Every year, the science fiction community gathers at various points and places to hand out a variety of literary awards. Some of these awards are well-established, while others are newer innovations. Some are awarded by popular vote, while others are handcrafted by juries of experts. I’ve been keeping track of who wins what for a while now, and even if the books I read seldom cross over with the books that win awards, we can learn a lot by looking at the shortlists. They offer a great snapshot of where the genre is in any given year. Today I’m going to run through the award winners of 2026. By and large, that means the books shortlisted were first published in 2025.

Hugo

The Hugo Awards are the oldest and arguably most prestigious science fiction awards out there. Though the prizes are handed out at WorldCon (the world science fiction convention), the awards have always been open to science fiction and fantasy. In the past decade or so, fantasy has started outnumbering science fiction, as is the case this year. The Hugos are my Exhibit A for why we need a stronger line between science fiction and fantasy, but the SF books presented here certainly deserve their place. Shroud, while not Tchaikovsky’s strongest work, is exactly the kind of socially savvy, idea-driven SF that I think the Hugos built their reputation on.

WINNER: The Everlasting, by Alix E. Harrow (fantasy)

The Incandescent, by Emily Tesh (fantasy)

A Drop of Corruption, by Robert Jackson Bennett (fantasy)

The Raven Scholar, by Antonia Hodgson (fantasy)

Death of the Author, by Nnedi Okorafor (unread)

Shroud, by Adrian Tchaikovsky (4/5)

Nebula

Another award that’s open to science fiction and fantasy, this year’s award shocked me by going to a horror author. It’s easy to forget that horror gets lumped in with science fiction and fantasy, but here we are. Again, fantasy dominates this list, but the fact that Okorafor was nominated for this and the Hugo certainly puts it in my line of sight.

WINNER: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, by Stephen Graham Jones (horror)

Death of the Author, by Nnedi Okorafor (unread)

The Incandescent, by Emily Tesh (fantasy)

Katabasis, by R.F. Kuang (fantasy)

Sour Cherry, by Natalia Theodoridou (fantasy)

Wearing the Lion, by John Wiswell (fantasy)

When We Were Real, by Daryll Gregory (unread)

BSFA

The British Science Fiction Association handed out its awards at EasterCon, and provide us with the first winner of the year that’s actually science fiction. Climate fiction, to be precise. It’s not my cup of tea, but Swift’s novel has achieved near-universal acclaim. The oddity on this list is A Granite Silence, which appears to be a speculative take on true crime. And while it might be the only book on the shortlist I’ve actually read, Project Hanuman absolutely deserves its place on the list.

WINNER: When There Are Wolves Again, by E J Swift (unread)

The Salt Oracle, by Lorraine Wilson (unread)

Edge of Oblivion, by Kirk Weddell (unread)

Project Hanuman, by Stewart Hotston (5/5)

A Granite Silence, by Nina Allan (crime)

Locus

First awarded in 1971, in 1980 the Locus Awards figured it out and made separate categories for SF and fantasy. Okorafor scores the number one slot, but what strikes me more is that I am more familiar with the names on this list than any other so far. There’s some overlap with other awards, but this is also where we see some Scalzi, Bear, and Liu. Most of the books nominated are serious science fiction, but there’s also the sense that these are more commercially viable than some of the more esoteric books featuring on other shortlists. I don’t mean that in a discriminatory way, but this is the first list where I can imagine seeing the books on a shelf in Waterstones.

WINNER: Death of the Author, by Nnedi Okorafor (unread)

The Folded Sky, by Elizabeth Bear (unread)

Picks and Shovels, by Cory Doctorow (unread)

Notes from a Regicide , by Isaac Fellman (unread)

When We Were Real, by Daryll Gregory (unread)

All That We See or Seem, by Ken Liu (unread)

Where the Axe is Buried, by Ray Nayler (unread)

Slow Gods, by Claire North (5/5)

The Shattering Peace, by John Scalzi (3/5)

Shroud, by Adrian Tchaikovsky (4/5)

Prometheus

I expect there are a lot of people who haven’t heard of the Prometheus Award. Even though I keep track of it, it’s the award that nominates books that I’ve never heard of and plenty that I’ll never read. However, it does hold a unique distinction. The Prometheus Awards are given out by the Libertarian Futurist Society. So far as I can tell, this makes it the longest-running science fiction award with an explicitly political agenda. I’m not a libertarian, but I find it a fascinating glimpse into another way of seeing science fiction.

WINNER: A Kiss for Damocles, by J. Kenton Pierce (unread)

Storm-Dragon, by Dave Freer (unread)

War by Other Means, by Karl K. Gallagher (unread)

No Man’s Land, by Sarah Hoyt (unread)

Powerless, by Harry Turtledove (unread)

Philip K. Dick

The Philip K. Dick Awards are given to paperback releases only, and as we can see from the shortlist, they also go to some very strange books. For a start, there’s a short story collection here alongside novels. In a world where hardbacks and special editions get all the attention, it’s good to see that paperbacks are still getting some love. I’ve even read one of them.

WINNER: Outlaw Planet, by M. R. Carey (unread)

Uncertain Suns and Other Stories, by Thomas Ha (unread)

Sunward, by William Alexander (unread)

Casual, by Koji A. Dae (unread)

The Immeasurable Heaven, by Caspar Geon (3/5)

Scales, by Christopher Hinz (unread)

City of All Seasons, by Oliver K. Langmead & Aliya Whiteley (unread)

Arthur C. Clarke

The Clarke Awards go to books first released in the UK the previous year, which is why Matt Dinniman gets onto the list. Yes, Dungeon Crawler Carl was published in 2021, but when it was picked up last year for traditional publication, that was it’s first official UK release. Who doesn’t love a loophole? Personally, I expected qntm to win on the strength of it’s unique narrative structure, but instead E J Swift picked up a second win of the year. This also marks a continuation of the Clarke being awarded to a book that straddles the line between literary and genre audiences.

WINNER: When There Are Wolves Again, by E J Swift (unread)

Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Dinniman (2/5)

The Dream Hotel, by Laila Lalami (unread)

Luminous, by Silvia Park (unread)

There is No Antimemetics Division, by qntm (4/5)

The Salt Oracle, by Lorraine Wilson (unread)

Dragon

Awarded at DragonCon, the Dragon Awards are also divided by genre, and have the stated aim of awarding books that are popular among fans but overlooked by literary critics. Because of their connection to the convention, the eligibility window is from October 2025 through to July 2026, hence the newer books on the shortlist. Because they are a fan award for a broadly US market (specifically those who are engaged in fandom), the lists look very different to other award shortlists. Corey and Scalzi are Dragon Award regulars, and this is Dinniman’s second win in a row. Slow Gods is by far my favourite book on the list, but I’ll admit to being surprised that it made the cut, as it’s a little less traditional than the Dragon voters usually go for.

WINNER: Operation Bounce House, by Matt Dinniman (1/5)

God’s Junk Draw, by Peter Clines (unread)

The Faith of Beasts, by James S. A. Corey (3/5)

Radiant Star, by Ann Leckie (unread)

Slow Gods, by Claire North (5/5)

The Shattering Peace, by John Scalzi (3/5)

Those of you who are familiar with At Boundary’s Edge will know that I hold my awards at the end of each year, so my equivalent awards were handed out at the 2025 Boundy Awards. As you can see, I have very different tastes to most awards. If nothing else, I remember that tie-in fiction exists. The 2026 Boundy Awards will be given out in December as usual. Until then, I hope you’ve enjoyed this breakneck tour through all the books that people in the know think you ought to be reading.