The finalists have been announced for the 2017 Hugo Awards, managed by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS). There are good selections in the group, and the finalist lists are always a good place to find recent works that others have liked well enough to nominate them as the “best” of the previous year.

In the category of Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form), the list of movies (and one season) is quite different this year from the nominees for Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation, managed by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (“SFWA”). There are only two in common: Arrival and Rogue One. (The other Bradbury nominees are Doctor Strange, Kubo and the Two Strings, Westworld, and Zootopia.) One notable difference between the WSFS and SFWA is that WSFS is an open membership organization including fans, writers and industry professionals, whereas SFWA members are industry writers and professionals that qualify for membership. More can be learned about that at each group’s site. The winners each year are often different. They are both fantastic places to find recommendations for outstanding work in science fiction and fantasy.

Recent winners of the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form) have been (year of award in parenthesis): The Martian (2016), Guardians of the Galaxy (2015), Gravity (2014), The Avengers (2013),  Game of Thrones (Season One) (2012), Inception (2011), and Moon (2010).

The 2017 nominees for Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form) is a good lineup. My favorite is Arrival (although it is a tough call, and I haven’t yet seen Stranger Things).  The 2017 Hugo Award winners will be announced at this year’s WorldCon.

• Arrival, screenplay by Eric Heisserer based on a short story by Ted Chiang, directed by Denis Villeneuve (21 Laps Entertainment/FilmNation Entertainment/Lava Bear Films)

• Deadpool, screenplay by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick, directed by Tim Miller (Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation/Marvel Entertainment/Kinberg Genre/The Donners’ Company/TSG Entertainment)

• Ghostbusters, screenplay by Katie Dippold & Paul Feig, directed by Paul Feig (Columbia Pictures/LStar Capital/Village Roadshow Pictures/Pascal Pictures/Feigco Entertainment/Ghostcorps/The Montecito Picture Company)

• Hidden Figures, screenplay by Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi, directed by Theodore Melfi (Fox 2000 Pictures/Chernin Entertainment/Levantine Films/TSG Entertainment)

• Rogue One, screenplay by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy, directed by Gareth Edwards (Lucasfilm/Allison Shearmur Productions/Black Hangar Studios/Stereo D/Walt Disney Pictures)

• Stranger Things, Season One, created by the Duffer Brothers (21 Laps Entertainment/Monkey Massacre)