The judging panel’s nominees for the Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards 2024 have been announced. 

FANTASY

• Vajra Chandrasekera, The Saint Of Bright Doors (Tor / St Martin’s Press)
• Salman Rushdie, Victory City (Jonathan Cape)
• Moniquill Blackgoose, To Shape A Dragon’s Breath (Del Rey)
• Shelley Parker-Chan, He Who Drowned The World (Pan Macmillan)
• Tashan Mehta, Mad Sisters Of Esi (HarperCollins India)

SCIENCE FICTION

• Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Chaingang All-Stars (Pantheon / Harvill Secker)
• Naomi Alderman, The Future (Fourth Estate)
• Lavanya Lakshminarayan, The Ten Percent Thief (Solaris Books)
• C Pam Zhang, The Land Of Milk And Honey (Hutchinson Heinemann / Riverhead Books)
• Samit Basu, The Jinn-Bot Of Shantiport (Tordotcom)
• Lauren Beukes, Bridge (Mulholland Books)

BLURRED BOUNDARIES

• E G Condé, Sordidez (Stelliform Press)
• Dere Segun Falowo, Caged Ocean Dub (Android Press)
• Isabel Waidner, Corey Fah Does Social Mobility (Penguin Books)
• Anya Johanna DeNiro, OKPsyche (Small Beer Press)

NOVELLA

• Andrew Knighton, Ashes Of The Ancestors (Luna Press)
• Xian Mao, Apollo Weeps (Aqueduct Press)
• Em X Liu, If Found Return To Hell (Solaris Books)
• Indra Das, The Last Dragoners Of Bowbazar (Subterranean Press)
• Iori Kusano, Hybrid Heart (Neon Hemlock)
• E Saxey, On The English Approach To The Study Of History (Giganotosaurus)

SHORT FICTION

• Jeannette Ng, The Girl With A City Inside Of Her (Uncanny Magazine)
• Kristina Ten, Approved Methods Of Love Divination In The First-Rate City Of Dushagorod (Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine)
• Tara Campbell, Welcome To Your Lifting (in Adventures In Bodily Autonomy, Aqueduct Press)
• Eugenia Triantafyllou, Always Be Returning (The Sunday Morning Transport)

The book critics responsible for these honors are:

• Adri, from Nerds of a Feather
• C., from The Middle Shelf
• Imyril, from There’s Always Room For One More 
• Gautam Bhatia from Strange Horizons magazine
• Kris Vyas-Myall, from Cloaked Creators
• Leigh — @leighowyn
• Robin Rose Graves, from The Book Wormhole
• Roseanna, from A Reader of Else
• Sara, from Fiction Fans Podcast 

The 2023 winners of The Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards were announced on September 16.

FANTASY

• Simon Jimenez, The Spear Cuts Through Water (Del Rey)

SCIENCE FICTION

• Ray Nayler, The Mountain In The Sea (MCD Books)

BLURRED BOUNDARIES

• Lorraine Wilson, The Way The Light Bends (Luna Press)

NOVELLA

• Sam A Miller, Kid Wolf And Kraken Boy (Solaris Books)

SHORT FICTION

• Leora Spitzer, This Excessive Use Of Pickled Food (Khoreo)

The book critics responsible for this set of honors are –

• Adri, from Nerds of a Feather, Flock Together.
• C., from The Middle Shelf
• Imyril, from There’s Always Room For One More 
• Gautam Bhatia, from Strange Horizons magazine.
• Kris Vyas-Myall, from Cloaked Creators
• L.A. Young, from Aquavenatus and Fantasy-Faction
• Matt aka Womble, from Runalongtheshelves
• Robin Rose Graves, from The Book Wormhole
• Roseanna, from A Reader of Else
• Sara, from Fiction Fans Podcast 
• Sun, fromWormholes and Wooden Doors.

The judging panel’s shortlist for the Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards 2023 have been announced. 

FANTASY

• R B Lemberg, The Unbalancing (Tachyon Publications)
• Simon Jimenez, The Spear Cuts Through Water (Del Rey)

SCIENCE FICTION

• Tochi Onyebuchi, Goliath (Tor.com)
• Ray Nayler, The Mountain In The Sea (MCD Books)

BLURRED BOUNDARIES

• Okwiri Oduor, Things They Lost (Simon & Schuster)
• Lorraine Wilson, The Way The Light Bends (Luna Press)

NOVELLA

• Stewart Hotston, The Entropy Of Loss (NewCon Press)
• Sam A Miller, Kid Wolf And Kraken Boy (Solaris Books)

SHORT FICTION

• Tobi Ogirundan, The Lady Of The Yellow-Painted Library (in Africa Risen, Tor.com)
• Leora Spitzer, This Excessive Use Of Pickled Food (Khoreo)

The book critics responsible for this set of honors are –

• Adri, from Nerds of a Feather, Flock Together.
• C., from The Middle Shelf
• Imyril, from There’s Always Room For One More 
• Gautam Bhatia, from Strange Horizons magazine.
• Kris Vyas-Myall, from Cloaked Creators
• L.A. Young, from Aquavenatus and Fantasy-Faction
• Matt aka Womble, from Runalongtheshelves
• Robin Rose Graves, from The Book Wormhole
• Roseanna, from A Reader of Else
• Sara, from Fiction Fans Podcast 
• Sun, fromWormholes and Wooden Doors.

The judging panel’s nominees for the Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards 2023 have been announced. 

FANTASY

• R B Lemberg, The Unbalancing (Tachyon Publications)
• Simon Jimenez, The Spear Cuts Through Water (Del Rey)
• Sara A Mueller, The Bone Orchard (Tor Books)
• Ayọ̀délé Ọlọ́fintúàdé, Swallow (Masobe Books)
• Nicola Griffith, Spear (Tor.com)
• Sunyi Dean, The Book Eaters (HarperVoyager)
• T. Kingfisher, Nettle and Bone (Titan Books)

SCIENCE FICTION

• Ciel Pierlot, Bluebird (Angry Robot)
• Tochi Onyebuchi, Goliath (Tor.com)
• EJ Swift, The Coral Bones (Unsung Stories)
• Adrian Tchaikovsky, Eyes of the Void (Orbit Books)
• Charlie Jane Anders, Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak (Titan Books)
• Ray Nayler, The Mountain In The Sea (MCD Books)

BLURRED BOUNDARIES

• Okwiri Oduor, Things They Lost (Simon & Schuster)
• Eugen Bacon, Mage of Fools (Meerkat Press)
• J M Miro, Ordinary Monsters (Bloomsbury Publishing)
• Neon Yang, The Genesis of Misery (Tor Books)
• Lorraine Wilson, The Way The Light Bends (Luna Press)
• Jo Harkin, Tell Me An Ending (Penguin Books)

NOVELLA

• Stewart Hotston, The Entropy Of Loss (NewCon Press)
• Rhiannon A Grist, The Queen Of The High Fields (Luna Press)
• Sam A Miller, Kid Wolf And Kraken Boy (Solaris Books)
• Naseem Jamnia, The Bruising Of Qilwa (Tachyon Publications)
• Gigi Ganguly, One Arm Shorter Than The Other (Atthis Books)
• Paul Cornell, Rosebud (Tor.com)
• Emily Bergslien & Kat Weaver, Uncommon Charm (Neon Hemlock)

SHORT FICTION

• Iori Kusano, can i offer you a nice egg in this trying time (Uncanny Magazine)
• Susan Rukeyser, The Two-Faced Miracle of Justice Father Win (Podomatic)
• Tobi Ogirundan, The Lady Of The Yellow-Painted Library (in Africa Risen, Tor.com)
• Leora Spitzer, This Excessive Use Of Pickled Food (Khoreo)
• Carlos Hernandez, I Will Have This Diamond for a Heart (Uncanny Magazine)

The book critics responsible for this set of honors are –

• Adri, from Nerds of a Feather, Flock Together.
• C., from The Middle Shelf
• Imyril, from There’s Always Room For One More 
• Gautam Bhatia, from Strange Horizons magazine.
• Kris Vyas-Myall, from Cloaked Creators
• L.A. Young, from Aquavenatus and Fantasy-Faction
• Matt aka Womble, from Runalongtheshelves
• Robin Rose Graves, from The Book Wormhole
• Roseanna, from A Reader of Else
• Sara, from Fiction Fans Podcast 
• Sun, fromWormholes and Wooden Doors.

The judging panel for the Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards 2022 announced the winners at FantasyCon on September 17.

FANTASY

• Zoraida Córdova, The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina

SCIENCE FICTION

• Arkady Martine, A Desolation Called Peace

BLURRED BOUNDARIES

• Ryka Aoki, Light from Uncommon Stars

DEBUT

• Lorraine Wilson, This is Our Undoing

YOUNG ADULT

• Anna-Marie McLemore, The Mirror Season

SHORT STORY

• Isabel J. Kim, Homecoming Is Just Another Word For The Sublimation Of The Self

NOVELLA

• Premee Mohamed, These Lifeless Things

GRAPHIC NOVEL

[Tie]

• Molly Knox-Ostertag, The Girl from the Sea
• Hiromi Goto & Ann Xu, Shadow Life

SERIES

• C.L. Polk, The Kingston Cycle

The book critics responsible for this set of honors are –

• Adri, from Nerds of a Feather
• Arina, from Queen’s Asylum
• C., from The Middle Shelf
• Debbie, @Owlphabetical
• Fabienne, from Libri Draconis and Grimdark Magazine
• Imyril, from There’s Always Room For One More 
• Kris Vyas-Myall, from Cloaked Creators
• L.A. Young, from Aquavenatus and Fantasy-Faction
• Lisa, from Dear Geek Place
• Matt aka Womble, from Runalongtheshelves
• Robin Rose Graves, from The Book Wormhole
• Sia, from Every Book a Doorway
• Sun, from Twitter and Libri Draconis

The judging panel’s nominees for the Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards 2022 have been announced. The winners will be announced in September.

FANTASY

• Zoraida Córdova, The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina
• Shelley Parker-Chan, She Who Became the Sun
• P. Djèlí Clark, A Master of Djinn

SCIENCE FICTION

• Adrian Tchaikovsky, Shards of Earth
• Arkady Martine, A Desolation Called Peace

BLURRED BOUNDARIES

• Ryka Aoki, Light from Uncommon Stars
• T.L. Huchu, The Library of the Dead

DEBUT

• Lorraine Wilson, This is Our Undoing
• Xiran Jay Zhao, Iron Widow

YOUNG ADULT

• Anna-Marie McLemore, The Mirror Season
• Namina Forna, The Gilded Ones

SHORT STORY

• A.C. Wise, The Amazing Exploding Women of the 20th Century
• Isabel J. Kim, Homecoming Is Just Another Word For The Sublimation Of The Self

NOVELLA

• Aliette de Bodard, Fireheart Tiger
• Premee Mohamed, These Lifeless Things
• Shingai Njeri Kagunda, & This Is How To Stay Alive
• Premee Mohamed, The Annual Migration of Clouds

GRAPHIC NOVEL

• Molly Knox-Ostertag, The Girl from the Sea
• Hiromi Goto & Ann Xu, Shadow Life

SERIES

• C.L. Polk, The Kingston Cycle
• James SA Corey, The Expanse

The book critics responsible for this set of honors are –

• Adri, from Nerds of a Feather
• Arina, from Queen’s Asylum
• C., from The Middle Shelf
• Debbie, @Owlphabetical
• Fabienne, from Libri Draconis and Grimdark Magazine
• Imyril, from There’s Always Room For One More 
• Kris Vyas-Myall, from Cloaked Creators
• L.A. Young, from Aquavenatus and Fantasy-Faction
• Lisa, from Dear Geek Place
• Matt aka Womble, from Runalongtheshelves
• Robin Rose Graves, from The Book Wormhole
• Sia, from Every Book a Doorway
• Sun, from Twitter and Libri Draconis

[Thanks to Cora Buhlert for the story.]

The judging panel’s nominees for the Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards 2022 have been announced. The finalists will be revealed in July, and the winners announced in September.

FANTASY

• Lucy Holland, Sistersong
• Khadija Abdalla Bajaber, The House of Rust
• Tasha Suri, The Jasmine Throne
• C.L. Clark, The Unbroken
• Zoraida Córdova, The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina
• Shelley Parker-Chan, She Who Became the Sun
• A.C. Wise, Wendy, Darling
• Laure Eve, Blackheart Knights
• P. Djèlí Clark, A Master of Djinn

SCIENCE FICTION

• Tade Thompson, Far from the Light of Heaven
• Calvin Kalsuke, Several People are Typing
• Nicole Kornher-Stace, Firebreak
• Claire North, Notes from the Burning Age
• Catriona Silvey, Meet Me in Another Life
• Adrian Tchaikovsky, Shards of Earth
• Brent A. Harris, Alyx: An AI’s Guide to Love and Murder
• Benjamin Rosenbaum, The Unravelling
• Arkady Martine, A Desolation Called Peace

BLURRED BOUNDARIES

• Ryka Aoki, Light from Uncommon Stars
• K. Eason, Nightwatch on the Hinterlands
• Un-Su Kim, The Cabinet
• Monica Byrne, The Actual Star
• T.L. Huchu, The Library of the Dead
• E. Lily Yu, On Fragile Waves
• Rena Rossner, The Light of the Midnight Stars
• Rivers Solomon, Sorrowlands
• Marshall Ryan Maresca, The Velocity of Revolution

DEBUT

• Lorraine Wilson, This is Our Undoing
• Ava Reid, The Wolf and the Woodsman
• Elly Bangs, Unity
• Louise Carey, Inscape
• Xiran Jay Zhao, Iron Widow
• Genevieve Gornichec, The Witch’s Heart
• E.J. Beaton, The Councillor

YOUNG ADULT

• Anna-Marie McLemore, The Mirror Season
• Namina Forna, The Gilded Ones
• Lilliam Rivera, We Light Up the Sky
• Krystal Sutherland, House of Hollow

SHORT STORY

• Ellen Kushner, Immortal Coil
• Malka Older, The Badger’s Digestion, or The First First-Hand Description of Deneskan Beastcraft by an Aouwan Researcher
• A.C. Wise, The Amazing Exploding Women of the 20th Century
• Isabel J. Kim, Homecoming Is Just Another Word For The Sublimation Of The Self

NOVELLA

• Shingai Njeri Kagunda, & This Is How We Stay Alive
• Yaroslav Barsukov, Tower of Mud and Straw
• Aliette de Bodard, Fireheart Tiger
• Chris Willrich, A Manslaughter of Crows
• Becky Chambers, A Psalm for the Well-Built
• Premee Mohamed, These Lifeless Things
• Adrian Tchaikovsky, One Day All This Will Be Yours
• Alix E. Harrow, A Spindle Splintered
• Catherynne M. Valente, The Past is Red
• Premee Mohamed, The Annual Migration of Clouds
• Dilman Dila, The Future God of Love
• Aimee Ogden, Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters

GRAPHIC NOVEL

• Molly Knox-Ostertag, The Girl from the Sea
• Hiromi Goto & Ann Xu, Shadow Life
• Rachel Smythe, Lore Olympus
• Wendy Xu, Tidesong

SERIES

• Natasha Ngan, Girls of Paper and Fire
• C.L. Polk, The Kingston Cycle
• T. Frohock, Los Nefilim
• Malorie Blackman, Noughts and Crosses
• James SA Corey, The Expanse

The book critics responsible for this set of honors are –

• Adri, from Nerds of a Feather
• Arina, from Queen’s Asylum
• C., from The Middle Shelf
• Debbie, @Owlphabetical
• Fabienne, from Libri Draconis and Grimdark Magazine
• Imyril, from There’s Always Room For One More 
• Kris Vyas-Myall, from Cloaked Creators
• L.A. Young, from Aquavenatus and Fantasy-Faction
• Lisa, from Dear Geek Place
• Matt aka Womble, from Runalongtheshelves
• Robin Rose Graves, from The Book Wormhole
• Sia, from Every Book a Doorway
• Sun, from Twitter and Libri Draconis

The judging panel’s choices for the Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards 2021 have been announced at There’s Always Room for One More.

BEST SHORT FICTION

• You Perfect, Broken Thing by CL Clark

BEST NOVELLA

• The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

BEST SERIES

• The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

BEST DEBUT

• Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

BEST BLURRED BOUNDARY

• Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

BEST SCIENCE FICTION

• The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

BEST FANTASY

[Joint Winner]

• The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
• The Midnight Bargain by CL Polk

The book critics responsible for this set of honors are –

• Adri, from Nerds of a Feather.
• Anna, from There’s Always Room for One More.
• Arina, from The Bookwyrm’s Guide to the Galaxy and Queen’s Asylum
• Fabienne, from Libri Draconis and Grimdark Magazine.
• Jonny, from Parsecs & Parchment.
• Kris, from Cloaked Creators.
• L.A., from Aquavenatus.
• Lisa, from Dear Geek Place.
• Matt aka Womble, from Runalongtheshelves.
• Noria, from Chronicles of Noria.
• Sean, from Nerds of a Feather.
• Sun, from Twitter and Dreamwidth.

The judging panel’s choices for the 2021 Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards 2021 finalists have been announced at Parsecs and Parchment.

BEST SHORT FICTION

• You Perfect, Broken Thing by CL Clark
• Yellow and the Perception of Reality by Maureen F. McHugh

BEST NOVELLA

• The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
• Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark

BEST SERIES

• Dominion of The Fallen by Aliette de Bodard
• The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

BEST DEBUT

• Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
• Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
• Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

BEST BLURRED BOUNDARY

• The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart
• Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

BEST SCIENCE FICTION

• Goldilocks by Laura Lam
• The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

BEST FANTASY

• The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
• The Midnight Bargain by CL Polk

The book critics responsible for this set of honors are –

• Adri, from Nerds of a Feather.
• Anna, from There’s Always Room for One More.
• Arina, from The Bookwyrm’s Guide to the Galaxy and Queen’s Asylum
• Fabienne, from Libri Draconis and Grimdark Magazine.
• Jonny, from Parsecs & Parchment.
• Kris, from Cloaked Creators.
• L.A., from Aquavenatus.
• Lisa, from Dear Geek Place.
• Matt aka Womble, from Runalongtheshelves.
• Noria, from Chronicles of Noria.
• Sean, from Nerds of a Feather.
• Sun, from Twitter and Dreamwidth.

The Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards 2021 is another set of honors from a collection of book critics, in this case –

• Adri, from Nerds of a Feather.
• Anna, from There’s Always Room for One More.
• Arina, from The Bookwyrm’s Guide to the Galaxy and Queen’s Asylum
• Fabienne, from Libri Draconis and Grimdark Magazine.
• Jonny, from Parsecs & Parchment.
• Kris, from Cloaked Creators.
• L.A., from Aquavenatus.
• Lisa, from Dear Geek Place.
• Matt aka Womble, from Runalongtheshelves.
• Noria, from Chronicles of Noria.
• Sean, from Nerds of a Feather.
• Sun, from Twitter and Dreamwidth.

Here are The Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards: 2021 nominees.

BEST FANTASY

• THE ONCE AND FUTURE WITCHES by Alix E. Harrow
• THE MIDNIGHT BARGAIN by C. L. Polk
• COMET WEATHER by Liz Williams
• THE WOLF OF OREN-YARO by K. S. Villoso
• BLACK SUN by Rebecca Roanhorse
• THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA by T. J. Klune

BEST SCIENCE FICTION

• DEAL WITH THE DEVIL by Kit Rocha
• NOPHEK GLOSS by Essa Hansen
• THE VANISHED BIRDS by Simon Jiminez
• GOLDILOCKS by Laura Lam
• THE SPACE BETWEEN WORLDS by Micaiah Johnson
• REPO VIRTUAL by Corey J. White

BEST BLURRED BOUNDARIES

• THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER by Andrea Stewart
• INTERIOR CHINATOWN by Charles Yu
• THE CITY WE BECAME by N. K. Jemisin
• MEXICAN GOTHIC by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• HARROW THE NINTH by Tamsin Muir

BEST DEBUT

• A SONG OF WRAITHS AND RUIN by Roseanne A. Brown
• LEGENDBORN by Tracy Deonn
• THE SCAPEGRACERS by Hannah Abigail Clarke
• CEMETERY BOYS by Aiden Thomas
• RAYBEARER by Jordan Ifueko
• THE YEAR OF THE WITCHING by Alexis Henderson

BEST SERIES

• DOMINION OF THE FALEN by Alliette de Bodard
• ISLANDS OF BLOOD AND STORM by Kacen Callender
• SWEET BLACK WAVES by Kristina Perez
• THE POPPY WAR by R. F. Kuang
• DAEVABAD by S. A. Chakraborty
• WITCHES OF LYCHFORD by Paul Cornell

BEST NOVELLA

• UPRIGHT WOMEN WANTED by Sarah Gailey
• THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES by R. B. Lemberg
• THE EMPRESS OF SALT AND FORTUNE by Nghi Vo
• RIOT BABY by Tochi Onyebuchi
• SWEET HARMONY by Claire North
• RING SHOUT by P. Djeli Clark

BEST SHORT STORY

• TIGER LAWYER GETS IT RIGHT by Sarah Gailey (in Escape Pod: the Science Fiction Anthology)
• CONVERGENCE IN CHAOS ARCHITECTURE by Dare Segun Falowo (in Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction From Africa and the African Diaspora)
• IN KIND by Kayla Whaley (in Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite)
• VOLUMES by Laura Duerr (in Cast of Wonders 435)
• YOU PERFECT, BROKEN THING by C. L. Clark (in Uncanny Magazine 32)
• YELLOW AND THE PERCEPTION OF REALITY by Maureen F. McHugh (at tor.com)
• JUICE LIKE WOUNDS by Seanan McGuire (at tor.com)