2020 Hugo Awards: Arkady Martine, N.K. Jemisin, S.L. Huang, Nnedi Okorafor, Ray Bradbury, More

Books

Aug 2

Jeannette Ng wins ‘Best Related Work’ award for calling John W. Campbell a ‘fascist.’ (Seriously, it was awesome.)

The winners of the 2020 Hugo Awards were announced this weekend in a livestream from CoNZealand. The awards were presented August 1, 2020 at a ceremony at the 78th World Science Fiction Convention in New Zealand, which was presented as a virtual event because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The Hugo Awards, first presented in 1953 and presented annually since 1955, are science fiction’s most prestigious award. The Hugo Awards are voted on by members of the World Science Fiction Convention (“Worldcon”), which is also responsible for administering them.

Highlights of the night included:

Debut novelist Arkady Martine won top prize—the Hugo Award for Best Novel
Multiple-Hugo-winner N.K. Jemison won for Best Novelette
Jeannette Ng was awarded for Best Related Work—for her acceptance speech at the Hugo Awards last year. Upon receiving the John W Campbell award for Best New Writer, she called Campbell a fascist who set a tone “of science fiction that still haunts the genre to this day.” Read that whole speech here. (The prize has since been renamed the Astounding award.)
Best Graphic Story was awarded to LaGuardia, written by Nnedi Okorafor, with art by Tana Ford and colors by James Devlin
Best Longform Dramatic Presentation went to Good Omens, written by Neil Gaiman and directed by Douglas Mackinnon. Accepting the prize, Gaiman said that the late Terry Pratchett—with whom he co-wrote the original novel—had thought that a Hugo would never go to anything funny. “Thank you,” he said, “for giving Terry Pratchett his Hugo award.”

Congratulations to the winners! Scroll down for the complete list, which includes winners of the 2020 Hugo Awards and the 1945 Retrospective Hugo Awards. Watch a replay of the 2020 Hugo Awards livestream here.

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2020 Hugo Award Winners

Best Novel

A Memory Called Empire
Arkady Martine
(Tor; Tor UK)

Best Novella

This Is How You Lose the Time War
Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
(Saga Press; Jo Fletcher Books)

Best Novelette

Emergency Skin
N.K. Jemisin
(Forward Collection (Amazon))

Best Short Story

“As the Last I May Know”
S.L. Huang
(Tor.com, 23 October 2019)

Best Series

The Expanse
James S. A. Corey
(Orbit US; Orbit UK)

Best Related Work

“2019 John W. Campbell Award Acceptance Speech”
Jeannette Ng

Best Graphic Story or Comic

LaGuardia
Written by Nnedi Okorafor, art by Tana Ford, colors by James Devlin
(Berger Books; Dark Horse)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

Good Omens
Written by Neil Gaiman, directed by Douglas Mackinnon
(Amazon Studios/BBC Studios/Narrativia/The Blank Corporation)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

The Good Place: “The Answer”
Written by Daniel Schofield, directed by Valeria Migliassi Collins
(Fremulon/3 Arts Entertainment/Universal Television)

Best Editor, Short Form

Ellen Datlow

Best Editor, Long Form

Navah Wolfe

Best Professional Artist

John Picacio

Best Semiprozine

Uncanny Magazine
Editors-in-chief Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, nonfiction/managing editor Michi Trota, managing editor Chimedum Ohaegbu, podcast producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky

Best Fanzine

The Book Smugglers
Editors Ana Grilo and Thea James

Best Fancast

Our Opinions Are Correct
Presented by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders

Best Fan Writer

Bogi Takács

Best Fan Artist

Elise Matthesen

Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book (not a Hugo)

Catfishing on CatNet
Naomi Kritzer
(Tor Teen)

Astounding Award for the Best New Science Fiction Writer, sponsored by Dell Magazines (not a Hugo)

R.F. Kuang (2nd year of eligibility)