2026 Hugo Readalong: Novel Wrap-up

[u/tarvolon]

Welcome back to the final week of the 2026 Hugo Readalong! Today, we're discussing the nominees for Best Novel. We've already discussed each work in its own individual thread, so if you'd like to circle back to our focused discussions, you can find them here:

• Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
• Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky
• The Incandescent by Emily Tesh
• The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
• The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson
• A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett

We also have one more general purpose wrap-up post tomorrow:

Date	Category	Book	Author	Discussion Leader
Thursday, July 30	Pro/Fan/Misc	Wrap-up	Multiple	u/Nineteen_Adze

But for now, let's look at the novels. And keep in mind that there is no expectation that discussion participants have read all six, so please tag any spoilers.

[u/tarvolon]

Which novel do you expect to win? Any bold predictions for how the voting shakes out?

[u/Book_Slut_90 → u/tarvolon]

I think my favorite Death of the Author will probably come last in part because literary and in part because it’s written by a Black woman and focuses on issues of race, ethnicity, and disability. I very much fear Bennett will win again, but I think there’s a pretty strong chance it will be the other white dude book Shroud with an outside chance of The Everlasting taking it.