The 2023 Kitschies Award shortlists have been revealed. The prize, sponsored by Blackwell’s, is given to “the year’s most progressive, intelligent and entertaining fiction that contain elements of the speculative or fantastic.”

RED TENTACLE (NOVEL)

• Beyond the Burn Line by Paul J. McAuley
• The Coral Bones by E. J. Swift
• The Last Blade Priest by Will Wiles
• Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez, translated by Megan McDowell
• Twelve Percent Dread by Emily McGovern

GOLDEN TENTACLE (DEBUT)

• Brother Alive by Zain Khalid
• The Immortal King Rao by Vauhini Vara
• The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler
• When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
• Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

INKY TENTACLE (COVER ART)

• The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka — Cover by Peter Dyer
• Celestial by M. D. Lachlan — Cover by Rachel Lancaster & Patrick Knowles
• Poster Girl by Veronica Roth — Cover by Lydia Blagden
• Paper Crusade by Michelle Penn — Cover by Klara Smith
• Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth — Cover by Mark Abrams

The Red and Golden Tentacle categories were judged by Adam Roberts, Molly Tanzer, Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin.

The winner of the Red Tentacle receives £1,000 & a hand-crafted tentacle trophy; the Golden Tentacle winner gets £500 & a hand-crafted tentacle trophy; and the Inky Tentacle winner gets £500 & a hand-crafted tentacle trophy.

The awards ceremony will be held June 24 at the Bradford Literature Festival. 

[Via SFADB.]