Hugo & Nebula Awards: Best Novels discussion

The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards by the science fiction and fantasy magazine Locus, a monthly based in Oakland, California, United States. The award winners are selected by polling magazine readers.

The awards are presented at an annual banquet. The publishers of winning works are honored with certificates, which is unique in the field.

The Locus list was inaugurated in 1971 for publication year 1970 and was originally more of a list than an award, intended to predict the Hugo Awards, and then to provide suggestions and guidance for them.

2019 Locus Awards Finalists
May 7, 2019
The Locus Science Fiction Foundation has announced the top ten finalists in each category of the 2019 Locus Awards. Tickets are available now.

Winners will be announced during the Locus Awards Weekend in Seattle WA, June 28-30, 2019; Connie Willis will MC the awards ceremony. Additional weekend events include author readings; a kickoff Clarion West party honoring first week instructor Elizabeth Hand, Clarion West supporters, awards weekend ticket holders, and special guests; panels with leading authors; an autograph session with books available for sale thanks to University Book Store; and a lunch banquet with the annual Hawaiian shirt contest, all followed by a Locus party on Saturday night.

SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL

Record of a Spaceborn Few, Becky Chambers (Harper Voyager US; Hodder & Stoughton)
The Calculating Stars, Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor)
If Tomorrow Comes, Nancy Kress (Tor)
Revenant Gun, Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris US; Solaris UK)
Blackfish City, Sam J. Miller (Ecco; Orbit UK)
Embers of War, Gareth L. Powell (Titan US; Titan UK)
Elysium Fire, Alastair Reynolds (Gollancz; Orbit US)
Red Moon, Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
Unholy Land, Lavie Tidhar (Tachyon)
Space Opera, Catherynne M. Valente (Saga)
FANTASY NOVEL

Lies Sleeping, Ben Aaronovitch (DAW; Gollancz)
Foundryside, Robert Jackson Bennett (Crown; Jo Fletcher)
The Monster Baru Cormorant, Seth Dickinson (Tor)
Deep Roots, Ruthanna Emrys (Tor.com Publishing)
Ahab’s Return, Jeffrey Ford (Morrow)
European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman, Theodora Goss (Saga)
The Mere Wife, Maria Dahvana Headley (MCD)
The Wonder Engine, T. Kingfisher (Argyll Productions)
Spinning Silver, Naomi Novik (Del Rey; Macmillan)
Creatures of Want and Ruin, Molly Tanzer (John Joseph Adams)
HORROR NOVEL

In the Night Wood, Dale Bailey (John Joseph Adams)
Unlanguage, Michael Cisco (Eraserhead)
We Sold Our Souls, Grady Hendrix (Quirk)
Coyote Songs, Gabino Iglesias (Broken River)
The Hunger, Alma Katsu (Putnam; Bantam Press UK)
The Outsider, Stephen King (Scribner; Hodder & Stoughton)
The Listener, Robert McCammon (Cemetery Dance)
Cross Her Heart, Sarah Pinborough (HarperCollins UK/Morrow)
The Cabin at the End of the World, Paul Tremblay (Morrow; Titan UK)
Tide of Stone, Kaaron Warren (Omnium Gatherum)
YOUNG ADULT BOOK

The Gone Away Place, Christopher Barzak (Knopf)
The Cruel Prince, Holly Black (Little, Brown; Hot Key)
The Belles, Dhonielle Clayton (Freeform; Gollancz)
Tess of the Road, Rachel Hartman (Random House)
Dread Nation, Justina Ireland (Balzer + Bray)
Cross Fire, Fonda Lee (Scholastic)
The Agony House, Cherie Priest & Tara O’Connor (Levine)
Half-Witch, John Schoffstall (Big Mouth House)
Impostors, Scott Westerfeld (Scholastic US; Scholastic UK)
Mapping the Bones, Jane Yolen (Philomel)
FIRST NOVEL

Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Adeyemi (Henry Holt; Macmillan)
Semiosis, Sue Burke (Tor)
Armed in Her Fashion, Kate Heartfield (ChiZine)
The Poppy War, R.F. Kuang (Harper Voyager US; Harper Voyager UK)
The Quantum Magician, Derek Künsken (Solaris US; Solaris UK)
Annex, Rich Larson (Orbit US)
Severance, Ling Ma (Farrar, Straus, Giroux)
Witchmark, C.L. Polk (Tor.com Publishing)
Trail of Lightning, Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga)
Empire of Sand, Tasha Suri (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
NOVELLA

The Black God’s Drums, P. Djèlí Clark (Tor.com Publishing)
The Tea Master and the Detective, Aliette de Bodard (Subterranean)
“Umbernight“, Carolyn Ives Gilman (Clarkesworld 2/18)
Black Helicopters, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Tor.com Publishing)
Time Was, Ian McDonald (Tor.com Publishing)
Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach, Kelly Robson (Tor.com Publishing)
The Freeze-Frame Revolution, Peter Watts (Tachyon)
Artificial Condition, Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)
Rogue Protocol, Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)
The Descent of Monsters, JY Yang (Tor.com Publishing)
NOVELETTE

“The Donner Party”, Dale Bailey (F&SF 1–2/18)
“Okay, Glory”, Elizabeth Bear (Twelve Tomorrows)
“No Flight Without the Shatter“, Brooke Bolander (Tor.com 8/15/18)
The Only Harmless Great Thing, Brooke Bolander (Tor.com Publishing)
“The Last Banquet of Temporal Confections“, Tina Connolly (Tor.com 7/11/18)
“An Agent of Utopia”, Andy Duncan (An Agent of Utopia)
“Queen Lily“, Theodora Goss (Lightspeed 11/18)
“Nine Last Days on Planet Earth“, Daryl Gregory (Tor.com 9/19/18)
“Quality Time”, Ken Liu (Robots vs Fairies)
“How to Swallow the Moon“, Isabel Yap (Uncanny 11–12/18)
SHORT STORY

“The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington“, Phenderson Djèlí Clark (Fireside 2/18)
“The Bookcase Expedition”, Jeffrey Ford (Robots vs Fairies)
“STET“, Sarah Gailey (Fireside 10/18)
“A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies“, Alix E. Harrow (Apex 2/6/18)
“Cuisine des Mémoires”, N.K. Jemisin (How Long ’til Black Future Month?)
“The Storyteller’s Replacement”, N.K. Jemisin (How Long ’til Black Future Month?)
“Firelight“, Ursula K. Le Guin (Paris Review Summer ’18)
“The Starship and the Temple Cat“, Yoon Ha Lee (Beneath Ceaseless Skies 2/1/18)
“Mother of Invention“, Nnedi Okorafor (Future Tense)
“The Court Magician“, Sarah Pinsker (Lightspeed 1/18)
ANTHOLOGY

The Best Horror of the Year Volume Ten, Ellen Datlow, ed. (Night Shade)
The Book of Magic, Gardner Dozois, ed. (Bantam; Harper Voyager UK)
The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirty-fifth Annual Collection, Gardner Dozois, ed. (St. Martin’s Griffin)
Worlds Seen in Passing, Irene Gallo, ed. (Tor.com Publishing)
The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2018, N.K. Jemisin & John Joseph Adams, eds. (Mariner)
Robots vs Fairies, Dominik Parisien & Navah Wolfe, eds. (Saga)
The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year, Volume Twelve, Jonathan Strahan, ed. (Solaris US; Solaris UK)
Infinity’s End, Jonathan Strahan, ed. (Solaris US; Solaris UK)
The Underwater Ballroom Society, Tiffany Trent & Stephanie Burgis, eds. (Five Fathoms)
The Future Is Female!, Lisa Yaszek, ed. (Library of America)
COLLECTION

The Tangled Lands, Paolo Bacigalupi & Tobias S. Buckell (Saga)
Brief Cases, Jim Butcher (Ace; Orbit UK)
An Agent of Utopia, Andy Duncan (Small Beer)
How Long ’til Black Future Month?, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
The Dinosaur Tourist, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Subterranean)
Fire & Blood, George R.R. Martin (Bantam; Harper Voyager UK)
All the Fabulous Beasts, Priya Sharma (Undertow)
The Future Is Blue, Catherynne M. Valente (Subterranean)
Starlings, Jo Walton (Tachyon)
How to Fracture a Fairy Tale, Jane Yolen (Tachyon)
MAGAZINE

Analog
Asimov’s
Beneath Ceaseless Skies
Clarkesworld
F&SF
Fireside
Lightspeed
Strange Horizons
Tor.com
Uncanny
PUBLISHER

Angry Robot
Baen
DAW
Gollancz
Orbit
Saga
Small Beer
Subterranean
Tachyon
Tor
EDITOR

John Joseph Adams
Neil Clarke
Ellen Datlow
Gardner Dozois
C.C. Finlay
Jonathan Strahan
Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas
Ann & Jeff VanderMeer
Sheila Williams
Navah Wolfe
ARTIST

Kinuko Y. Craft
Galen Dara
Julie Dillon
Leo & Diane Dillon
Bob Eggleton
Victo Ngai
John Picacio
Shaun Tan
Charles Vess
Michael Whelan
NON-FICTION

Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece, Michael Benson (Simon & Schuster)
Sense of Wonder: Short Fiction Reviews (2009-2017), Gardner Dozois (ReAnimus)
Strange Stars, Jason Heller (Melville House)
Dreams Must Explain Themselves: The Selected Non-Fiction of Ursula K. Le Guin, Ursula K. Le Guin (Gollancz)
Ursula K. Le Guin: Conversations on Writing, Ursula K. Le Guin & David Naimon (Tin House)
Old Futures: Speculative Fiction and Queer Possibility, Alexis Lothian (NYU Press)
Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth, Catherine McIlwaine, ed. (Bodleian Library)
Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction, Alec Nevala-Lee (Dey Street)
None of This Is Normal: The Fiction of Jeff VanderMeer, Benjamin J. Robertson (University of Minnesota Press)
An Informal History of the Hugos: A Personal Look Back at the Hugo Awards, 1953-2000, Jo Walton (Tor)
ART BOOK

Yoshitaka Amano, Yoshitaka Amano: The Illustrated Biography – Beyond the Fantasy, Florent Gorges (Les Éditions Pix’n Love 2015; Dark Horse)
Spectrum 25: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, John Fleskes, ed. (Flesk)
John Howe, A Middle-earth Traveler: Sketches from Bag End to Mordor (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; HarperCollins UK)
Jeffrey Alan Love, The Thousand Demon Tree (Flesk)
Simon Stålenhag, The Electric State (Fria Ligan ’17; Skybound)
Shaun Tan, Cicada (Lothian; Levine ’19)
Charles Vess, The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition, Ursula K. Le Guin (Saga)
Michael Whelan, Beyond Science Fiction: The Alternative Realism of Michael Whelan (Baby Tattoo)
Dungeons & Dragons Art and Arcana: A Visual History, Michael Witwer, Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, & Sam Witwer (Ten Speed)
Lisbeth Zwerger, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, J.K. Rowling (Levine)

Wow, Z, thanks for always keeping us up to date on this stuff!

Kateblue wrote: "Wow, Z, thanks for always keeping us up to date on this stuff!"

The pleasure is mine.

I actually like Locus idea to split SF and F and give awards separately. I think H/N would benefit from this approach

Oleksandr wrote: I actually like Locus idea to split SF and F and give awards separately. I think H/N would benefit from this approach"

Agree, although some works are admittedly hard to categorize. I've seen e.g. China Mieville's The City & the City shelved as fantasy in one bookstore and science fiction in the other.

Oleksandr wrote: "

I actually like Locus idea to split SF and F and give awards separately. I think I think H/N would benefit from this approach"

I concur wholeheartedly.

The Locus Award winners have been announced:

SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL
* WINNER: The Calculating Stars, Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor)

FANTASY NOVEL
* WINNER: Spinning Silver, Naomi Novik (Del Rey; Macmillan)

HORROR NOVEL
* WINNER: The Cabin at the End of the World, Paul Tremblay (Morrow; Titan UK)

YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
* WINNER: Dread Nation, Justina Ireland (Balzer + Bray)

FIRST NOVEL
* WINNER: Trail of Lightning, Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga)

NOVELLA
* WINNER: Artificial Condition, Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)

NOVELETTE
* WINNER: The Only Harmless Great Thing, Brooke Bolander (Tor.com Publishing)

SHORT STORY
* WINNER: “The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington“, Phenderson Djèlí Clark (Fireside 2/18)

ANTHOLOGY
* WINNER: The Book of Magic, Gardner Dozois, ed. (Bantam; Harper Voyager UK)

COLLECTION
* WINNER: How Long ’til Black Future Month?, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)

MAGAZINE
* WINNER: Tor.com

PUBLISHER
* WINNER: Tor

EDITOR
* WINNER: Gardner Dozois

ARTIST
* WINNER: Charles Vess

NON-FICTION
* WINNER: Ursula K. Le Guin: Conversations on Writing, Ursula K. Le Guin & David Naimon (Tin House)

ART BOOK
* WINNER: Charles Vess, The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition, Ursula K. Le Guin (Saga)

SPECIAL AWARD 2019: COMMUNITY OUTREACH & DEVELOPMENT
* WINNER: Mary Anne Mohanraj

I like that they have a split between Horror, SF and Fantasy. I mean, it's not always clear, but it still helps. And then there are 3 books to read, not just 1. Now I am looking for Dread Nation and The Cabin at the End of the World

If Locus is any hint for Hugo winners and the preference toward fantasy remains then my choice of the best novel winner is correct.

At least it won't be Calculating Stars winning all three. Spinning Silver currently has my vote

Kalin wrote: "At least it won't be Calculating Stars winning all three. Spinning Silver currently has my vote"

Let's hope :)

The Locus announced the top ten finalists in each category of the 2020 Locus Awards.

Winners will be announced June 27, 2020 at the virtual Locus Awards Weekend

SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL

The City in the Middle of the Night, Charlie Jane Anders (Tor; Titan)
The Testaments, Margaret Atwood (Nan A. Talese; Chatto & Windus)
Ancestral Night, Elizabeth Bear (Saga; Gollancz)
Empress of Forever, Max Gladstone (Tor)
The Light Brigade, Kameron Hurley (Saga; Angry Robot UK)
Luna: Moon Rising, Ian McDonald (Tor; Gollancz)
The Future of Another Timeline, Annalee Newitz (Tor; Orbit UK)
Fleet of Knives, Gareth L. Powell (Titan US & UK)
The Rosewater Insurrection/The Rosewater Redemption, Tade Thompson (Orbit US & UK)
Wanderers, Chuck Wendig (Del Rey; Solaris)
FANTASY NOVEL

Ninth House, Leigh Bardugo (Flatiron; Gollancz)
A Brightness Long Ago, Guy Gavriel Kay (Berkley; Viking Canada; Hodder & Stoughton)
The Raven Tower, Ann Leckie (Orbit US & UK)
Jade War, Fonda Lee (Orbit US & UK)
Middlegame, Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
Gods of Jade and Shadow, Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Rey; Jo Fletcher)
The Starless Sea, Erin Morgenstern (Doubleday; Harvill Secker)
Storm of Locusts, Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga)
The Iron Dragon’s Mother, Michael Swanwick (Tor)
Dead Astronauts, Jeff VanderMeer (MCD; Fourth Estate)
HORROR NOVEL

Imaginary Friend, Stephen Chbosky (Grand Central; Orion)
Prisoner of Midnight, Barbara Hambly (Severn House)
Curious Toys, Elizabeth Hand (Mulholland)
Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon James (Riverhead; Hamish Hamilton)
The Grand Dark, Richard Kadrey (Harper Voyager US & UK)
The Institute, Stephen King (Scribner; Hodder & Stoughton)
The Twisted Ones, T. Kingfisher (Saga)
Anno Dracula 1999: Daikaiju, Kim Newman (Titan US & UK)
The Pursuit of William Abbey, Claire North (Orbit US & UK)
The Toll, Cherie Priest (Tor)
YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

King of Scars, Leigh Bardugo (Imprint; Orion)
The Wicked King, Holly Black (Little, Brown; Hot Key)
Pet, Akwaeke Emezi (Make Me a World; Faber & Faber)
Catfishing on CatNet, Naomi Kritzer (TorTeen)
Dragon Pearl, Yoon Ha Lee (Disney Hyperion)
Destroy All Monsters, Sam J. Miller (Harper Teen)
Angel Mage, Garth Nix (Katherine Tegen; Allen & Unwin; Gollancz)
War Girls, Tochi Onyebuchi (Razorbill)
The Book of Dust: The Secret Commonwealth, Philip Pullman (Knopf; Penguin UK & David Fickling)
Shadow Captain, Alastair Reynolds (Orbit US; Gollancz)
FIRST NOVEL

The Water Dancer, Ta-Nehisi Coates (One World)
Magic for Liars, Sarah Gailey (Tor)
The Ten Thousand Doors of January, Alix E. Harrow (Redhook; Orbit UK)
A Memory Called Empire, Arkady Martine (Tor)
Infinite Detail, Tim Maughan (MCD x FSG Originals)
Gideon the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir (Tor.com Publishing)
Finder, Suzanne Palmer (DAW)
A Song for a New Day, Sarah Pinsker (Berkley)
Waste Tide, Chen Qiufan (Tor; Head of Zeus)
The Luminous Dead, Caitlin Starling (Harper Voyager)
NOVELLA

“A Time to Reap“, Elizabeth Bear (Uncanny 12/19)
To Be Taught, If Fortunate, Becky Chambers (Harper Voyager; Hodder & Stoughton)
“Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom”, Ted Chiang (Exhalation)
The Haunting of Tram Car 015, P. Djèlí Clark (Tor.com Publishing)
Desdemona and the Deep, C.S.E. Cooney (Tor.com Publishing)
This Is How You Lose the Time War, Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone (Saga)
The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday, Saad Z. Hossain (Tor.com Publishing)
Permafrost, Alastair Reynolds (Tor.com Publishing)
The Deep, Rivers Solomon, with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson & Jonathan Snipes (Saga)
The Ascent to Godhood, JY Yang (Tor.com Publishing)
NOVELETTE

“Erase, Erase, Erase”, Elizabeth Bear (F&SF 9-10/19)
“For He Can Creep“, Siobhan Carroll (Tor.com 7/10/19)
“Omphalos”, Ted Chiang (Exhalation)
“A Country Called Winter”, Theodora Goss (Snow White Learns Witchcraft)
“Late Returns”, Joe Hill (Full Throttle)
“Emergency Skin”, N.K. Jemisin (Forward)
“The Justified”, Ann Leckie (The Mythic Dream)
“Phantoms of the Midway”, Seanan McGuire (The Mythic Dream)
“Binti: Sacred Fire”, Nnedi Okorafor (Binti: The Complete Trilogy)
“The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye“, Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny 7-8/19)
SHORT STORY

“The Bookstore at the End of America”, Charlie Jane Anders (A People’s Future of the United States)
“Lest We Forget“, Elizabeth Bear (Uncanny 5-6/19)
“The Galactic Tourist Industrial Complex”, Tobias S. Buckell (New Suns)
“It’s 2059, and the Rich Kids Are Still Winning“, Ted Chiang (New York Times 5/27/19)
“Fisher-Bird”, T. Kingfisher (The Mythic Dream)
“I (28M) created a deepfake girlfriend and now my parents think we’re getting married“, Fonda Lee (MIT Technology Review 12/27/19)
“The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear“, Kelly Link (Tin House ’19)
“Thoughts and Prayers“, Ken Liu (Future Tense 1/26/19)
“A Brief Lesson in Native American Astronomy”, Rebecca Roanhorse (The Mythic Dream)
“A Catalog of Storms“, Fran Wilde (Uncanny 1-2/19)
ANTHOLOGY

Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories, Ellen Datlow, ed. (Saga)
The Very Best of the Best: 35 Years of The Year’s Best Science Fiction, Gardner Dozois, ed. (St. Martin’s Griffin)
A People’s Future of the United States, Victor LaValle & John Joseph Adams, eds. (One World)
Broken Stars: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation, Ken Liu, ed. (Tor)
The Mythic Dream, Dominik Parisien & Navah Wolfe, eds. (Saga)
New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color, Nisi Shawl, ed. (Solaris US & UK)
The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year, Volume Thirteen, Jonathan Strahan, ed. (Solaris US & UK)
Mission Critical, Jonathan Strahan, ed. (Solaris US & UK)
The Best of Uncanny, Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas, eds. (Subterranean)
The Big Book of Classic Fantasy, Ann VanderMeer & Jeff VanderMeer, eds. (Vintage)
COLLECTION

Exhalation, Ted Chiang (Knopf; Picador)
Of Wars, and Memories, and Starlight, Aliette de Bodard (Subterranean)
The Best of Greg Egan, Greg Egan (Subterranean)
Snow White Learns Witchcraft, Theodora Goss (Mythic Delirium)
Full Throttle, Joe Hill (Morrow; Gollancz)
Meet Me in the Future, Kameron Hurley (Tachyon)
The Very Best of Caitlín R. Kiernan, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Tachyon)
The Best of R.A. Lafferty, R.A. Lafferty (Gollancz)
Hexarchate Stories, Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris US & UK)
Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea, Sarah Pinsker (Small Beer)
MAGAZINE

Analog
Asimov’s
Beneath Ceaseless Skies
Clarkesworld
F&SF
File 770
Lightspeed
Strange Horizons
Tor.com
Uncanny
PUBLISHER

Angry Robot
DAW
Gollancz
Harper Voyager
Orbit
Saga
Small Beer
Subterranean
Tachyon
Tor
EDITOR

John Joseph Adams
Neil Clarke
Ellen Datlow
Gardner Dozois
C.C. Finlay
Jonathan Strahan
Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas
Ann & Jeff VanderMeer
Sheila Williams
Navah Wolfe
ARTIST

Kinuko Y. Craft
Galen Dara
Julie Dillon
Bob Eggleton
Donato Giancola
Kathleen Jennings
John Picacio
Shaun Tan
Charles Vess
Michael Whelan
NON-FICTION

Lost Transmissions: The Secret History of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Desirina Boskovich, ed. (Abrams Image)
The Time Machine Hypothesis: Extreme Science Meets Science Fiction, Damien Broderick (Springer)
Reading Backwards: Essays and Reviews, 2005-2018, John Crowley (Subterranean)
Joanna Russ, Gwyneth Jones (University of Illinois Press)
Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction, Lisa Kröger & Melanie R. Anderson (Quirk)
Kim Stanley Robinson, Robert Markley (University of Illinois Press)
The Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein, Farah Mendlesohn (Unbound)
Broken Places & Outer Spaces: Finding Creativity in the Unexpected, Nnedi Okorafor (Simon & Schuster/TED)
The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick, Mallory O’Meara (Hanover Square)
HG Wells: A Literary Life, Adam Roberts (Palgrave)
ILLUSTRATED OR ART BOOK

The Illustrated World of Tolkien, David Day (Thunder Bay; Pyramid)
Julie Dillon, Daydreamer’s Journey (Julie Dillon)
Ed Emshwiller, Dream Dance: The Art of Ed Emshwiller, Jesse Pires, ed. (Anthology Editions)
Spectrum 26: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, John Fleskes, ed. (Flesk)
Donato Giancola, Middle-earth: Journeys in Myth and Legend (Dark Horse)
Raya Golden, Starport, George R.R. Martin (Bantam)
Fantasy World-Building: A Guide to Developing Mythic Worlds and Legendary Creatures, Mark A. Nelson (Dover)
Tran Nguyen, Ambedo: Tran Nguyen (Flesk)
Yuko Shimizu, The Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde, Oscar Wilde (Beehive)
Bill Sienkiewicz, The Island of Doctor Moreau, H.G. Wells (Beehive)

Just to see which books haven't made it to the list, here their "recommended reading"

https://locusmag.com/2020/02/2019-loc...

Locus shortlist (Top-10 in each category) is out https://locusmag.com/2021/05/2021-loc...

I feel that I should pay more attention to Locus, but when will I read the extra books?

Did any of you submit a ballot? I did and very, very few of my nominations made it. It was a little disheartening haha. Any thoughts on what the readership of Locus is like? This shortlist is pretty different from what I would have predicted.

I submitted, tried to get Adrian Tchaikovsky to the list (he wasn't in their large one) and stories from Asimov's and Analog (absent too), but no luck (as could be expected)

At least one hadn't to pay 70 Dollars to not see one's nominations XD.

Gabi wrote: "At least one hadn't to pay 70 Dollars to not see one's nominations XD."

True, but Locus voting gives more power to Locus subscribers (which is perfectly understandable)

Kateblue wrote: "I feel that I should pay more attention to Locus, but when will I read the extra books?"
Hah. Yes it's not so bad with the Hugo and Nebula as there is a lot of overlap.

Kristenelle wrote: "Any thoughts on what the readership of Locus is like?"
No doubt that it skews heavily American and WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic). It's the kind of people who can afford a $70 subscription, and can also nominate $70 books (I see you, Plants in Science Fiction: Speculative Vegetation).

They do sell their T-Shirts in a ladies fit, and they make a point of welcoming diverse attendees to the awards, as well as appointing an POC & LGBT+ ombudsman, so I guess their audience is much more diverse than other pockets of SFF.

Hmm . . . I like all that, Sarah. I may have to follow their awards, after all!

The Locus Science Fiction Foundation announced the winners in each category of the 2021 Locus Awards on June 26, 2021, during the virtual Locus Awards Weekend. Connie Willis MCed the awards ceremony. Additional weekend events included readings and panels with leading authors.

SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL
WINNER: Network Effect, Martha Wells (Tordotcom)

FANTASY NOVEL
WINNER: The City We Became, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US & UK)

HORROR NOVEL
WINNER: Mexican Gothic, Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Rey; Jo Fletcher)

YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
WINNER: A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, T. Kingfisher (Argyll)

FIRST NOVEL
WINNER: Elatsoe, Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido)

NOVELLA
WINNER: Ring Shout, P. Djèlí Clark (Tordotcom)

NOVELETTE
WINNER: “The Pill“, Meg Elison (Big Girl)

SHORT STORY
WINNER: “Little Free Library“, Naomi Kritzer (Tor.com 4/8/20)

This year the awards feel quite brought in line.

"Little Free Library" won the short story award? That is a surprise, and not a good one. I haven't read all the nominees, but at least "The Mermaid Astronaut" was IMO a much better story.

Antti wrote: ""Little Free Library" won the short story award? That is a surprise, and not a good one. I haven't read all the nominees, but at least "The Mermaid Astronaut" was IMO a much better story."

I'm yet to read it. My personal favorite of 2020 are several Ray Nayler stories, but they were in Asimov's Analog and Magazine of F&SF so weren't even nominated

Gabi wrote: "This year the awards feel quite brought in line."

Agreed

Yup, I think you should all brace yourselves for the fact that Murderbot is going to win the Hugo. :)

And Ring Shout probably the novella, though I don't think that needs as much bracing for around here.

Yeah, huh. I wouldn’t have thought Network Effect would take all the prizes, but it is looking more likely now. I’m now preparing to rank it last on my Hugo ballot just to even things out a bit. :-P

I’m happy about The Pill. Fine with Ring Shout. A little surprised a YA took best first novel, but I’ve heard Elatsoe is good.

Kalin wrote: "Yup, I think you should all brace yourselves for the fact that Murderbot is going to win the Hugo. :)."

Bearing that last Hugo winners were SF, and success of N.K. Jemisin before that I guess that The City We Became still has the highest chances. It won Locus as well

Kristenelle wrote: "I’m happy about The Pill. Fine with Ring Shout. A little surprised a YA took best first novel, but I’ve heard Elatsoe is good."

Anyone Wants to Buddy read Elatsoe? I'm not a fan of YA but there are pearls as in any genre

Oleksandr wrote: "Anyone Wants to Buddy read Elatsoe..."

I decided to try one of her short stories instead. A perfectly nice 3-star read called "Unlike Most Tides":
https://www.drabblecast.org/2020/05/0...

Oleksandr wrote: "Anyone Wants to Buddy read [book:Elatsoe|4908963..."

I'm might be down, but I need to check to see if I can get it from my library...

I’m a bit swamped with books atm, but I was thinking about going through the YA Hugo nominations (lodestar) which includes Elatsoe in a month or two maybe. Depending on how quick they are to read I was thinking I might be able to do one a week. (I’m going on the theory that ya reads quicker. :-P) So I will probably join in the buddy read, but late. And if anyone else is interested in going through the lodestar category with me in a couple months or so I could set that up.

I might read Elatsoe at some point, my library has it. But right now I’m trying to stay focused on my 60-book H/N goal because I wandered all over the place in June and fell behind. Plus I’ve already got the Foundation BR to knock out.

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, T. Kingfisher was good. I love Kingfisher's writing.

I can get Elatsoe. It looks like a kid's book?

Yeah, it is either middle grade or ya.

Well, let me know, people, if you want to read it because it looks quick and cute. Although middle grade may be awfully young for me. Though there are some that I love.

What are some good books for that age group? For me, Narnia and Harry Potter (obviously) but also E E Eager Edward Eager whose books I loved as a kid. When Harry Potter came out, I read them to see if they held up, and they did.

I'm in, and even though my library said it would take a couple of weeks, I just got the e-book, so I'm ready when y'all are!

Unfortunately this one wasn't in the Hugo package and it is still around € 14 for me to buy, so I will lurk and see what you all think of it.

I actually have Elatsoe and think it sounds right up my alley - I'm just finishing another book rn, but might get to it soon! I don't do a lot of YA books, but I've heard some great things about it. Actually heard about it first from the Locus recommended reading list!

I'll setup a thread for Elatsoe later today, join when you want. I myself plan to read Monthly reads first

I quiet enjoy YA and even younger fiction - the message is clear and its easy to distance yourself from it all. In YA there are a whole heap of dystopian trilogies that read well from Harry Potter, Mockingjay and Divergent, Mazerunner, Uglies/Pretties etc, Legend/Champion etc. Much less well written there is the Selection, Matched bleh.

The best YA, of course, is a toss up between Ursula Le Guin / Earthsea and CS Lewis / Narnia...

In good stuff for younger readers, its pretty easy to find, look up what is taught in schools - The Giver, A Wrinkle in Time, Over Sea Under Stone, The Tripods...

I recently read Elatsoe and really enjoyed it.

The Vanished Birds is my favorite book I’ve read so far this year. (Nominated for First Novel)

The Space Between Worlds is also enjoyable. (Nominated for First Novel).

I have only read one Martha Wells book, All Systems Red and thought it was ok, but didn’t excite me enough to want to immediately read more in the series.

The Space Between Worlds was my favorite book last year.

Oleksandr wrote: "I'll setup a thread for Elatsoe later today, join when you want. I myself plan to read Monthly reads first"

Hey Z, could you link the Elatsoe buddy read link? I can't seem to locate it on our home page. Thanks!!

Rebecca wrote: "Hey Z, could you link the Elatsoe buddy read link? I c..."

Here it is https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I missed this for a few days but the Locus Award winners were announced this past weekend.

https://locusmag.com/2022/06/2022-loc...



SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL
A Desolation Called Peace, Arkady Martine (Tor; Tor UK)

FANTASY NOVEL
Jade Legacy, Fonda Lee (Orbit US; Orbit UK)

HORROR NOVEL
My Heart Is a Chainsaw, Stephen Graham Jones (Saga; Titan)

YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
Victories Greater Than Death, Charlie Jane Anders (Tor Teen; Titan)

FIRST NOVEL
A Master of Djinn, P. Djèlí Clark (Tordotcom; Orbit UK)

NOVELLA
Fugitive Telemetry, Martha Wells (Tordotcom)

NOVELETTE
“That Story Isn’t the Story“, John Wiswell (Uncanny 11-12/21)

SHORT STORY
“Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather“, Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny 3-4/21)

ANTHOLOGY
We’re Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2020, C.L. Clark & Charles Payseur, eds. (Neon Hemlock)

COLLECTION
Even Greater Mistakes, Charlie Jane Anders (Tor; Titan)

MAGAZINE
Tor.com

PUBLISHER
Tor

EDITOR
Ellen Datlow

ARTIST
Charles Vess

NON-FICTION
Dangerous Visions and New Worlds: Radical Science Fiction, 1950–1985, Andrew Nette & Iain McIntyre, eds. (PM)

ILLUSTRATED AND ART BOOK
The Art of Neil Gaiman & Charles Vess’s Stardust, Charles Vess (Titan)

SPECIAL AWARD 2022: Community Building & Career Development

The Codex Writers’ Group

Thanks for posting, Kalin! I saw the list yesterday and I think the most "wrong" is done in novellas - fans of murderbot beat much better works, which is sad