Fanfiction Mothership Archive of Our Own Is Nominated for a Hugo Award

Congratulations are due all around to the excellent roll call of 2019’s Hugo finalists, marked by dazzling talent and tales. A nomination I was absolutely thrilled to see was a Best Related Work thumbs-up for Archive of Our Own (“AO3”), the repository of all of our fanfiction blood, sweat, tears, and coffeeshop AUS.

AO3’s nomination signals that fanworks are being taken more seriously and gaining recognition for their cultural value. The site has been on the ballot for nomination before, but this is the first year that they’ve scored a finalist nod. It’s high time, and I couldn’t be more excited for fandom at large, as well as the volunteers who pour countless hours into keeping the archive running. And let us not forget that every creator who contributed to AO3 over the years is a part of this. Time to update our resumes.

“Contributor to the Hugo nominated Archive of Our Own”

How does that sound?

— Just Eloise #FreeChelseaManning 🛡 (@NyssaDogFriend) April 2, 2019

Archive of Our Own isn’t simply an archive; it’s an ever-evolving community-built powerhouse of creativity, free to generate and consume. As part of the Organization for Transformative Works, AO3 is entirely “fan-created, fan-run, non-profit, non-commercial,” and every year it crowdfunds to cover its considerable maintenance costs. The Organization for Transformative Works is a crucial force in seeking and defending fan-friendly copyright law worldwide. “We believe that fanworks are transformative and that transformative works are legitimate,” reads their mission statement.

AO3 has been around for more than a decade, and it is now the hub for not only fanfiction, but a place to find meta, fan vids, fanart, and podfic, which are fics read aloud à la audiobooks. To give you a sense of AO3’s massive scope and reach, as of 2019 it hosts more than 4.5 million fanworks across 31,000 fandoms.

Yes, the AO3 is up for a Hugo Award! Look out for our blog post about this in a few hours’ time! https://t.co/vclDM0ufeS

— Transformative Works (@OTW_News) April 2, 2019

Back in 2014, Tumblr user heyheyrenay explained what the Related Work category denotes, why AO3 qualified, and shared what they personally derived from AO3:

This probably seems a little weird as a nomination, but the rules for Best Related work are as follows: Any work related to the field of science fiction, fantasy, or fandom, appearing for the first time during the previous calendar year or which has been substantially modified during the previous calendar year, and which is either non-fiction or, if fictional, is noteworthy primarily for aspects other than the fictional text, and which is not eligible in any other category. Emphasis mine, although I would argue that the AO3 qualifies under the “is either non-fiction” bit, too.

[…]

The AO3 has drastically changed my fannish life: between having a place to store all my work, the ability to download stories to read on my mobile devices, features like kudos that make appreciating works easier than ever, and fan work exchange features that have kept the exchange I co-own going strong for several years, it’s an integral part of my fannish life. I can’t imagine what I would do with it and am super thankful for the teams that keep it going. Thanks, AO3 Committees!

Like this writer, I also cannot imagine what I’d be doing right now without AO3. Writing there has been as rewarding and challenging as the most intense of writers’ workshops, and I’ve met some of my closest friends through our shared fictional interests. The archive is so essential to readers and contributors’ everyday lives that whenever it goes down due to error or for scheduled maintenance, people panic on social media, questioning how they’re now supposed to spend their time.

Archive of Our Own is up for a hugo award so technically I’m pretty confident that all us huge fucking losers who’ve ever posted fanfic on there are hugo nominated authors any way i’d like to thank the academy

— Valuable Eliza (@FancyEliza) April 2, 2019

Recognition for AO3 appears to be part of a larger and most auspicious trend. In what seems like a direct refutation of past battles for the soul of the Hugo Awards, this year’s categories are dominated by women and diverse creators. Here’s the list of finalists, via Tor.com:

Best Novel

• The Calculating Stars, by Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor)
• Record of a Spaceborn Few, by Becky Chambers (Hodder & Stoughton / Harper Voyager)
• Revenant Gun, by Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris)
• Space Opera, by Catherynne M. Valente (Saga)
• Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik (Del Rey / Macmillan)
• Trail of Lightning, by Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga)

Best Novella

• Artificial Condition, by Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)
• Beneath the Sugar Sky, by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
• Binti: The Night Masquerade, by Nnedi Okorafor (Tor.com Publishing)
• The Black God’s Drums, by P. Djèlí Clark (Tor.com Publishing)
• Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach, by Kelly Robson (Tor.com Publishing)
• The Tea Master and the Detective, by Aliette de Bodard (Subterranean Press / JABberwocky Literary Agency)

Best Novelette

• “If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again,” by Zen Cho (B&N Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog, 29 November 2018)
• “The Last Banquet of Temporal Confections,” by Tina Connolly (Tor.com, 11 July 2018)
• “Nine Last Days on Planet Earth,” by Daryl Gregory (Tor.com, 19 September 2018)
• The Only Harmless Great Thing, by Brooke Bolander (Tor.com Publishing)
• “The Thing About Ghost Stories,” by Naomi Kritzer (Uncanny Magazine 25, November- December 2018)
• “When We Were Starless,” by Simone Heller (Clarkesworld 145, October 2018)

Best Short Story

• “The Court Magician,” by Sarah Pinsker (Lightspeed, January 2018)
• “The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society,” by T. Kingfisher (Uncanny Magazine25, November-December 2018)
• “The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington,” by P. Djèlí Clark (Fireside Magazine, February 2018)
• “STET,” by Sarah Gailey (Fireside Magazine, October 2018)
• “The Tale of the Three Beautiful Raptor Sisters, and the Prince Who Was Made of Meat,” by Brooke Bolander (Uncanny Magazine 23, July-August 2018)
• “A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies,” by Alix E. Harrow (Apex Magazine, February 2018)

Best Series

• The Centenal Cycle, by Malka Older (Tor.com Publishing)
• The Laundry Files, by Charles Stross (most recently Tor.com Publishing/Orbit)
• Machineries of Empire, by Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris)
• The October Daye Series, by Seanan McGuire (most recently DAW)
• The Universe of Xuya, by Aliette de Bodard (most recently Subterranean Press)
• Wayfarers, by Becky Chambers (Hodder & Stoughton / Harper Voyager)

Best Related Work

• Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
• Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction, by Alec Nevala-Lee (Dey Street Books)
• The Hobbit Duology (documentary in three parts), written and edited by Lindsay Ellis and Angelina Meehan (YouTube)
• An Informal History of the Hugos: A Personal Look Back at the Hugo Awards, 1953- 2000, by Jo Walton (Tor)
• www.mexicanxinitiative.com: The Mexicanx Initiative Experience at Worldcon 76 (Julia Rios, Libia Brenda, Pablo Defendini, John Picacio)
• Ursula K. Le Guin: Conversations on Writing, by Ursula K. Le Guin with David Naimon (Tin House Books)

Best Graphic Story

• Abbott, written by Saladin Ahmed, art by Sami Kivelä, colours by Jason Wordie, letters by Jim Campbell (BOOM! Studios)
• Black Panther: Long Live the King, written by Nnedi Okorafor and Aaron Covington, art by André Lima Araújo, Mario Del Pennino and Tana Ford (Marvel)
• Monstress, Volume 3: Haven, written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda (Image Comics)
• On a Sunbeam, by Tillie Walden (First Second)
• Paper Girls, Volume 4, written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Cliff Chiang, colours by Matt Wilson, letters by Jared K. Fletcher (Image Comics)
• Saga, Volume 9, written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Fiona Staples (Image Comics)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

• Annihilation, directed and written for the screen by Alex Garland, based on the novel by Jeff VanderMeer (Paramount Pictures / Skydance)
• Avengers: Infinity War, screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo (Marvel Studios)
• Black Panther, written by Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole, directed by Ryan Coogler (Marvel Studios)
• A Quiet Place, screenplay by Scott Beck, John Krasinski and Bryan Woods, directed by John Krasinski (Platinum Dunes / Sunday Night)
• Sorry to Bother You, written and directed by Boots Riley (Annapurna Pictures)
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, screenplay by Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman, directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman (Sony)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

• The Expanse: “Abaddon’s Gate,” written by Daniel Abraham, Ty Franck and Naren Shankar, directed by Simon Cellan Jones (Penguin in a Parka / Alcon Entertainment)
• Doctor Who: “Demons of the Punjab,” written by Vinay Patel, directed by Jamie Childs (BBC)
• Dirty Computer, written by Janelle Monáe, directed by Andrew Donoho and Chuck Lightning (Wondaland Arts Society / Bad Boy Records / Atlantic Records)
• The Good Place: “Janet(s),” written by Josh Siegal & Dylan Morgan, directed by Morgan Sackett (NBC)
• The Good Place: “Jeremy Bearimy,” written by Megan Amram, directed by Trent O’Donnell (NBC)
• Doctor Who: “Rosa,” written by Malorie Blackman and Chris Chibnall, directed by Mark Tonderai (BBC)

Best Professional Editor, Short Form

• Neil Clarke
• Gardner Dozois
• Lee Harris
• Julia Rios
• Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas
• E. Catherine Tobler

Best Professional Editor, Long Form

• Sheila E. Gilbert
• Anne Lesley Groell
• Beth Meacham
• Diana Pho
• Gillian Redfearn
• Navah Wolfe

Best Professional Artist

• Galen Dara
• Jaime Jones
• Victo Ngai
• John Picacio
• Yuko Shimizu
• Charles Vess

Best Semiprozine

• Beneath Ceaseless Skies, editor-in-chief and publisher Scott H. Andrews
• Fireside Magazine, edited by Julia Rios, managing editor Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, social coordinator Meg Frank, special features editor Tanya DePass, founding editor Brian White, publisher and art director Pablo Defendini
• FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, executive editors Troy L. Wiggins and DaVaun Sanders, editors L.D. Lewis, Brandon O’Brien, Kaleb Russell, Danny Lore, and Brent Lambert
• Shimmer, publisher Beth Wodzinski, senior editor E. Catherine Tobler
• Strange Horizons, edited by Jane Crowley, Kate Dollarhyde, Vanessa Rose Phin, Vajra Chandrasekera, Romie Stott, Maureen Kincaid Speller, and the Strange Horizons Staff
• Uncanny Magazine, publishers/editors-in-chief Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, managing editor Michi Trota, podcast producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky, Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction Special Issue editors-in-chief Elsa Sjunneson-Henry and Dominik Parisien

Best Fanzine

• Galactic Journey, founder Gideon Marcus, editor Janice Marcus
• Journey Planet, edited by Team Journey Planet
• Lady Business, editors Ira, Jodie, KJ, Renay & Susan
• nerds of a feather, flock together, editors Joe Sherry, Vance Kotrla and The G
• Quick Sip Reviews, editor Charles Payseur
• Rocket Stack Rank, editors Greg Hullender and Eric Wong

Best Fancast

• Be the Serpent, presented by Alexandra Rowland, Freya Marske and Jennifer Mace
• The Coode Street Podcast, presented by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe
• Fangirl Happy Hour, hosted by Ana Grilo and Renay Williams
• Galactic Suburbia, hosted by Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce, and Tansy Rayner Roberts, produced by Andrew Finch
• Our Opinions Are Correct, hosted by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders
• The Skiffy and Fanty Show, produced by Jen Zink and Shaun Duke, hosted by the Skiffy and Fanty Crew

Best Fan Writer

• Foz Meadows
• James Davis Nicoll
• Charles Payseur
• Elsa Sjunneson-Henry
• Alasdair Stuart
• Bogi Takács

Best Fan Artist

• Sara Felix
• Grace P. Fong
• Meg Frank
• Ariela Housman
• Likhain (Mia Sereno)
• Spring Schoenhuth

Best Art Book

• The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition, illustrated by Charles Vess, written by Ursula K. Le Guin (Saga Press /Gollancz)
• Daydreamer’s Journey: The Art of Julie Dillon, by Julie Dillon (self-published)
• Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History, by Michael Witwer, Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, Sam Witwer (Ten Speed Press)
• Spectrum 25: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, ed. John Fleskes (Flesk Publications)
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – The Art of the Movie, by Ramin Zahed (Titan Books)
• Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth, ed. Catherine McIlwaine (Bodleian Library)

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

• Katherine Arden (2nd year of eligibility)
• S.A. Chakraborty (2nd year of eligibility)
• R.F. Kuang (1st year of eligibility)
• Jeannette Ng (2nd year of eligibility)
• Vina Jie-Min Prasad (2nd year of eligibility)
• Rivers Solomon (2nd year of eligibility)

Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book

• The Belles, by Dhonielle Clayton (Freeform / Gollancz)
• Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi (Henry Holt / Macmillan Children’s Books)
• The Cruel Prince, by Holly Black (Little, Brown / Hot Key Books)
• Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland (Balzer + Bray)
• The Invasion, by Peadar O’Guilin (David Fickling Books / Scholastic)
• Tess of the Road, by Rachel Hartman (Random House / Penguin Teen)

Bestselling author Naomi Novik, a co-founder of AO3, was also nominated for her novel Spinning Silver and is having a very good day.

I’m so delighted that both Spinning Silver and the AO3 are up for Hugos! \:D/ congrats to all the nominees!

— Naomi Novik (@naominovik) April 2, 2019

What jumped out for you on the list of finalists? And are you, like so many of us, now a contributing part of a potential Hugo Award?

(images: Twitter, The Hugo Awards/World Science Fiction Society)

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