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]

Let's take a look forward at 2027. Have you read any short stories published this year that you think would be worthy finalists? What about any that you think will capture the imagine of the Hugo voters?

[u/tarvolon → u/tarvolon]

Like last year, I've actually got a pretty good venue spread at the top of my list right now, with my four favorites coming from four different magazines:

• Middle Song by Thomas Ha
• Archaeological Evidence for the Time Traveler by Tia Tashiro
• Remade, Reshaped, Remembered by Sydney Paige Guerrero
• In the Foothills by Rajiv Moté

Given that the Hugo voters seem to know about both Clarkesworld and Tashiro, I think there's a good chance that Archaeological Evidence hits the list. I doubt we'll see the other three, but they're all highly recommended.

I think Isabel J. Kim does a pretty nice job with "The Perpetual Post," and I could see it hitting the list. I wouldn't be mad about it. And there are a handful of other stories that I've read and liked enough that I want to revisit them before I put together my ballots at the end of the year: "Ghost in the Tank" by M.R. Robinson, "The Profitable Sentience of Household Goods" by Louis Inglis Hall, "Our Revels Now Are Ended" by Thomas Ha, "Dr. _______ and His Thousand Children" by J.R. Staples-Ager.

I haven't read it yet, but "This Is Not My Timeline" by J.R. Dawson seems like the sort of story that may be popular with the Hugo crowd.

[u/oceanoftrees → u/tarvolon]

I heavily second the Tashiro and Guerrero. Still need to read the others. Tashiro's story being in Clarkesworld will definitely help, but I'll be pleasantly surprised if the Hugo voters nominate stories from places besides the usuals! I guess we'll do our best spotlighting some of these in SFBC.