The Nebula Awards are in our rearview, and next up are the Locus Awards, leading us into Hugo Season!
The Locus Weekend will be held in Seattle, Washington, on June 28-30, 2019.
The Locus Awards have lots of categories, so I am focused on the short fiction this week and in a few weeks weâll discuss the novels.
Click the title links below to read our reviews and on the author links to visit our page for the author. Iâve included the cover art for some of our favorites.
Who do you think will win the Locus Award in these categories?
Answer below for a chance to win a book from our stacks.
BEST NOVELLA
- The Black Godâs Drums by P. DjèlĂ Clark, Tor.com
- The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard, Subterranean
- Umbernight by Carolyn Ives Gilman, Clarkesworld
- Time Was by Ian McDonald, Tor.com
- Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach by Kelly Robson, Tor.com
- The Freeze-Frame Revolution by Peter Watts, Tachyon
- Artificial Condition by Martha Wells, Tor.com
- Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells, Tor.com
- The Descent of Monsters by JY Yang, Tor.com
- Black Helicopters by CaitlĂn R. Kiernan, Tor.com
BEST NOVELETTE
- âNo Flight Without the Shatterâ by Brooke Bolander, Tor.com
- The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander, Tor.com
- âThe Last Banquet of Temporal Confectionsâ by Tina Connolly, Tor.com
- âNine Last Days on Planet Earthâ by Daryl Gregory, Tor.com
- âQuality Timeâ by Ken Liu, Robots vs Fairies
- âHow to Swallow the Moonâ by Isabel Yap, Uncanny
- âQueen Lilyâ by Theodora Goss, Lightspeed
- âOkay, Gloryâ by Elizabeth Bear, Twelve Tomorrows
- âAn Agent of Utopiaâ by Andy Duncan, An Agent of Utopia
- âThe Donner Partyâ by Dale Bailey, F&SF
BEST SHORT STORY
- âThe Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washingtonâ by P. DjèlĂ Clark, Fireside
- âSTETâ by Sarah Gailey, Fireside
- âA Witchâs Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasiesâ by Alix E. Harrow, Apex
- âCuisine des MĂŠmoiresâ by N.K. Jemisin, How Long âtil Black Future Month?
- âThe Storytellerâs Replacementâ by N.K. Jemisin, How Long âtil Black Future Month?
- âThe Court Magicianâ by Sarah Pinsker, Lightspeed
- âThe Bookcase Expeditionâ by Jeffrey Ford, Robots vs Fairies
- âFirelightâ by Ursula K. Le Guin, Paris Review
- âMother of Inventionâ by Nnedi Okorafor, Future Tense
- âThe Starship and the Temple Catâ by Yoon Ha Lee, Beneath Ceaseless Skies
I think maybe JY Yang’s “The Descent of Monsters” will win for best novella!
Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells for Best Novella.
Okay, Glory by Elizabeth Bear for Best Novelette.
Firelight by Ursula K. Le Guin for Best Short Story.
Short Story: The Storytellerâs Replacement by N.K. Jemisin
Virtually all of these seem like good contenders, but I’m most drawn to say “The Descent of Monsters” and “The Only Harmless Great Thing”.
As the person in charge of this site’s short fiction review column, SHORTS, I’m happy to say I’ve read most of the nominees (6 of the novellas, 5 of the novelettes, and all but 2 of the short stories). There are some really excellent nominees – it’s hard to pick just one favorite in each category! But personally my favorites were:
Novella: “The Black God’s Drums” (honorable mentions to “Tea Master,” “Lucky Peach” and both Wells novellas)
Novelette: Tossup between “Queen Lily” and “Last Banquet” (honorable mention to “Nine Last Days on Planet Earth”).
Short story: “Secret Lives of Nine Negro Teeth” and “A Witch’s Guide to Escape” (honorable mentions to “STET” and “The Starship and the Temple Cat”)
As Tadiana Jones said above, “The Tea Master and the Detective”, “Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach” and “The Black God’s Drums” also seem like good choices for novella. I heard the author read a bit from the former.
It’s always safe to guess the Nebula winners. Not always right, but safe. So, Tea Master for novella, although I wouldn’t be surprised or upset if the Black God’s Drums or Descent of Monsters won. I really liked How to Swallow the Moon, but this may be the year for Harmless Great Things. And finally, the Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of GW gets my vote for inventiveness (and parallel structure)!
Of course, it would be nice for Ursula le Guin’s “Fireflight” to win Short Story after her passing.
– The Black Godâs Drums by P. DjèlĂ Clark
– âNo Flight Without the Shatterâ by Brooke Bolander
– âFirelightâ by Ursula K. Le Guin
I have NO idea what is going to win, but here are my guesses:
Best Novella: Time Was by Ian McDonald
Best Short Story: âThe Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washingtonâ by P. DjèlĂ Clark
Best Novellette: âQuality Timeâ by Ken Liu
Since Iâve Gotten away from reading short fiction I havenât read any of the nominees but itâd be nice for Ursula K LeGuin to win
I like all of Yang’s work. Of the Murderbot Diaries I preferred All Systems Red to Rogue Protocol even though it was good too.
Personally my favorites of the four Murderbot novellas were these middle two, Artificial Condition and Rogue Protocol.
Unfortunately I haven’t read any of these, but some of those covers are gorgeous!
Several of the nominated short stories are free online (links to the stories are in the original reviews linked above). I’d especially recommend checking out the four short stories that I mention in my comment above.
Fingers crossed for Tea Master and the Detective!
Von Berry, if you live in the USA, you win a book of your choice from our stacks.
Please contact me (Marion) with your choice and a US address. Happy reading!