Annotated 2017 File 770 List for Short Fiction

While we’re waiting for the Hugo administrators to produce the list of finalists, almost fifty "Filers" (commenters from File 770) shared their nominations, and we’ve used that to create lists for Best Novella, Best Novelette, and Best Short Story. In a couple of weeks, we can see how well they predicted the actual finalists.

In the 34 stories below, "votes" is the number of Filers who nominated that work, with the cut-off being three or more. Here are a few interesting findings from the 14 novellas, 10 novelettes, and 10 short stories:

• 21 stories are free online (62%), including all novelettes and short stories. [Highlight free stories]
• 4 stories are by Campbell-eligible writers. [Group by Campbell Year]
• None are translated stories.
• 14 publications are represented (including standalone novellas) with the top three being Tor novellas (9), Tor.com (5) and Uncanny (6). [Group by Publication]
• RSR recommended 18, recommended against 4, and did not review 2. [Group by RSR Rating]
• 25 of the 33 stories had a score > 1, meaning many were highly recommended by prolific reviewers, inclusion in "year's best" anthologies, and award finalists. [Group by Score]

Last year, the top 55 novellas, novelettes and short stories nominated by Filers resulted in the following matches:

• 15 out of 18 short fiction Hugo finalists [Highlight Hugo+2] missing only
• A Fistful of Permutations in Lightning and Wildflowers by Alyssa Wong
• The other two were Puppy-picks: Alien Stripper... and An Unimaginable Light
• 4 out of 5 Eugie finalists [Highlight Eugie+2] missing only
• The Limitless Perspective of Master Peek, or, the Luminescence of Debauchery by Catherynne M. Valente
• 7 out of 9 Sturgeon finalists [Highlight Sturgeon+2] missing only
• Project Empathy by Dominica Phetteplace
• The Visitor From Taured by Ian R. MacLeod
• 12 out of 19 short fiction Nebula finalists [Highlight Nebula+2], though the finalists were announced before Hugo nominations closed.