The seven finalists for the 2012 Philip K. Dick Award are:

• Blueprints of the Afterlife by Ryan Boudinot (Black Cat)
• Harmony by Keith Brooke (Solaris)
• Helix Wars by Eric Brown (Solaris)
• The Not Yet by Moira Crone (UNO Press)
• Fountains of Age by Nancy Kress (Small Beer Press)
• Lovestar by Andri Snær Magnason (Seven Stories Press)
• Lost Everything by Brian Francis Slattery (Tor Books)

The conceit of dating an award by the eligibility year is always confusing, and in this case the Dick Award’s publicists are among the confused. The eligibility year is 2012 and the official press release has been given a consistent headline, “2012 Philip K. Dick Award Nominees Announced”. However, visitors to the award website find the release about last year’s winner was captioned “2012 Philip K. Dick Award Winner Announced”, leaving the impression that someone has put the cart before the horse.  

The annual award goes to a distinguished science fiction paperback original published in the United States. It is sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society and the Philip K. Dick Trust

The 2012 judges are Bruce Bethke, Sydney Duncan, Daryl Gregory, Bridget McKenna, and Paul Witcover (chair).

This year’s winner will be announced on March 29 at Norwescon in SeaTac, Washington.