2013 Hugo Noms Include Joss Whedon, Rian Johnson, And Steven Moffat

By David Wharton | Updated 6 months ago

2013 was a good year for science fiction, that’s for sure. The 2013 Hugo Awards reflect as much, but before we even get to those, it proved to be a banner year for science fiction across television and film. On the small screen, major networks rolled out ambitious new sci-fi series like Defiance and Almost Human, while beloved hits like Doctor Who celebrated their 50th anniversary in grand fashion.

On the big screen, we had Pacific Rim and Oblivion plus critically acclaimed dramas like Gravity and Her. Don’t forget anticipated book adaptations like Ender’s Game and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire drew audiences. Plus original properties like Elysium showed Hollywood’s willingness to take chances on fresh sci-fi concepts. So yeah, the Hugo Awards were churning this year.

Yes, the World Science Fiction Society (whose web design appears to be trapped in 1996 for some reason) has released its nominations for the 2013 Hugo Awards, which are in their 60th year.

The Hugos, of course, are one of the most prestigious of genre awards, recognizing excellence in science fiction/fantasy/etc. across multiple forms including movies, TV, books, and comics.

The 2013 Hugo Award nominees include folks such as Joss Whedon, Looper’s Rian Johnson, Saga’s Brian K. Vaughn, and Doctor Who’s Steven Moffat. More on that in a second.

At the time, it was great to see Joss Whedon on the list for Avengers, but we were actually happier to see him and Drew Goddard nominated for The Cabin of the Woods, one of the best, most underrated movies of the year. Also glad to see Rian Johnson’s Looper included, but the bloated, overlong first Hobbit movie didn’t deserve the spot in my opinion.

But it’s the TV noms that really irk me. Steven Moffat has three separate nominations for three separate Doctor Who episodes, with Fringe and Game of Thrones making up the other two noms.

I’m a huge fan of Doctor Who, and I’m not on the Moffat hatred bandwagon, but I’ve said multiple times that he’s a better writer than a showrunner.

While he wrote all three episodes nominated — “The Angels Take Manhattan,” “Asylum of the Daleks,” and “The Snowmen” — two of those demonstrate the negative dip the show took during the first half of season seven. “Asylum of the Daleks” was okay, and gained some extra momentum purely from Jenna-Louise Coleman’s performance as Oswin.

“The Snowmen” was decent for returning the show some of the forward momentum it lost during the Amy & Rory farewell tour. “The Angels Take Manhattan,” aside from some nice emotional moments, was a self-indulgent mess (what the hell was the point of the Statue of Liberty angel again?)

I’d nominate this past week’s episode for a Hugo long before I did any of those three, and this week’s wasn’t even anywhere near the show’s best episodes. I realize sheer inertia is going to net Doctor Who a nomination or two pretty much every year, but it’s a shame the pickings are so slim this year.

At any rate, you can check out the full line-up of nominees below.

Best Novel (1,113 ballots)

• 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit)
• Blackout by Mira Grant (Orbit)
• Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen
• Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas by John Scalzi (Tor)
• Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed (DAW)

Best Novella (587 ballots)

• After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall by Nancy Kress (Tachyon Publications)
• The Emperor’s Soul by Brandon Sanderson (Tachyon Publications)
• On a Red Station, Drifting by Aliette de Bodard (Immersion Press)
• San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats by Mira Grant (Orbit)
• “The Stars Do Not Lie” by Jay Lake (Asimov’s, Oct-Nov 2012)

Best Novelette (616 ballots)

• “The Boy Who Cast No Shadow” by Thomas Olde Heuvelt (Postscripts 26/27: Unfit For Eden, PS Publications)
• “Fade to White” by Catherynne M. Valente (Clarkesworld, August 2012
• “The Girl-Thing Who Went Out for Sushi” by Pat Cadigan (Edge of Infinity, Solaris)
• “In Sea-Salt Tears” by Seanan McGuire (Self-published)
• “Rat-Catcher” by Seanan McGuire (A Fantasy Medley 2, Subterranean

Best Short Story (662 ballots)

• “Immersion” by Aliette de Bodard (Clarkesworld, June 2012)
• “Mantis Wives” by Kij Johnson (Clarkesworld, August 2012)
• “Mono no Aware” by Ken Liu (The Future is Japanese, VIZ Media LLC)

Note: category has 3 nominees due to a 5% requirement under Section 3.8.5 of the WSFS constitution.

Best Related Work (584 ballots)

• The Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature Edited by Edward James & Farah Mendlesohn (Cambridge University Press)
• Chicks Dig Comics: A Celebration of Comic Books by the Women Who Love Them Edited by Lynne M. Thomas & Sigrid Ellis (Mad Norwegian Press)
• Chicks Unravel Time: Women Journey Through Every Season of Doctor Who Edited by Deborah Stanish & L.M. Myles (Mad Norwegian Press)
• I Have an Idea for a Book… The Bibliography of Martin H. Greenberg Compiled and edited by John Helfers (The Battered Silicon Dispatch Box)
• Writing Excuses, Season Seven by Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, and Jordan Sanderson

Best Graphic Story (427 ballots)

• Grandville Bete Noire Written and illustrated by Bryan Talbot (Dark Horse Comics, Jonathan Cape)
• Locke & Key Volume 5: Clockworks Written by Joe Hill, illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW)
• Saga, Volume One Written by Brian K. Vaughn, illustrated by Fiona Staples (Image Comics)
• Schlock Mercenary: Random Access Memorabilia Written by Howard Tayler, colors by Travis Walton (Hypernode Media)
• Saucer Country, Volume 1: Run Written by Paul Cornell, illustrated by Ryan Kelly, Jimmy Broxton and Goran Sudžuka (Vertigo)

Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form) (787 ballots)

• The Avengers Screenplay and directed by Joss Whedon (Marvel Studios, Disney, Paramount)
• The Cabin in the Woods Screenplay by Drew Goddard & Joss Whedon, directed by Drew Goddard (Mutant Enemy, Lionsgate)
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, and Guillermo del Toro, directed by Peter Jackson (WingNut Films, New Line Cinema, MGM, Warner Bros)
• The Hunger Games Screenplay by Gary Ross & Suzanne Collins, directed by Gary Ross (Lionsgate, Color Force)
• Looper Screenplay and directed by Rian Johnson (FilmDistrict, EndGame Entertainment)

Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form) (597 ballots)

• Doctor Who: “The Angels Take Manhattan” Written by Steven Moffat, directed by Nick Hurran (BBC Wales)
• Doctor Who: “Asylum of the Daleks” Written by Steven Moffat, directed by Nick Hurran (BBC Wales)
• Doctor Who: “The Snowmen” Written by Steven Moffat, directed by Saul Metzstein (BBC Wales)
• Fringe: “Letters of Transit” Written by J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Akiva Goldsman, J.H.Wyman, Jeff Pinkner; directed by Joe Chappelle (Fox)
• Game of Thrones: “Blackwater” Written by George R.R. Martin, directed by Neil Marshall, created by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (HBO)

Best Editor – Short Form (526 ballots)

• John Joseph Adams
• Neil Clarke
• Stanley Schmidt
• Jonathan Strahan

Best Editor – Long Form (408 ballots)

• Lou Anders
• Sheila Gilbert
• Liz Gorinsky
• Patrick Nielsen Hayden
• Toni Weisskopf

Best Professional Artist (519 ballots)

• Vincent Chong
• Julie Dillon
• Dan Dos Santos
• Chris McGrath
• John Picacio

Best Semiprozine (404 ballots)

• Apex Magazine Edited by Lynne M. Thomas, Jason Sizemore, and Michael Damian Thomas
• Beneath Ceaseless Skies Edited by Scott H. Andrews
• Clarkesworld Edited by Neil Clarke, Jason Heller, Sean Wallace, and Kate Baker
• Lightspeed Edited by John Joseph Adams and Stefan Rudnicki
• Strange Horizons Edited by Niall Harrison, Jed Hartman, Brit Mandelo, An Owomoyela, Julia Rios, Abigail Nussbaum, Sonya Taaffe, Dave Nagdeman, and Rebecca Cross

Best Fanzine (370 ballots)

• Banana Wings Edited by Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer
• The Drink Tank Edited by Chris Garcia and James Bacon
• Elitist Book Reviews Edited by Steven Diamond
• Journey Planet Edited by James Bacon, Chris Garcia, Emma J. King, Helen J. Montgomery, and Pete Young
• SF Signal Edited by John DeNardo, JP Frantz, and Patrick Hester

Best Fancast (346 ballots)

• The Coode Street Podcast, Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe
• Galactic Suburbia Podcast, Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce, Tansy Rayner Roberts (presenters) and Andrew Finch (producer)
• SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester, John DeNardo, and JP Frantz
• SF Squeecast, Elizabeth Bear, Paul Cornell, Seanan McGuire, Lynne M. Thomas, Catherynne M. Valente (presenters) and David McHone-Chase (technical producer)
• StarShipSofa, Tony C. Smith

Best Fan Writer (485 ballots)

• James Bacon
• Christopher J. Garcia
• Mark Oshiro
• Tansy Rayner Roberts
• Steven H. Silver

Best Fan Artist (293 ballots)

• Galen Dara
• Brad W. Foster
• Spring Schoenhuth
• Maurine Starkey
• Steve Stiles

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer (476 ballots)
Award for the best new professional science fiction or fantasy writer of 2011 or 2012, sponsored by Dell Magazines (not a Hugo Award).

• Zen Cho *
• Max Gladstone
• Mur Lafferty *
• Stina Leicht *
• Chuck Wendig *

* Finalists in their second year of eligibility.