT they had over Station Eleven. I still haven't managed to be familiar with both books in the same episode. That's going to be a level up moment! "Read Both Books Featured on The Writer & the Critic Before the Episode Aired" it could be a banner! OR A T-SHIRT.

Galactic Suburbia — always great for in-depth commentary on genre issues, exploring new types of media, and excellent recs, this is the podcast I can rely on for whenever I need to do chores and need something I know is going to be interesting and offer a new perspective (Australians!). :D They're super fun to listen to.

slashreport — I drifted away from here for a bit, but I've recently caught up again and it feels like coming back to a warm house with my favorite soup on the counter and several Supernatural season boxsets lined up on the table behind a copious amount of alcohol. I feel bad for being 40% happy they renewed Supernatural for S11 on the off chance they'll continue making me gross sob over it while laughing so hard I can't breathe. I AM A HORRIBLE HUMAN BEING.

Best Fan Writer

Hello, Tailor — yes, please, she did such amazing commentary work in 2014. Her tumblr is great, too, and encompasses a lot of replies to questions that are really interesting and insightful, too! Some great pieces:

Abigail Nussbaum — Abigail continues to be one of the most in-depth critics I read, and I continue to have to work really hard to parse the pieces, but it's still super worth it. I come away from her work, whether I agree or disagree, with a richer understanding of the source material, and why I liked/didn't like whatever it might have been.

Justin Landon — ;____; This is the last year I can probably do this, because Justin's gone full on professional? WHY DID YOU LEAVE US, JUSTIN? Anyway, I'll dry my tears and find a way to move on somehow.

Natalie Luhrs — Natalie is where I go when there's shenanigans afoot. She always has great resources, an insightful perspective, and helps me learn by taking in new information and improving her perspective with it (and thus, mine!). I have a lot of trouble recognizing patterns, and her work has really helped me improve that ability a lot. She writes about tough subjects in a way to helps me process them and develop my own position, too. She's been super valuable to me over the last year!

Liz Bourke — so I suppose, in theory, that Sleeps with Monsters is a column that Liz is being paid to write, and therefore, using pieces to recommend her in this category is disingenuous (although, is it any more so than giving it to professional authors who use it to help promote their original writing? I'm dubious.). Well, I'm putting her here, anyway, just like last year! And flouting the rules! Because I use her column and her (unpaid) twitter and blog as supplements of her column to inform my reading of the series, which has been super valuable to me as I look for books to read and improve my reading parity.

Best Fan Artist

Euclase — Yes? Yes. I'm glad we're all in agreement this is 150% a good choice!

mmcoconut — I fell in love with her Captain America fanart and there's NO GOING BACK. Here is her art tag!

jasric — yet another artist I discovered through Captain America, but doing amazing work elsewhere, too. Look!

mirandakat — she drew one of my favorite pieces of last year, and her other work is just as great. I love her style. ♥

That's it from me for now; time to get reading.

Like Renay I'm going into nomination season with a lot of catching up to do, especially in terms of novels. I think I've made my peace with the fact that I'm never going to be one of those Hugo voters who has a handle on the entire cosmos of current SFF — it's OK to nominate and vote even if I haven't kept up to date with every big new title, or new voice, the community adored last year. And with that in mind I present my incredibly incomplete, always developing initial slate of choices.

Best Novel

Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes — This was easily one of the best novels I read all year. I loved that Beukes chose to spend so much time on the details of her character's personal worlds and affairs, which complement and flesh out the novel's main SFF crime plot. I came away caring a lot about the relationships between the police characters (someone should definitely think about adapting this for TV, considering the popularity of crime/SFF crossovers which feature teamwork) and Gabi's relationship with her daughter. Also, Broken Monsters got the tone and substance of internet conversations spot on, and managed to show the darker side of the internet without making me want to claw my face of by presenting a dull, poorly thought out anti-internet agenda full of behind the times internet lingo.

Love is the Drug by Alaya Dawn Johnson — If I'm being real I think the only YA novels that stand a chance of making the Best Novel short list this year are Station Eleven, Grasshopper Jungle and maybe Blue Lily, Lily Blue (although that's the third in a series which might affect it's nomination numbers). But, I could be way off and I find trying to craft a political ballot just unspeakably boring so Alaya Dawn Johnson's YA novel gets one of my nominations. When I first heard about Love is the Drug, I worried the central SFF idea would make this book too similar to Mira Grant's new series for it to tell a distinct story, but its focus and setting really set it apart from being just another 'killer virus' novel. If you want to learn more about why I enjoyed reading Love is the Drug, I included this book in my 2014 Smugglivus post for The Book Smugglers.

Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor — I still find myself thinking about this novel's structure and strength of imagination even though I read it pretty soon after it was released (which was light years ago in publishing terms). Aliens aren't generally a big SFF favourite of mine — unless we're talking about Roswell — but this take on alien life felt fresh and really hooked me. Meghan and I have a co-review of this coming up, so more specific details about what I liked are coming soon.

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld — Personal quandary: I liked this book's contemporary storyline better than the SFF storyline, but the SFF storyline makes it perfectly eligible for this award — should I nominate it? I really want to because I love girlfriends Darcy & Imogen and their journey as writers, but I think there are going to be stronger SFF stories out there. We'll see how I feel after I've attempted to read all the SFF novels (or y'know, maybe five of them). I wrote a review of Afterworlds for Shiny New Books if you want to find out a bit more about this novel.

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith — Grasshopper Jungle was one of the most innovative pieces of YA SFF that I read last year, but I'm not sure if it's going to stay on my ballot because the ending made me want to scream. If the end of the world does come we're not having any of that unequal romantic relationship shit in my underground bunker *mutters*. I wrote a short review of Grasshopper Jungle which goes into a bit more detail about what I enjoyed and what made me glare at this book's very attractive covers.

Still investigating: While I'm going to avoid getting caught up in nomination panic, the Hugo nomination period is still a great time to read some of the works I meant to read as soon as they came out in 2014 and to find out what other nominators think of them. With that in mind I'd like to try and read a few more of the 2014 novels that are already sitting on my shelf: The Bees, Bird, Boy, Snow, The Goblin Emperor, Station Eleven, Blue Lily, Lily Blue and The Mirror Empire.

And I'd like to see if I can find anymore adult SFF novels that were written in 2014 by chromatic authors. Any recs (or y'know reading partners for any of the books I've listed here) gratefully received :D

Best Short Story

This is probably the category I'm going to have the most opinions about this year. People have added so many recommendations to the Hugo spreadsheet (thanks everyone, it's been really helpful) and so much short fiction is available for free online, which means I can find and access great stories without having to continually check myself to keep from getting overwhelmed. Right now I've read seven excellent eligible stories but three in particular have caught my eye. I'm going to be creating Short Business posts about these stories, so I won't say too much about any of them, but they certainly deserve some attention.

"How to Become a Robot in 12 Easy Steps" by A. Merc Rustard — If a lot of Sasquan members read this story it could be a serious Hugo contender. The tone and construction reminds me a lot of Swirsky's beloved and Hugo nominated "If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love".

"Once, Upon a Lime" by E. Catherine Tobler — I'm puzzled by this story, but it seems to be sticking in my mind. I really want more people to read it and talk it through so I can understand it better.

"Four Steps to the Perfect Smokey Eye" by Claire Humphrey — I think this story is going to hit a lot of women hard. It reflects how our culture uses devices of protection to keep us permanently scared and pliable, and the tension of living in such a world is conveyed terrifyingly well.

Best Graphic Story

I doubt that I'm going to have time to read extensively in this category before nominations close so I just have one very excited nomination.

Miss Marvel Volume One: No Normal — Fun, smart and genuine — if you haven't tried the new Miss Marvel bump it way up your list.

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

My nominations this year are hamstrung by the fact that some of the big eligible titles aren't out in the UK yet. So consider this list very provisional considering that Big Hero Six, Into the Woods and Home all sound like my kind of thing. Also, if I can find a way to see Mockingjay: Part One before nominations close I'm 99% sure it'll make the list because Katniss.*shrugs* What do you want from me, it's Katniss.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 — I recognise that the emotional pacing of this film is a little off towards the end, but I'm full of feelings about this film, the depiction of the dragon sanctuary and the choices the story made and I would like this film to make the shortlist. If Interstellar makes the shortlist and this doesn't I am going to have to write a shouty piece about parents in SFF. Don't make me do that.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes — Despite being hugely ridiculous in places (a gorilla driving a tank — that's all I'm going to say) this film created a consistently menacing atmosphere and convinced me to invest in all the central characters. It felt like a really justified, well done remake influenced by the remake culture of our times, and I also loved the reworking of the original music.

Divergent — Initially, I was a bit ambivalent about this film, but it's grown on me — possibly because Maze Runner was such a poor vision of a dystopian film that I started to see that comparing Divergent with The Hunger Games was skewing my perception? This doesn't sound like much of a recommendation, but looking back on this film I find that it was invigorating to meet Tris and her dauntless spirit. This set of films isn't going to be the next Hunger Games for me, and I still think the actor playing the villain should have been the romantic lead, but I would enjoy watching more stories set in this world.

Maleficent — Again, a film that has grown on me with a little distance despite it's narrative problems. I think other people's analysis of the film has made me see it more clearly. And I remain hugely into the costuming.

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

I have a feeling that this category will be dominated by stand out episodes from longer running shows that I'm not watching. From the reaction I've seen online, I'll be amazed if Supernatural: The Musical doesn't make the short list and Game of Thrones seems to be the main contender to knock the Who voting fanbase about a bit. Plenty of new SFF programs appeared this year, but most of the shows that are widely available (not on Sky Atlantic) were pulp features; the kind of bad but fun TV that I delight in but which doesn't tend to be the Hugos jam. Still I have a few nominations to make.

Governed as it Were By Chance (Orphan Black, Series Two) — If I thought series stood a chance in the Long Form Dramatic Presentation category I'd probably nominate the whole second series of Orphan Black there. As it is, I'm going to slot two excellent episodes into the Short Form category instead. This episode features one of the scariest and most emotive scenes of the whole series — Helena appearing in a bloody wedding dress while Sarah is handcuffed to the shower. The fear rolling off Maslany as she plays Sarah was spectacular and pulled me right into the terror of her character's situation.

To Hound Nature in Her Wanderings (Orphan Black, Series Two) — The one where Helena and Sarah go on a road trip!

Re-entry (Extant, Series One) — So far, I haven't found the time to watch any more of this series, but I found the pilot very compelling and weird.

Twilight's Last Gleaming (The 100, Series One) — Say what you want about The 100, but it is good at emotions. This episode, which focused on a sacrifice from the space station's population, was genuinely moving. I'm also fond of this episode because so much SFF maintains the need to keep secrets from the general population to avoid panic and riots, but when a big scary secret is leaked in The 100 the people on board react with immense charity and heroism. Good to see TV take a different view of people now and then.

Still investigating: I absolutely have to watch The Legend of Korra Series Three before nominations close, as it's just possible that the fan delight about the series ending might carry over into nominations this year. Otherwise, I can't think of anything I desperately want to catch up on — suggestions?

Best Semiprozine

The Book Smugglers — I would like to apply to be a handmaiden of world domination. I assume we get paid in sinister black cloaks and jewellery?

Best Fan Writer

My picks for this category are mostly the same as last year, and Renay handily provides links to their work above.

Abigail Nussbaum
Hello, Tailor
Liz Bourke
The Literary Omnivore — My one new pick in this category is The Literary Omnivore, whose dedication to fanwork is astounding. Her interests are so varied and her opinions are informed by a wealth of knowledge about popular culture and fan history.

I also have plans to nominate a few fan essays in the Related Work category. I haven't worked out all the details yet, but the excellent Gender, Orphan Black and the Meta of Meta is probably going to make the slate.

So, tell us, are you taking part in the Hugos this year and what are you planning to nominate?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oooh lots of stuff to check out, thanks! Darn, so many things, so little time :( I need to get a copy of the Goblin Emperor, everybody's been singing its praises.
I made a list of my fave stuff here (attempting, insofar as possible, to focus on diverse works that are easily accessible): http://aliettedebodard.com/2015/01/12/awards-consideration-post/

Thanks for dropping a link to your list - loads of interesting stuff to explore.

Thanks for the shout-out!

I have no idea what my ballot will look like for novels, but (surprise) the short fiction categories are mostly pretty affixed. And most of these stories ace the Bechdel test, too! Mostly female characters frequently talking about not-men. In fact I think there's only one exception, which passes but not aces.

Novelette: "Among the Thorns" by Veronica Schanoes
"In the Sight of Akresa" by Ray Wood
"Written on the Hides of Foxes" by Alex Dally MacFarlane
"The Bonedrake's Penance" by Yoon Ha Lee

Fifth slot may go to "The Litany of Earth" by Ruthanna Emrys, "Women in Sandstone" by ADM, or "The Ninety Ninth Bride" by Catherine F. King. This is my favorite length so I feel all torn up about having to choose just five.

Short story:

"Makeisha in Time" by Rachael K. Jones
"Tongtong's Summer" by Xia Jia
"Seven Articles on an Imperfect Land" by Ruthanna Emrys
"Because I Prayed This Word" by ADM

Several stories might take the fifth slot, idk yet. I'm going to make posts, eventually.

--CK, not signed in

Didn't realise Among the Thorns was eligible - I've been meaning to read that for a while. And Seven Articles is popping up on a lot of people's lists.

Dramatic presentation, short form:
Extant: "Ascension"
The Flight (http://vimeo.com/83312018)
Penny Dreadful: "Séance"
Penny Dreadful: "Closer than Sisters"
Penny Dreadful: "Possession"

Fan writer:
Mark Glyer (http://file770.com/)
Jeremy (http://somewonderfulkindofnoise.blogspot.ca/)
Laura J. Mixon (http://laurajmixon.com/)
Mark Oshiro (http://markreads.net/reviews/ http://markwatches.net/reviews/)
Kevin Standlee (comments all over the Web)

I'm so sad I can't get Penny Dreadful because it sounds great. (Also is this CK or someone else?)

Off to check out Never the Same, Renay :) Short Business posts are racking up so maybe you'll find something there that you like.

My nomination list is still a work in progress, but what I've got so far is here:

http://ciaracatscifi.blogspot.com/2015/01/2015-hugo-nominations-are-open.html

I've also got a running list of works others have recommended to me. No way to get through them all in the next two weeks! I love your spreadsheet - great idea!

If you haven't had a chance to check out the Hieroglyph project yet, it's worth a look if you have time before noms close. Some of the stories are "meh," but some of them are really amazing!

http://hieroglyph.asu.edu/

Thanks for your post! You're both adding to my list of things to try to get to, and helping to better focus my attention. :)

Thanks so much! I didn't even know Hieroglyph was a thing until all the personal nominations came around. I'm super glad people talked about this. :D

Good luck with your list. My short fiction selections are piling up, but I'm determined to get to them all. :D

I'd really, really love for Under The Skin to win a Hugo.

I want Gavia to get shortlist nominated this year (or at least SOON). She does such incredible, unique work.

And awww, Jodie. <3

I am not—it's been such a hectic year for me that I don't feel I can construct a meaningful ballot. But it's something I'll be working towards for the 2015 Hugos…

Clare. >.>

CLARE. >.>

NEXT YEAR.

You're welcome :) (Also I will actually e-mail you soon so we can resume project).

Thanks for this post. I'm adding the Literary Omnivore and Hello, Tailor to my list. Some stuff I'm nominating:

Best Novel:
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. Just a great novel that touches on so many things.
Dreams of the Golden Age, by Carrie Vaughn. This is my guilty pleasure vote. It probably won't get nominated, but you never know.

Best Novelette:
The Litany of Earth by Ruthanna Emyrs. You can read it for free on Tor.com. It kind of deconstructs the Cthulu mythos through the eyes of a woman who was raised by Cthulu cultists and then interned by the government.

Best Short Story:
Tuesdays with Molakesh the Destroyer by Megan Grey. You can read it for free at Fireside Magazine. It has an amazing illustration by Galen Dara.

Best Graphic Novel.
The Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang. The mother is just awesome in this. The story is taking an actual 1940's comic and writing an origin story so the character is Chinese-American. The race of the character in the original comic is obscured, but hints at being Chinese-American as the original author was Chinese American, but not allowed to write a Chinese-America character.
Also, I was already considering Ms. Marvel vol. 1. I'm glad someone else it too.

Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
Legend of Korra. I just haven't decided which episode. Probably the series finale.

Best Semiprozine:
Daily Science Fiction. It impresses me that this is still running considering the schedule it uses.
Goblin Fruit. Why can't poetry be considered?

Best Professional Artist:
Galen Dara. She's now in the professional category.

Campbell Award:
JY Yang. I might nominate one of her short stories as well, but it's hard to decide.

The Hugo Awards 2015: A Collection of Nominations

Best Short Story

Best Related Work

Best Graphic Story

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

Best Semiprozine

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