2020 Seiun Awards Nominees

Best Translated Novel

• The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, Becky Chambers, translated by Youko Hosomi (Tokyo Sogensha)
• The Paradox Men, Charles L. Harness, translated by Tohru Nakamura (Takeshobo)
• Jade City, Fonda Lee, translated by Mayumi Ohtani (Hayakawa)
• The Three-Body Problem, Cixin Liu, translated by Touya Tachihara, Nozomi Ohmori, Sakura Mitsuyoshi & Chai Wang (Hayakawa)
• Only Human, Sylvain Neuvel, translated by Chiori Sada (Tokyo Sogensha)
• A Man Lies Dreaming, Lavie Tidhar, translated by Shingo Oshino (Takeshobo)
• The Murderbot Diaries [All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, and Exit Strategy], Martha Wells, translated by Naoya Nakahara (Tokyo Sogensha)

Best Translated Story

• “Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom”, Ted Chiang, translated by Nozomi Ohomori (Exhalation)
• “Omphalos”, Ted Chiang, translated by Nozomi Ohomori (Exhalation)
• “Memorials”, Aliette de Bodard, translated by Yutaka Ohshima (The Tea Master and the Detective)
• “Bit Players”, Greg Egan, translated by Makoto Yamagishi (Bit Players and Other Stories)
• “Uncanny Valley”, Greg Egan, translated by Makoto Yamagishi (Bit Players and Other Stories)
• “The Caretaker”, Ken Liu, translated by Mayumi Ohtani (The Reborn and Other Stories)
• “The Secret Life of Bots”, Suzanne Palmer, translated by Naoya Nakahara (SF Magazine 2/19)

Best Japanese Novel

• Tenmei no Shirube [Signposts to the Stars] series, Issui Ogawa (Hayakawa)
• Hitoyo no Nagai Yume [Long Dream of One Night/Human World], Katsuie Shibata (Hayakawa)
• Yadokari no Hoshi [The Hermitage], Dempow Torishima (Tokyo Sogensha)
• Tokyo no Ko [Tokyo Nipper], Taiyo Fujii (Kadokawa Shoten)
• Saki wo Yukumonotachi [The Ones Who Go Ahead], Chohei Kambayashi (Hayakawa)
• HELLO WORLD, Mado Nozaki (Shueisha)
• Daizetsumetsu Kyoryu Time Wars [Great Extinction Dinosaur Time Wars], Gengen Kusano (Hayakawa)

Best Japanese Story

• “Hirabayashi-kun to Io no Sue” [Mr. Hirabayashi and Descendant of Fish], Takehiko Oxi (Space: The Anthology of Sogen SF Short Story Prize Winners)
• “Hikari yori Hayaku, Yuruyaka ni” [Faster than Light, Slowly], Ren Hanna (Smooth World and Its Enemies)
• “Twin Star Cyclone Runaway”, Issui Ogawa (Flowers for Asterism: A Yuri SF Anthology)
• “Moshimo Bokura ga Umareteitara” [If We Were Born], Kenrei Miyanishi (Space: The Anthology of Sogen SF Short Story Prize Winners)
• “Serpent”, Hirotaka Tobi (SF Magazine 4/19)
• “Mizu no Tsuki” [Unseen Moon], Hiroe Suga (SF Magazine 2/19)
• “Tsuioku no Mori” [Memento Mori], Mitsuhiro Monden (Memento Mori)

There are also nominees in Multimedia, Comic, Artist, Non-Fiction, and “Free” (other) categories. The awards were to be presented at F-CON, the 59th Japan SF Convention, scheduled for August 22-23, 2020 in Fukushima prefecture. The convention has been postponed until March 13-14, 2021.

For more information, including a complete list of nominees (in Japanese), see the SFFAN’s website.

[Thanks to Terrie Hashimoto for the story and translations.]