The 2025 Hugo Awards: My Two Hugo Nominations

The nominees for the 2025 Hugo Awards, which will be handed out this August in Seattle, Washington, were announced earlier this evening. My book, Track Changes: Selected Reviews is nominated in the Best Related Work category. In addition, I am nominated for Best Fan Writer, my first time back in this category since winning it in 2017.

First up, I want to thank everyone who nominated me in both of these categories. I'm extremely proud of both Track Changes and my work as a blogger and critic last year, and it's gratifying for both to be recognized. Track Changes is, of course, a collaborative work, and would not exist without Briardene Books and its tireless publisher, Niall Harrison, whose belief in the power and importance of SFF criticism has lifted up many excellent critics. If you've enjoyed Track Changes, check out their other books, including the forthcoming Colourfields: Writing About Writing About Science Fiction by Paul Kincaid.

Secondly, I want to thank the hardworking and tireless Hugo administrators, who were so diligent and on the ball with this year's nominations, I received the notification that I was a double Hugo nominee three days after nominations closed. And while I can't make any promises, I have a strong feeling that this year's Hugo voter packet will be available sooner rather than later. 

Thirdly, I want to congratulate my fellow nominees in both categories, who include some of my favorite critics working today, as well as some names that are new to me, and who I am eager to learn more about.

Moving on to the rest of the ballot, I am pleased to see that several of the selections in my preliminary Hugo ballot made it onto the final nomination list. In particular, I observe the podcasts A Meal of Thorns and Eight Days of Diana Wynne Jones in Best Fancast; Flow, Furiosa, and I Saw the TV Glow in Best Dramatic Presentation: Long Form; Star Trek: Lower Decks - Warp Your Own Way in Best Graphic Story; and the Southern Reach series in Best Series. I also note that my suggestion, to nominate Nghi Vo's Singing Hills novella cycle in Best Series, met with some approval, but the nomination was removed for falling under the word count requirement. I plan to make another attempt next year.

Finally, there is the question of whether I will be on hand at this year's Hugo ceremony. For personal reasons, I was already a little on the fence about a trip to Seattle this summer, and obviously the unrest and instability in the US and especially along its borders adds more uncertainty to this question. At the moment I simply don't have an answer. I will, however, be at this year's Eastercon in Belfast, Northern Ireland (where Track Changes is also nominated for the BSFA Award for Non-Fiction), and I think I will make a decision about Seattle after that convention ends. In the meantime, I remain pleased and proud of these nominations, and send my thanks and congratulations, once again, to all the voters and nominees.

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