There is an elite group of geeks who prefer that their science fiction be in book form.  For them, the Hugo Awards were established in 1955 and they’ve become about as big of a prize as you can win in geekdom.  Here are this year’s winners:

BEST NOVEL
Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis (Ballantine Spectra)
BEST NOVELLA
The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang (Subterranean)
BEST NOVELETTE
“The Emperor of Mars” by Allen M. Steele (Asimov’s, June 2010)
BEST SHORT STORY
“For Want of a Nail” by Mary Robinette Kowal (Asimov’s, September 2010)
BEST RELATED WORK
Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the Women Who Love It, edited by Lynne M. Thomas and Tara O’Shea (Mad Norwegian)
BEST GRAPHIC STORY
Girl Genius, Volume 10: Agatha Heterodyne and the Guardian Muse, written by Phil and Kaja Foglio; art by Phil Foglio; colors by
Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)
BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION, LONG FORM
Inception, written and directed by Christopher Nolan (Warner)
BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION, SHORT FORM
Doctor Who: “The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang,” written by Steven Moffat; directed by Toby Haynes (BBC Wales)
BEST EDITOR, SHORT FORM
Sheila Williams
BEST EDITOR, LONG FORM
Lou Anders
BEST PROFESSIONAL ARTIST
Shaun Tan
BEST SEMIPROZINE
Clarkesworld, edited by Neil Clarke, Cheryl Morgan, Sean Wallace; podcast directed by Kate Baker
BEST FANZINE
The Drink Tank, edited by Christopher J Garcia and James Bacon
BEST FAN WRITER
Claire Brialey
BEST FAN ARTIST
Brad W. Foster
JOHN W. CAMPBELL AWARD FOR BEST NEW WRITER
Award for the best new professional science fiction or fantasy writer of 2009 or 2010, sponsored by Dell Magazines (not a Hugo Award).
Lev Grossman

I am embarrassed to confess that aside from the Doctor Who episodes, I’m unfamiliar with few of these titles.  As to why, please refer to my multiple posts on just how long my reading list is and how long it’s going to take me to get through it (damn you, Cryptonomicon.)
Except for the big winner.  I have picked up and leafed through Blackout by Connie Willis in the bookstore numerous times and seems very much my kind of thing.  In the book, time traveling historians from the year 2060 return to London in 1940 to observe the Battle of Britain and risk altering history.  Might sound trite but I suppose it’s good enough for the Hugo.
Lev Grossman was featured a couple weeks ago in Julia Keller’s Sunday literature piece for The Chicago Tribune.  Although it seems his writing looks to be more on the fantasy side of things, I’ve had nothing but encouragement to read him.  He did write Warp, which seems to be a Bright Lights, Big City for the geek set.