The 2021 Philip K. Dick Award nominees have been announced:
The award is presented annually to a distinguished work of science
The finalists have been announced for the inaugural Gotham Book Prize, given for best New York City-based novel. Titles of genre interest include Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam (Ecco) and The City We Became by N.K Jemisin (Orbit).
The $50,000 prize was created in July 2020 by Bradley Tusk and Howard Wolfson to “support New York City and its arts community by recognizing what makes the city so ...Read More
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The 20-title longlist for the 2021 Rathbones Folio Prize has been announced, including the following titles of genre interest:
The £30,000 Rathbones Folio Prize is open to all works of literature written in English and published in the UK during
“The Box” by Lennixx-Nickolai Treat Bad Moccasin is the winner of the 2020 Imagining Indigenous Futurisms Award. The $1,000 prize is given by the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts (IAFA) to “emerging authors who use science fiction to address issues of Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination.”
“Calling Line 17” by Paul Johnson was selected as a shortlist story. The judge for 2020 was Andrea Hairston. Winners were originally ...Read More
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Washington STEAM Multilingual Academy (WSMA) in Pasadena CA announced a new science fiction writing contest named in honor of alumnus Octavia E. Butler. Last year, the school renamed its library after Butler as well. Librarian Natalie Daily said,
It’s the idea of [Butler] representing a very, unique way of integrating science and the arts, and bringing that to the world and her award-winning writing. And we want to inspire our ...Read More
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The late Michael Crichton’s production company, publisher, and archive, CrichtonSun, has announced a partnership with Range Media Partners to develop new TV series and an adaptation of an unpublished work. CrichtonSun president Sherri Crichton says, “We’re thrilled to have found true creative partners at Range. They share our passion of preserving the Crichton legacy and we look forward to tapping into their imaginative minds and exciting pool of talent to ...Read More
Read moreAuthor and publisher Storm Constantine, 64, died January 14, 2021 following a long illness. She was best known as the author of the Wraeththu series, and as the publisher of Immanion Press, founded in 2003, which published her own work and that of other authors including Tanith Lee, Michael Moorcock, and Brian Stableford.
Born October 12, 1956 in Stafford, England, Constantine attended art school in the 1970s, and worked in ...Read More
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Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018) is the subject of the 33rd stamp in the Literary Arts series from the United States Postal Service.
The stamp features a portrait of Le Guin and a background scene from The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) with art by Donato Giancola, and will be available later this year. “The words ‘three ounce’ on this stamp indicate its usage value. Like a Forever stamp, this ...Read More
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Amara Hoshijo has joined Saga Press as an editor. She previously worked on science fiction titles at Soho Press including The Seep by Chana Porter, Annie and the Wolves by Andromeda Romano-Lax, and the forthcoming Midnight, Water City by Chris McKinney. Saga editorial director Joe Monti said,
Amara has a keen perspective and a high level of enthusiasm for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror that will be a boon to ...Read More
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The Horror Writers Association (HWA) has announced six recipients of its $500 diversity grants, given “to underrepresented, diverse people who have an interest in the horror writing genre, including, but not limited to writers, editors, reviewers, and library workers.” The recipients are Jacqueline Dyre, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, Gabino Iglesias, Nicole Givens Kurtz, Tejaswi Priyadarshi, and Sumiko Saulson.
The grants are funded in part by NoveList, LibraryReads, ARRT, and RA for ...Read More
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Submissions are now open for the Imagine 2200 short story contest. The theme is “Climate fiction for future ancestors.”
The contest is run by Fix, Grist‘s “solutions lab,” and will be judged by authors Adrienne Maree Brown, Morgan Jerkins, and Kiese Laymon. They are seeking entries between 3,000 and 5,000 words “that envision the next 180 years of equitable climate progress.”
First prize is $3,000, second prize $2,000, and third ...Read More
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Ellen Datlow is accepting submissions for her 14th The Best Horror of the Year anthology, to be published by Night Shade Books and covering material appearing in 2021.
I am looking for stories and poetry from all branches of horror: supernatural, uncanny, sf horror, psychological, dark crime, terror tales, or anything else that might qualify. This is an all reprint anthology, so I’ll only consider material published in 2021. Deadline ...Read More
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PS Publishing has announced that it will take over publication of Interzone magazine from TTA Press, which also produces the Black Static and Crimewave magazines. Ian Whates of NewCon Press will replace Andy Cox as editor.
PS co-founder Peter Crowther said, “The call came on the Saturday before Christmas Day, from Andy Cox, Main Man of Interzone magazine who wanted to know if I fancied taking on IZ’s production reins, ...Read More
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The Association of Authors’ Representatives (the professional organization for literary agents) has changed its name to the Association of American Literary Agents. They say the new name “better reflects the membership and aligns the organization with its core mission of empowering and educating literary agents.” They’re updating their website to reflect the new branding and to “offer deeper resources for members and writers.” They’ve added a non-profit division, Literary Agents ...Read More
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The litigation between Chooseco (which holds the trademark for “Choose Your Own Adventure” books) and Netflix regarding the latter’s interactive movie Black Mirror: Bandersnatch has ended. The two companies informed their judge in November 2020 that they’d reached a settlement, though terms were not disclosed. Chooseco argued that Netflix appropriated their protected imagery and terminology without permission.
While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a ...Read More
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The Endeavour Award committee has announced the suspension of the 2021 award for books published in 2020. In a statement, they said,
Several reasons have led to the suspension. The Covid 19 situation has made it more difficult to run our preliminary judging. In addition to problems stemming from the pandemic, additional problems have contributed to the need to suspend the Award.
We expect to begin collecting books published during ...Read More
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The Washington Science Fiction Association is now accepting nominations of “works published for the first time in the English language in 2020” for its Small Press Award, given annually to an outstanding story of “imaginative literature” (17,500 words or fewer) published in the small press. Authors and small-press publishers are among those eligible to nominate, and need not be members of WSFA. Finalists are selected “by a committee of five ...Read More
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The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey (Peepal Tree) has won the 2020 Costa Novel award.
The Costa Book Awards recognizes “some of the most enjoyable books of the year, written by authors based in the UK and Ireland.” Each winner in the five individual categories receives £5,000. The Costa Book of the Year, an award accompanied by a £30,000 prize, will be selected from the category winners and ...Read More
Read moreArtist JAEL, 83, died November 17, 2020. Jael’s artistic career spanned six decades, during which she published hundreds of SF book and magazine cover illustrations, in addition to fine arts work and other commissions. Some of her art was collected in Perceptualistics (2002). She was nominated for eight Chesley Awards from 1985-2002.
Jael Ashton was born October 31, 1937, and grew up in Utah. She worked as a professional ...Read More
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Public voting is now open for the Analog Science Fiction and Fact Analytical Laboratory (AnLab) and Asimov’s Science Fiction Readers’ Awards, covering works published in their 2020 issues. Readers can select three favorite choices from each magazine in novella, novelette, short story, poem, and cover categories, as well as a “Best Science Fact” article from Analog. The deadline to vote is February 1, 2021.
For more information, see the Analog ...Read More
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Finalists for the 2020 Children’s and Young Adults Bloggers’ Literary Awards (Cybils) have been announced. Books of genre interest follow.
Young Adult Speculative Fiction
Writer Anton Strout, 50, died unexpected on December 30, 2020. Strout was an author of urban fantasy, best known for his Simon Canderous series. He was also the host of the Once and Future Podcast, where he interviewed authors beginning in 2014, producing more than 200 episodes. He worked in publishing as well, as a longtime sales rep for Penguin Random House.
Anton Strout was born January 24, 1970 in ...Read More
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Amazon Publishing may shift their longstanding stance against allowing libraries to lend their ebooks. The company is said to be in “active discussions” with the Digital Public Library of America to alter its policies. Amazon is reportedly “testing a number of different models” and may lend books as early as 2021, with a spokesperson saying, “We believe libraries serve a critical purpose in communities across the country, and our priority ...Read More
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Knopf Random House Canada is splitting apart: beginning in 2021, Knopf Canada and Random House Canada will operate independently again (they were combined in 2009). Publisher Anne Collins will become executive editor and vice-president of Random House Canada on January 4, 2021. CEO Kristin Cochrane says, “I believe the time is right to have space for each to build on its past successes and pave the way for the future. ...Read More
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Judges for the 2021 Salam Award for Imaginative Fiction have been announced: Indra Das, Saad Z. Hossain, and Malka Older.
The annual award is open to original fiction of 10,000 words or fewer written in English by authors who must be “currently residing in Pakistan, or be of Pakistani birth/descent.” Submissions are open now through July 31, 2021. The winning story will receive $500 and publication on the award website, ...Read More
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Several titles of genre interest made The Atlantic‘s list of the 15 best books of 2020: Beowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana Headley (Farrar, Straus, Giroux), Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo, translated by Jamie Chang (Liveright), and Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu (Pantheon).
For the full list, see The Atlantic‘s website.
While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time or recurring ...Read More
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Entertainment Weekly has released their list of the 10 best books of 2020, compiled by Leah Greenblatt and David Canfield. Titles of genre interest include The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel (Knopf) in the top spot, Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam (Ecco) at number four, and Memorial by Bryan Washington (Riverhead) at number five.
For the full list, see EW‘s website.
While you are here, please ...Read More
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The new Science Fiction and Fantasy Rosetta Awards (SFFRA) were launched December 26, 2020, “initiated and organized by a group of SFF enthusiasts with faith to promote and recognize the SFF literatures from various cultures and languages along with the efforts of those authors and translators.”
The awards will be given in long- and short-form categories, as well as a special service award category. Eligible works must be science fiction ...Read More
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HuffPost has announced its list of the best books of 2020, compiled by Claire Fallon, including several titles of genre interest:
For the complete list, see
NPR’s Book Concierge has an extensive list of Best Books in an assortment of categories heavy with genre content, including The Dark Side and Young Adult, “nearly 2,500 recommendations from NPR staff and trusted critics.” The Sci Fi, Fantasy & Speculative Fiction category offers 64 recommendations covering a range of themes and topics, such as Bestiary by K-Ming Chang (One World), Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko (Amulet), Riot Baby by Tochi ...Read More
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The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) announced the recipients of the 2021 Givers Fund Grants for organizations which further SFWA’s mission: “To promote, advance, and support science fiction and fantasy writing in the United States and elsewhere, by educating and informing the general public and supporting and empowering science fiction and fantasy writers.” Grant recipients are “Any 501(c)(3) or similar organization… with a program related to the ...Read More
Read moreGrand Master James Gunn, 97, died December 23, 2020. Gunn was one of the field’s true polymaths, excelling as an SF author, editor, and scholar. Gunn served as President of Science Fiction Writers of America in 1971-1972 and the organization honored him with a Damon Knight Grand Master Award in 2006. He was inducted into the SF Hall of Fame in 2015.
James Edwin Gunn was born July 12, 1923 ...Read More
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