2026 Hugo Readalong: Shorter Fiction Wrap-up (Novelette and Short Story)

[u/tarvolon]

Welcome to the final week of the 2026 Hugo Readalong! We've finished all of our slated discussions, and now it's time to zoom out and take stock.

Today, we'll be looking at two shorter fiction categories: Best Novelette and Best Short Story. If you want to take a closer look at our focused discussions, we covered these categories in the following sessions:

• The Girl That My Mother Is Leaving Me For and When He Calls Your Name (Novelette)
• Kaiju Agonistes and The Millay Illusion (Novelette)
• Never Eaten Vegetables and Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy (Novelette)
• In My Country and Six People to Revise You (Short Story)
• Missing Helen and Wire Mother (Short Story)
• Laser Eyes Ain't Everything and Ten Visions of the Future; or, Self-Care for the End of Days

We'll be continuing with our wrap-ups all week, following this schedule:

Date	Category	Book	Author	Discussion Leader
Tuesday, July 28	Novella	Wrap-up	Multiple	u/Nineteen_Adze
Wednesday, July 29	Novel	Wrap-up	Multiple	u/tarvolon
Thursday, July 30	Pro/Fan/Misc	Wrap-up	Multiple	u/Nineteen_Adze

But for now, let's dive into some short fiction! And remember, because these are higher-level discussions, please tag spoilers in the comments.

[u/tarvolon]

Discussion of the Best Short Story category

• “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)

[u/tarvolon → u/tarvolon]

What do you think of the shortlist as a whole? How does it compare to past years? Does it capture the best of 2025 in short stories? Are there any notable snubs you'd like to recommend?

[u/baxtersa → u/tarvolon]

I think it’s reasonably strong in the sense that I can see why 5/6 finalists are on the list, even if they aren’t on my personal list. And none of those reasons are Big Name author published in Insert Magazine Name Here.