(not-a-Hugo) Lodestar finalists 2026

Among Ghosts by Rachel Hartman

This is a weird one to write about. Reading age, I'd put it at maybe 12-13 year olds; the protagonist is 13 at least. Topic-wise, it's fairly adult - there's death, bigotry, a mildly unpleasant plague, discussion of religious pogroms; and also a somewhat mature coverage of responsibility, duty and repentance. Plot-wise, it felt a bit meandering - it all comes together mostly in the end, but if this weren't young-YA I'd have said it needed another editing pass to iron out some of the flabbier bits.
There's also something that's *almost* a spoiler that I'm going to tag in a reply to this post which is handled a bit weirdly.

#hugo2026 #lodestar2026

Lodestar (not-a-Hugo for YA) finalists

They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran

This is a weird one, and I mean stylistically - it's incredibly overwritten, with some very intrusive phrasings that don't sound like people speak or narrate; plus, many of the characters infodump in a "verbatim from wikipedia" way (that actually feels like maybe that's what really happened, as in some cases it reads like the author doesn't understand the sentence they based the infodump on).
Eco/body horror with some twists, and a lot of levening with modern YA self-identity finding.

#hugo2026 #lodestar

Hugo Short Story finalists + discussion

Laser Eyes Aren't Everything by Effie Seiberg

Light, comedic and with a point (but still pretty light with it). Also pretty timeless (sadly).

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Short stories tend to be topical takes, and this is true for 2026's finalists in the majority. Lots of climate, economic, social and AI anxiety in there.

It's also pretty hard to rank them as a result, too.

I think, mostly based on the styles I vibe with most is:

Wire Mother
Missing Helen
In My Country
10 Visions of the Future
Six People to Revise You
Laser Eyes Aren't Everything

but I can see people ordering them entirely differently.

#hugo2026

Hugo Short Story finalists

10 Visions of the Future by Samantha Mills

Feels a bit like an affectionate takedown of Cozy Solar Punk whilst also being a warning?

In My Country by Thomas Ha

Unlike several of the finalists, this feels timeless - it might have been written any time in the last 2 centuries.

#hugo2026

Hugo Short Story finalists (two at a time from now on)

Six People To Revise You by J. R. Dawson

I feel like this is part of the under-discussed genre of "social horror" - it's not a new message, but it's well written and presented.

Wire Mother by Isabel J Kim

"Ripped from the headlines" SF, done well.

#hugo2026

Hugo Short Story finalists
Missing Helen by Tia Tashiro

'Classic' SF built around an innovation; but with a nice twist built on empathy.
Uses its time very well.

#hugo2026

Hugo Novelettes discussion

Unlike Novels and Novellas, there's not a lot of commonality between any of the Novelettes this year, to my mind (there's several "evil corporate future" settings, but I'm not sure that counts, as we're in one of those right now).

It's equally hard for me to order them:

Never Eaten Vegetables, The Millay Illusion, Kaiju Agonistes and When He Calls Your Name are all quality of different kinds (although the latter would work better with someone who cares about the topic more deeply than I do).

I think The Girl That My Mother Is Leaving Me For has an interesting topic, but it doesn't end satisfyingly (or feel like an ending); and Rapport has the same "feels unfinished" to it.

So, probably

Never Eaten Vegetables
The Millay Illusion
Kaiju Agonistes
When He Calls Your Name
The Girl That My Mother Is Leaving Me For
Rapport

but I might reorder the top 3 before I vote...

#hugo2026

Hugo Novelette finalists
Never Eaten Vegetables by H.H. Pak

This might be the most *interesting* of the novelettes; and there's some horror compactly hidden in naming and alluded-to history in the setting too. I'm very positively disposed to this, in fact.
I think this also wins the "I would never have guessed the subject of this given the title" award for this year...

#hugo2026

Hugo Novelette finalists
Kaiju Agonists by Scott Lynch

This goes places I really didn't expect from the title... I think Lynch had a lot of fun writing this.

#hugo2026

Hugo Novelette finalists
When He Calls Your Name by Catherynne M Valente

I might almost describe this as a long lede into a Rickroll, or a musical fanfic, except it's really well written and is actually trying to make some points. (I think how well this work for you depends strongly on your relationship with the source music.)

#hugo2026