The Baltimore Science Fiction Society (BSFS) released the names of the five finalists for its 2019 Compton Crook Award for best first novel in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres. The finalists are:
- Mike Chen – Here and Now and Then
- Alix Harrow – The Ten Thousand Doors of January
- Ada Hoffman – The Outside
- Arkady Martine – A Memory Called Empire
- Sarah Pinsker – A Song for a New Day
The award includes a framed award document and, for the novel’s author, a check for $1,000 and an invitation to be the Compton Crook Guest at Balticon, the BSFS annual convention, for this year and the following year.
The 2020 Balticon will
be held May 22-25, 2020 at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel.
Baltimore, Maryland. For more information visit www.balticon.org.
Members of BSFS selected the finalists by reading and rating debut novels
published between Nov 1, 2018 and October 31, 2019. The Compton Crook Committee
examined nearly 80 debut novels and BSFS members read and rated over 40 books.
The finalist round of reading and rating will close April 10th and
the winner will be notified on Sunday, April 12th and announced to
the public on Monday, April 13th.
The Baltimore Science Fiction Society (BSFS) has been giving out the Compton Crook Award for best first novel since 1983. Past winners have included Donald Kingsbury, Elizabeth Moon, Michael Flynn, Wen Spencer, Maria Snyder, Naomi Novik, Paolo Bacigalupi, Myke Cole, Charles Gannon, Ada Palmer, and Nicky Drayden. Last year’s winner was R.F. Kuang for The Poppy War.
BSFS named the award in memory of Towson State College Professor of Natural Sciences Compton Crook, who wrote under the name Stephen Tall, and who died in 1981. Professor Crook was active for many years in the Baltimore Science Fiction Society and was a staunch champion of new works in the fields eligible for the award.