fans of sf, fantasy, horror & whimsy
We invite members to review the Hugo nominees for Novel, Novella or Novellette.
Tell us about which should be the winner — or inform us about another work which was missed out!
We meet at 6:30pm at the Minor Works Building
Entry via Sturt Street — there is a pathway between 50 and 52 Sturt Street.
Best Novel
1,153 ballots cast for 555 nominees. Finalists range 126-210.
Best Novella
807 ballots cast for 172 nominees. Finalists range 90-241.
Best Novelette
414 ballots cast for 144 nominees. Finalists range 36-64
The other nominees can be seen at https://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2026-hugo-awards/
Murray MacLachlan writes
Our speaker for Wednesday 1 July is Kate Treloar, renowned Adelaide bookseller, joining us by Zoom from Adelaide to discuss Curation in an Age of Overwhelm. There’s an art – and a craft – to selecting the right books.
And really, life’s too short to have books you don’t want, surely?
Part of the Mob will be gathering at Kensington Town Hall for the face-to-face. The full Zoom option is open to all as usual.
Pre-Mob dining this month is again at Hardiman’s Hotel in Kensington.
Two months are now available for speakers, in August and September. Please claim a month! October and November have speakers already; also February next year. see https://novamob.blog/
The novamob web site is up to date.
the Art and Craft of the Right Stuff
Nova Mob — Wednesday 1 July 2026
Kate Treloar, renowned Adelaide bookseller and Critical Mass member, will speak to the Nova Mob on curation in an Age of Overwhelm. Kate will talk about making good selections in what we read, from a reader and bookseller perspective, and how this is changing. What is involved in meaningful selection? And what does it mean, specifically, in SF? With a nod to Michael Bhaskar’s Curation: the Power of Selection in a World of Excess, this is an exploration of The Right Stuff.
Topics may well include:
– how you choose what to read/watch/download/listen to
– how this compares to decades past
– whose recommendations you trust
– is more choice a good thing.
This talk is based on one made to Critical Mass a couple of years ago and Kate says this month’s talk is a rich update. The topic has me musing on the highly curated bookshelf. You are on a desert island, and your bookshelf fits ten books only… I’ve been seeking this presentation to the Nova Mob for quite some time and am delighted Kate now is available amid her busy schedule. If you’ve ever gone into a bookshop with a pencil and notebook in your hands, then this event is for you.
Kate Treloar is a co-owner of Orchard Books, just off Rundle Mall in Adelaide, a clean and welcoming bookshop that describes itself as “all killer, no filler!” In this talk, she will explain how.
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Kate Treloar — Curation in an Age of Overwhelm
(simulcast) — by Zoom, and also a face-to-face meet-up at the Kensington Town Hall, Melbourne
8.00pm – 9.30pm AEST
Presentation Room, Kensington Town Hall
30 – 34 Bellair St, Kensington VIC 3031
Zoom link (unchanged, this link applies to all Mob meetings):
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4177583193?pwd=VjdPL1BhSTBNclN2YnRsejN3Y1hlUT09
Passcode: nova
Meeting ID 417 758 3193
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Pre-Mob Dining — Hardiman’s Hotel
Hardiman’s Hotel, 521 Macaulay Rd, Kensington VIC 3031
Table booked under Nova Mob / Murray, 6.15pm for 6.30 to 8.00pm.
Hardiman’s is a short walk up the hill from Kensington Railway Station, where Bellair St meets Macaulay Rd. The menu is perhaps slightly more limited than the Doutta Galla but the quality is higher. The range of bheer is wider and significantly worth exploring.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Ed41QjTdk/
Friends, out-of-town guests, and new arrivals are always welcome at our face-to-face and Zoom meetings.
First visit free; otherwise a $5 donation for venue costs is appreciated. PayPal to nataliem4965@gmail.com (tag “Nova Mob”).
Venue info: https://activemelbourne.ymca.org.au/venues/kensington-town-hall
Parking and disability access are excellent. Newmarket Station is 15 min from Flinders St on the Craigieburn line.
Please don’t attend if unwell. Do forward this newsletter to friends with shared interests.
To unsubscribe, email “unsubscribe” to nova@aussiebb.com.au.
Murray MacLachlan
Convener
discussing science fiction and fantasy as a cultural form since 1970.
As usual, we meet from 6:30 at the Minor Works Building, 22 Stamford Court, Adelaide
[There’s a pathway between 50 and 52 Sturt St]
For this month’s meeting, we ask you to come along to talk about a novel or novella
you’ve recently read and enjoyed*.
Tell us why it’s interesting, and what you enjoyed about the work or author.
[*it need not be a new work, you might be re-reading an old favourite,
or you have discovered something from previous years]
Critical Mass via zoom
Time: Jun 17, 2026 6:30pm – 8pm Adelaide time; 7-8:30 Sydney time
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82461705043?pwd=uqQARwIKgXsqifdPsgLV1oIabFipJV.1
Meeting ID: 824 6170 5043
Passcode: 208178
Here are some of the nominees for the 2026 Hugo awards.
A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett (Del Rey; Hodderscape)
Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor (William Morrow; Gollancz)
Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tor UK; Orbit US)
The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow (Tor US; Tor UK)
The Incandescent by Emily Tesh (Tor US; Orbit UK)
The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson (Orbit US; Hodderscape)
1,153 ballots cast for 555 nominees. Finalists range 126-210.
Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz (Tordotcom)
Cinder House by Freya Marske (Tordotcom; Tor UK)
Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite (Tordotcom)
The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar (Tordotcom; Arcadia UK)
The Summer War by Naomi Novik (Del Rey US; Del Rey UK)
What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher (Nightfire; Titan UK)
807 ballots cast for 172 nominees. Finalists range 90-241.
“Kaiju Agonistes” by Scott Lynch (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 62)
“Never Eaten Vegetables” by H.H. Pak (Clarkesworld, Issue 220)
“Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy” by Martha Wells (Reactor, July 10, 2025)
“The Girl That My Mother Is Leaving Me For” by Cameron Reed (Reactor, April 2, 2025)
“The Millay Illusion” by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 67)
“When He Calls Your Name” by Catherynne M. Valente (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 65)
414 ballots cast for 144 nominees. Finalists range 36-64.
The full list of nominees in each category is at Hugo Award finalists
The Ditmar awards are a fan voted award for works of SF by Australian residents. The award candidates were nominated by members of the Continuum, Conflux or Swancon conventions from 2022-2026. Congratulations to the winners and nominees.
Best Novel
Honeyeater by Kathleen Jennings (Picador Australia)
Best Novella or Novelette
‘The Hidden God’ by T.R. Napper
(Asimov’s March/April. Ed. Sheila Williams)
Best Short Story
‘Bitter Skin’ by Kaaron Warren (Night and Day, Saga. Ed. Ellen Datlow)
Best Collected Work
This Dark Architect and Other Grim Tales
by Pamela Jeffs (Four Ink Press)
Best Fan Publication in Any Medium
Aurealis Awards: Behind the Curtain by Alexandra Pierce
Best Fan Writer
Ian Mond, reviews on Substack
Best Fan Artist
Brave New Wardrobe by Kaaron Warren, Conflux 19 art show
Best Professional Artwork
Honeyeater internal art by Kathleen Jennings
Best New Talent
Jeff Clulow
William Atheling Jr Award for Criticism or Review
Story Thinking and the Real-world Applications of Sci-Fi and Fantasy Writing by Kim Wilkins, Helen Marshall and Lisa Bennett (Bloomsbury Publishing)
The full list of all nominees is available at Swancon50
The Locus Awards winners will be announced May 30, 2026, during the in-person Locus Awards Ceremony, held in the historic Hotel Shattuck in downtown Berkeley, California. Join MCs Sarah Gailey and Maggie Tokuda-Hall, plus guests of honor Tananarive Due, Stephen Graham Jones, and Nnedi Okorafor, and featured local artist Alyssa Winans, for an entertaining presentation of the awards, including a catered reception and awards banquet.
The top ten awards finalists in the SF/Fantasy novels category are:
SCIENCE FICTION NOVELS
FANTASY NOVELS
See the full details at https://locusmag.com/2026/04/2026-top-ten-finalists-for-locus-awards/
Ian Mond and Alex (Alexandra) Pierce – Victoria’s Locus writers – discuss their preferences, and perhaps who ought not to be there – in the forthcoming Awards season. Hugos, Nebulas, Ditmars, World Fantasy, Bram Stoker, Vogels, Clarkes, and more – the lists are large, will your favourite award or author be mentioned? May the cream rise to the top.
Fresh to you and – for those wanting more, or an appetiser – here are Ian and Alex on the Coode St podcast.
Nova Mob meets 7:30-9pm Adelaide time / 8-9:30pm Melbourne time Wednesday, 6th May
Zoom link (unchanged, this link applies to all Mob meetings):
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4177583193?pwd=VjdPL1BhSTBNclN2YnRsejN3Y1hlUT09
Passcode: nova
Meeting ID 417 758 3193
The meeting will be at 6:30pm May 20th at the Minor Works Building
(follow the path between 50 and 52 Sturt Street)
Samantha Lane is exploring various definitions of Science Fiction in an attempt to understand the factor that unites all the media and stories that we understand as SciFi.
SciFi is such a broad genre that it seems to defy definition. What any two members read can vary greatly in terms of themes, style and setting and yet they both acknowledge the other’s choice as SciFi. I would like to begin with what authors such Asimov, Dick and Le Guin think SciFi was and then take a step back to see how academics view the genre in a broader sense.Samantha will present for about 25 minutes followed by 20 minutes of discussion.
You can also attend via zoom:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82461705043?pwd=uqQARwIKgXsqifdPsgLV1oIabFipJV.1
Meeting on April 15th, 6:30 at the Minor Works Building
Entry via path between 50 and 52 Sturt street.
You can also join us via zoom:
6:30pm Adelaide, 7pm Melbourne
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82223110135?pwd=xNM1ZB0skJ1jbmCoPuWca1w1rqO92Q.1
We invite people to read two of the nominated works in novella, novelette or short story to offer their opinions. [You could also comment on a novel if you’ve read one on the list.]
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) has released the finalists for the 2025 Nebula Awards.
Novella
Novelette
Short Story
The other categories can be seen here: https://locusmag.com/2026/03/2025-nebula-awards-ballot/
The Adelaide Fan Review 
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