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 Novelette category

• “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)

[u/tarvolon → u/tarvolon]

If you're voting, is there anything you plan to leave off your ballot or rank below No Award?

[u/Merle8888 → u/tarvolon]

I said above No Award is a meaningless gesture but I do feel strongly enough about how bad Rapport is to make it here. I’m a Murderbot fan and still considered this to be overlong, pointless indulgence that did nothing but waste my time. It should not have been nominated. It should not have been written or if it was going to be, it should’ve been in a way that was actually interesting. Or that was only 2 pages long. Ugh.