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OctothorpeAuthor: John Coxon, Alison Scott, Liz Batty
A Hugo Award-winning podcast about science fiction and SF fandom from John Coxon, Alison Scott, and Liz Batty. Language: en Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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158: I Am the Worldcon Chair in Avignon
Episode 158
Tuesday, 21 April, 2026
John, Alison and Liz dissect this year’s Hugo Awards finalists! An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Bluesky or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media. Content warnings this episode: None Hugo Awards Best Novel A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky The Everlasting by Alix E Harrow The Incandescent by Emily Tesh The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson Best Novella Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz Cinder House by Freya Marske Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar The Summer War by Naomi Novik What Stalks the Deep by T Kingfisher Best Novelette “Kaiju Agonistes” by Scott Lynch “Never Eaten Vegetables” by H H Pak “Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy” by Martha Wells “The Girl That My Mother Is Leaving Me For” by Cameron Reed “The Millay Illusion” by Sarah Pinsker “When He Calls Your Name” by Catherynne M Valente Best Short Story “10 Visions of the Future; or, Self-Care for the End of Days” by Samantha Mills “In My Country” by Thomas Ha “Laser Eyes Ain’t Everything” by Effie Seiberg “Missing Helen” by Tia Tashiro “Six People to Revise You” by J R Dawson “Wire Mother” by Isabel J Kim Best Series Emily Wilde by Heather Fawcett October Daye by Seanan McGuire Old Man’s War by John Scalzi The Chronicles of Osreth by Katherine Addison The Craft Wars by Max Gladstone White Space by Elizabeth Bear Best Graphic Story or Comic Absolute Wonder Woman Vol. 1: The Last Amazon A Girl and Her Fed A Wizard of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel The Invisible Parade The Power Fantasy Volume 1: The Superpowers The Space Cat Best Related Work Colourfields: Writing About Writing About Science Fiction by Paul Kincaid Inventing the Renaissance: The Myth of a Golden Age by Ada Palmer Last War in Albion: “The Cuddled Little Vice (Sandman)” by Elizabeth Sandifer Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E Butler by Susana M Morris History of Westeros: “Ragnarök vs the Long Night” The Hugo Spreadsheet of Doom, maintained by Renay Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form Andor (season 2) Frankenstein KPop Demon Hunters Mickey 17 Sinners Superman Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form Doctor Who: “The Story & the Engine” Murderbot: “All Systems Red” Murderbot: “The Perimeter” Pluribus: “We Is Us” Severance: “Cold Harbor” The Wheel of Time: “The Road to the Spear” Best Game or Interactive Work Blue Prince Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector “Tabletop roleplaying in the world of Citizen Sleeper 2!” on Quinns Quest Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Dispatch Hades II Hollow Knight: Silksong Best Editor Short Form Scott H Andrews Jennifer Brozek Neil Clarke Lee Harris Michael Damian Thomas Sheila Williams Best Editor Long Form Carl Engle-Laird Jaymee Goh Lee Harris Jenni Hill Joe Monti Diana M Pho Best Professional Artist Lulu Chen Kelly Chong Dave Kellett Tran Nguyen John Picacio Tom Roberts Best Semiprozine Escape Pod khōréō magazine On Spec: The Canadian Magazine of the Fantastic Strange Horizons The Deadlands Uncanny Magazine Best Fanzine Ancillary Review of Books An Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog Galactic Journey Intergalactic Mixtape Journey Planet nerds of a feather, flock together Best Fancast A Meal of Thorns Eating the Fantastic Hugo, Girl! Octothorpe The Coode Street Podcast Worldbuilding for Masochists Best Fan Writer Jay Brantner for “Tar Vol” Alex Brown James Davis Nicoll Roseanna Pendlebury Jason Sanford Örjan Westin Best Fan Artist Terri Ash Geneva Bowers Sara Felix Richard Man España Sheriff Yuumei Best Poem “Care for Lightning” by Mari Ness “Hex Supply Customer Support Log” by Elis Montgomery “How to Become a Sea Witch” by Theodora Goss “Landing: Seattle” by Brandon O’Brien “The Mourning Robot” by Angela Liu “The World to Come” by Jennifer Hudak Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book Among Ghosts by Rachel Hartman Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe by C B Lee Holy Terrors by Margaret Owen Oathbound by Tracy Deonn Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran Astounding Award for Best New Writer Sophie Burnham Kamilah Cole Antonia Hodgson Molly O’Neill H H Pak Jared Pechaček Credits Cover art: “Vibrant Award Culture” by Alison Scott Alt text: A cartoon. John, Alison and Liz are wearing Octothorpe T-shirts and matching purple baseball caps while standing behind a market stall clad in a very slightly different purple and with various delicacies upon it. The sign above the stall reads “Octothorpe 158 Hugo HOT takes”, with “HOT” in a little tiny fire. The sign below the stall reads “Always half-baked! Fresh off the griddle! Three-pack special!” Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)
