August 20, 2020
A variety of annual awards for fantasy and science fiction works were announced over the last few months, including the Hugo Awards, Nebula Awards, Locus Awards and others!
Whether you're already a fan of science fiction or fantasy – or neither of these genres appeal to you – perhaps the accolades and descriptions of the following works will serve as inspiration to read something new, surprising and/or unusual.
So, without further ado (and in no particular order), the following are a sampling of award-winners that may be found in the Library Catalog (V-Cat):
"A MEMORY CALLED EMPIRE"
HUGO AWARD: BEST NOVEL
After discovering that the previous ambassador in her post may have been murdered, Mahit Dzmare arrives in the capital of the Teixcalaanli Empire determined to find the killer, as she hides a secret which may save her station from the Teixcalaan's desire for expansion.
"THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR"
HUGO AWARD: BEST NOVELLA
NEBULA AWARD: BEST NOVELLA
LOCUS AWARD: BEST NOVELLA
Two time-traveling agents from warring futures, working their way through the past, begin to exchange letters and soon fall in love, even though the discovery of their bond could mean death for each of them.
"THE EXPANSE"
HUGO AWARD: BEST SERIES
After Captain Jim Holden discovers a derelict, abandoned spaceship, he unearths a secret that threatens to throw the entire solar system into war and a vast conspiracy that could mean the end of the human race.
"LAGUARDIA"
HUGO AWARD: BEST GRAPHIC STORY OR COMIC
In an alternate world where aliens have integrated with society, pregnant Nigerian-American doctor Future Nwafor Chukwuebuka has just smuggled an illegal alien plant named Letme Live through LaGuardia International and Interstellar Airport... and that's not the only thing she's hiding. She and Letme become part of a community of human and alien immigrants; but as their crusade for equality continues and the birth of her child nears, Future -- and her entire world -- begins to change.
"A SONG FOR A NEW DAY"
NEBULA AWARD: BEST NOVEL
A global pandemic makes public gatherings illegal and concerts impossible, except for those willing to break the law for the love of music and for one chance at human connection.
"RIVERLAND"
NEBULA AWARD: MIDDLE GRADE & YOUNG ADULT FICTION
Hiding under the bed and telling each other stories to endure difficult times at home, two sisters lose their mother's safeguarding magic when their father breaks an heirloom witch ball, causing a rift in the boundary between the real and nightmare worlds.
"THE CITY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT"
LOCUS AWARD: SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL
A reluctant revolutionary survives exile by forging an unusual, world-changing bond with a family of ice creatures that live outside the human confines of their dying planet.
"MIDDLEGAME"
LOCUS AWARD: FANTASY NOVEL
In an alternate-reality world under the shadow of a magical government bent on transmuting the fabric of reality, two alchemical twins, one skilled with language and the other with math, become catalysts in their creator's grab for power.
"BLACK LEOPARD, RED WOLF"
LOCUS AWARD: HORROR NOVEL
Hired to find a mysterious boy who disappeared three years before, Tracker joins a search party that follows the boy's trail through ancient cities and into dense forests, and encounter creatures intent on destroying them.
"DRAGON PEARL"
LOCUS AWARD: YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
A sci-fi adventure novel about Min, a teenage fox spirit, who runs away to solve the mystery of what happened to her older brother and ends up saving her planet.
"OMPHALOS"
LOCUS AWARD: BEST NOVELETTE
In Dr. Dorothea Morrell’s world, it is a universally accepted fact that the world was created a little more than eight millennia ago. But a new discovery shatters her faith in science as she knows it.
"NEW SUNS"
LOCUS AWARD: BEST ANTHOLOGY
"New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color" showcases emerging and seasoned writers of many races telling stories filled with shocking delights, powerful visions of the familiar made strange.
"MONSTER, SHE WROTE: THE WOMEN WHO PIONEERED HORROR AND SPECULATIVE FICTION"
LOCUS AWARD: BEST NONFICTION
Weird fiction wouldn't exist without the women who created it. Meet the female authors who defied convention to craft some of literature's strangest tales.
Sources:
- http://www.thehugoawards.org/2020/08/2020-hugo-awards-announced
- https://nebulas.sfwa.org/award-year/2019 (Note: the 2019 awards are announced in 2020.)
- https://locusmag.com/2020/06/locus-awards-winners-2020
Ben Krombholz / IT Technician
image credit: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/blue-sky-night-romantic-259458