The 2019 Kitschies Award winners were announced in a virtual ceremony on April 6.

The Kitschies, sponsored by Blackwell’s, are “fiction’s prize for the year’s most progressive, intelligent and entertaining novels containing elements of the speculative and the fantastic.

The winners receive a total of £2,000 in prize money, as well as one of the prize’s iconic Tentacle trophies.

The Red Tentacle (Novel)

For the novel containing speculative or fantastic elements that best fulfills the criteria of intelligent, progressive and entertaining. Judged by Claire North, Kirsty Logan, Alasdair Stuart, Tasha Suri, and Michaela Grey

• The Fire Starters by Jan Carson

The Golden Tentacle (Debut)

For the debut novel that best fits the criteria of progressive, intelligent and entertaining. Also judged by Claire North, Kirsty Logan, Alasdair Stuart, Tasha Suri, and Michaela Grey

• Jelly by Clare Rees

The Inky Tentacle (Cover Art)

Awarded to the year’s finest cover art, as selected by a panel of visual arts experts from wide range of disciplines. Judged by Sharan Matharu, Kaiya Shang, James Spackman, and Kim Curran

• The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa, Cover Art by Tyler Comrie (Vintage)

The Black Tentacle (Special)

A discretionary award in memory of Glen Mehn, aka The Glentacle, for services to the SF/F community. Awarded for a work or body of work that does not otherwise fit The Kitschies’ criteria.

• Nazia Khatun – Senior Press Officer for Orbit
• Claire North
• Leila Abu El Hawa