The Obelisk is headline winner in a year marked by diminished presence of conservative Sad Puppy lobby and strong showing from women

A year after NK Jemisin became the first black person to win the Hugo award for best novel, the African American author has landed the prestigious science fiction prize for the second year running.

Jemisin was announced as the winner of the best novel Hugo at Worldcon in Helsinki on Friday. She took the prize, which is voted for by fans, for The Obelisk Gate, the follow-up to her Hugo award-winning novel The Fifth Season. The series is set in a world that is constantly threatened by seismic activity, and where the mutants who can control the environment are oppressed by humans. The New York Times called Jemisin’s writing in the series “intricate and extraordinary”.

Hugos administrator Nicholas Whyte said that 3,319 people voted in this year’s award, the third-highest vote total ever and the highest participation in the Hugos for a Worldcon outside the US or UK. “There’s been a very high level of genuine engagement and thoughtful participation,” said Whyte. “People can read into that what they like.”

The last two years of the Hugos have been plagued by block-voting campaigns from conservative lobbies calling themselves the Sad Puppies, and the more politically extreme Rabid Puppies. The two factions were out to combat a perceived tendency to reward books described by one disgruntled writer as “niche, academic, overtly to the left in ideology and flavour and ultimately lacking what might best be called visceral, gut-level, swashbuckling fun”. In 2015, this led to “no award” beating the Puppies’ slate of nominees in an unprecedented five categories, in order to avoid giving prizes to the group’s nominations. In 2016, candidates put forward by the so-called Puppies also dominated the ballots, but only two “no awards” were given.

This year, there was not a single “no award” given. On a roster of predominantly female winners, Seanan McGuire’s Every Heart a Doorway took the best novella gong, Ursula Vernon’s The Tomato Thief won best novelette, and Amal El-Mohtar’s Seasons of Glass and Iron won best short story. Revered fantasy author Ursula K Le Guin took the best related work Hugo for Words Are My Matter, a collection of her writing about life and books spanning the last 16 years, while Lois McMaster Bujold won a new award for best series, for her long-running Vorkosigan Saga. The John W Campbell award for best new writer was taken by Ada Palmer.

“This is the first time that the same author has won two years running since Lois McMaster Bujold in 1991 and 1992, a quarter of a century ago; and of course Bujold’s continuing appeal was confirmed by the Vorkosigan saga winning the new best series category,” said Whyte of Jemisin’s win. “This is a super set of results ... which demonstrate that SF is thriving and diverse.”

When Jemisin won the Hugo last year, she said that when she set out to write The Fifth Season, she had thought that no one would want to read it, and then when it was nominated for a Hugo, she had wondered who might vote for it.

She wrote on her website: “I wondered how many of my fellow SFF fans, in a year headlined by reactionary pushback against the presence and performance of people like me in the genre, would choose to vote for the story of a fortysomething big-boned dreadlocked woman of colour waging an epic struggle against the forces of oppression.”

“But I forgot: only a small number of ideologues have attempted to game the Hugo awards. That small number can easily be overwhelmed, their regressive clamour stilled, if the rest of SFF fandom simply stands up to be counted. Stands up to say that yes, they do want literary innovation, and realistic representation. Stands up to say that yes, they do just want to read good stories – but what makes a story good is skill, and audacity and the ability to consider the future clearly rather than through the foggy lenses of nostalgia and privilege.”

The Hugos have been running since the 1950s and have been won by authors including Isaac Asimov, Robert A Heinlein and Neil Gaiman.

Hugo winners 2017

Best novel

The Obelisk Gate by NK Jemisin (Orbit Books)



Best novella

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com publishing)



Best novelette

The Tomato Thief by Ursula Vernon (Apex Magazine, January 2016)



Best short story

Seasons of Glass and Iron, by Amal El-Mohtar (The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales, Saga Press)



Best related work

Words Are My Matter: Writings About Life and Books, 2000-2016 by Ursula K Le Guin (Small Beer)



Best graphic story

Monstress, Volume 1: Awakening, written by Marjorie Liu, illustrated by Sana Takeda (Image)



Best dramatic presentation (long form)

Arrival, screenplay by Eric Heisserer based on a short story by Ted Chiang, directed by Denis Villeneuve



Best dramatic presentation (short form)

The Expanse: Leviathan Wakes, written by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, directed by Terry McDonough (SyFy)



Best series

The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen)



John W Campbell award for best new writer

Ada Palmer

</s>The Hugo Award for Best Novel 2017 was given on Friday to Nora K. Jemisin, an American speculative fiction writer for her work “The Obelisk Gate”. The award was presented at the 75th World Science Fiction Convention in Helsinki. The awarded book was the second in the trilogy that started with “The Fifth Season”, which was New York Times Notable Book of 2015 and won Jemisin the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2016, Xinhua reported.

The fantasy novel tells a story about the life on a planet where the inhabitants would undergo a “Fifth Season” of catastrophic climate change every a few centuries. The third book of the trilogy is due to be published later this month. Jemisin was among a dozen winners of other categories of Hugo Awards on Friday. Ada Palmer was awarded the Best New Writer, Seanan McGuire’s “Every Heart a Doorway” was the Best Novella, “The Tomato Thief” by Ursula Vernon was the Best Novelette, and “Seasons of Glass and Iron” by Amal El-Mohtar the Best Short Story.

“The Expanse: Leviathan Wakes”, written by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, was awarded the Best Dramatic Presentation Short Form. It won over the best seller Game of Thrones, a series that had two books in the six-finalist shortlist. A total of 3,319 voters made their selection from the final ballot, the third-highest number in the history of the award. First presented in 1953, the Hugo Award is considered the highest honour for sci-fi works along with the Nebula Awards. It has been confirmed by the Guinness Book of Records to be the oldest sci-fi award in the world.</s>The 2017 Hugo Awards were presented on August 11 at Worldcon 75, the 75th World Science Fiction Convention held in Helsinki, Finland. Fans around the world who hoped to watch the awards ceremony as it took place were disappointed by technical difficulties that prevented the event from being streamed live.

Here's hoping there are no more disappointments in store and all of your favorites won their respective categories.

The winners are in bold. The 2017 Nebula Award winners are listed where appropriate.
• All the Birds in the Sky, by Charlie Jane Anders (Tor Books / Titan Books, 2017 Nebula Award winner)
• A Closed and Common Orbit, by Becky Chambers (Hodder & Stoughton / Harper Voyager US)
• Death’s End, by Cixin Liu, translated by Ken Liu (Tor Books / Head of Zeus)
• Too Like the Lightning, by Ada Palmer (Tor Books)
• The Ballad of Black Tom, by Victor LaValle (Tor.com publishing)
• The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe, by Kij Johnson (Tor.com publishing)
• Penric and the Shaman, by Lois McMaster Bujold (Spectrum Literary Agency)
• Alien Stripper Boned From Behind By The T-Rex, by Stix Hiscock (self-published)
• “The Jewel and Her Lapidary”, by Fran Wilde (Tor.com publishing, May 2016)
• “Touring with the Alien”, by Carolyn Ives Gilman (Clarkesworld Magazine, April 2016)
• “You’ll Surely Drown Here If You Stay”, by Alyssa Wong (Uncanny Magazine, May 2016)
• “A Fist of Permutations in Lightning and Wildflowers”, by Alyssa Wong (Tor.com, March 2016)
• “Seasons of Glass and Iron”, by Amal El-Mohtar (The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales, Saga Press, )
• “That Game We Played During the War”, by Carrie Vaughn (Tor.com, March 2016)
• Traveler of Worlds: Conversations with Robert Silverberg, by Robert Silverberg and Alvaro Zinos-Amaro (Fairwood)
• The View From the Cheap Seats, by Neil Gaiman (William Morrow / Harper Collins)
• The Women of Harry Potter posts, by Sarah Gailey (Tor.com)
• Words Are My Matter: Writings About Life and Books, 2000-2016, by Ursula K. Le Guin (Small Beer)
• Black Panther, Volume 1: A Nation Under Our Feet, written by Ta-Nehisi Coates, illustrated by Brian Stelfreeze (Marvel)
• Paper Girls, Volume 1, written by Brian K. Vaughan, illustrated by Cliff Chiang, colored by Matthew Wilson, lettered by Jared Fletcher (Image)
• Saga, Volume 6, illustrated by Fiona Staples, written by Brian K. Vaughan, lettered by Fonografiks (Image)
• The Vision, Volume 1: Little Worse Than A Man, written by Tom King, illustrated by Gabriel Hernandez Walta (Marvel)
• Arrival, screenplay by Eric Heisserer based on a short story by Ted Chiang, directed by Denis Villeneuve (21 Laps Entertainment/FilmNation Entertainment/Lava Bear Films, )
• Hidden Figures, screenplay by Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi, directed by Theodore Melfi (Fox 2000 Pictures/Chernin Entertainment/Levantine Films/TSG Entertainment)
• Rogue One, screenplay by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy, directed by Gareth Edwards (Lucasfilm/Allison Shearmur Productions/Black Hangar Studios/Stereo D/Walt Disney Pictures)
• Stranger Things, Season One, created by the Duffer Brothers (21 Laps Entertainment/Monkey Massacre)
• Black Mirror: “San Junipero”, written by Charlie Brooker, directed by Owen Harris (House of Tomorrow)
• Doctor Who: “The Return of Doctor Mysterio”, written by Steven Moffat, directed by Ed Bazalgette (BBC Cymru Wales)
• The Expanse: “Leviathan Wakes”, written by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, directed by Terry McDonough (SyFy)
• Game of Thrones: “Battle of the Bastards”, written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, directed by Miguel Sapochnik (HBO)
• Game of Thrones: “The Door”, written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, directed by Jack Bender (HBO)
• Strange Horizons, edited by Niall Harrison, Catherine Krahe, Vajra Chandrasekera, Vanessa Rose Phin, Li Chua, Aishwarya Subramanian, Tim Moore, Anaea Lay, and the Strange Horizons staff
• Uncanny Magazine, edited by Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas, Michi Trota, Julia Rios, and podcast produced by Erika Ensign & Steven Schapansky
• The Book Smugglers, edited by Ana Grilo and Thea James
• nerds of a feather, flock together, edited by The G, Vance Kotrla, and Joe Sherry
• The Coode Street Podcast, presented by Gary K. Wolfe and Jonathan Strahan
• Galactic Suburbia, presented by Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce and Tansy Rayner Roberts, produced by Andrew Finch
• Tea and Jeopardy, presented by Emma Newman with Peter Newman
• The Expanse, by James S.A. Corey (Orbit US / Orbit UK)
• The Peter Grant / Rivers of London series, by Ben Aaronovitch (Gollancz / Del Rey / DAW / Subterranean)

The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer Award (260 nominees)

The John W. Campbell Award is not an official Hugo but is given out every year along with the Hugo Awards.

Kevin Murnane covers science, technology and video games for Forbes. You can find more of his writing at The Info Monkey and Tuned In To Cycling. Follow on Twitter@TheInfoMonkey.</s>Business Awards Program to Celebrate Excellence Worldwide at Barcelona Event



FAIRFAX, Va., 2017-08-10 15:00 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- High-achieving organizations and executives around the world have been recognized as Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie® Award winners in The 14th Annual International Business Awards, the world's only international, all-encompassing business awards program. 



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fc78c8ee-aaa5-47cb-8465-d085f 2a36841 



Nicknamed the Stevies from the Greek word "crowned," the awards will be presented at a gala on 21 October at the W Hotel in Barcelona, Spain. Tickets for the event are on sale now at www.StevieAwards.com/IBA. 



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Other organizations with 10 or more Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie wins include, among others, ASDA'A Burson Marsteller, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; FIS, St. Petersburg, Florida USA; Jeunesse Global, Lake Mary, Florida USA; Marico Ltd, Mumbai, India; Odea Bank A.S., Istanbul, Turkey; Ooredoo Group, worldwide; and PRIZM, Hong Kong. 



A complete list of all Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners by category is available at www.StevieAwards.com/IBA. 



The winners of Grand Stevie Award trophies, the top overall winners in the competition, will be named the week of 21 August. 



About the Stevie Awards Stevie Awards are conferred in seven programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 10,000 nominations each year from organizations in more than 60 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com. 



Contact Maggie Gallagher Maggie@StevieAwards.com (703) 547-8389
The winners of the annual Hugo Awards are announced at the 75th World Science Fiction Convention in Helsinki.