BEST NOVELETTE
‘‘The Sleeper and the Spindle’’, Neil Gaiman (Rags and Bones)
BEST SHORT STORY
‘‘The Road of Needles’’, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Once Upon a Time: New Fairy Tales)
BEST ANTHOLOGY
Old Mars, George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois, eds. (Bantam)
BEST COLLECTION
The Best of Connie Willis, Connie Willis (Del Rey)
BEST NONFICTION BOOK
Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction, Jeff VanderMeer (Abrams Image)
BEST ART BOOK
Spectrum 20, Cathy Fenner & Arnie Fenner, eds. (Underwood)
BEST ARTIST
Michael Whelan
BEST EDITOR
Ellen Datlow
BEST MAGAZINE
Asimov’s
BEST BOOK PUBLISHER
Tor
LOCUS POLL 2014
The 2014 Locus Poll got 871 valid ballots, up significantly from 770 last year. Most ballots were received online; 25 came by mail, up from 22 last year. We got poll votes from 272 subscribers, or 31% of respondents, up from 28% last year.
Results were tabulated using the system put together by Locus Online webmaster Mark Kelly, with Locus staffers entering votes from mail-in ballots. This system makes results available almost as soon as voting closes, much sooner than in the days of hand counting. We double the point value of subscriber votes; this year it made a difference in only one category: Best Magazine.
We count the votes using the Carr system, devised by the late Terry Carr. A first-place vote gets eight points, a second-place vote seven, and so on down to fifth place. This gives equal weight to making the ballot and the placement on it; a first-place vote is worth twice as much as a fifth-place vote, not five times as much. Nominees need at least 20 votes to make the final list (we make exceptions for those with fewer votes but enough points to place ahead of titles with 20 votes), even though it frequently takes less to make the Hugo or Nebula ballots.
The letters after the publishing information in some categories indicate nominations for Hugo (H), Nebula (N), Stoker (S), Andre Norton (A), Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award (T), John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best SF novel (M), and authors nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer are marked (C).
Nominees in the short fiction categories are marked to show appearances in Best of the Year anthologies as follows: 1) The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirty-First Annual Collection, Gardner Dozois, ed.; 2) The Best Horror of the Year Volume Six, Ellen Datlow, ed.; 3) The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume Eight, Jonathan Strahan, ed.; 4) The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy: 2014, Rich Horton, ed.; 5) The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror 2014, Paula Guran, ed.; 6) The Year’s Best Weird Fiction, Volume One, Laird Barron, ed.
No stories made the recommended lists from The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume 25, edited by Stephen Jones. David Hartwell’s Year’s Best SF did not have a volume this year.
SF NOVEL
James S.A. Corey’s Abaddon’s Gate took first place with a lead of just over 100 points over Kim Stanley Robinson’s Shaman in second place. Charles Stross’s Neptune’s Brood followed closely in third. Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam had the most first-place votes, but was only fourth in total votes, and ended up in fourth place. Subscribers and non-subscribers differed considerably in this category. Subscribers had the top three in their final positions, but put the Atwood well back in 12th. Non-subscribers put the Atwood in first place (with 54 of its total 59 first-place votes), the Corey second, Karen Lord’s The Best of All Possible Worlds third, the Robinson fourth, and Stross fifth. Voters nominated 147 titles, up from 128 last year; 23 made the cut, down from 27. Two of five Hugo nominees are here, down from three last year, including Ann Leckie’s first novel Ancillary Justice. One more, Mira Grant’s Parasite, was the runner up to this list. Two of eight Nebula nominees are here, including the winner, Leckie’s Ancillary Justice. The Leckie also appears on our First Novel list with two more Nebula nominees; one more is on the Fantasy Novel list. Nine of 15 nominees for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award are here. Seven titles on the list first appeared in the UK.
FANTASY NOVEL
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman won with the biggest lead in any category this year; at 1,851 points, it’s well over twice the points and five times the first-place votes of second-place NOS4A2 by Joe Hill. Subscribers and non-subscribers agreed wholeheartedly on the Gaiman, but disagreed considerably on the rest. There were 161 titles nominated, up slightly from 160; 24 made the cut, up from 19. No Hugo nominees are here. One Nebula nominee, the Gaiman, is here, along with two Stoker award nominees, including the winner, Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep. One of seven Andre Norton nominees made the list, the winner: Nalo Hopkinson’s Sister Mine; four more are on the Young Adult list.
FIRST NOVEL
Anne Leckie’s Ancillary Justice was the clear winner, with almost twice the first-place votes of the closest contenders, Helene Wecker’s The Golem and the Jinni in second and Sofia Samatar’s A Stranger in Olondria in third. Subscribers and non-subscribers agreed on the winner, but while non-subscribers had the top three in their final placement, subscribers put the Samatar second and the Wecker third. Voters nominated 57 titles, up from 55; nine made the list, down from 14. The Leckie was our sole Hugo nominee in this category and Sofia Samatar was the one author to make the list up for the Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Three Nebula nominees and one Campbell Memorial nominee also made the list.
YOUNG ADULT BOOK
The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two by Catherynne M. Valente won with a solid lead of over 100 points over The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black in second. Homeland by Cory Doctorow was a close third, and the title with the most first-place votes, but lacked enough total votes to place higher. Subscribers and non-subscribers differed here; while non-subscribers had the top three in their final positions, subscribers put Zombie Baseball Beatdown by Paolo Bacigalupi first, but not by enough of a lead to outweigh the non-subscriber votes even with doubling the points; the final top three then followed in their relative positions. There were 96 titles nominated, up from 87; 13 made the cut, down from 21. Four of seven Andre Norton Award nominees are here.
BEST NOVELLA
Catherynne M. Valente racked up her second win with Six-Gun Snow White, which had the most votes and a comfortable lead of more than 100 points over ‘‘Wakulla Springs’’ by Andy Duncan & Ellen Klages, followed by ‘‘The Princess and the Queen’’ by George R.R. Martin. Caitlín R. Kiernan’s Black Helicopters had the most first-place votes, but lacked the total votes needed to win. Subscribers and non-subscribers disagreed significantly in this category; non-subscribers had the Valente first, followed by the Kiernan, the Martin, and the Duncan & Klages. Subscribers had the Duncan & Klages first, the Martin second, and the Valente third, with the Kiernan back in fifth place. Voters named 75 titles, up from 58; 13 made the cut, down from 18. Three of six Nebula nominees are here, including the winner ‘‘The Weight of the Sunrise’’ by Vylar Kaftan. Two of five Hugo nominees made the cut, and one Sturgeon Memorial Award nominee.
BEST NOVELETTE
Neil Gaiman picked up a second win this year with ‘‘The Sleeper and the Spindle’’, winning with the most votes, the most first-place votes, and a modest lead over Ted Chiang’s ‘‘The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling’’ in second. Caitlín R. Kiernan’s ‘‘The Prayer of Ninety Cats’’ followed in third. Subscribers and non-subscribers differed again; non-subscribers had the Gaiman first by enough of a lead to win; subscribers had the Chiang first and the Gaiman second. There were 119 titles nominated, up from 111; 35 made the cut, up from 31. The list has two of five Hugo nominees and three of six Nebula nominees, including the winner ‘‘The Waiting Stars’’ by Aliette de Bodard. One Sturgeon Memorial Award nominee made the list, and one Stoker nominee.
BEST
SHORT STORY
‘‘The Road of Needles’’ by Caitlín R. Kiernan won with a modest 40-point lead, the most votes, and most first-place votes. ‘‘Some Desperado’’ by Joe Abercrombie came in second, and ‘‘A Brief History of the Trans-Pacific Tunnel’’ by Ken Liu in third. Subscribers and non-subscribers differed dramatically in this category. Non-subscribers gave the Kiernan the win with a big lead, enough to win, even though it was all the way back in 12th place with subscribers, who split their first-place choice between the Liu and Howard Waldrop’s ‘‘The Dead Sea-Bottom Scrolls’’. Respondents named 207 short stories, up from 171; 26 made the cut, down from 33. Two Nebula nominees are here, including the winner, Rachel Swirsky’s ‘‘If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love’’. Two Hugo nominees, one Stoker nominee, and one Sturgeon Memorial Award nominee also made the cut. One nominee for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer has a story here, Benjanun Sriduangkaew with ‘‘The Bees Her Heart, the Hive Her Belly’’.
BEST ANTHOLOGY
Old Mars edited by dynamic duo George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois, won with a lead of over 200 points, the most votes, and the most first-place votes. The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirtieth Annual Collection edited by Gardner Dozois followed in second, with Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling in third. Subscribers and non-subscribers had the same three titles in the top three places; subscribers had them in their final order, while non-subscribers had the Datlow & Windling first, Dozois’ Year’s Best second, and the Martin & Dozois third. There were 77 titles nominated, the same as last year; 21 made the cut, down from 25. Twelve of the 21, or 57%, are original anthologies; the rest are reprint anthologies. No award nominees made the list.
BEST COLLECTION
The Best of Connie Willis took first place with a commanding lead of over 500 points, the most votes, and the most first place votes. Second went to The Best of Joe Haldeman, followed by Catherynne M. Valente’s The Bread We Eat in Dreams, just one point ahead of Nnedi Okorafor’s Kabu Kabu. Subscribers and non-subscribers differed considerably; subscribers gave the Willis the lead by enough points to win even without the doubling of subscriber points, despite being placed back in fourth place by non-subscribers, who gave first to Caitlín R. Kiernan’s The Ape’s Wife and Other Stories (12th with subscribers). Voters named 77 collections, up from 72; 28 made the cut, down from 30. Three Stoker Award nominees are here.
BEST NONFICTION
Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction by Jeff VanderMeer won with a solid lead, the most votes, and the most first-place votes by a sizeable margin. Second place went to Strange Matings: Science Fiction, Feminism, African American Voices, and Octavia E. Butler edited by Rebecca Holden & Nisi Shawl; third was Here Be Dragons: Exploring Fantasy Maps and Settings by Stefan Ekman. Subscribers and non-subscribers were in agreement on the first two places. Voters named 47 titles, up from 43; 12 made the cut, up from 11. One Hugo nominee for Best Related Work is here, and one Stoker nominee.
BEST ART BOOK
Spectrum 20: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art edited by Cathy Fenner & Arnie Fenner took first place with a 274-point lead over Maurice Sendak: A Celebration of the Artist and His Work, edited by Justin G. Schiller, Dennis M.V. David & Leonard S. Marcus, which had the most first-place votes, but not enough total votes to win. Hannes Bok: A Life in Illustration, edited by Joseph Wrzos, followed in third. Subscribers had the latest Spectrum annual in first place with a sizeable lead; non-subscribers had it in second place (behind the Sendak), giving it enough total points to give it the win even without doubling subscriber points. There were 21 titles nominated, the same as last year; ten made the cut, down from 11.
BEST ARTIST
Michael Whelan won for the second year in a row; it’s his 29th win in this category. John Picacio is back again in second place, a little more than 100 points back. Below that, artists shuffled around as usual, with Charles Vess moving up into third, and Bob Eggleton into fourth. Subscribers and non-subscribers agreed on first place, but subscribers had Picacio second, Eggleton third, and Vess fourth; non-subscribers put Vess in second, Shaun Tan third, Eggleton fourth, and Picacio fifth. Voters nominated 137 artists, up from 118; 20 made the cut, down from 28. Three of five Hugo nominees for Best Professional Artist are here. New or returning to the list are Julie Dillon, David Mattingly, and Tom Kidd.
BEST EDITOR
Ellen Datlow took first place for the tenth year in a row, with a sizeable lead over Gardner Dozois, who moved up a notch to second place, followed by John Joseph Adams in third, and Ann & Jeff VanderMeer in fourth. Below that, the usual suspects shifted around. Subscribers and non-subscribers agreed on first place, but differed below that; subscribers placed Dozois second and Jonathan Strahan third, while non-subscribers had Adams second and the VanderMeers third. Eight Hugo nominees are here, three of the five in the Long Form category, and all five in the Short Form category. There were 123 editors nominated, up from 108; 25 made the cut, down from 29. No new editors made the list.
BEST MAGAZINE
Asimov’s won for the fourth year in a row, coming in just over 100 points ahead of Tor.com – which actually had the most votes and first-place votes. This is the one category where doubling subscriber votes made a difference in the winner; without it, Tor.com would have won and Asimov’s come in second. Non-subscribers put Tor.com first, Weird Tales second, and Clarkesworld third; subscribers had Asimov’s first, F&SF second, and Tor.com third. Voters named 92 magazines, up from 85; 23 made the cut, up from 18. All five Hugo nominees for Best Semiprozine are here, as are two Podcast nominees. Four of five Hugo nominees for Best Professional Editor – Short Form are here, marked (H); missing is anthology editor Ellen Datlow.
BEST PUBLISHER/IMPRINT
Tor won for the 27th year in a row with a lead of 1,323 points, and more than twice the first-place votes of the closest contender, Subterranean Press, which returned in second place. Orbit returned in third place. Below that, publishers shuffled around as usual. Subscribers and non-subscribers agreed on the top two places and both groups had Orbit in fourth place, giving it enough points to take third place; subscribers had Small Beer Press in third, while non-subscribers put Angry Robot third. There were 118 publishers nominated, up from 82; 27 made the cut, up from 25. New or returning to the list are Centipede Press, Penguin, Cemetery Dance, and Tor UK.
CONCLUSION
The one big surprise this year was the way Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice not only won Best First Novel, but managed to get enough write-in votes to make it onto the list for Best SF Novel, coming in at #17. It’s rare for first novels to break out of the First Novel category, although with Leckie’s win here for First Novel, on top of her Nebula win and the Hugo and Campbell Memorial Award nominations, maybe it’s not such a surprise after all.
The Year’s Best anthologies held steady at seven, but we got contents lists from one newcomer, The Year’s Best Weird Fiction, Volume One edited by Laird Barron. Missing was a new Year’s Best SF edited by David Hartwell, who said there would be no 2014 volume (and nothing definite beyond that). Short story ‘‘Rosary and Goldenstar’’ by Geoff Ryman made it into three Year’s Best anthologies, the only story to make it into three or more this year. Three novellas made it into at least one Best of the Year anthology, down from eight last year; none made it into more than one. Novelettes had 21 titles in Year’s Bests, the same as last year; eight made it into two. Short stories had 15 titles in Year’s Bests, down from 26; three made it into two or more. The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume Eight edited by Jonathan Strahan had the most stories on the lists with 16. The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume 25 edited by Stephen Jones had the fewest with none. The horror anthologies generally have fewer stories on the lists; The Year’s Best Weird Fiction, Volume One edited by Laird Barron had only one, The Best Horror of the Year Volume Six edited by Ellen Datlow had three, and The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and H
orror 2014 edited by Paula Guran had four.
Print magazines may be struggling, but anthologies and online venues are more than making up for that. In total, 74 pieces of short fiction made it onto our lists, up from 55 last year. Many more stories that didn’t make our lists did make it into Year’s Best anthologies or onto awards nomination lists. With all the novels, that’s a lot of quality fiction out there – far more than most people can manage to read.
–Carolyn Cushman
THEROUX WINS CAMPBELL, PINSKER WINS STURGEON
Marcel Theroux accepting his Campbell Award via remote at the awards ceremony
Strange Bodies by Marcel Theroux (Faber & Faber/Farrar, Straus and Giroux) won this year’s John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel published in 2013, and Sarah Pinsker’s ‘‘In Joy, Knowing the Abyss’’ (Strange Horizons 7/1/13 and 7/8/13) is the winner of the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best short fiction of 2013. Both are first-time nominees and winners.
The awards were presented during the Campbell Conference Awards Banquet, held June 13-15, 2014 at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS. The theme of this year’s conference was ‘‘Science Fiction and the Real World’’ and ‘‘Appreciating Frederik Pohl.’’
Locus, July 2014 Page 4
