Voting for the British Fantasy Award

I don’t usually vote for awards but for some reason I’m eligible to vote for the British Fantasy Awards this year, so what the hell.

Best Fantasy Novel

1. Escape From Baghdad, Saad Z. Hossain
2. Sorcerer to the Crown, Zen Cho
3. Signal To Noise, Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Only allowed 3 votes, so honourable mention is Lament for the Afterlife, Lisa Hannett, which is the sort of ambitious, literary fantasy that this genre very much needs. Weirdly, I blurbed all four books.

Best Horror Novel

Pass.

Best Novella

1. Rupert Wong, Cannibal Chef, Cassandra Khaw
2. The Beauty, Aliya Whiteley

Not read yet, otherwise they’d have probably made my list, Slow Bullets by Alastair Reynolds and The Builders by Daniel Polansky.

Short Story

1. Zainim, Adam Roberts
2. The Friday People, Sarah Lotz

Both from Jews vs Zombies. I love the first one just for pushing my buttons, and the Lotz really lingers. But I essentially took a break from short fiction reading that year beyond the editing work. These, however, are both very good.

Best Anthology

1. The Apex Book of World SF 4, Mahvesh Murad
2. She Walks in Shadow, Silvia Moreno-Garcia
3. Innsmouth Nightmares, Lois Gresh

Obviously, not voting for my own stuff (Jews vs Zombies/Aliens), and wouldn’t have voted for The Apex Book of World SF but I only acted as series editor on this one and it’s Mahvesh’s book. Also I have a story in the Gresh one, but it’s still a cool anthology.

Best Collection

Pass.

Best Independent Press

1. Apex Publications
2. Unsung Stories
3. Acheron Books

Frankly, Apex have long deserved a lot more recognition than they ever get at these things. Unsung do really lovely stuff. Acheron is a bit of an outlier here, an Italian digital press doing translations into English – highly valuable stuff, fun books, and well deserving of recognition.

Best Comic/Graphic Novel

Pass

Best Artist

1. Sarah Anne Langton
2. Erik Mohr

I like a few of the other artists on the recommended list but most tend to get these by default. I went for a more design-led shortlist – Sarah I think is brilliant, and her work on the Jews vs and the World SF rebrand is deserving of recognition. Erik I think completely defines the look of Chizine and is a brilliant cover artist/designer.

Best Non-Fiction

Pass.

Best Magazine

1. Apex Magazine
2. Clarkesworld
3. Tor dot com

Again, Apex have long deserved a nod. But all three represent the better, more progressive, high quality present of genre magazines. I’d  have picked Interzone for my 4th but only allowed 3, and they already have an award.

Best Film / Television Episode

Pass.

Best Newcomer

1. Zen Cho
2. Silvia Moreno-Garcia
3. Saad Z. Hossain

The Special Award

Pass.

Things You Should Vote For But I’m Not Cause I wrote or Edited Them

1. Lust of the Swastika (novella)
2. Jews vs Zombies (anthology)