2017 MFA alumna Mimi Mondal is a finalist for the Hugo Award, science fiction’s highest honor, for Luminescent Threads: Connections to Octavia E. Butler, which she co-edited with Alexandra Pierce. The anthology collects essays, articles, and interviews that draw connections between celebrated science fiction author Butler and writers around the world. Mondal, who was born in India and lives in New York, is among the first Indian nominees for the prize.