The British Science Fiction Association today announced the shortlist of nominees for the BSFA Awards, for work published in 2021.

The awards are voted on by members of the British Science Fiction Association and by the members of the year’s Eastercon, the national science fiction convention, held since 1955. Voting opens for BSFA members on Monday, February 28 at bsfa.co.uk

 This year’s Eastercon, Reclamation, will be held April 15-19, and is where the winners will be announced. The BSFA Awards ceremony will be free to attend by all members of Eastercon and nominees: details will be released closer to the date.

Members of the BSFA will receive a PDF with excerpts of the nominated works via an emailed newsletter in advance of the convention, and a physical copy of the Awards Booklet at a later date.

The BSFA Awards have been presented annually since 1970. This year marks the launch of a new category, the Best Book for Younger Readers.

 BEST BOOK FOR YOUNGER READERS

• The Raven Heir by Stephanie Burgis, Bloomsbury Children’s Books
• A Snake Falls to Earth, by Darcie Little Badger, Levine Querido
• Iron Widow, by Xiran Jay Zhao, Rock the Boat
• Redemptor, by Jordan Ifueko, Hot Key Books
• The Empty Orchestra, by Elizabeth Priest, Luna Press Publishing
• Utterly Dark and the Face of the Deep by Philip Reeve, David Fickling Books

BEST NOVEL

• A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine, Tor
• Blackthorn Winter by Liz Williams, NewCon Press
• Purgatory Mount by Adam Roberts, Gollancz
• Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Tor
• Skyward Inn by Aliya Whiteley, Solaris
• Green Man’s Challenge by Juliet E. McKenna, Wizard’s Tower Press

BEST SHORTER FICTION

• ‘Fireheart Tiger’ by Aliette de Bodard, Tor.com
• ‘Light Chaser’ by Peter F. Hamilton, Gareth L. Powell, Tor.com
• ‘O2 Arena’ by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, Galaxy Edge Magazine
• ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ by Fiona Moore, Abyss & Apex

BEST NON-FICTION

• Cyberpunk Culture and Psychology: Seeing Through the Mirrorshades, by Anna McFarlane, Routledge
• Diverse Futures: Science Fiction and Authors of Color, by Joy Sanchez-Taylor, Ohio State Press
• The Anthropocene Unconscious: Climate Catastrophe Culture, by Mark Bould, Verso Books
• Worlds Apart: Worldbuilding in Fantasy and Science Fiction, ed. Francesca T. Barbini, Luna Publishing
• Octothorpe Podcast, by John Coxon, Alison Scott, and Liz Batty, Octothorpe
• Science Fiction and the Pathways out of the COVID Crisis, by Val Nolan, The Polyphony

BEST ARTWORK

• Cover of Eugen Bacon’s Danged Black Thing, by Peter Lo / Kara Walker, Transit Lounge Publishing
• Cover of Eugen Bacon’s Saving Shadows, by Elena Betti, NewCon Press
• Cover of Suyi Davies Okungbowa’s Son of the Storm, by Dan dos Santos / Lauren Panepinto, Orbit
• Cover of Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (ed.)’s The Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction, by Maria Spada
• Glasgow Green Woman by Iain Clark, Glasgow2024