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We had a lot of fun discussing this year’s Nebula Awards short stories back in May, so we’ve decided to dive in and discuss the six Hugo Awards short story nominations!

This year’s winner will be announced at the 84th World Science Fiction Convention to be held in Anaheim, California from August 27-31. On July 7th, we’ll discuss what we liked, what we didn’t care for, and hold our own (non-binding) voting for Best Hugo Short Story.

If you read the Nebula stories for our May meeting, you’re already ahead of the game, because three of these six nominated stories are the same:

• “10 Visions of the Future; or, Self-Care for the End of Days” by Samantha Mills (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 63)
• “In My Country” by Thomas Ha (Clarkesworld, Issue 223)
• “Laser Eyes Ain’t Everything” by Effie Seiberg (Diabolical Plots, May 16, 2025)
• “Missing Helen” by Tia Tashiro, (Clarkesworld, Issue 226)
• “Six People to Revise You” by J.R. Dawson, (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 62)
• “Wire Mother” by Isabel J. Kim, (Clarkesworld, Issue 229)

Should Media Events Drive SF? Our roundtable discussion then shifts to the ever-increasing onslaught of news and social media noise and whether that should drive the speculative fiction world, or if extrapolation and futurism should be the goal, or if it can be some combination that can help shape our collective futures. With world-destabilizing conflicts and pandemics in the news, the rise and fall of political dynasties, and even the release of Steven Speilberg’s Disclosure Day last month, we will examine the question of “What is driving the current SF narrative?”

Moderator: The R-SPEC Team

Location: Our July meeting will be in person at Barnes & Noble, Pittsford and virtually on Zoom. (Please join us at least 10 minutes before the 7:00 p.m. start time to ensure a good connection.)

Meeting Time: Tuesday, July 7, 2026, from 6:30-8:45 p.m.

Open chat: 6:30-7:00 p.m.

Discussion: 7:00-8:45 p.m. (with a short break at 8:00 p.m.)

Close meeting: 8:45 p.m. (or sooner to break down the Community Room before the store closes)

Note: R-SPEC presentations on topics of interest may be recorded, and a link to the recording posted on our website.