If you‘re a Galactic Guru or Dragon Slayer who enjoys sci-fi, fantasy or speculative fiction, you will love the Hugo Awards. It’s the premier accolade for literature in the science fiction and fantasy genres. The iconic chrome trophies that are styled like a rocket ship at takeoff have been handed out annually by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) since 1953, marking over 70 years of outstanding speculative fiction.
What Is the Hugo Award?
Hugo Award winners are nominated and selected by convention members. Anyone who registers to attend the World Science Fiction Convention can vote for their favorite books, short stories and fan fiction! Fan support shapes the final decision rather than a closed jury or industry-affiliated board. The Hugo Awards recognize the best works in speculative literature, comics, games and more from the previous year. They also have a special award for the year’s Best New Writer.
When Were the 2026 Hugo Awards?
The 84th Annual World Science Fiction Convention, known as Worldcon, took place at LAcon V August 27-31, 2026, at the Anaheim Convention Center. This marks the seventh time that the greater L.A. areas has hosted the event and the 5th time using the LAcon moniker, hence the name LAcon V. This year, the award ceremony was hosted by Hugo-winning author Ursula Vernon, who’s written titles like Daggerbound and Snake-Eater under her penname T. Kingfisher.
Let’s take a look at who was recognized at this year’s award ceremony. Sci-fi fans, you’ll have plenty of titles to add to your TBR. Make sure to sign into your Bookfinity account to add them to your reading list with a single click.
This Year’s Hugo Award Winners
Best Novel: The Everlasting
by Alix E. Harrow
Instant New York Times bestseller - USA Today bestseller - National Indie bestseller - Locus Award Winner - October 2025 LibraryReads Hall of Fame Pick - November 2025 Indie Next Pick!
"Alix E. Harrow is an exceptional, undeniable talent." – Olivie Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six
"An utter masterpiece ... I loved every single page." – Rachel Gillig, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of One Dark Window
From Alix E. Harrow, the New York Times bestselling author of Starling House, comes a moving and genre-defying quest about the lady-knight whose legend built a nation, and the cowardly historian sent back through time to make sure she plays her part-even if it breaks his heart.
Sir Una Everlasting was Dominion's greatest hero: the orphaned girl who became a knight, who died for queen and country. Her legend lives on in songs and stories, in children's books and recruiting posters--but her life, as it truly happened, has been forgotten.
Centuries later, Owen Mallory--failed soldier, struggling scholar--falls in love with the tale of Una Everlasting. Her story takes him to war, to the archives--and then into the past itself. Una and Owen are tangled together in time, bound to retell the same story over and over again, no matter what it costs.
But that story always ends the same way. If they want to rewrite Una's legend--if they want to tell a different story--they'll have to rewrite history itself.
Best Novella: The River Has Roots
by Amal El-Mohtar
WINNER OF THE HUGO, NEBULA, LOCUS, AND AURORA AWARDS! - The River Has Roots is the hugely anticipated solo debut of Amal El-Mohtar, the New York Times bestselling co-author of This is How You Lose the Time War.
"Half delicious murder ballad, half beguiling love story." – Holly Black - "An absolute must-read." – T. Kingfisher - "Every sentence sings!" – Sarah Beth Durst - "Utterly enchanting." – Fonda Lee - "A story that outlasts itself." – Alix E. Harrow - "Truly exquisite." – Zoraida Córdova - "A beautiful, musical, and loving story." – Emma Törzs
In the small town of Thistleford, on the edge of Faerie, dwells the mysterious Hawthorn family. There, they tend and harvest the enchanted willows and honour an ancient compact to sing to them in thanks for their magic. None more devotedly than the family's latest daughters, Esther and Ysabel, who cherish each other as much as they cherish the ancient trees.
But when Esther rejects a forceful suitor in favor of a lover from the land of Faerie, not only the sisters' bond but also their lives will be at risk …
Best Series: Old Man's War by John Scalzi
Old Man’s War by John Scalzi (Monsters of Ohio) was named Best Series at this year’s Hugo Awards. It’s a military space opera set in a world where Earth is a plenary backwater, blissfully unaware of the violent warfare rocking outer space and the territory known as the Colonial Union. To protect itself from numerous alien species competing for a limited number of habitable planets, the CU forms the Colonial Defense Force.
To power its armies, the CDF recruits senior citizens from Earth and upgrades their bodies with genetically engineered armor. If they survive the tour of duty, they will be award land on a newly settled planet. The protagonist of the first book is 75-year-old John Perry, who quickly discovers the brutal reality of galactic warfare. Fans praise the series' fast-paced storytelling and dark humor. The first book is Old Man’s War, and there are six other books in the series. Here are all seven of the books in the Old Man’s War series, in order.
2. The Ghost Brigades: An Old Man's War Novel
3. The Last Colony: An Old Man's War Novel
4. Zoe's Tale: An Old Man's War Novel
5. The Human Division: An Old Man's War Novel
6. The End of All Things: An Old Man's War Novel
7. The Shattering Peace: Old Man's War Book 7
Best Graphic Story or Comic: A Wizard of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel
by Ursula K. Le Guin - Fred Fordham
Ursula K. Le Guin's timeless and revered A Wizard of Earthsea is reimagined in a richly expansive graphic novel by acclaimed artist Fred Fordham, creator of stunning adaptations To Kill a Mockingbird and Brave New World.
Ged was the greatest sorcerer in Earthsea, but in his youth he was the reckless Sparrowhawk. In his hunger for power and knowledge, he tampered with long-held secrets and unleashed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tumultuous tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.
Experience the bestselling first adventure of Ursula K. Le Guin's Books of Earthsea as a masterly crafted graphic novel. Fred Fordham brings new life to Le Guin's iconic fantasy classic with his breathtaking illustrations and thoughtful text adaptation.
Lodestar Award for Best YA Book: Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe
by C. B. Lee
A geeky overachiever determined to save the world through science and a troublemaking chosen one lashing out against her destiny meet and fall in love in a magical coffeeshop as their two very different universes begin to collide in the deluxe trade paperback edition of C.B. Lee's fun, sapphic, cozy fantasy YA romance featuring gorgeous sprayed edges.
When Brenda's internet goes out right before an important scholarship deadline, she stumbles right into Kat's family's coffeeshop. Brenda is swept away by cool, confident Kat, who actually cares about Brenda's 19-step plan to save the world through science. Meanwhile, Kat can't stop thinking about Brenda, who is smart, passionate, and doesn't seem to care that Kat is the prophesized Chosen One.
The only problem? Kat and Brenda are from different universes. Like need-to-find-a-portal-to-go-on-a-second-date different universes.
As their universes collide and things spiral out of control, can a girl who is determined to save the world find love with a girl determined to outrun her destiny?
Astounding Award for Best New Writer: Antonia Hodgson
Antonia Hodgson received this year’s Astounding Award for Best New Writer during her first year of eligibility. While Hodgson is a new name in fantasy and science fiction, she’s a n industry veteran. Before becoming a full-time author, she worked in the publishing world for roughly 20 years and served as Editor-in-Chief at Little, Brown Book Group in the UK. She certainly knows her craft!
Hodgson started out writing a historical mystery series featuring Thomas Hawkins, a lovable rogue with a penchant for gambling. Her debut The Devil in the Marshalsea, set in the notorious 17th century debtors prison, won a Historical Dagger Award from the Crime Writers' Association in 2014. Since then, she’s published several other books in the Thomas Hawkins series before moving into the fantasy genre. The Raven Scholar is the first book in the Eternal Path Trilogy, which earned her a Hugo nomination for Best Novel and a win for Best New Writer. The second book in the series The Fox in Winter is scheduled to be released in 2027.
The Raven Scholar
by Antonia Hodgson
Hugo Award Finalist - Goodreads Choice Award Finalist - Locus Award Finalist - Best of the Year at ELLE, Gizmodo, NPR, Publishers Weekly, and more!
"A labyrinth of a book--vast and intricate, full of fiendish twists and clever traps--with a deeply human heart at its center. It's thrilling, romantic, often tragic, and always funny; I'm obsessed." – Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author of Starling House
The Raven Scholar is a masterfully woven tale of imperial intrigue and a breakout epic fantasy sensation from an electrifying new voice in the genre, Astounding Award-winning author Antonia Hodgson. Let us fly now to the empire of Orrun, where after twenty-four years of peace, the reign of Bersun the Brusque has come to an end. In the dizzying heat of midsummer, seven exceptional warriors, thinkers, strategists compete to replace him.
When one of them is murdered, it falls to Neema Kraa, the emperor's brilliant, idiosyncratic High Scholar, to find the killer and fight for the throne. Neema believes she is alone. But we are here to help; all she has to do is let us in. If she succeeds, we will win an empire. If she fails, death awaits her. But we won't let that happen.
Best Novelette: Never Eaten Vegetables
Never Eaten Vegetables by H.H. Pak, featured in Clarkesworld, Issue 220, was this year's pick for Best Novelette at the Hugo Awards. It centers on a sentient spacecraft named NEV-46 that's transporting 10,000 frozen human embryos to a distance space colony. After the ship chooses to rename itself Never Eaten Vegetables, an equipment malfunction occurs that causes 500 of the embryos to begin gestating prematurely. The story confronts moral and political dilemmas as well as ethical questions about the rise of AI. Read the full text online at ClarksworldMagazine.com.
Best Short Story: Never Eaten Vegetables
Never Eaten Vegetables by Thomas Ha, featured in Clarkesworld, Issue 223, was this year's Hugo Award winner for Best Short Story. It also won a Locus Award and was a finalist in the 2025 Nubula Awards and 2026 Word Fantasy Awards. In the story, a concerned parent of a budding writer tries to protect their child from an authoritarian regime that enforces strict censorship laws that prohibit critical thinking. You can find the full text at ClarkswordMagazine.com.
These award-winning titles should keep your reading list full for a while. If you’re looking for even more outstanding sci-fi books and speculative fiction, check out past winners from the Nebula or Locus Awards. Want to take your reading to the next level? Join our BookCon Dragon Slayer Reading Challenge or Galactic Guru Reading Challenge to explore the distant frontiers of imaginary worlds.