The Ignyte Awards, now in their third year, “seek to celebrate the vibrancy and diversity of the current and future landscape of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror by recognizing incredible feats in storytelling and outstanding efforts towards inclusivity within the genre.”
This year’s shortlist was selected by the 15 BIPOC+ voters of the Ignyte Awards Committee; everyone is welcome to vote for the winners, and can do so here until June 10th. Winners will be announced on September 17th.
Congrats to all the finalists!
Best Novel: Adult
for novel-length work (40k+ words) intended for an adult audience
Light from Uncommon Stars – Ryka Aoki (Tor Books)
The Unbroken – C. L. Clark (Orbit)
A Master of Djinn – P. Djèlí Clark (Tordotcom)
Black Water Sister – Zen Cho (Ace Books)
Sorrowland – Rivers Solomon (MCD)
Best Novel: Young Adult
for novel-length (40k+ words) works intended for the young adult audience
The Wild Ones – Nafiza Azad (Margaret K. McElderry Books)
This Poison Heart – Kalynn Bayron (Bloomsbury YA)
Redemptor – Jordan Ifueko (Harry N. Abrams)
White Smoke – Tiffany D. Jackson (Katherine Tegen Books)
A Snake Falls to Earth – Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido)
Best in Middle Grade
for works intended for the middle grade audience
Amari and the Night Brothers – B.B. Alston (Balzer & Bray/Harperteen)
Josephine Against the Sea – Shakirah Bourne (Scholastic Inc.)
Tristan Strong Keeps Punching – Kwame Mbalia (Rick Riordan Presents)
The Insiders – Mark Oshiro (HarperCollins)
Root Magic – Eden Royce (Walden Pond Press)
Best Novella
for speculative works ranging from 17,500-39,999 words
Fireheart Tiger – Aliette de Bodard (Tordotcom)
Philia, Eros, Storge, Agápe, Pragma – R.S.A. Garcia (Clarkesworld)
Nothing But Blackened Teeth – Cassandra Khaw (Tor Nightfire)
And This is How to Stay Alive – Shingai Njeri Kagunda (Neon Hemlock)
Flowers for the Sea – Zin E. Rocklyn (Tordotcom)
Best Novelette
for speculative works ranging from 7,500-17,499 words
“The Badger’s Digestion; or The First First-Hand Description of Deneskan Beastcraft” by an Aouwan “Researcher” – Malka Older (Constelacion Magazine)
“The Equations of the Dead” – An Owomyela (Lightspeed Magazine)
“The Music of the Siphorophenes” – CL Polk (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction)
“The Future Library” – Peng Shepherd (Tordotcom)
“Colors of the Immortal Palette” – Caroline M. Yoachim (Uncanny)
Best Short Story
for speculative works ranging from 2,000-7,499 words
“The Fifth Horseman” – Martin Cahill (Fireside Fiction)
“If the Martians Have Magic” – P. Djèlí Clark (Uncanny Magazine)
“Delete Your First Memory for Free” – Kel Coleman (FIYAH Literary Magazine)
“The Tale of Jaja and Canti” – Tobi Ogundiran (Lightspeed)
“Center of the Universe” – Nadia Shammas (Strange Horizons)
Best in Speculative Poetry
“Appeal to the Doppelganger” – Terese Mason Pierre (Fantasy Magazine)
“Dragonslayer” – Priya Chand (Fantasy Magazine)
“Kuala Lumpur Urban Legends” – Jack Kin Lim (Strange Horizons)
“None of the Star Trek Ships Are Named After Confederate Generals” – Arden Eli Hill (Strange Horizons)
“Post-Massacre Psyche Eval” – Abu Bakr Sadiq (Uncanny Magazine)
Critics Award
for reviews and analysis of the field of speculative literature
Akilah White
Arley Sorg
Thistle & Verse
Alex Brown
Rich in Color
Best Fiction Podcast
for excellence in audio performance and production for speculative fiction
Escape Pod
Khōréō Magazine
Gallery of Curiosities
Podcastle
Pseudopod
Best Artist
for contributions in visual speculative storytelling
Tommy Arnold
Paul Kellam
Morgan Madeline
John Picacio
Raymond Sebastien
Best Comics Team
for comics, graphic novels, and sequential storytelling
Abbott: 1973 – Saladin Ahmed & Sami Kivelä (Boom! Studios)
Count – Ibrahim Moustafa, Brad Simpson, & Hassan Otsame-Elhaou (Humanoids, Inc.)
Nubia: Real One – L. L. McKinney & Robyn Smith (DC Comics)
Shadow Life – Hiromi Goto & Ann Xu (First Second)
Squad – Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Lisa Sterle (Green Willow Books)
Best Anthology/Collected Works
Midnight Doorways: Fables from Pakistan – Usman T. Malik (Kitab (Pvt) Ltd.)
Never Have I Ever – Isabel Yap (Small Beer Press)
Reconstruction: Stories – Alaya Dawn Johnson (Small Beer Press)
Speculative Fiction for Dreamers: A Latinx Anthology – Alex Hernandez, Matthew David Goodwin, & Sarah Rafael García, eds. (Mad Creek Books)
We’re Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2020 – C.L. Clark, Charles Payseur, eds. (Neon Hemlock)
Best Creative Nonfiction
for works related to the field of speculative fiction
“We Are the Mountain: A Look at the Inactive Protagonist” – Vida Cruz (Fantasy Magazine)
“Where Will You Place Us When We Are Dead?” – Monte Lin (Strange Horizons)
“What You Might Have Missed” – Arley Sorg (Uncanny Magazine)
“Round Table Palestinian Perspectives”– Fargo Tbakhi, N.A. Mansour, Rasha Abdulhadi (Strange Horizons)
“The Necessity of Slavery Stories” – Troy L. Wiggins (Uncanny Magazine)
The Ember Award
for unsung contributions to genre
Maurice Broaddus
Tananarive Due
Malinda Lo
Julia Rios
Sheree Renée Thomas
The Community Award
for Outstanding Efforts in Service of Inclusion and Equitable Practice in Genre
Anathema: Spec from the Margins – Michael Matheson, Andrew Wilmot, Chinelo Onwualu
dave ring
Khōréō Magazine – Aleksandra Hill, Founder & Editor-in-Chief and Team
The Submission Grinder – David Steffen
We Need Diverse Books
