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The Ignyte Awards Committee Is thrilled to announce the finalists for the 2023 Igynte Awards. The Awards seek to celebrate the vibrancy and diversity of the current and future landscape of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror by recognizing incredible feats in storytelling and outstanding efforts towards inclusivity within the genre. To that effect, the committee feels that these creators, creations, entities and perspectives from 2022 present the brightest lights in speculative fiction’s future. We encourage you to seek out the nominees unfamiliar to you on this ballot. Engage with their works of fiction or acts of community, and use those experiences to inform your vote. 

 

BEST NOVEL: ADULT

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

  • BABEL – R. F. Kuang (Harper Voyager)
  • KAIKEYI – Vaishnavi Patel (Redhook)
  • SIREN QUEEN – Nghi Vo (Tordotcom)
  • THE BLOOD TRIALS – N. E. Davenport (Harper Voyager)
  • THE SPEAR CUTS THROUGH WATER – Simon Jimenez (Del Rey) 

 

BEST NOVEL: YOUNG ADULT

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

  • BALLAD & DAGGER – Daniel José Older (Rick Riordan Presents)
  • BLOODMARKED – Tracy Deonn (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
  • BLOOD SCION – Deborah Falaye (HarperTeen)
  • LAKELORE – Anna-Marie McLemore (Feiwel & Friends)
  • THE KINDRED – Alechia Dow (Inkyard Press)

 

BEST IN MIDDLE GRADE

for works intended for the middle grade audience

  • RUBY FINLEY VS. THE INTERSTELLAR INVASION – K. Tempest Bradford (Farrar, Straus and Giroux BYR)
  • THE LAST MAPMAKER –  Christina Soontornvat (Candlewick Press)
  • THE MARVELLERS – Dhonielle Clayton (Henry Holt & Company)
  • WITCHLINGS – Claribel Ortega (Scholastic Press)
  • YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE, DAVID BRAVO! – Mark Oshiro (HarperCollins)

 

BEST NOVELLA

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

  • BISHOP’S OPENING – R.S.A. Garcia (Clarkesworld)
  • EMPIRE OF THE FEAST – Bendi Barrett (Neon Hemlock)
  • EVEN THOUGHT I KNEW THE END – C. L. Polk (Tordotcom)
  • HELPMEET – Naben Ruthnum (Undertow)
  • INTO THE RIVERLANDS – Nghi Vo (Tordotcom)

 

BEST NOVELETTE

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

  • IF YOU FIND YOURSELF SPEAKING TO GOD, ADDRESS GOD WITH THE INFORMAL YOU – John Chu ( Uncanny Magazine)
  • MEN, WOMEN, & CHAINSAWS – Stephen Graham Jones (Tor.com Originals)
  • MURDER BY PIXEL: CRIME AND RESPONSIBILITY IN THE DIGITAL DARKNESS – S. L. Huang (Clarkesworld)
  • THE EPIC OF QU-SHITTU – Tobi Ogundiran (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction)
  • TO CARVE HOME IN YOUR BONES – Aigner Loren Wilson (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction)

 

BEST SHORT STORY

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

  • GIRL OIL – Grace Fong (Tor.com)
  • THE LADY OF THE YELLOW PAINTED LIBRARY – Tobi Ogundiran (Tordotcom)
  • THE LOCKED POD – Malka Older (The Sunday Morning Transport)
  • THE VOICE OF A THOUSAND YEARS – Fawaz Al-Matrouk (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction)
  • WANDERLUST – LP Kindred (Anathema: Spec From the Margins)

 

BEST IN SPECULATIVE POETRY

  • IN STOCK IMAGES OF THE FUTURE, EVERYTHING IS WHITE – Terese Mason Pierre (Uncanny Magazine)
  • I SHALL NOT SURRENDER – Beatrice Winifred Iker (Anathema: Spec From the Margins)
  • THE RECIPE FOR TIME TRAVEL – Monique Collins (FIYAH)
  • WE SMOKE POLLUTION – Ai Jiang (STAR*LINE)
  • YEAR OF THE UNICORN KIDZ – Jason B. Crawford (Sundress Publications)

 

CRITICS AWARD

for reviews and analysis of the field of speculative literature

  • Aigner Loren Wilson
  • Bogi Takács
  • Charles Payseur
  • Christina Orlando
  • Nerds of a Feather

 

BEST FICTION PODCAST

for excellence in audio performance and production for speculative fiction

  • Beneath Ceaseless Skies
  • Black Women Are Scary
  • Good Morning Antioch
  • PodCastle
  • Pseudopod

 

BEST ARTIST

for contributions in visual speculative storytelling

  • Aimee Campbell
  • Terri Chieyni
  • N’kai DeLauter
  • Taj Francis
  • Raymond Sebastien

 

BEST COMICS TEAM

for comics, graphic novels, and sequential storytelling

  • Changa And The Jade Obelisk #2 – Matteo Illuminat, Loris Ravina, Massimiliano Veltri & Robert Jeffrey II (MVMedia)
  • Squire – Nadia Shammas & Sara Alfageeh (HarperCollins)
  • Where Black Stars Rise – Marie Enger & Nadia Shammas (Tor Nightfire)

 

BEST ANTHOLOGY/COLLECTED WORKS

  • Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century – Kim Fu (Tin House Books)
  • Night of the Living Rez – Morgan Talty (Tin House Books)
  • Reclaim the Stars – Zoraida Córdova, ed. (Wednesday Books)
  • The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer – David Pomerico and Kyle Dargan, eds. (Harper Voyager)
  • Voodoonauts Presents (Re)Living Mythology – Shingai Njeri Kagunda, Yvette Lisa Ndlovu, H.D. Hunter & LP Kindred (Android Press)

 

BEST CREATIVE NONFICTION

for works related to the field of speculative fiction

  • Indigeneity in SFF Gaming: The Ongoing Need for Respectful, Native-Centered Storytelling – Chesley Oxendine (SFWA)
  • Preliminary Observations From An Incomplete History of African SFF – Wole Talabi (SFWA)
  • The H Word: Horror in a Country that Is Not Afraid of Death – Dante Luiz (Nightmare Magazine)
  • The Line Between Science Fiction and Fantasy is Blurring and I’m Into It – Joy Sanchez Taylor (Apex Magazine)
  • When Black Boys Find Magic – LaDarrion Williams (FIYAH)

 

THE EMBER AWARD

for unsung contributions to genre

  • Afronauts Podcast
  • Alex Brown
  • Kate Elliott
  • Maurice Broaddus
  • Ruoxi Chen

 

THE COMMUNITY AWARD

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

  • Carl Brandon Society
  • Clarion West
  • dave ring
  • Flights of Foundry
  • Loyalty Bookstore’s Crowdcast

Voting is now open to the public here and closes June 30th, 2023 at 11:59PM EDT.

The short list is derived from 20 BIPOC+ voters made up of FIYAHCON Staff and previous award winners, of varying genders, sexualities, cultures, disabilities, and locations throughout the world. This year’s awards also sourced 12 judges ages 12-18 for the Middle Grade and Young Adult categories. The collected judges are referred to as the Ignyte Awards Committee. The Committee was not limited to selections authored or otherwise created by BIPOC. Public voting on the shortlist does not permit write-in nominations. Each year, we ask winners to be part of the subsequent year’s committee to ensure fresh perspectives and to help prevent repeated nominations of the same popular authors as recognized in many other genre awards. 

This year’s ceremony will be held October 2023. Official Date forthcoming.