Best Series Hugo:
Eligible Series from 2021

Junior SJW Credential Napping on SFF Books (c) Can Stock Photo / underworld

By JJ: It’s that time of year again! Even though the number of books published this year – and thus the number of eligible series – is down due to the pandemic, there are still plenty of great series for you to consider… and probably more opportunity than usual for you to get caught up on them.

To assist Hugo nominators, listed below are the series believed to be eligible as of this writing for the 2022 Best Series Hugo next year *†.

Each series name is followed by the main author name(s) and the 2021-published work(s).

Feel free to add missing series and the name of the 2021-eligible work in the comments, and I will get them included in the main post when I’ve verified their eligibility.

Note that previous Hugo Administrators ruled that nominations for a series and one of its subseries will not be combined. Therefore, when nominating a subseries work, think carefully under which series name it should be nominated. If the subseries does not yet meet the 3-volume, 240,000 word count threshold, then the main series name should be nominated. If the subseries does meet that threshold, then the subseries name should probably be nominated. This will ensure that another subseries in the same universe, or the main series itself, would still be eligible next year if this subseries is a finalist this year.

(*) ineligible series are preceded by an asterisk

  • Age of Madness by Joe Abercrombie, The Wisdom of Crowds
  • Alex Verus by Benedict Jacka, Risen
  • Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs, Wild Sign
  • Anuket City (Clocktaur Wars/Swordheart/Saint of Steel) by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon), Paladin’s Strength and Paladin’s Hope
  • Aurora by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, Aurora’s End
  • Black Iron Legacy by Gareth Hanrahan, The Broken God
  • Black Knight Chronicles by John G. Hartness, Lady in Black
  • Bobiverse by Dennis E. Taylor, Heaven’s River
  • Books of Babel by Josiah Bancroft, The Fall of Babel
  • Bryant & May by Christopher Fowler, London Bridge is Falling Down
  • Camelot Rising by Kiersten White, The Excalibur Curse
  • Carter Archives by Dan Stout, Titan Song
  • Chaos Queen Quintet by Christopher Husberg, Dawnrise
  • Chicagoland Vampires: Heirs of Chicagoland by Chole Neill, Shadowed Steel
  • Chimera by Cate Glass, A Summoning of Demons
  • Chorus of Dragons by Jenn Lyons, The House of Always
  • Chronicles of Amicae by Mirah Bolender, Fortress of Magi
  • Chronicles of Elantra by Michelle Sagara, Cast in Conflict
  • Chronicles of St. Mary’s by Jodi Taylor, Another Time, Another Place
  • Chronicles of St. Mary’s: Time Police by Jodi Taylor, Saving Time
  • Chronicles of the Bitch Queen by K. S. Villoso, The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng
  • Chronos Origins by Rysa Walker, Red White and the Blues and Bell Book and Key
  • Dandelion Dynasty by Ken Liu, The Veiled Throne
  • Defiant by Brandon Sanderson, Cytonic
  • Demon Princes by Jack Vance and Matthew Hughes, Barbarians of the Beyond
  • Destiny and Darkness by Karen Frost, Death’s Champion
  • Diving Universe by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Thieves and The Chase
  • (*) Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí Clark, A Master of Djinn (insufficient wordcount)
  • Doctor Who by Jacqueline Rayner, Legends of Camelot and The Wonderful Doctor of Oz; by Joy Wilkinson, The Witchfinders; by Mark Gatiss, The Crimson Horror; by Robert Shearman, Dalek
  • Doctor Who: River Song by Alex Kingston, The Ruby’s Curse (insufficient volumes, must be nominated under main series)
  • Donovan by W. Michael Gear, Adrift
  • Dune: The Caladan Trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, The Lady of Caladan
  • Eli Carver by Alan Baxter, Ghost Recall
  • Elizabeth Cage by Jodi Taylor, Long Shadows
  • Empire: Saloninus by K.J. Parker, The Big Score (novella) (insufficient wordcount, must be nominated under main series)
  • Eric Carter by Stephen Blackmoore, Bottle Demon
  • (*) Expanse by James S.A. Corey, Leviathan Falls (not eligible as a past winner)
  • Finder by Suzanne Palmer, The Scavenger Door
  • Firefly by James Lovegrove, Life Signs; by Una McCormack, Carnival
  • Forgotten Realms: The Legend of Drizzt 10: The Way of the Drow by R. A. Salvatore, Starlight Enclave (insufficient volumes, must be nominated under main series)
  • Frost Files by Jackson Ford, Eye of the Sh*t Storm
  • Ghost Roads by Seanan McGuire, Angel of the Overpass
  • Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi, The Bronzed Beasts
  • Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan, Girls of Fate and Fury
  • Godslayer by Jenn Lyons, The House of Always
  • Grand Tour: Outer Planets by Ben Bova, Neptune
  • Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee, Jade Legacy
  • Green Man by Juliet E. McKenna, The Green Man’s Challenge
  • Green Rider by Kristen Britain, Winterlight
  • Grishaverse: Nikolai Duology by Leigh Bardugo, Rule of Wolves (insufficient volumes, must be nominated under main series)
  • Gunnie Rose by Charlaine Harris, The Russian Cage
  • Hail Bristol: Farian War by K. B. Wagers, Out Past The Stars
  • Hell’s Library by A.J. Hackwith, The God of Lost Words
  • Honor Harrington: Wages of Sin by Eric Flint and David Weber, To End in Fire
  • Imperials by Melinda M. Snodgrass, Currency of War
  • InCryptid by Seanan McGuire, Calculated Risks
  • Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman, The Untold Story
  • Jane Yellowrock by Faith Hunter, True Dead
  • Kate Daniels: Aurelia Ryder by Ilona Andrews, Blood Heir (insufficient volumes, must be nominated under main series)
  • Keepers by David Dalglish, Voidbreaker
  • Kingston Cycle by C. L. Polk, Soulstar
  • Legacy by Matthew Ward, Legacy of Light
  • Legends of the First Empire by Michael J. Sullivan, Age of Empyre
  • Liaden Universe by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, Dead Men Dream (novella)
  • Lilith by Dana Fredsti, Hollywood Monsters
  • Los Nefilim by T. Frohock, A Song With Teeth
  • Lot Lands by Jonathan French, The Free Bastards
  • Malazan: Witness by Steven Erikson, The God Is Not Willing (insufficient volumes, must be nominated under main series)
  • Maradaine by Marshall Ryan Maresca, An Unintended Voyage
  • Merchant Princes by Charles Stross, Invisible Sun
  • (*) Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, Fugitive Telemetry (novella) (not eligible as a past winner)
  • Newford by Charles de Lint, Juniper Wiles
  • Nova Vita Protocol by Kristyn Merbeth, Discordia
  • Nyquist Mysteries by Jeff Noon, Within Without
  • (*) October Daye by Seanan McGuire, When Sorrows Come and And With Reveling (novella) (insufficient wordcount to requalify)
  • Palladium Wars by Marko Kloos, Citadel
  • Peter Grant / Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch, What Abigail Did That Summer (novella)
  • Polity by Neal Asher, Jack Four and Lockdown Tales (collection)
  • Protectorate by Megan O’Keefe, Catalyst Gate
  • Quantum Evolution by Derek Künsken, The Quantum War
  • Rampart by M. R. Carey, The Fall of Koli
  • Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds, Inhibitor Phase
  • Royal Guide to Monster Slaying by Kelley Armstrong, The Serpent’s Fury
  • Seafire by Natalie C. Parker, Stormbreak
  • Seven Kingdoms / Graceling Realm by Kristin Cashore, Winterkeep
  • Seven Swords by Anthony Ryan, City of Songs (insufficient words)
  • Shadow Players by Heidi Heilig, On This Unworthy Scaffold
  • Skyward by Brandon Sanderson, Cytonic
  • Smoke Eaters by Sean Grigsby, Flame Riders
  • Simon Snow by Rainbow Rowell, Any Way the Wind Blows
  • Song of Shattered Sands by Bradley P. Beaulieu, A Desert Torn Asunder
  • Star Trek: Coda by James Swallow, The Ashes of Tomorrow; by David Mack, Oblivion’s Gate
  • Star Trek: Discovery by Una McCormack, Wonderlands
  • Star Trek: Picard by James Swallow, The Dark Veil; by Dayton Ward, Moments Asunder; by John Jackson Miller, Rogue Elements
  • Star Trek: The Original Series by Christopher L. Bennett, Living Memory
  • Star Wars: Alphabet Squadron by Alexander Freed, Victory’s Price
  • Star Wars: The High Republic by various authors, Light of the Jedi, A Test of Courage, Into the Dark, The Rising Storm, Race to Crashpoint Tower, Out of the Shadows, and Tempest Runner
  • Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy by Timothy Zahn, Lesser Evil
  • Terra Ignota by Ada Palmer, Perhaps the Stars
  • Tide Child by RJ Barker, The Bone Ship’s Wake
  • Time Shards by Dana Fredsti and David Fitzgerald, Tempus Fury
  • Uglies: Impostors by Scott Westerfeld, Mirror’s Edge
  • Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey, Boundaries (anthology)
  • Valdemar: Founding of Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey, Beyond (insufficient volumes, must be nominated under main series)
  • Vengeance Trilogy by Devin Madson, The Gods of Vice and The Grave at Storm’s End
  • Wages of Sin by David Weber and Eric Flint, To End in Fire
  • War for the Rose Throne by Peter McLean, Priest of Gallows
  • Warrior Bards by Juliet Marillier, A Song of Flight
  • (*) Wayfarers by Becky Chambers, The Galaxy, and the Ground Within (not eligible as a past winner)
  • Wayward Children by Seanan McGuire, Across the Green Grass Fields (novella)
  • Wayward Mages by Sara Hanover, The Wayward Mage
  • Web Shifters: Web Shifter’s Library by Julie E. Czerneda, Spectrum and The Only Thing to Fear (novella)
  • Wells of Sorcery by Django Wexler, Siege of Rage and Ruin
  • Wild Trilogy by Linda Nagata, The Snow Chanter, The Long War, and Days of Storm
  • Witchlands by Susan Dennard, Witchshadow
  • (*) World of the Five Gods by Lois McMaster Bujold, The Assassins of Thasalon and Knot of Shadows (not eligible as a past winner)

* no warranties are made about series eligibility (or lack thereof) based on word count
† no warranties are made about the presumed quality (or lack thereof) of listed series

36 thoughts on “Best Series Hugo:
Eligible Series from 2021

  1. As far as I know The Wayward Children by Seanan McGuire should have with Across the Green Grass Fields now a big enough wordcount to qualify.
    (3 series by one writer is something)

  2. In re Laundry Files, since the last finalist position, it has had Dead Lies dreaming (2020) (technically, I guess, a subseries called Tales of the New Management) as well as (by the time 2022 rolls around) Escape from Puroland). The second book in the sub-series, A Quantum of Nightmares, will be released January 11th.

    So, yes, all in all, I suspect that Laundry Files will not in any way match the eligibility criteria for Best Series 2022.

  3. @ JJ:

    I am not actually that surprised bu the title change, my understanding is that there was a last-moment missive from the publisher’s legal department going “we should probably change this title…”.

  4. bookworm1398: The Protectorate trilogy by Megan OKeefe. Catalyst Gate published in 2021.

    It’s already on there. I’ve got the book sitting in front of me right now. 🙂

  5. Ingvar: my understanding is that there was a last-moment missive from the publisher’s legal department going “we should probably change this title…”

    I had no idea that Puroland was actually A Thing. I am one of Today’s 10,000… not sure about the Lucky part. 😉

  6. Christopher Fowler’s Bryant & May series if awarded a Hugo may well be a posthumous one as he’s seriously ill according to himself which is why he wrapped up that series. He’s undergoing chemo/radiotherapy for cancer right now but so far it hasn’t been a success.

  7. Skyward by Brandon Sanderson, Cytonic (expected Nov. 25, 2021)

    Camelot Rising by Kiersten White, The Excalibur Curse (expected December 7, 2021)

    Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee, Jade Legacy (expected November 20, 2021)

    Destiny and Darkness by Karen Frost, Death’s Champion

  8. @Ingvar
    According to Stross’ previous blog post, the title was promptly given to the publisher’s legal department – which then sat on it for 6 months before noticing; THEN going this title needs to be changed. Details at his blog(which i read and lurk at regularly, but there might not be much more detail than this much).

  9. StefanB: As far as I know The Wayward Children by Seanan McGuire should have with Across the Green Grass Fields now a big enough wordcount to qualify.

    You are correct.

    1 – Every Heart a Doorway – 41,481
    2 – Down Among the Sticks and Bones – 39,787
    3 – Beneath the Sugar Sky – 39,193
    4 – In an Absent Dream – 41,427
    5 – Come Tumbling Down – 40,029
    6 – Across the Green Grass Fields – 39,736
    SS – Juice Like Wounds – 5,900
    Total: 247,553

  10. Also: Web Shifter’s Library by Julie E. Czerneda (the final volume, Spectrum, just came out) (it continues the story of a previous trilogy published years ago, but I believe this counts as a separate series)

    The Wells of Sorcery, YA trilogy by Django Wexler (final volume Siege of Rage and Ruin published in January)

  11. It’s amazing. Someone who won’t link to File 770 posts anymore will retweet a correction to one.

  12. I don’t know if that stack of books is sf, but if so, that’s the cutest widdle cat sleeps on sf evar!!1!!!1!!1!!!

    (My apologies if this is a recurrent image, and so old news to the rest of you. I mean well, but I have a certain set of weaknesses.

  13. Doctor Who:
    Legends of Camelot by Jacqueline Rayner
    The Wonderful Doctor of Oz by Jacqueline Rayner
    Dalek by Robert Shearman
    The Crimson Horror by Mark Gatiss
    The Ruby’s Curse by Alex Kingston
    The Witchfinders by Joy Wilkinson

    Note that the above is an incomplete list.

  14. Ooh, it’s always exciting when the new Best Series page goes up! Thanks for your hard work, JJ!

    I think Clocktaur War by T. Kingfisher should qualify: The Clockwork Boys, The Wonder Engine, Swordheart, Paladin’s Grace, and Paladin’s Strength being the 2021 qualifying work.

  15. Lorien Gray: I think Clocktaur War by T. Kingfisher should qualify: The Clockwork Boys, The Wonder Engine, Swordheart, Paladin’s Grace, and Paladin’s Strength

    I call that series Anuket City, because it seems to be the one thing that all of those books have in common.

  16. Brown Robin: I don’t know if that stack of books is sf, but if so, that’s the cutest widdle cat sleeps on sf evar!!1!!!1!!1!!!

    Isn’t it just? A gorgeous little Flame Point kitten.

    For my annual posts, I’ve been dropping a few bucks to the photographers on a stock image site which doesn’t require me to have a subscription. They have some great images of books, credentials, and credentials with books. 😀

  17. NickPheas: I’m sure The Winds of Winter will be out before the end of the year.

    NickPheas, Winner of Best Alternate History Utopia of the Year. 😀

  18. The Pelted: Fallowtide by M.C.A. Hogarth
    Dragons’ Fealty and Scions’ Flight
    I think would quallify.
    There are a few others in the Fallowtide time period of her Pelted series that came out in 2020.

  19. The Ring of Fire Series / 1632 universe: Eric Flint
    qualifying items: 6 issues of the Grantville Gazette
    1637: The Peacock Throne by Eric Flint and Griffin Barber

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