Finalists for the Hugo Awards, the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer have been announced by LAcon V, the 84th World Science Fiction Convention. There were 1,488 valid nominating ballots received and counted from members of the 2025 and 2026 World Science Fiction Conventions for the 2026 Hugo Awards. Voting on the final ballot will open during May 2026. Members of the 2026 Worldcon will vote on the ballot, and the awards will be presented in Los Angeles at Worldcon on August 30, 2026.
For more information, see the Worldcon website.
Best Novel (1,153 ballots cast for 555 nominees)
- A Drop of Corruption, Robert Jackson Bennett (Del Rey; Hodderscape) amazon / bookshop
- The Everlasting, Alix E. Harrow (Tor US; Tor UK) amazon / bookshop
- The Raven Scholar, Antonia Hodgson (Orbit US; Hodderscape) amazon / bookshop
- Death of the Author, Nnedi Okorafor (Morrow; Gollancz) amazon / bookshop
- Shroud, Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tor UK; Orbit US) amazon / bookshop
- The Incandescent, Emily Tesh (Tor US; Orbit UK) amazon / bookshop
Best Novella (807 ballots cast for 172 nominees)
- The River Has Roots, Amal El-Mohtar (Tordotcom; Arcadia UK)
- What Stalks the Deep, T. Kingfisher (Nightfire; Titan UK)
- Cinder House, Freya Marske (Tordotcom; Tor UK)
- Automatic Noodle, Annalee Newitz (Tordotcom)
- The Summer War, Naomi Novik (Del Rey US; Del Rey UK)
- Murder by Memory, Olivia Waite (Tordotcom)
Best Novelette (414 ballots cast for 144 nominees)
- “Kaiju Agonistes”, Scott Lynch (Uncanny 1-2/25)
- “Never Eaten Vegetables”, H.H. Pak (Clarkesworld 1/25)
- “The Millay Illusion”, Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny 11-12/25)
- “The Girl That My Mother Is Leaving Me For” by Cameron Reed (Reactor 4/2/25)
- “When He Calls Your Name”, Catherynne M. Valente (Uncanny 7-8/25)
- “Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy”, Martha Wells (Reactor 7/10/25)
Best Short Story (507 ballots cast for 549 nominees)
- “Six People to Revise You”, J.R. Dawson (Uncanny 1-2/25)
- “In My Country”, Thomas Ha (Clarkesworld 4/25)
- “Wire Mother”, Isabel J. Kim (Clarkesworld 10/25)
- “10 Visions of the Future; or, Self-Care for the End of Days” by Samantha Mills (Uncanny 3-4/25)
- “Laser Eyes Ain’t Everything”, Effie Seiberg (Diabolical Plots 5/16/25)
- “Missing Helen” by Tia Tashiro (Clarkesworld 7/25)
Best Series (687 ballots cast for 185 nominees)
- The Chronicles of Osreth, Katherine Addison (Tor US; Solaris UK; Subterranean)
- White Space, Elizabeth Bear (Saga; Gollancz)
- Emily Wilde, Heather Fawcett (Del Rey US; Orbit UK)
- The Craft Wars, Max Gladstone (Tor; Tordotcom)
- October Daye, Seanan McGuire (Tor US; DAW)
- Old Man’s War, John Scalzi (Tor US; Tor UK)
Best Graphic Story or Comic (362 ballots cast for 243 nominees)
- The Invisible Parade, Leigh Bardugo & John Picacio (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Orion UK)
- The Power Fantasy Volume 1: The Superpowers, written by Kieron Gillen, art by Caspar Wijngaard, lettering by Clayton Cowles (Image Comics)
- A Wizard of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel, written by Ursula K. Le Guin, adapted & art by Fred Fordham (Clarion; Walker UK)
- The Space Cat, written by Nnedi Okorafor, art by Tana Ford (First Second)
- Absolute Wonder Woman Vol. 1: The Last Amazon, written by Kelly Thompson, art by Hayden Sherman & Mattia de Iulis, coloring by Jordie Bellaire, lettering by Becca Carey (DC Comics)
- A Girl and Her Fed, written by KB Spangler, art by Ale Presser (agirlandherfed.com)
Best Related Work (479 ballots cast for 250 nominees)
- “Ragnarök vs the Long Night”, Ashaya & Aziz (History of Westeros 8/10/25)
- Colourfields: Writing About Writing About Science Fiction, Paul Kincaid (Briardene)
- Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia Butler, Susana M. Morris (Amistad)
- Inventing the Renaissance, Ada Palmer (University of Chicago Press; Head of Zeus UK)
- The Hugo Spreadsheet of Doom, maintained by Renay (Google spreadsheet)
- Last War in Albion: “The Cuddled Little Vice (Sandman)”, Elizabeth Sandifer (Eruditorum)
Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form (650 ballots cast for 149 nominees)
- Andor (Season 2), written by Tom Bissell, Dan Gilroy, Tony Gilroy & Beau Willimon; directed by Ariel Kleiman, Janus Metz & Alonso Ruizpalacios (Disney+)
- Frankenstein, screenplay by Guillermo del Toro, directed by Guillermo del Toro (Netflix)
- KPop Demon Hunters, screenplay by Chris Appelhans, Danya Jimenez, Maggie Kang & Hannah McMechan; directed by Maggie Kang & Chris Appelhans (Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix)
- Mickey 17, screenplay by Bong Joon Ho, directed by Bong Joon Ho (Warner Bros.)
- Sinners, screenplay by Ryan Coogler, directed by Ryan Coogler (Proximity Media, Warner Bros.)
- Superman, screenplay by James Gunn, directed by James Gunn (DC)
Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form (471 ballots cast for 249 nominees)
- Doctor Who: “The Story & the Engine”, written by Inua Ellams, directed by Makalla McPherson (BBC One, Disney +)
- Murderbot: “All Systems Red”, written by Paul Weitz & Chris Weitz, directed by Roseanne Liang, based on the book All Systems Red by Martha Wells (Apple TV)
- Murderbot: “The Perimeter”, written Chris Weitz & Paul Weitz, directed by Paul Weitz, based on the book All Systems Red by Martha Wells (Apple TV)
- Pluribus: “We Is Us”, written & directed by Vince Gilligan (Apple TV)
- Severance: “Cold Harbor”, written by Dan Erickson, directed by Ben Stiller (Apple TV)
- The Wheel of Time: “The Road to the Spear”, written by Rafe Lee Judkins, directed by Thomas Napper, based on the book The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (Amazon Prime Video)
Best Game or Interactive Work (357 ballots cast for 159 nominees)
- Blue Prince, developed by Dogubomb, published by Raw Fury
- Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, developed by Jump Over the Age, published by Fellow Traveller
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, developed by Sandfall Interactive, published by Kepler Interactive
- Dispatch, developed & published AdHoc Studio
- Hades II, developed & published by Supergiant Games
- Hollow Knight: Silksong, developed & published by Team Cherry
Best Editor, Short Form (305 ballots cast for 128 nominees)
- Scott H. Andrews
- Jennifer Brozek
- Neil Clarke
- Lee Harris
- Michael Damian Thomas
- Sheila Williams
Best Editor, Long Form (234 ballots cast for 95 nominees)
- Carl Engle-Laird
- Jaymee Goh
- Lee Harris
- Jenni Hill
- Joe Monti
- Diana M. Pho
Best Professional Artist (228 ballots cast for 220 nominees)
- Lulu Chen
- Kelly Chong
- Dave Kellett
- Tran Nguyen
- John Picacio
- Tom Roberts
Best Semiprozine (324 ballots cast for 93 nominees)
- Escape Pod, editors Mur Lafferty and Valerie Valdes, assistant editors Kevin Wabaunsee & Phoebe Barton, hosts Tina Connolly & Alasdair Stuart, producers Summer Brooks & Adam Pracht, and the entire Escape Pod team
- khōréō, team khōréō (publisher Aleksandra Hill; editor-in-chief Zhui Ning Chang; editors Kanika Agrawal, Danai Christopoulou & Isabella Kestermann; audio Jenelle DeCosta, E.B., Aaron Kling, Grayson Norman & Lian Xia Rose; marketing M.L. Krishnan & Ashley Thompson; art Ambi Sun; copyeditors Ariya Bandy, Eleanor Glewwe, Jeané Ridges & Derek Yen; proofreader Cyrus Chin; first readers Adialyz Del Valle Berríos, Sanjna Bhartiya, Kelsey Costa, Merulai Femi, A.R. Frederiksen, Yuvashri Harish, Zohar Jacobs, Lynn D. Jung, Phoebe Low, Katie McIvor, Adil Mian, Katarzyna Nowacka, A.W. Prihandita, Helena Ramsaroop, Jin Hui Saw, Aditya Sundararajan, Sophia Uy, Madeleine Vigneron, Aaron Voigt, K.S. Walker, Akilah White, MJ Woods, Kelsea Yu, Lilia Zhang & Tina Zhu)
- On Spec, publisher Copper Pig Writers’ Society; managing editor/art director Diane L. Walton; poetry editors Colleen Anderson & Bob Stallworthy; fiction editors Lareina Abbott, Ashley Alton, Barb Galler-Smith, Dan Gyoba, Matthew Stobie Jackman, Constantine Kaoukakis, Alyssa Kulchisky, Susan MacGregor, Jade Mah-Vierling, Ann Marston, Krystle McGrath, Cheryl Merkel, Virginia O’Dine, Kathleen Phul, Thomas Schwarz Lorina Stephens, William Thompson, Amanda Wells, Jessica Zdril & Ethan Zou;interviewers Roberta Laurie & Cat McDonald; proofreaders Isaac Calon, Mya Colwell & Ashlin McCartney
- Strange Horizons, the Strange Horizons Editorial Collective
- The Deadlands, publisher Sean Markey, editor-in-chief E. Catherine Tobler, poetry editor Nicasio Andres Reed, nonfiction editor David Gilmore, necromancer Amanda Downum, art director Cory Skerry, copyeditors Laura Blackwell & Annika Barranti Klein, proofreader Josephine Stewart, designer Christine M. Scott, social media skeleton Felicia Martínez
- Uncanny, publisher and editor-in-chief Michael Damian Thomas; managing editor Monte Lin; poetry editor Betsy Aoki, podcast producers Erika Ensign & Steven Schapansky
Best Fanzine (224 ballots cast for 61 nominees)
- Ancillary Review of Books, Jake Casella Brookins, Lyz Bush-Peel, Zachary Gillan, Bianca Skrinyár, Misha Grifka Wander & Cynthia Zhang, eds.
- An Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog, Olav Rokne & Amanda Wakaruk, eds.
- Galactic Journey, founder Gideon Marcus, editor Janice L. Newman, staff Andi Dukleth, Jessica Dickinson Goodman, David Levinson & Tam Phan
- Intergalactic Mixtape, Renay, ed.
- Journey Planet, Allison Hartman Adams, James Bacon, Christopher J. Garcia, Jean Martin & Steven H Silver, eds.
- nerds of a feather, flock together, Roseanna Pendlebury, Arturo Serrano, Paul Weimer; senior editors Joe Sherry, G. Brown, Vance Kotrla, eds.
Best Fancast (370 ballots cast for 198 nominees)
- A Meal of Thorns, presented by Jake Casella Brookins
- Eating the Fantastic, hosted by Scott Edelman
- Hugo, Girl!, presented by Kevin Anderson, Lori Anderson, Amy Salley & Haley Zapal
- Octothorpe, presented by John Coxon, Liz Batty & Alison Scott
- The Coode Street Podcast, presented by Jonathan Strahan & Gary K. Wolfe
- Worldbuilding for Masochists, presented by Natania Barron, Marshall Ryan Maresca & Cass Morris
Best Fan Writer (308 ballots cast for 158 nominees)
- Jay Brantner for “Tar Vol”
- Alex Brown
- James Davis Nicoll
- Roseanna Pendlebury
- Jason Sanford
- Örjan Westin
Best Fan Artist (186 ballots cast for 120 nominees)
- Terri Ash
- Geneva Bowers
- Sara Felix
- Richard Man
- España Sheriff
- Yuumei
Best Poem (202 ballots cast for 229 nominees)
- “How to Become a Sea Witch”, Theodora Goss (The Orange & Bee 4/18/25)
- “The World to Come”, Jennifer Hudak (Strange Horizons 12/25)
- “The Mourning Robot”, Angela Liu (Uncanny 9-10/25)
- “Hex Supply Customer Support Log”, Elis Montgomery (Strange Horizons 8/25)
- “Care for Lightning”, Mari Ness (Uncanny 1-2/25)
- “Landing: Seattle”, Brandon O’Brien (Seattle Worldcon 2025 Opening Ceremony)
Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book [Not a Hugo Award] (244 ballots cast for 169 nominees)
- Among Ghosts, Rachel Hartman (Random House Books for Young Readers)
- Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe, C.B. Lee (Feiwel & Friends)
- Holy Terrors, Margaret Owen (Holt; Hodderscape UK)
- Oathbound, Tracy Deonn (Simon & Schuster)
- Sunrise on the Reaping, Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
- They Bloom at Night, Trang Thanh Tran (Bloomsbury US; Bloomsbury UK)
Astounding Award for Best New Writer [Not a Hugo Award] (290 ballots cast for 156 nominees)
- Sophie Burnham*
- Kamilah Cole*
- Antonia Hodgson
- Molly O’Neill
- H.H. Pak*
- Jared Pechaček*
*Finalist in their 2nd year of eligibility.
The following nominees received enough votes to qualify for the final ballot, but were found to be ineligible:
- Best Series: Lady Astronaut, Mary Robinette Kowal (fewer than 240,000 new words since last appearance on the ballot)
- Best Series: The Singing Hills Cycle, Nghi Vo (fewer than 240,000 words in total)
- Astounding Award: Silvia Park (had qualifying publication prior to 2024)
- Astounding Award: Barbara Truelove (had qualifying publication prior to 2024)
The following nominees received enough votes to qualify for the final ballot, but declined nominations:
- Best Editor, Long Form: Lindsey Hall
- Best Semiprozine: Beneath Ceaseless Skies
The following nominee received enough votes to qualify for the final ballot, but was withdrawn by the showrunners to abide by the limitation on number of episodes of the same show allowed in the category.
- Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: Murderbot: “Free Commerce”