BEST NOVEL: ADULT

for novel-length work (40k words) Works intended for an Adult audience

• WINNER A MASTER OF DJINN – P. Djèlí Clark (Tordotcom)
• BLACK WATER SISTER – Zen Cho (Ace Books)
• LIGHT FROM UNCOMMON STARS – Ryka Aoki (Tor Books)
• SORROWLAND – Rivers Solomon (MCD)
• THE UNBROKEN – C. L. Clark (Orbit) 

BEST NOVEL: YOUNG ADULT

for novel-length (40k+ words) works intended for the young adult audience

• WINNER A SNAKE FALLS TO EARTH – Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido)
• REDEMPTOR – Jordan Ifueko (Harry N. Abrams)
• THE WILD ONES – Nafiza Azad (Margaret K. McElderry Books)
• THIS POISON HEART – Kalynn Bayron (Bloomsbury YA)
• WHITE SMOKE – Tiffany D. Jackson (Katherine Tegen Books)

BEST IN MIDDLE GRADE

for works intended for the middle grade audience

• AMARI AND THE NIGHT BROTHERS – B.B. Alston (Balzer & Bray/Harperteen)
• JOSEPHINE AGAINST THE SEA –  Shakirah Bourne (Scholastic Inc.)
• WINNER ROOT MAGIC – Eden Royce (Walden Pond Press)
• THE INSIDERS – Mark Oshiro (HarperCollins)
• TRISTAN STRONG KEEPS PUNCHING – Kwame Mbalia (Rick Riordan Presents)

BEST NOVELLA

for speculative works ranging from 17,500-39,999 words

• WINNER AND THIS IS HOW TO STAY ALIVE – Shingai Njeri Kagunda (Neon Hemlock)
• FIREHEART TIGER – Aliette de Bodard (Tordotcom)
• FLOWERS FOR THE SEA – Zin E. Rocklyn (Tordotcom)
• NOTHING BUT BLACKENED TEETH – Cassandra Khaw (Tor Nightfire)
• PHILIA, EROS, STORGE, AGÁPE, PRAGMA – R.S.A. Garcia (Clarkesworld)

BEST NOVELETTE

for speculative works ranging from 7,500-17,499 words

• COLORS OF THE IMMORTAL PALETTE – Caroline M. Yoachim ( Uncanny)
• THE BADGER’S DIGESTION; OR THE FIRST FIRST-HAND DESCRIPTION… OF DENESHAN BEASTCRAFT BY AN AOUWAN RESEARCHER – Malka Older (Constelacion Magazine)
• THE EQUATIONS OF THE DEAD – An Owomyela (Lightspeed Magazine)
• WINNER THE FUTURE LIBRARY – Peng Shepherd (Tordotcom)
• THE MUSIC OF THE SIPHOROPHENES – CL Polk (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction)

BEST SHORT STORY

for speculative works ranging from 2,000-7,499 words

• CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE – Nadia Shammas (Strange Horizons)
• DELETE YOUR FIRST MEMORY FOR FREE – Kel Coleman (FIYAH Literary Magazine)
• WINNER IF THE MARTIANS HAVE MAGIC – P. Djèlí Clark (Uncanny Magazine)
• THE FIFTH HORSEMAN – Martin Cahill (Fireside Fiction)
• THE TALE OF JAJA AND CANTI – Tobi Ogundiran (Lightspeed)

BEST IN SPECULATIVE POETRY

• APPEAL TO THE DOPPELGANGER – Terese Mason Pierre (Fantasy Magazine)
• DRAGONSLAYER – Priya Chand (Fantasy Magazine)
• KUALA LUMPUR URBAN LEGENDS – Jack Kin Lim (Strange Horizons)
• NONE OF THE STAR TREK SHIPS ARE NAMED AFTER CONFEDERATE GENERALS – Arden Eli Hill (Strange Horizons)
• WINNER POST-MASSACRE PSYCHE EVAL – Abu Bakr Sadiq (Uncanny Magazine)

CRITICS AWARD

for reviews and analysis of the field of speculative literature

• Akilah White
• Arley Sorg
• Thistle & Verse
• WINNER Alex Brown
• Rich in Color

BEST FICTION PODCAST

for excellence in audio performance and production for speculative fiction

• Escape Pod
• WINNER Khōréō Magazine
• Gallery of Curiosities
• Podcastle
• Pseudopod

BEST ARTIST

for contributions in visual speculative storytelling

• Tommy Arnold
• Paul Kellam
• WINNER Morgan Madeline
• John Picacio
• Raymond Sebastien

BEST COMICS TEAM

for comics, graphic novels, and sequential storytelling

• ABBOTT: 1973 – Saladin Ahmed & Sami Kivelä  (Boom! Studios)
• COUNT – Ibrahim Moustafa, Brad Simpson, & Hassan Otsame-Elhaou (Humanoids, Inc.)
• WINNER NUBIA: REAL ONE – L. L. McKinney & Robyn Smith (DC Comics)
• SHADOW LIFE – Hiromi Goto & Ann Xu (First Second)
• SQUAD – Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Lisa Sterle (Green Willow Books)

BEST ANTHOLOGY/COLLECTED WORKS

• MIDNIGHT DOORWAYS: FABLES FROM PAKISTAN – Usman T. Malik (Kitab (Pvt) Ltd.)
• NEVER HAVE I EVER – Isabel Yap (Small Beer Press)
• RECONSTRUCTION: STORIES – Alaya Dawn Johnson (Small Beer Press)
• SPECULATIVE FICTION FOR DREAMERS: A LATINX ANTHOLOGY – Alex Hernandez, Matthew David Goodwin, & Sarah Rafael García, eds. (Mad Creek Books)
• WINNER WE’RE HERE: THE BEST QUEER SPECULATIVE FICTION 2020 – C.L. Clark, Charles Payseur, eds. (Neon Hemlock)

BEST CREATIVE NONFICTION

for works related to the field of speculative fiction

• ROUND TABLE PALESTINIAN PERSPECTIVES – Fargo Tbakhi, N.A. Mansour, Rasha Abdulhadi (Strange Horizons)
• WINNER WE ARE THE MOUNTAIN: A LOOK AT THE INACTIVE PROTAGONIST – Vida Cruz (Fantasy Magazine)
• WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED – Arley Sorg (Uncanny Magazine)
• THE NECESSITY OF SLAVERY STORIES – Troy L. Wiggins (Uncanny Magazine)
• WHERE WILL YOU PLACE US WHEN WE ARE DEAD? – Monte Lin (Strange Horizons)

THE EMBER AWARD

for unsung contributions to genre

• Maurice Broaddus
• WINNER Tananarive Due
• Malinda Lo
• Julia Rios
• Sheree Renée Thomas

THE COMMUNITY AWARD

for Outstanding Efforts in Service of Inclusion and Equitable Practice in Genre

• Anathema: Spec from the Margins – Michael Matheson, Andrew Wilmot, Chinelo Onwualu
• dave ring
• Khōréō Magazine – Aleksandra Hill, Founder & Editor-in-Chief and Team
• WINNER The Submission Grinder – David Steffen
• We Need Diverse Books 

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This year’s ceremony was live broadcast on September 17th and was hosted by Brent Lambert.