SF Signal: WINNERS: 2006 Locus Award

WINNERS: 2006 Locus Award

The winners of the the 2006 Locus Award have been announced:

BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL: Accelerando by Charles Stross

BEST FANTASY NOVEL: Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

BEST FIRST NOVEL: Hammered/Scardown/Worldwired by Elizabeth Bear [see SF Signal reviews here/here/here]

BEST YOUNG ADULT BOOK: Pay the Piper by Jane Yolen & Adam Stemple

BEST NOVELLA: "Magic for Beginners" by Kelly Link [see SF Signal review]

BEST NOVELETTE: "I, Robot " by Cory Doctorow [see SF Signal review]

BEST SHORT STORY: "Sunbird" by Neil Gaiman

BEST MAGAZINE: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction

BEST PUBLISHER: Tor

BEST ANTHOLOGY: The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Eighteenth Annual Collection by Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link & Gavin Grant, eds.

BEST COLLECTION: Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link (Small Beer Press)

BEST EDITOR: Ellen Datlow

BEST ARTIST: Michael Whelan

BEST NON-FICTION: Storyteller: Writing Lessons and More from 27 Years of the Clarion Writers' Workshop by Kate Wilhelm

BEST ART BOOK: Cathy & Arnie Fenner, eds. Spectrum 12: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art

(See also the list of nominees)

'BEST NOVELLA: "Magic for Beginners" by Kelly Link'

HOW MANY awards has this novella won? It seems like every time i go to a SF website, "Magic for Beginners" has won yet another award.

Posted by Jeff C on Sunday June 18, 2006 at 10:22 AM

jeff, "Magic for Beginners" is getting nominated for many awards and picking up a few along the way. The book of stories bearing the same name is also doing well. I said before, I personally don't to see the appeal of the story. Many others feel differently, of course. I saw one review of the story where the reviewer said he also "failed to get it", but still thought it was award-worthy. Go figure.

Posted by John on Monday June 19, 2006 at 12:43 AM

I really enjoyed the story, surprisingly so since I am not a fantasy fan and it is clearly fantasy. I thought it captured some of the trials and tribulations of a teenager quite well, but I haven't been one in over ten years so I may not know what I am talking about. A deserving story, but I would much prefer for sci fi stories to win sci fi or even SF awards. "Burn" by JPK was nominated and I enjoyed that one too. I will say "Burn" stuck with me more than "Magic for Beginners".

Posted by Kristen on Monday June 19, 2006 at 1:46 PM

Are authors getting short-changed by the fact that awards don't have categories for fantasy and science fiction?

I'm reading the Harwell/Cramer best of SF anthology right now. They picked one tale as the best they had read for the year. It wasn't "Magic", but then again, it was SF, not fantasy. So is that author missing out on accolades due to the way magazines and books are structured vs. how the awards are structured?

Personally, I'll probably not read "Magic" unless I find it in an annual awards book. I'm reading very little "modern" fantasy. Partly it's taste (most of it has left me disinterested), but it's also time pressure (there's so much SF to read, and I've got to do better than my competition in the short-story-a-day project!!!!!!!).

Posted by Fred Kiesche on Monday June 19, 2006 at 2:53 PM