Because I’m an attending member of this year’s Worldcon in Glasgow, Scotland, in August, I get to read and vote for the Hugo Awards. They’ll be presented at a formal ceremony on Sunday evening, August 11, and I’ll be there.

I was pleased to see a Chinese finalist this year, along with a mix of fantasy and science fiction. The voting is ranked-choice, and here is my ranking. As I read the stories, I considered how strong I felt the endings were and used that as a basis for my decisions, but of course, your judgement may vary.

6. “One Man’s Treasure” by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny Magazine, January-February 2023) — Trash collectors face dangers as they pick up household waste that includes discarded magic. A cute story with dark themes.

5. “The Year Without Sunshine” by Naomi Kritzer (Uncanny Magazine, November-December 2023) — A catastrophe fills the air with ash and causes a major societal breakdown, and a Minneapolis neighborhood comes together to help everyone living there survive. More seems to be happening beyond the neighborhood, but like the cause of the catastrophe itself, no one in the neighborhood seems to talk about it. This is a cozy catastrophe and a paean to good will. It won the Nebula Award this year.

4. “Ivy, Angelica, Bay” by C.L. Polk (Reactor Magazine 8 December 2023) — Witches battle for control of a neighborhood. Beautiful imagery and a compelling story.

3. “On the Fox Roads” by Nghi Vo (Reactor Magazine 31 October 2023) — Bank robbers in the American Midwest tap into roads the rest of us never see despite — or perhaps because of —their dark, dangerous beauty. The roads lead to the unexpected.

2. I AM AI by Ai Jiang (Shortwave) — A gig cyborg worker who is a writer struggles to survive at the edge of an inhumane, predatory city. Could her life be better if she shed her humanity and became a true AI? This grim dystopia feels inspired by the way we treat creative work today.

1. “Introduction to 2181 Overture, Second Edition” by Gu Shi, translated by Emily Jin (Clarkesworld, February 2023) — If cryogenics is possible, what could possibly go wrong? Gu Shi lays it all out with heartfelt depth and clarity. The idea and the unique storytelling brought this to the top of my ballot.