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# Here are the finalists for the 2026 Locus Awards
- URL: https://www.andrewliptak.com/2026-locus-awards-science-fiction-fantasy-horror-books-finalists/
- Published: 2026-04-14T15:33:17.000Z
- Updated: 2026-04-14T15:33:17.000Z
- Description: Some of the best SF/F from 2025
- Author: Andrew Liptak
- Tags: News, Awards, Science Fiction, Book List, Books, Fantasy, Horror

*Locus Magazine*, the industry publication for the speculative fiction literary community has issued its finalists lists for 2026\. Each year, it issues a poll for its subscribers and fans, which it tabulates for its award, which is held up alongside the Hugo and Nebula Awards in significance. I've found that it's a good survey of the past year's storytelling. Here are [last year's winners](https://locusmag.com/2025/06/2025-locus-awards-winners/?ref=andrewliptak.com).

As in years past, it's an excellent roundup: there are a whole bunch of books that I read and really enjoyed, and I'm eager to see which ones end up winning. 

This year's awards are being held in partnership with the [Bay Area Book Festival](https://www.baybookfest.org/?ref=andrewliptak.com), which is themed “Writing the Future.” This year's awards will be announced during this year's Locus Awards Ceremony, which will be held on May 30, during this year's Locus Awards Ceremony, which will be held at Hotel Shattuck in Berkeley Hall California. You can get tickets for the event [here](https://locusmag.com/2026-locus-awards-weekend/?ref=andrewliptak.com). 

Here's the full list of nominees:

### Science fiction novels

- *The Folded Sky* by Elizabeth Bear
- *Picks & Shovels* by Cory Doctorow
- *Notes from a Regicide* by Isaac Fellman
- *When We Were Real* by Daryl Gregory
- *All That We See or Seem* by Ken Liu
- *Where the Axe Is Buried* by Ray Nayler
- *Slow Gods* by Claire North
- *Death of the Author* by Nnedi Okorafor
- *The Shattering Peace* by John Scalzi
- *Shroud* by Adrian Tchaikovsky

### Fantasy novels

- *The Devils* by Joe Abercrombie
- *The Tomb of Dragons* by Katherine Addison
- *Lessons in Magic and Disaster* by Charlie Jane Anders
- *A Drop of Corruption* by Robert Jackson Bennett
- *The Everlasting* by Alix E. Harrow
- *The Raven Scholar* by Antonia Hodgson
- *Hemlock & Silver* by T. Kingfisher
- *Katabasis* by R.F. Kuang
- *The Incandescent* by Emily Tesh
- *Queen Demon* by Martha Wells

### Horror novels

- *The Possession of Alba Díaz* by Isabel Cañas
- *Spread Me* by Sarah Gailey
- *King Sorrow* by Joe Hill
- *The Buffalo Hunter Hunter* by Stephen Graham Jones
- *The Library at Hellebore* by Cassandra Khaw
- *Never Flinch* by Stephen King
- *The Bewitching* by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- *It Was Her House First* by Cherie Priest
- *The Crimson Road* by A.G. Slatter
- *The Staircase in the Woods* by Chuck Wendig

### Young Adult novels

- *The Singular Life of Aria Patel* by Samira Ahmed
- *Make Me a Monster* by Kalynn Bayron
- *Costumes for Time Travelers* by A.R. Capetta
- *The Executioners Three* by Susan Dennard
- *The Underwood Tapes* by Amanda DeWitt
- *Among Ghosts* by Rachel Hartman
- *Sky on Fire* by E.K. Johnston
- *Starstrike* by Yoon Ha Lee
- *I Am Not Jessica Chen* by Ann Liang
- *They Bloom at Night* by Trang Thanh Tran

### First novels

- *A Song of Legends Lost* by M.H. Ayinde
- *Red Rabbit Ghost* by Jen Julian
- *When Devils Sing* by Xan Kaur
- *Awake in the Floating City* by Susanna Kwan
- *Luminous* by Silvia Park
- *Archive of Unknown Universes* by Ruben Reyes Jr.
- *North Sun, Or The Voyage of the Whaleship Esther* by Ethan Rutherford
- *Blob* by Maggie Su
- *Song of Spores* by Bogi Takács
- *Sour Cherry* by Natalia Theodoridou

### Translated novel

- *On the Calculation of Volume III* by Solvej Balle, translated by Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer Russell
- *The Unworthy* by Agustina Bazterrica, translated by Sarah Moses
- *The Midnight Shift* by Cheon Seon-Ran, translated by Gene Png
- *Red Sword* by Bora Chung, translated by Anton Hur
- *The Midnight Timetable* by Bora Chung, translated by Anton Hur
- *Ice* by Jacek Dukaj, translated by Ursula Phillips
- *Blood for the Undying Throne* by Sung-il Kim, translated by Anton Hur
- *Vanishing World* by Sayaka Murata, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori
- *Dengue Boy* by Michel Nieva, translated by Rahul Bery
- *The Wax Child* by Olga Ravn, translated by Martin Aitken

### Novellas

- *The Orb of Cairado* by Katherine Addison
- *The River Has Roots* by Amal El-Mohtar
- *What Stalks the Deep* by T. Kingfisher
- *Cinder House* by Freya Marske
- *Automatic Noodle* by Annalee Newitz
- *Making History* by K.J. Parker
- *Psychopomp & Circumstance* by Eden Royce
- *Lives of Bitter Rain* by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- *A Mouthful of Dust* by Nghi Vo
- *Murder by Memory* by Olivia Waite

### Novelettes

- “[The Witch and the Wyrm](https://reactormag.com/the-witch-and-the-wyrm-elizabeth-bear/?ref=andrewliptak.com)" by Elizabeth Bear (*Reactor* 2/26/25)
- “[Barnacle](https://reactormag.com/barnacle-kate-elliott/?ref=andrewliptak.com)" by Kate Elliott (*Reactor* 11/5/25)
- “[Uncertain Sons](https://undertowpublications.com/shop/uncertain-sons?ref=andrewliptak.com)" by Thomas Ha (Uncertain Sons)
- “[We Begin Where Infinity Ends](https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/ihezue%5F02%5F25/?ref=andrewliptak.com)" by Somto Ihezue (*Clarkesworld* 2/25)
- “The Tin Man’s Ghost" by Ray Nayler (*Asimov’s* 5-6/25)
- “[The Millay Illusion](https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/the-millay-illusion/?ref=andrewliptak.com)" by Sarah Pinsker (*Uncanny* 11-12/25)
- “[When He Calls Your Name](https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/when-he-calls-your-name/?ref=andrewliptak.com)" by Catherynne M. Valente (*Uncanny* 7-8/25)
- “[The Twenty-One Second God](https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/the-twenty-one-second-god/?ref=andrewliptak.com)" by Peter Watts (*Lightspeed* 6/25)
- “[Wolf Moon, Antler Moon](https://reactormag.com/wolf-moon-antler-moon-a-c-wise/?ref=andrewliptak.com)" by A.C. Wise (*Reactor* 1/13/25)
- “[Phantom View](https://reactormag.com/phantom-view-john-wiswell/?ref=andrewliptak.com)" by John Wiswell (*Reactor* 10/22/25)

### Short Stories

- “[Secret Night](https://bookshop.org/a/18487/9781668080009?ref=andrewliptak.com)" by Nathan Ballingrud (Night & Day)
- “[In the Halls of the Makeshift King](https://asimovs.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/In-the-Halls-of-the-Makeshift-King-Tobias-S-Buckell.pdf?ref=andrewliptak.com)" by Tobias S. Buckell (*Asimov’s* 7-8/25)
- “[In My Country](https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/ha%5F04%5F25/?ref=andrewliptak.com)" by Thomas Ha (*Clarkesworld* 4/25)
- “[Wire Mother](https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/kim%5F10%5F25/?ref=andrewliptak.com)" by Isabel J. Kim (*Clarkesworld* 10/25)
- “[The Shape of Stones](https://reactormag.com/the-shape-of-stones-hildur-knutsdottir/?ref=andrewliptak.com)" by Hildur Knútsdóttir (*Reactor* 3/12/25)
- “[Courtney Lovecraft’s Book of the Dead](https://www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/courtney-lovecrafts-book-of-the-dead/?ref=andrewliptak.com)" by Sam J. Miller (*Nightmare* 10/25)
- “[Because I Held His Name Like a Key](https://strangehorizons.com/wordpress/fiction/because-i-held-his-name-like-a-key/?ref=andrewliptak.com)" by Aimee Ogden (*Strange Horizons* 6/16/25)
- “[Landline](https://reactormag.com/landline-kelly-robson/?ref=andrewliptak.com)" by Kelly Robson (*Reactor* 3/5/25)
- “[Missing Helen](https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/tashiro%5F07%5F25/?ref=andrewliptak.com)" by Tia Tashiro (*Clarkesworld* 7/25)
- “[Woolly](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=B0F9PHFYWX&tag=locusmag06-20&ref=andrewliptak.com)" by Carrie Vaughn (*Asimov’s* 5-6/25)

### Anthology

- *The Black Fantastic: 20 Afrofuturist Stories* edited by andré m. carrington
- *Night & Day* edited by Ellen Datlow
- *Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology* edited by Julie C. Day, Carina Bissett and Craig Laurance Gidney
- *The End of the World As We Know It* edited by Christopher Golden & Brian Keene
- *We Will Rise Again* edited by Karen Lord, Annalee Newitz, and Malka Older
- *Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity* edited by Lee Mandelo
- *The Best Weird Fiction of the Year: Volume 1* edited by Michael Kelly
- *Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction: Volume Three* edited by Stephen Kotowych
- *The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2025* edited by Nnedi Okorafor and John Joseph Adams
- *As the Earth Dreams: Black Canadian Speculative Stories* edited by Terese Mason Pierre

### Collection

- *Call and Response* by Christopher Caldwell
- *Moon Songs* by Carol Emshwiller
- *Letters from an Imaginary Country* by Theodora Goss
- *Uncertain Sons and Other Stories* by Thomas Ha
- *Bright Dead Star* by Caitlín R. Kiernan
- *The Essential Patricia A. McKillip* by Patricia A. McKillip
- *One Message Remains* by Premee Mohamed
- *The Revelation Space Collection Volumes 1 & 2* by Alastair Reynolds
- *Crows and Silences* by Lucius Shepard
- *A Catalog of Storms* by Fran Wilde

### Magazine

- *Asimov’s*
- *Beneath Ceaseless Skies*
- *Clarkesworld*
- *F&SF*
- *Fiyah*
- *khōréō*
- *Lightspeed*
- *Reactor*
- *Strange Horizons*
- *Uncanny Magazine*

### Publisher

- Angry Robot
- DAW
- Del Rey
- Gollancz
- Neon Hemlock
- Orbit
- Pan Macmillan/Tor UK
- Saga
- Solaris
- Tachyon

*Tor Publishing Group & Subterranean Press have recused themselves from this category. Tor UK is an imprint of Pan Macmillan, not TPG.*

### Editor

- John Joseph Adams
- Scott H. Andrews
- Neil Clarke
- Ellen Datlow
- dave ring
- Jonathan Strahan
- Bogi Takács
- Wendy N. Wagner
- Fran Wilde & Julian Yap
- Sheila Williams

### Artist

- Brom
- Rovina Cai
- Galen Dara
- Bob Eggleton
- Kathleen Jennings
- Alan Lee
- John Picacio
- Shaun Tan
- Charles Vess
- Michael Whelan

### Illustrated and Art books

- *The Invisible Parade* by Leigh Bardugo & John Picacio
- *Frank Frazetta: Fine Lines* edited by Sara Frazetta and Arnie Fenner, art by Frank Frazetta
- *Starling House* by Alix E. Harrow, art by Rovina Cai
- *Designing Terry Pratchett’s Discworld* by Paul Kidby
- *Carmilla* by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, art by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell
- *The Space Cat* by Nnedi Okorafor, art by Tana Ford
- *Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene Volumes 1-3* by adapted by Rebecca K. Reynolds, art by Justin Gerard
- *Sunset at Zero Point* / *Swedish Machines* by Simon Stålenhag
- *Faraway Dreaming* by Ulla Thynell
- *Icons of the Fantastic: Illustrations of Imaginative Literature from the Korshak Collection* edited by Amanda T. Zehnder and David M. Brinley

### Nonfiction 

- *The Outspoken and the Incendiary* by Terry Bisson
- *Enshittification* by Cory Doctorow
- *Colourfields* by Paul Kincaid
- *Spring, Summer, Asteroid, Bird: The Art of Eastern Storytelling* by Henry Lien
- *Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler* by Susana M. Morris
- *Black Apocalypse: Afrofuturism at the End of the World* by Tavia Nyong’o
- *Racebook: A Personal History of the Internet* by Tochi Onyebuchi
- *Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Literature* edited by Becky Siegel Spratford
- *Space Ships! Ray Guns! Martian Octopods!: Interviews with Science Fiction Legends* edited by Richard Wolinsky
- *Octavia E. Butler: H is for Horse* by Chi-ming Yang

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