Splatterpunk Award founders Wrath James White and Brian Keene announced the winners of the 2022 Splatterpunk Awards during Killercon on August 13.
The duo founded the Splatterpunk Awards in 2017 to honor superior achievement in the literary subgenres of Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror fiction for novel, novella, short story, collection, and anthology categories. They also created the J. F. Gonzalez Lifetime Achievement Award, to honor individuals who, like Gonzalez, have made a significant impact on the Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror field.
SPLATTERPUNK AWARDS
BEST NOVEL
The Night Stockers by Kristopher Triana and Ryan Harding (The Evil Cookie Publishing)
BEST NOVELLA
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca (Weirdpunk Books)
BEST SHORT STORY
“Next Best Baker” by Jeff Strand (from Baker’s Dozen, Uncomfortably Dark)
BEST COLLECTION
Beyond Reform by Jon Athan, Aron Beauregard, and Jasper Bark (Aron Beauregard Horror)
BEST ANTHOLOGY
[Tie]
Body Shocks edited by Ellen Datlow (Tachyon Publications)
Baker’s Dozen edited by Candace Nola (Uncomfortably Dark)
J. F. GONZALEZ LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Clive Barker
The previous J. F. Gonzalez Award recipients are: David J. Schow, David G. Barnett, Edward Lee, and John Skipp
SPLATTERPUNK HALL OF LEGENDS INDUCTEES
Richard Laymon
Jack Ketchum
J. F. Gonzalez
Charlee Jacob
John Pelan
Gak
David G. Barnett
This is the inaugural class of inductees. White and Keene have created the Splatterpunk Hall of Legends, a physical memorial that will be displayed at every KillerCon event, “featuring artifacts and ephemera related to the honorees, as well as a chronicle of their individual achievements, and an eternal flame burning for each. It is to serve as a place where genre fans both young and old can pay their respects and learn more about the creators who have shaped the field.”
Had some unexpected tears during the inaugural Splatterpunk Hall of Legends induction @KillerconAustin. Putting Dallas Mayr and J.F. Gonzalez back to back was perhaps a mistake. I did manage to pull it together and finish the ceremony. pic.twitter.com/r2yKd4lTIo
The 2022 Aurora Awards were announced by the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association on August 13 in a virtual ceremony during When Words Collide.
BEST NOVEL
Jade Legacy, Fonda Lee, Orbit
BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
Walking in Two Worlds, Wab Kinew, Penguin Teen
BEST NOVELETTE/NOVELLA
The Annual Migration of Clouds, Premee Mohamed, ECW Press
BEST SHORT STORY
“The Mathematics of Fairyland”, Phoebe Barton, Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 129
BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL/COMIC
It Never Rains, Kari Maaren, Webcomic
BEST POEM/SONG
“Cat People Café“, Carolyn Clink, Polar Starlight #3
BEST RELATED WORK
Alias Space and Other Stories, Kelly Robson, Subterranean Press
BEST VISUAL PRESENTATION
Dune (2021), directed by Denis Villeneuve, Legendary Entertainment
BEST ARTIST
Samantha Beiko, cover for Seasons Between Us: Tales of Identities and Memories
2022 CANADIAN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY ASSOCIATION HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
Julie E. Czerneda: Fantasy and Science Fiction author and editor, and winner of seven Aurora Awards. Since 1997, Julie E. Czerneda has turned her love and knowledge of biology into science fiction novels and short stories that have received international acclaim, multiple awards, and best-selling status.
Ed Greenwood: Fantasy author, editor, and creator of the Forgotten Realms game world. In 1979 he began writing articles about it for Dragon magazine and subsequently sold the rights to TSR. He has published over 35 novels for TSR and contributed to over 200 books and game products for other publishers.
Hayden Trenholm: Science Fiction writer and editor, winner of five Aurora Awards, and publisher (Bundoran Press). Over the years, Hayden has published 4 novels and more than 30 short stories in the field. Despite his work as an editor (17 novels and 5 anthologies for Bundoran Press plus numerous freelance assignments) he has continued to write and consistently adds to his short fiction tally.
The 2022 Sir Julius Vogel Awards winners have been announced. The awards recognize excellence in science fiction, fantasy, or horror works created by New Zealanders and New Zealand residents.
The 2022 Dragon Awards Ballot was published on August 11. Registered voters should expect to receive notice by email.
To be eligible for the 2022 Dragon Awards the book, comic, game, movie, must have been released between July 1, 2021, and the close of the eligibility period, June 30, 2022, which accounts for the mix of nominees from last year and this year.
Most categories have six nominees, but Best Science Fiction Novel and Best Media Tie-In have only five, and Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series has seven.
Recipients of the award will be announced on Sunday, September 4, 2022 at Dragon Con.
1. Best Science Fiction Novel
Leviathan Falls by James S.A. Corey
The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
Goliath: A Novel by Tochi Onyebuchi
You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo
Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky
2. Best Fantasy Novel (Including Paranormal)
Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham
Moon Witch, Spider King by Marlon James
Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
Book of Night by Holly Black
Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee
3. Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel
Gallant by V.E. Schwab
Akata Woman by Nnedi Okorafor
A Dark and Starless Forest by Sarah Hollowell
A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger
Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
4. Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel
The Shattered Skies by John Birmingham
A Call to Insurrection by David Weber, Timothy Zahn, Thomas Pope
Citadel by Marko Kloos
Backyard Starship by J.N. Chaney, Terry Maggert
Against All Odds by Jeffery H. Haskell
Resolute by Jack Campbell
5. Best Alternate History Novel
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
Invisible Sun by Charles Stross
The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley by Mercedes Lackey
When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill
The King’s Daughter by Vonda N. McIntyre
1637: Dr. Gribbleflotz and the Soul of Stoner by Kerryn Offord, Rick Boatright
6. Best Media Tie-In Novel
Star Wars: The Fallen Star by Claudia Gray
Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil by Timothy Zahn
Star Trek: Coda: Oblivion’s Gate by David Mack
Star Trek: Picard: Rogue Elements by John Jackson Miller
Halo: Divine Wind by Troy Denning
7. Best Horror Novel
The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig
The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling
My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones
Hide by Kiersten White
Revelatory by Daryl Gregory
8. Best Comic Book
Devil’s Reign by Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto
King Conan by Jason Aaron, Mahmud Asrar
Immortal X-Men by Kieron Gillen, Mark Brooks
Step by Bloody Step by Simon Spurrier, Matías Bergara
Twig by Skottie Young, Kyle Strahm
Nightwing by Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo
9. Best Graphic Novel
Geiger by Geoff Johns, Gary Frank
Bitter Root Volume 3 by David F. Walker, Chuck Brown, Sanford Greene, Sofie Dodgson
Dune: House Atreides Volume 2 by Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, Dev Pramanik
Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Phil Jimenez
Monstress, Volume 6: The Vow by Marjorie Liu, Sana Takeda
Saga by Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples
10. Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series
Stranger Things, Netflix
The Expanse, Amazon
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Paramount+
Wheel of Time, Amazon
For All Mankind, Apple TV+
Halo, Paramount+
The Boys, Amazon
11. Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Movie
Dune by Denis Villeneuve
Spider-Man: No Way Home by Jon Watts
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness by Sam Raimi
Ghostbusters: Afterlife by Jason Reitman
The Adam Project by Shawn Levy
Free Guy by Shawn Levy
12. Best Science Fiction or Fantasy PC / Console Game
The Washington (DC) Science Fiction Association (WSFA) has announced the finalists for the 2022 WSFA Small Press Award for Short Fiction:
“The Birdsong Fossil” by DK Mok, Multispecies Cities: Solarpunk Urban Futures, (April 2021) World Weaver Press ed. by Christoph Rupprecht, Deborah Cleland, Norie Tamura, Rajat Chaudhuri, and Sarena Ulibarri;
“Dress of Ash” by Y. M. Pang, Seasons Between Us: Tales of Identities and Memories, ed. by Susan Forest and Lucas K. Law, Laksa Media Groups Inc. (2021);
“Eight Mile and the City” by Steven Harper, When Worlds Collide, ed. by S. C. Butler & Joshua Palmatier, Zombies Need Brains, LLC (July 2021);
“Fisherman’s Soup” by Kristina Ten, Mermaids Monthly, (May 26, 2022) ed. by Julia Rios, Meg Frank, and Ashley Deng;
“From the Ashes Flew the Ladybug” by Alexandra Seidel, The Deadlands, Issue 7 (November 2021) ed. by E. Catherine Tobler;
“Laughter Among the Trees” by Suzan Palumbo, The Dark Magazine, Issue 69 (February 2021) ed. by Sean Wallace;
“Space Pirate Queen of the Ten Billion Utopias” by Elly Bangs, Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 138 (November 2021) ed. by John Joseph Adams;
“Standing Orders” by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, Derelicts, ed. by David B. Coe and Joshua Palmatier, Zombies Need Brains, LLC (July 2021);
“A Stranger Goes Ashore” by Adam R. Shannon, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue 328 (April 22, 2021) ed. by Scott H. Andrews; and
“A Universe All to Himself” by Ryan Priest, Metaphorosis, (April 2021) ed. by B. Morris Allen;
The award honors the efforts of small press publishers in providing a critical venue for short fiction in the area of speculative fiction, and showcases the best original short fiction published by small presses in the previous year (2021). An unusual feature of the selection process is that all voting is done with the identity of the author (and publisher) hidden so that the final choice is based solely on the quality of the story.
The winner is chosen by the members of the Washington Science Fiction
Association (www.wsfa.org) and will be presented at their annual convention, Capclave (www.capclave.org), held this year on September 30 – October 2, 2022 at the Rockville Hilton & Executive Meeting Center in Rockville, Maryland 20852
On Saturday, July 9, Bouchercon hosted the reveal of the new design for the Anthony Award—a design which will be used each year from now on as opposed to having each new Bouchercon design a specific award for their host year. The new design pays homage to Anthony Boucher, writer, critic, and namesake for the convention. I love the pipe and bowtie!
LINDISFARNE PRIZE FOR CRIME FICTION
The Lindisfarne Prize for Crime Fiction is a literary prize which recognizes outstanding writing in the genre of crime or thriller fiction. The 2022 shortlist has been announced.
Can’t Hide by Clare Sewell
Sharp Focus by Duncan Robb
Salted Earth by Katherine Graham
The Children of Gaia by Jacqueline Auld
The Taste of Iron by Ramona Slusarczyk
The winning entry will be awarded a prize of £2500 to support the completion of their work and funding towards a year’s membership of both the Society of Authors (SoA) and the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and smaller financial awards to shortlisted candidates.
Here is the citation that explains why he was up for this honor:
Rick Lai accepting the Munsey Award. Photo by Anne Marble.
Like many of us, RICK LAI has dedicated much of his adult life and disposable income to his passion for collecting pulp fiction (in all its permutations). Rick distinguished himself with the erudite and insightful scholarship that has made him respected among Wold Newtonians and purists alike. Rick’s speculative theories on character and continuity may have been inspired by Philip José Farmer, but were never bound by Farmer or anyone else’s parameters. Rick’s brilliant and provocative flights of fantasy informed, inspired, and even infuriated readers, but kept them coming back for the next article or book. Later in life, Rick made the natural progression from scholar to storyteller as he began creating works that supplement and expand upon his literary speculations. Among his many books are Chronology of Shadows: A Timeline of The Shadow’s Exploits, The Return of Judex, The Revised Complete Chronology of Bronze, Rick Lai’s Secret Histories: Daring Adventurers, Rick Lai’s Secret Histories: Criminal Masterminds, and Shadows of the Opera: Retribution in Blood. Rick has also presented at PulpFest and written many articles for The Pulp Collector, Pulp Vault, Echoes, Blood ‘n’ Thunder, and other periodicals. To learn more about Rick, read “PulpFest Profile — The Shadow of Rick Lai.”
Named for Frank A. Munsey, publisher of the first pulp magazine, the award recognizes someone who has contributed to the betterment of the pulp community through disseminating knowledge, publishing, or other efforts to preserve and to foster interest in pulp magazines.
The One Ring RPG, Second Edition, Free League Publishing Artists: Martin Grip, Alvaro Tapia, Jan Pospíšil, Niklas Brandt, Henrik Rosenborg, Antonio De Luca, Federica Costantini, Luca Sotgiu, Daniele Sorrentino, Melissa Spandri, Giuditta Betti
Silver
Wanderhome, Possum Creek Games Artist: Ruby Lavin, Letty Wilson, Jennie Lindberg, Conner Fawcett, Danny Kyobe, Jo Thierolf, L Henderson, Dominique Ramsey, Nadhir Nor, Geneva Bowers, Cam Adjodha, Juho Choi, Núria Tamarit, Kimberli Johnson, and Sabii Borno
Questlings: RPG, Letiman Games, LLC Authors: Banana Chan, Tim Devine
BEST FREE GAME / PRODUCT
Gold
The 2021 Level 1 Anthology, 9th Level Games Authors: Adam Bell, Whitney Delaglio, Michael Faulk, Zane Graves, Josh Hittie, Tim Hutchings, N. Maxwell Lander, Mara Li, Tim McCracken, Nat Mesnard, Dawn Metcalf, RK Payne, Lysa Penrose, Helena Real, Jack Rosetree, Starshine Scribbles, Joel Salda, Alexi Sargeant, Scott Uhls, and Max V.
Haunted West, Darker Hue Studios Authors: Chris Spivey, Angel Adeyoha, Evan Perlman, Daniel Kwan, Alexandra Jackson, Adam Alexander, Alex Mayo, Neall Raemonn Price, Misha Bushyager, Cameron Hays, Rose Bailey, Kenneth Hite, Cori Redford, Mark Morrison, Dennis Detwiller
Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall, Wet Ink Games, Game and a Curry Authors: Banana Chan, Sen-Foong Lim, Elton Lau, James Mendez Hodes, Aaron Catano-Saez, Ross Cheung, Kienna Shaw, Daniel Kwan, Jonaya Kemper, Sammi Lai
Root: The RPG: Travelers and Outsiders, Magpie Games Authors: Brendan Conway, Sarah Doom, Marissa Kelly, Danielle Lauzon, Simon Moody, Sarah “Sam” Saltiel, Mark Diaz Truman, Camdon Wright, Miguel Ángel Espinoza
BEST WRITING
Gold
Dune – Adventures in the Imperium: Core Rulebook , Modiphius Entertainment Authors: Richard August, Simon Berman, Banana Chan, Nathan Dowdell, Jason Durall, Khaldoun Khelil, Helena Nash, Andrew Peregrine, Hilary Sklar, Chris Spivey, Mari Tokuda, Rachel J Wilkinson, Ben Woerner
The winners of the 2022 Shamus Awards, for private eye novels and short stories first published in the United States in 2021, were announced August 4 by the Private Eye Writers of America.
BEST PI HARDCOVER
Family Business by S. J. Rozan (Pegasus)
BEST ORIGINAL PI PAPERBACK
Every City Is Every Other City by John McFetridge (ECW Press)
BEST FIRST PI NOVEL
Lost Little Girl by Gregory Stout (Level Best Books)