The British Science Fiction Association is delighted to announce the shortlist of nominees for the 2020 BSFA Awards. The BSFA Awards have been presented annually since 1970. The current categories have been in place since 2001. The awards are voted on by members of the British Science Fiction Association and by the members of the year’s Eastercon, the national science fiction convention, held since 1955. This year Eastercon, ConFusion, will be held online 2nd-5th April 2021, where the winners will be announced.
The BSFA Awards ceremony will be free to attend for all BSFA members, all members of Eastercon, and all shortlisted nominees: details will be released closer to the date. Members of the BSFA will additionally receive a PDF with excerpts of many of the nominated works in advance of the convention, and a physical copy of the Awards Booklet at a later date. If you are not currently a member of the BSFA and are interested in joining, you can do so here.
Best Artwork
Fangorn, Covers of Robot Dreams series, NewCon Press.
Iain Clark, Shipbuilding Over the Clyde, Art for Glasgow in 2024 WorldCon bid.
Ruby Gloom, Cover of Nikhil Singh's Club Ded, Luna Press Publishing.
Sinjin Li, Cover of Eli Lee’s, A Strange and Brilliant Light, Jo Fletcher Books.
Four Black Lives Matter Murals in AR
Nani Walker, Four Black Lives Matter Murals in AR. Using drone photogrammetry, Nani Sahra Walker produced 3-D models of four Black Lives Matter murals as memorials to George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others killed by police. Published by the Los Angeles Times in collaboration with RYOT and reported by Dorany Pineda.
The virtual artworks can be accessed at www.yahoo.com/immersive/blm-murals.html?site=latimes.
Best Short Fiction (under 40,000 words)
- Eugen M. Bacon, Ivory's Story, Newcon Press.
- Anne Charnock, 'All I Asked For,' Fictions, Healthcare and Care Re-Imagined. Edited by Keith Brookes, at Future Care Capital.
- Dilman Dila, 'Red_Bati', Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction From Africa and the African Diaspora, Aurelia Leo. Edited by Zelda Knight and Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki.
- Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, 'Ife-Iyoku, the Tale of Imadeyunuagbon,' Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction From Africa and the African Diaspora, Aurelia Leo. Edited by Zelda Knight and Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki.
- Ida Keogh, 'Infinite Tea in the Demara Cafe,' Londoncentric, Newcon Press. Edited by Ian Whates.
- Tobi Ogundiran, 'Isn't Your Daughter Such a Doll,' Shoreline of Infinity.
Best Non-Fiction
- Francesca T Barbini (ed.), Ties That Bind: Love in Science Fiction and Fantasy, Luna Press.
- Paul Kincaid, The Unstable Realities of Christopher Priest, Gylphi Press.
- Andrew Milner and J.R. Burgmann, Science Fiction and Climate Change, Liverpool University Press.
- Adam Roberts, It's the End of the World: But What Are We Really Afraid Of?, Elliot & Thompson.
- Jo Lindsay Walton, 'Estranged Entrepreneurs,' Foundation: the International Review of Science Fiction.
- Jo Walton, 'Books in Which No Bad Things Happen,' Tor.com.
Please note that the two non-fiction nominees with similar names, Jo Lindsay Walton and Jo Walton, are two different people.
Best Novel
- Tiffani Angus, Threading the Labyrinth, Unsung Stories.
- Susanna Clarke, Piranesi, Bloomsbury.
- M. John Harrison, The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again, Gollancz.
- N.K. Jemisin, The City We Became, Orbit.
- Gareth L. Powell, Light of Impossible Stars, Titan Books.
- Kim Stanley Robinson, The Ministry for the Future, Orbit.
- Nikhil Singh, Club Ded, Luna Press.
- Adrian Tchaikovsky, The Doors of Eden, Tor.
- Liz Williams, Comet Weather, Newcon Press.
- Nick Wood, Water Must Fall, Newcon Press.
Note that there was a multiple tie for fifth place this year. The committee decided that instead of abbreviating the shortlist, all nominees would be included.
