T. Kingfisher Wins 2023 Manly Wade Wellman Award

The 2023 Manly Wade Wellman Award for North Carolina Science Fiction and Fantasy winner was announced at ConGregate 9 on July 15 in Winston-Salem, NC. The award is presented by the North Carolina Speculative Fiction Foundation.

2023 Manly Wade Wellman Award Winner

  • Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

Kingfisher’s novel, also a finalist for the Hugo and Nebula awards, is a fantasy adventure where Marra, the third daughter of a small and imperiled kingdom, must rescue her older sister from the clutches of a powerful and abusive prince, after the untimely and mysterious death of their oldest sister after being wed to him in a political alliance. To do so, she must complete three impossible quests, starting (as the novel does) by building a dog of bones and sewing a cloak of nettles; but it’s only after her quests are completed that the real mission can begin.

Ursula Vernon, who writes under the name T. Kingfisher, sent these acceptance remarks:

It’s a great honor, as a North Carolina writer, to receive the Manly Wade Wellman award for my book, and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person to accept. As it happens, I was reading one of the Silver John books the other day and fell down an Internet rabbit hole, which I’m now going to inflict on you.

Silver John frequently references a book that he learned many of his various spells and incantations from, called The Long-Lost Friend. I had assumed this was as fictional as The Necronomicon, but as it turns out, it really existed. It was a Pennsylvania Dutch grimoire published in the early 19th century by a folk healer named John George Hohman.

I could frankly write pages about this, but [the award presenter] has to stand up here and read them and probably doesn’t want to spend his whole day reading about obscure magical folk remedies, so I’ll just mention one particular tidbit from the book, which was that if you sew the right eye of a wolf inside your right sleeve, you will be immune from all injury.

I admit, I’m still wondering about the … err … practical details there … the squishiness … well, you know. Also, obviously the best time to be immune from injury would be when you’re trying to get the eye off the wolf in the first place, but that’s neither here nor there. Clearly, they just don’t write ’em like that any more. Possibly that’s for the best. Anyway, The Long-Lost Friend, you can find it online, and I hope it makes your day just slightly weirder, like it did mine.

Thank you again, and I hope you all have a lovely evening.

The Manly Wade Wellman Award was founded in 2013 to recognize outstanding achievement in science fiction and fantasy novels written by North Carolina authors. The award is named for long-time North Carolina author Manly Wade Wellman with the permission of his estate.

2023 Manly Wade Wellman Award Shortlist

The 2023 Manly Wade Wellman Award for North Carolina Science Fiction and Fantasy shortlist was revealed July 1 by the North Carolina Speculative Fiction Foundation.

The 10 finalists are:

  • Steel Mill Vikings by Sarah Joy Adams (Falstaff Books)
  • Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen (St. Martin’s Press)
  • Prophet’s Debt by Robert Creekmore (Cinnabar Moth Publishing)
  • Ghost of a Marriage by Richard Dansky (Crossroad Press)
  • Burning Shakespeare by A.J. Hartley (Falstaff Books)
  • The Quarter Storm by Veronica Henry (47North)
  • Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher (Tor Books)
  • Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty (Ace)
  • Lost In Time by A.G. Riddle (Head of Zeus)
  • Malice House by Megan Shepherd (Hyperion Avenue)

The winner will be announced at ConGregate 9 on July 14 in Winston-Salem, NC.

The Manly Wade Wellman Award was founded in 2013 to recognize outstanding achievement in science fiction and fantasy novels written by North Carolina authors. The 2023 award covers novels published in 2022.

The award is named for long-time North Carolina author Manly Wade Wellman with the permission of his estate.

2022 Manly Wade Wellman Award

The 2022 Manly Wade Wellman Award for North Carolina Science Fiction and Fantasy winner was announced at ConGregate 8 on July 22 in Winston-Salem, NC. The award is presented by the North Carolina Speculative Fiction Foundation.

2022 Manly Wade Wellman Award Winner

  • The Actual Star by Monica Byrne (Harper Voyager)

The Manly Wade Wellman Award was founded in 2013 to recognize outstanding achievement in science fiction and fantasy novels written by North Carolina authors. The award is named for long-time North Carolina author Manly Wade Wellman with the permission of his estate.

2022 Manly Wade Wellman Award Shortlist

The 2022 Manly Wade Wellman Award for North Carolina Science Fiction and Fantasy shortlist was revealed July 6 by the North Carolina Speculative Fiction Foundation.

The eight titles were selected from the 18-title longlist.

  • The Actual Star by Monica Byrne (Harper Voyager)
  • A Song with Teeth (Los Nefilim, #3) by T. Frohock (Harper Voyager)
  • Sounding Dark (The Calpurnian Wars, #1) by Jo Graham (Candlemark & Gleam)
  • Blind Tiger (The Pride, #1) by Jordan L. Hawk (Widdershins Press)
  • Bacchanal by Veronica Henry (47North)
  • Water Horse by Melissa Scott (Candlemark & Gleam)
  • The Blackwing War (Deep Witches, #1) by K.B. Spangler (A Girl and Her Fed Books)
  • No Gods, No Monsters (The Convergence Saga, #1) by Cadwell Turnbull (Blackstone Publishing)

The winner will be announced at ConGregate 8 on Friday, July 22, 2022 in Winston-Salem, NC.

The Manly Wade Wellman Award was founded in 2013 to recognize outstanding achievement in science fiction and fantasy novels written by North Carolina authors. The award is named for long-time North Carolina author Manly Wade Wellman with the permission of his estate.

2022 Manly Wade Wellman Award Longlist

The 2022 Manly Wade Wellman Award for North Carolina Science Fiction and Fantasy longlist was revealed June 17 by the North Carolina Speculative Fiction Foundation

The 18 titles were selected by a jury from a 77-title eligibility list.

  • The Actual Star by Monica Byrne
  • The Serpent by David Drake
  • A Song with Teeth (Los Nefilim, #3)by T. Frohock
  • Mother of All (Women’s War, #3) by Jenna Glass
  • Sounding Dark (The Calpurnian Wars, #1) by Jo Graham
  • Comes A Reckoning (Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter, #8) by John G. Hartness
  • Blind Tiger (The Pride, #1) by Jordan L. Hawk
  • Bacchanal by Veronica Henry
  • The Water Blade (The Ridnight Mysteries, #1) by Stuart Jaffe
  • Paladin’s Strength (The Saint of Steel, #2) by T. Kingfisher
  • Paladin’s Hope (The Saint of Steel, #3) by T. Kingfisher
  • Legacy (Deadly Curiosities, #5) by Gail Z. Martin
  • Every Star a Song (The Ascendance Series, #2) by Jay Posey
  • Blood and Feathers by Beth Revis
  • The Extinction Trials by A.G. Riddle
  • Water Horse by Melissa Scott
  • The Blackwing War (Deep Witches, #1) by K.B. Spangler
  • No Gods, No Monsters (The Convergence Saga, #1) by Cadwell Turnbull

The winner will be announced at ConGregate 8 on Friday, July 22, 2022 in Winston-Salem, NC.

The Manly Wade Wellman Award, founded in 2013 to recognize outstanding achievement in science fiction and fantasy novels written by North Carolina authors. The award is named for the late North Carolina author Manly Wade Wellman with the permission of his estate.

2021 Manly Wade Wellman Award

The winner of the 2021 Manly Wade Wellman Award for North Carolina Science Fiction and Fantasy was announced July 10 at ConGregate 7 / DeepSouthCon 59 in Winston-Salem, NC. 

The recipient of the award is:

  • Natania Barron, Queen of None (Vernacular Books)

The North Carolina Speculative Fiction Foundation created The Manly Wade Wellman Award in 2013 to recognize outstanding achievement in science fiction and fantasy novels written by North Carolina authors. The 2020 award covers novels published in 2019.

Manly Wade Wellman was a long-time North Carolina author and the award is named for him with the permission of his estate.

2021 Manly Wade Wellman Award Shortlist

The 2021 Manly Wade Wellman Award for North Carolina Science Fiction and Fantasy shortlist was revealed June 28 by the North Carolina Speculative Fiction Foundation. The 2021 award also covers novels published in 2020.

The eight titles were selected by a jury from the 24-title longlist.

  • Natania Barron, Queen of None (Vernacular Books)
  • Emily Colin, Sword of the Seven Sins (Blue Crow Books)
  • Tracy Deonn, Legendborn (Margaret K. McElderry Books)
  • T. Frohock, Carved from Stone and Dream (Harper Voyager)
  • A.J. Hartley, Impervious (Falstaff Books)
  • Whitney Hill, Elemental (Benu Media)
  • T. Kingfisher, Paladin’s Grace (Argyll Productions)
  • Jay Posey, Every Sky a Grave (Skybound Books)

The winner(s) will be announced at ConGregate 7 / DeepSouthCon 59 on Saturday, July 10 as part of an awards ceremony also including the Phoenix Award and Rebel Award.

The Manly Wade Wellman Award was founded in 2013 to recognize outstanding achievement in science fiction and fantasy novels written by North Carolina authors. The 2021 award covers novels published in 2020. The award is named for long-time North Carolina author Manly Wade Wellman with the permission of his estate.

2021 Manly Wade Wellman Award Longlist

The 2021 Manly Wade Wellman Award for North Carolina Science Fiction and Fantasy longlist was revealed June 4 by the North Carolina Speculative Fiction Foundation. The 2021 award also covers novels published in 2020.

The 24 titles were selected by a jury from the 64-title eligibility list.

  • Renee Ahdieh, The Damned (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers)
  • Paul Barrett, Cry of Decay (Falstaff Books)
  • Natania Barron, Queen of None (Vernacular Books)
  • Emily Colin, Sword of the Seven Sins (Blue Crow Books)
  • Tracy Deonn, Legendborn (Margaret K. McElderry Books)
  • Patrick Dugan, Storm Shattered (Falstaff Books)
  • T. Frohock, Carved from Stone and Dream (Harper Voyager)
  • Jenna Glass, Queen of the Unwanted (Del Rey)
  • Crymsyn Hart, Forest of Bones (Mocha Memoirs Press)
  • A.J. Hartley, Impervious (Falstaff Books)
  • Whitney Hill, Elemental (Benu Media)
  • T. Kingfisher, Paladin’s Grace (Argyll Productions)
  • T. Kingfisher, The Hollow Places (Gallery / Saga Press)
  • Robin Kirk, The Hive Queen (Blue Crow Books)
  • Gail Z. Martin, The Sellsword’s Oath (Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency)
  • James Maxey, Dragonsgate: Devils
  • Kwame Mbalia, Tristan Strong Destroys the World (Rick Riordan Presents)
  • Jay Posey, Every Sky a Grave (Skybound Books)
  • Scott Reintgen, Ashlords (Crown Books for Young Readers)
  • Christopher Ruocchio, Demon in White (DAW)
  • Christopher Ruocchio, The Lesser Devil
  • Lisa Shearin, The Entity Game (Murwood Media)
  • Meagan Spooner, The Other Side of the Sky (HarperTeen, with Amie Kaufman)
  • Rysa Walker, Now, Then, and Everywhen (47North)

A shortlist of finalists will be announced on Monday, June 21, and the winner will be announced at ConGregate 7 / DeepSouthCon 59 on Friday, July 9, 2021 as part of the Opening Ceremonies.

The Manly Wade Wellman Award, founded in 2013 to recognize outstanding achievement in science fiction and fantasy novels written by North Carolina authors/ The award is named for the late North Carolina author Manly Wade Wellman with the permission of his estate.

2020 Manly Wade Wellman Award

The 2020 Manly Wade Wellman Award for North Carolina Science Fiction and Fantasy winner was announced July 27.

  • A Fall in Autumn by Michael G. Williams (Falstaff Books)

The North Carolina Speculative Fiction Foundation created The Manly Wade Wellman Award in 2013 to recognize outstanding achievement in science fiction and fantasy novels written by North Carolina authors. The 2020 award covers novels published in 2019.

Manly Wade Wellman was a long-time North Carolina author and the award is named for him with the permission of his estate.

[Via Locus Online.]

2020 Manly Wade Wellman
Award Shortlist

The 2020 Manly Wade Wellman Award for North Carolina Science Fiction and Fantasy shortlist was announced online June 29.

  • Where Oblivion Lives by T. Frohock (Harper Voyager)
  • The Women’s War by Jenna Glass (Del Rey)
  • The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher (Saga Press)
  • Breaking Gods by D. J. Molles
  • To the Bones by Valerie Nieman (West Virginia University Press)
  • A Fall in Autumn by Michael G. Williams (Falstaff Books)

Ordinarily, the winner(s) would be announced at ConGregate on July 17, however, plans have not been finalized because the con is not being held in person this year.

The Manly Wade Wellman Award was founded in 2013 to recognize outstanding achievement in science fiction and fantasy novels written by North Carolina authors. The 2020 award covers novels published in 2019.

The award is named for long-time North Carolina author Manly Wade Wellman with the permission of his estate.

[Via Locus Online.]