> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.andrewliptak.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Here are the winners of the 2026 Locus Awards
- URL: https://www.andrewliptak.com/locus-award-winners-2026-harrow-okorafor-jones/
- Published: 2026-05-31T14:19:19.000Z
- Updated: 2026-05-31T14:19:19.000Z
- Description: Some of the best writing from 2025
- Author: Andrew Liptak
- Tags: News, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Books, Book List

*Locus Magazine* held its annual conference this weekend and announced this year's [winners](https://locusmag.com/2026/05/2026-locus-awards-winners/?ref=andrewliptak.com) of its awards. 

This year's crop of finalists was a good one, and something that I found interesting amongst the winners of the science fiction, fantasy, and horror novels is how each deals to some extent with the idea of narrative: *Death of the Author* is about an author contending with fame, *The Everlasting* is about someone creating a national narrative, and *The Buffalo Hunter Hunter* involves the discovery of a journal and the telling of its story.

Here‘s the full list (winners marked in **bold**): 

### 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

[Review: Nnedi Okorafor’s Death of the AuthorDeath of the Author is a fantastic novel about remaining authentic in the face of the demands fame and success brings![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Transfer OrbitAndrew Liptak![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/d7/2cd7d323-e6ed-4666-8092-07e380dbdf2a/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_2890-3322b57168b2acec8461c44fc152803507f8c517b5b5472a006741ddb7f9bc33.jpeg)](https://www.andrewliptak.com/nnedi-okorafor-death-of-the-author-africanfuturist-scifi-book-review/)

### 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

[Origin storiesAlix E. Harrow’s The Everlasting is a powerful book about a nation’s origin story and how such narratives can be manipulated![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Transfer OrbitAndrew Liptak![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/d7/2cd7d323-e6ed-4666-8092-07e380dbdf2a/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_7948-ea1fda3e4fbbfb33c6aa2ad715803b4e84c4c29d7d4017b21a61f9f9c9082943.jpeg)](https://www.andrewliptak.com/alix-harrow-the-everlasting-fantasy-time-travel-book-review/)

### 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