Littlewood and Scalzi Withdraw from Dragon Awards

Alison Littlewood announced that she has withdrawn her novel The Hidden People (Jo Fletcher) from consideration for the Dragon Awards in the Horror Novel category. John Scalzi has withdrawn novel The Collapsing Empire  (Tor) from consideration in the Science Fiction Novel category.

Littlewood says,

While this would normally be a great pleasure, it has also been brought to my notice that my book has been selected by a voting bloc who are attempting, for reasons of their own, to influence the awards outcome. Essentially, the same group who set out to fix the Hugo Awards are now encouraging their supporters to follow their voting choices in the Dragon Awards…. I’m grateful to anyone who has voted for The Hidden People in good faith, but I am deeply concerned that the voting should be fair going forward and so I have today emailed the organisers and asked for The Hidden People to be withdrawn from consideration.

Scalzi explains,

The reason is simple: Some other finalists are trying to use the book and me as a prop, to advance a manufactured “us vs. them” vote-pumping narrative based on ideology or whatever. And I just… can’t. I don’t have the interest and I’m on a deadline, and this bullshit is even more stale and stupid now than it was the several other times it was attempted recently, with regard to genre awards…. To be clear, the problem is not with the Dragon Awards or their administrators, the latter of whom have been unfailingly gracious in my communications with them. I wish them all the best with their awards.

Both novels still appear on the ballot as published on the Dragon Awards site. Dragon Con president Pat Henry refused Littlewood’s withdrawal request, and both books remain on the ballot.

Voting is open to the public at the Dragon Awards website, and winners will be announced at Dragon Con, September 3, 2017 in Atlanta GA.

Best Science Fiction Novel

• A Closed and Common Orbit, Becky Chambers (Harper Voyager)
• Babylon’s Ashes, James S.A. Corey (Orbit)
• Space Tripping, Patrick Edwards (Inkshares)
• Rise, Brian Guthrie (Inkshares)
• Death’s End, Cixin Liu (Tor)
• The Secret Kings, Brian Niemeier (Self-published)
• Escaping Infinity, Richard Paolinelli (Tuscany Bay)
• The Collapsing Empire, John Scalzi (Tor)

Best Fantasy Novel

• Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge, Larry Correia & John Ringo (Baen)
• The Hearthstone Thief, Pippa DaCosta (Crazy Ace)
• A Sea of Skulls, Vox Day (Self-published)
• Wings of Justice, Michael-Scott Earle (Self-published)
• Blood of the Earth, Faith Hunter (Ace)
• Beast Master, Shayne Silvers (Argento)
• Dangerous Ways, R.R. Virdi (R.R. Virdi)

Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel

• It’s All Fun and Games, Dave Barrett (Nerdist)
• Defy the Stars, Claudia Gray (Little, Brown)
• Firebrand, A.J. Hartley (Tor Teen)
• Rachel and the Many Splendored Dreamland, L. Jagi Lamplighter (Wisecraft)
• A Court of Wings and Ruin, Sarah J. Maas (Bloomsbury)
• The Hammer of Thor, Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion)
• Swan Knight’s Son, John C Wright (Castalia House)

Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel

• Star Realms: Rescue Run, Jon Del Arroz (Evil Girlfriend)
• The Span of Empire, Eric Flint & David Carrico (Baen)
• Iron Dragoons, Richard Fox (Self-published)
• Caine’s Mutiny, Charles E. Gannon (Baen)
• Invasion: Resistance, J.F. Holmes (Self-published)
• Starship Liberator, B.V. Larson & David Van Dyke (Castalia House)
• Allies and Enemies: Exiles, Amy J. Murphy (Self-published)
• Cartwright’s Cavaliers, Mark Wandrey (Seventh Seal)

Best Alternate History Novel

• Another Girl, Another Planet, Lou Antonelli (WordFire)
• Witchy Eye, D.J. Butler (Baen)
• Breath of Earth, Beth Cato (Harper Voyager)
• No Gods, Only Daimons, Kai Wai Cheah (Castalia House)
• 1636: The Ottoman Onslaught, Eric Flint (Baen)
• The Last Days of New Paris, China Miéville (Del Rey)
• A Change in Crime, D.R. Perry (Self-published)
• Fallout: The Hot War, Harry Turtledove (Del Rey)

Best Apocalyptic Novel

• Walkaway, Cory Doctorow (Tor)
• American War, Omar El Akkad (Vintage)
• Codename: Unsub, Declan Finn & Allan Yoskowitz (Self-published)
• The Seventh Age: Dawn, Rick Heinz (Inkshares)
• ZK: Falling, J.F. Holmes (Self-published)
• A Place Outside the Wild, Daniel Humphreys (Self-published)
• The Obelisk Gate, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)

Best Horror Novel

• A God in the Shed, J-F Dubeau (Inkshares)
• Live and Let Bite, Declan Finn (Self-published)
• Donn’s Hill, Caryn Larrinaga (Immortal Works)
• The Changeling, Victor LaValle (Spiegel & Grau)
• The Hidden People, Alison Littlewood (Jo Fletcher)
• The Bleak December, Kevin G. Summers (Self-published)
• Blood of Invidia, Tom Tinney & Morgen Batten (PiR8 Productions)
• Nothing Left to Lose, Dan Wells (Tor)

Best Comic Book

• Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season Eleven
• The Dresden Files: Dog Men
• Monstress
• Motor Girl
• Ms. Marvel
• Saga
• Wynonna Earp Legends

Best Graphic Novel

• Clive Barker’s Nightbreed #3, Marc Andreyko, Clive Barker, Emmanuel Xerx Javier (BOOM! Studios)
• Love is Love, Marc Andreyko, Sarah Gaydos, James S. Rich (IDW)
• Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files: Wild Card, Jim Butcher, Carlos Gomez (Dynamite)
• My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics)
• Girl Genius: the Second Journey of Agatha Heterodyne, Book 2: The City of Lightning, Phil and Kaja Foglio (Studio Foglio)
• March: Book 3, John Lewis, Andrew Aydin (Turtleback Books)
• Stuck in My Head, J.R. Mounts (Self-published)

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series

• Doctor Who
• The Expanse
• Lucifer
• Marvel’s Agents of Shield
• Stan Lee’s Lucky Man
• Stranger Things
• Westworld
• Wynonna Earp

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Movie

• Arrival
• Doctor Strange
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
• Logan
• Passengers
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
• Wonder Woman

Finalists in various gaming-related categories were also announced. For more information, visit the Dragon Awards website.