2025 Hugo, Lodestar, and Astounding Awards Winners
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Best Novel: The Tainted Cup, Robert Jackson Bennett
Best Novella: The Tusks of Extinction, Ray Nayler
Best Novelette:"The Four Sisters Overlooking the Sea”, Naomi Kritzer
Best Short Story: “Stitched to Skin Like Family Is”, Nghi Vo
Best Series: Between Earth and Sky, Rebecca Roanhorse
Best Graphic Story or Comic: Star Trek: Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way, written by Ryan North, art by Chris Fenoglio
Best Related Work: Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right, Jordan S. Carroll
Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: Dune: Part Two, screenplay by Denis Villeneuve & Jon Spaihts, directed by Denis Villeneuve
Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: Star Trek: Lower Decks: “The New Next Generation”, created and written by Mike McMahan, based on Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry, directed by Megan Lloyd
Best Game or Interactive Work: Caves of Qud, co-creators Brian Bucklew & Jason Grinblat; contributors Nick DeCapua, Corey Frang, Craig Hamilton, Autumn McDonell, Bastia Rosen, Caelyn Sandel, Samuel Wilson (Freehold Games); sound design A Shell in the Pit
Best Editor, Short Form:Neil Clarke
Best Editor, Long Form: Diana M. Pho
Best Professional Artist: Alyssa Winans
Best Semiprozine: Uncanny, publishers and editors-in-chief Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas; managing editor Monte Lin; poetry editor Betsy Aoki, podcast producers Erika Ensign & Steven Schapansky
Best Fanzine: Black Nerd Problems, editors William Evans & Omar Holmon
Best Fancast: Eight Days of Diana Wynne Jones, presented by Emily Tesh & Rebecca Fraimow
Best Fan Writer: Abigail Nussbaum
Best Fan Artist: Sara Felix
Best Poem: “A War of Words”, Marie Brennan
Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book: Sheine Lende, Darcie Little Badger
Astounding Award for Best New Writer: Moniquill Blackgoose
Galaxy: The Best of My Years by Jim Baen
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Jim Baen's version of a single perfect issue of Baen-era Galaxy.
Galaxy: The Best of My Years by Jim Baen
Books Received, August 9 — August 15
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Ten books new to me: five fantasy, two mysteries, and three science fiction novels. Four are series books and the other six seem to be stand-alone.
Books Received, August 9 — August 15
Which of these look interesting?
Love Binds by Cynthia St. Aubin (December 2024
4 (8.3%)
Druid Cursed by C. J. Burright (October 2025)
2 (4.2%)
Hell’s Heart by Alexis Hall (March 2026)
9 (18.8%)
The Quiet Mother by Arnaldur Indridason (December 2025)
9 (18.8%)
Dark Matter by Kathe Koja (December 2025)
10 (20.8%)
Butterfly Effects by Seanan McGuire (March 2026)
13 (27.1%)
How to Get Away With Murder by Rebecca Philipson (February 2026)
7 (14.6%)
Cabaret in Flames by Hache Pueyo (March 2026)
5 (10.4%)
The Entanglement of Rival Wizards by Sara Raasch (August 2025)
10 (20.8%)
What We Are Seeking by Cameron Reed (April 2026)
22 (45.8%)
Some other option (see comments)
0 (0.0%)
Cats!
31 (64.6%)
Tonight's Warhammer The Old World Adventure
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The knight is the only one who can read, and the elf is their best medic, in the sense they have a 50% chance of binding wounds, rather than under 40%.
After one session:
The knight is a killing machine, with poor social graces in his current context. Well, that isn't quite true: he knows courtly manners. He just doesn't think they apply in the Empire and is very irritated that the peasants keep making eye contact.
The artisan is a relentless engine of effort, quite good at hitting things with a hammer but not so good at dodging. However, unlike the knight, he didn't stay in melee range to get bit.
The elf has almost supernatural reflexes and situational awareness and is a crack shot... but the dice were not on their side.
The town watchman is oddly crap in combat to the point they wanted to sell their sword for something where if they missed, at least they weren't next to whatever they missed. They are, however, keen-eyed and socially adept.
Amusingly enough, had the elf examined the adorable girl who accosted them, their tiny knack for magic would have revealed the revenant was somehow magical... but they were the one person who didn't side-eye the dead girl as she led them into an ambush.
A MYSTERY!
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"The field didn't just have women writers--it had really good women writers. These were wonderful stories, and I don't believe they were overlooked at the time, because when I read them, they were all in Year's Best collections."
Rusch speculates that Willis is referencing Merril's Best S-F. However, Rusch says she only did a spot check. I reread the whole of Merril's Best S-F in 2023. Her anthologies were mostly stories by men.
OK, so maybe it was one of the other Best SF series around back then? But I checked Bleiler and Dikty, Harrison & Aldiss, and Wollheim & Carr and it's not them.
Was there another 1950s-1960s Best SF series?
Or was Willis thinking of a magazine-specific annual like Analog 1?
Not literally Analog 1, obs. But something like it from another magazine.
My guess, having checked the early years, is Willis was reading The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction. Specifically, Boucher's run.
(Guess two would have been something edited by Goldsmith but she does not appear to have edited anthologies)
The Adventure of the Demonic Ox (Penric & Desdemona, volume 14) by Lois McMaster Bujold
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What could possibly go wrong while transporting a possessed ox?
The Adventure of the Demonic Ox (Penric & Desdemona, volume 14) by Lois McMaster Bujold
Bundle of Holding: Girl Genius (from 2020) & Girl Genius 2 (from 2023)
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A zeppelin-full of digital graphic albums featuring Studio Foglio's Girl Genius, the "gaslamp fantasy" webcomic of adventure, romance, and mad science.
Bundle of Holding: Girl Genius (from 2020)

Even more Girl Genius, plus Buck Godot, Zap Gun for Hire.
Bundle of Holding: Girl Genius 2 (from 2023)
Women Have Always Written SFF — But It Wasn’t Always Easy to Find
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In the 1970s, many of the best new authors were women — the trick was finding their work.
Women Have Always Written SFF — But It Wasn’t Always Easy to Find
Yes, I know comments are not working. No, I have no control over that. Yes, I have mentioned the issue repeatedly. No, I don't know when it will be fixed.
RuriDragon, volume 6 by Masaoki Shindo
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Bathed in unquenchable fire, Ruri struggles to maintain her grade point average.
RuriDragon, volume 6 by Masaoki Shindo
The Four Wishes (Cheon of Weltanland, volume 1) By Charlotte Stone
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War crime survivor turned expert swordswoman and student sorcerer Cheon resolves to obliterate the nation responsible, make herself queen, and find a like-minded woman to court.
The Four Wishes (Cheon of Weltanland, volume 1) by Charlotte Stone
Bundle of Holding: Ironsworn-Starforged
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Ironsworn, Starforged, and Sundered Isles, tabletop roleplaying games of perilous fantasy, space opera, and seafaring adventure by Tomkin Press.
Bundle of Holding: Ironsworn-Starforged
Clarke Award Finalists 2009
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Which 2009 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
Song of Time by Ian R. MacLeod
1 (3.1%)
Anathem by Neal Stephenson
26 (81.2%)
House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds
9 (28.1%)
Martin Martin's on the Other Side by Mark Wernham
0 (0.0%)
The Margarets by Sheri S. Tepper
7 (21.9%)
The Quiet War by Paul J. McAuley
7 (21.9%)
Bold for have read, italic for intend to read, underline for never heard of it.
Which 2009 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
Song of Time by Ian R. MacLeod
Anathem by Neal Stephenson
House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds
Martin Martin's on the Other Side by Mark Wernham
The Margarets by Sheri S. Tepper
The Quiet War by Paul J. McAuley
With an * on the McAuley because it was too grim and I didn't finish it.
Congratulations to the 2025 Aurora Award Winners!
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Best Novel: The Siege of Burning Grass, Premee Mohamed, Solaris
Best YA Novel: Heavenly Tyrant, Xiran Jay Zhao, Tundra Books
Best Novelette/Novella: The Butcher of the Forest, Premee Mohamed, Tordotcom
Best Short Story: “Blood and Desert Dreams“, Y.M. Pang, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue 408
Best Graphic Novel: Star Trek Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way, Ryan North, art by Chris Fenoglio, IDW Publishing
Best Poem/Song “Cthulhu on the Shores of Osaka“, Y.M. Pang, Invitation: A One-shot Anthology of Speculative Fiction
Best Related Work: Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction: Volume Two
Stephen Kotowych, editor, Ansible Press
Best Cover Art/Interior Illustration: Augur Magazine, Issue 7.1, cover art, Martine Nguyen
Best Fan Writing and Publication: SF&F Book Reviews, Robert Runté, Ottawa Review of Books
Best Fan Related Work: murmurstations, Sonia Urlando, Augur Society, podcast
Beyond Apollo by Barry N. Malzberg
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Two Americans set out for Venus. Only one returned. Where is the missing man? Evans knows but Evans is not a reliable witness.
Beyond Apollo by Barry N. Malzberg
I don't think any of my Old World players frequent DW
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Sidewise Award Announcement
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This is the first time in the 30 year history of the award that they've made an open call for awards judges.
Apply here.
Five User-Friendly Rulesets for Tabletop Roleplaying Games
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Not every gamer finds joy in wildly complicated, esoteric, hard-to-learn rules...
Five User-Friendly Rulesets for Tabletop Roleplaying Games