2021 Hugo, Astounding, and Lodestar Awards Winners
Winners for the Hugo Awards, the Astounding Award for Best New Writer, and the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book were announced by DisCon III, the 79th World Science Fiction Convention on December 18, 2021 in Washington D.C, USA.
Best Novel
- WINNER: Network Effect, Martha Wells (Tordotcom)
- Piranesi, Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury US; Bloomsbury UK)
- The City We Became, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
- The Relentless Moon, Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor; Solaris)
- Harrow the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir (Tordotcom)
- Black Sun, Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga; Solaris)
Best Novella
- WINNER: The Empress of Salt and Fortune, Nghi Vo (Tordotcom)
- Finna, Nino Cipri (Tordotcom)
- Ring Shout, P. Djèlí Clark (Tordotcom)
- Upright Women Wanted, Sarah Gailey (Tordotcom)
- Come Tumbling Down, Seanan McGuire (Tordotcom)
- Riot Baby, Tochi Onyebuchi (Tordotcom)
Best Novelette
- WINNER: “Two Truths and a Lie”, Sarah Pinsker (Tor.com 6/17/20)
- “The Inaccessibility of Heaven”, Aliette de Bodard (Uncanny 7-8/20)
- “The Pill”, Meg Elison (Big Girl)
- “Helicopter Story”, Isabel Fall (Clarkesworld 1/20)
- “Burn or The Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super”, A.T. Greenblatt (Uncanny 5-6/20)
- “Monster”, Naomi Kritzer (Clarkesworld 1/20)
Best Short Story
- WINNER: “Metal Like Blood in the Dark”, T. Kingfisher (Uncanny 9-10/20)
- “Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse”, Rae Carson (Uncanny 1-2/20)
- “Little Free Library”, Naomi Kritzer (Tor.com 4/8/20)
- “The Mermaid Astronaut”, Yoon Ha Lee (Beneath Ceaseless Skies 2/27/20)
- “A Guide for Working Breeds”, Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Made to Order)
- “Open House on Haunted Hill”, John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots 6/15/20)
Best Series
- WINNER: The Murderbot Diaries, Martha Wells (Tordotcom)
- The Daevabad Trilogy, S.A. Chakraborty (Harper Voyager)
- The Lady Astronaut Universe, Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor; Solaris; Audible; F&SF)
- The Poppy War, R.F. Kuang (Harper Voyager)
- October Daye, Seanan McGuire (DAW)
- The Interdependency, John Scalzi (Tor; Tor UK)
Best Related Work
- WINNER: Beowulf, Maria Dahvana Headley (MCD x FSG Originals)
- A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia E. Butler, Lynell George (Angel City)
- FIYAHCON, L.D. Lewis, Brent Lambert, Iori Kusano & Vida Cruz
- “George R.R. Martin Can Fuck Off Into the Sun, or: The 2020 Hugo Awards Ceremony (Rageblog Edition)”, Natalie Luhrs (Pretty Terrible 8/20)
- The Last Bronycon: a fandom autopsy, Jenny Nicholson (YouTube)
- CoNZealand Fringe, Claire Rousseau, C, Cassie Hart, Adri Joy, Marguerite Kenner, Cheryl Morgan & Alasdair Stuart
Best Graphic Story or Comic
- WINNER: Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, Octavia E. Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy, illustrated by John Jennings (Abrams ComicArts)
- DIE, Volume 2: Split the Party, Kieron Gillen, illustrated by Stephanie Hans, lettered by Clayton Cowles (Image)
- Once & Future, Volume 1: The King Is Undead, Kieron Gillen, illustrated by Dan Mora, colored by Tamra Bonvillain, lettered by Ed Dukeshire (BOOM!)
- Monstress, Volume 5: Warchild, Marjorie Liu, illustrated by Sana Takeda (Image)
- Ghost-Spider, Volume 1: Dog Days Are Over, Seanan McGuire, illustrated by Takeshi Miyazawa & Rosi Kämpe (Marvel)
- Invisible Kingdom, Volume 2: Edge of Everything, G. Willow Wilson, illustrated by Christian Ward (Dark Horse)
Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
- WINNER: The Old Guard
- Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
- Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
- Palm Springs
- Soul
- Tenet
Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
- WINNER: The Good Place: “Whenever You’re Ready”
- Doctor Who: “Fugitive of the Judoon”
- The Expanse: “Gaugamela”
- The Mandalorian: “The Jedi”
- The Mandalorian: “The Rescue”
- She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: “Heart” (parts 1 and 2)
Best Editor, Short Form
- WINNER: Ellen Datlow
- Neil Clarke
- C.C. Finlay
- Mur Lafferty & S.B. Divya
- Jonathan Strahan
- Sheila Williams
Best Editor, Long Form
- WINNER: Diana M. Pho
- Nivia Evans
- Sheila E. Gilbert
- Sarah Guan
- Brit Hvide
- Navah Wolfe
Best Professional Artist
- WINNER: Rovina Cai
- Tommy Arnold
- Galen Dara
- Maurizio Manzieri
- John Picacio
- Alyssa Winans
Best Semiprozine
- WINNER: FIYAH
- Beneath Ceaseless Skies
- Escape Pod
- PodCastle
- Strange Horizons
- Uncanny
Best Fanzine
- WINNER: nerds of a feather, flock together
- The Full Lid
- Journey Planet
- Lady Business
- Quick Sip Reviews
- Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog
Best Fancast
- WINNER: The Coode Street Podcast
- Be The Serpent
- Kalanadi
- Claire Rousseau’s YouTube channel
- The Skiffy and Fanty Show
- Worldbuilding for Masochists
Best Fan Writer
- WINNER: Elsa Sjunneson
- Cora Buhlert
- Charles Payseur
- Jason Sanford
- Alasdair Stuart
- Paul Weimer
Best Fan Artist
- WINNER: Sara Felix
- Iain J. Clark
- Cyan Daly
- Grace P. Fong
- Maya Hahto
- Laya Rose
Best Video Game
- WINNER: Hades
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Blaseball
- Final Fantasy VII Remake
- The Last of Us: Part II
- Spiritfarer
Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book (Not a Hugo)
- WINNER: A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, T. Kingfisher (Argyll)
- Legendborn, Tracy Deonn (McElderry; Simon & Schuster UK)
- Elatsoe, Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido)
- Raybearer, Jordan Ifueko (Amulet; Hot Key)
- A Deadly Education, Naomi Novik (Del Rey; Del Rey UK)
- Cemetery Boys, Aiden Thomas (Swoon Reads)
Astounding Award for Best New Writer (Not a Hugo)
- WINNER: Emily Tesh*
- Lindsay Ellis
- Simon Jimenez
- Micaiah Johnson
- A.K. Larkwood
- Jenn Lyons*
*Second year of eligibility
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It seems like male authors are having a rough time getting nominated anymore. Kim Stanley Robinson wrote easily the best novel of the year but didn’t even get nominated.