At the Hugo Awards ceremony for Glasgow Worldcon 2024 on the evening of Sunday 11 August, the event overcame any of the earlier issues around attempts to interfere with the judging process, and produced an exemplary and transparent ballot, with a stellar list of winners. Held in the huge SEC Armadillo auditorium of the Scottish Event Campus by the River Clyde, the ceremony had no problem accommodating the enthusiastic crowd, and further casting of the event was done for those who couldn’t attend physically. 

There was definitely a mood of assertion, even defiance, about the organizers’ response to the earlier voting upsets around the Hugos. As one presenter said, “we have committed to administering them with transparency and integrity.” The voting figures were very carefully logged and shared: 3,813 final ballots (3,808 electronic and 5 paper) were cast and counted. The 377 not cast by natural persons were noted and removed. The remaining 3,436 (3,431 electronic, 5 paper) represented the third highest total ever, as well as some hairsbreadth results. As the organizers explained, 4 out of 20 of the Awards were decided by a margin of a single vote.

And the Hugo winners themselves? In the leading categories, Best Novel went to Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh. Best Novella was Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher. Naomi Kritzer had an exceptional year, winning both Best Novelette for “The Year Without Sunshine” and Best Short Story for “Better Living Through Algorithms.” Best Series went to Imperial Radch by Ann Leckie. The Lodestar Award for Best YA Book went to To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose, and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer went to Xiran Jay Zhao. Winners in the other categories are all available online.

Another Worldcon, another Hugos—and at least, on a very hot evening, the clouds around this year’s awards were dispelled. Meala-naidheachd! Congratulations!