Comments: With nominated works by Roger Zelazny, Poul Anderson, Theodore Sturgeon, Robert Silverberg, Michael Moorcock, and Jack Vance in the Best Collection category, 2010 exemplified the genre fiction fans' nostalgic yearning for short fiction written by authors who cut their teeth in the 1950s and 1960s. As forward-looking as most science fiction fans like to pretend they are, the market (and the voting for awards) demonstrates that a large proportion of them look to the past more than they look to the future, which to my mind explains to a certain extent why short fiction continues to prosper in the genre world, while it has nearly died out completely in mainstream fiction. The world of short fiction is changing, however, as indicated by the appearance of online outlets for short fiction such as Tor.com and Clarkesworld on the list of Best Magazine nominees.
Best Science Fiction Novel
Winner:
1. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
Other Nominees:
2. The Empress of Mars by Kage Baker
3. Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson
4. Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America by Robert Charles Wilson
5. Steal Across the Sky by Nancy Kress
6. Transition by Iain M. Banks
7. Under the Dome by Stephen King
8. Gardens of the Sun by Paul J. McAuley
9. This Is Not a Game by Walter Jon Williams
10. Ark by Stephen Baxter
11. The Devil's Alphabet by Daryl Gregory
12. Chronic City by Jonathan Lethem
13. The Sunless Countries by Karl Schroeder
14. The Walls of the Universe by Paul Melko
15. The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
16. Yellow Blue Tibia by Adam Roberts
17. Buyout by Alexander C. Irvine
Best Fantasy Novel
Winner:
1. The City & the City by China Miéville
Other Nominees:
2. Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett
3. Drood by Dan Simmons
4. Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente
5. Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
6. Green by Jay Lake
7. The Revolution Business by Charles Stross
8. Canticle by Ken Scholes
9. Avilion by Robert Holdstock
10. Lifelode by Jo Walton
11. The Price of Spring by Daniel Abraham
12. The Red Tree by Caitlín R. Kiernan
13. Cloud & Ashes: Three Winter's Tales by Greer Gilman
14. Madness of Flowers by Jay Lake
15. The High City by Cecelia Holland
16. Audrey's Door by Sarah Langan
17. Spell Games by T.A. Pratt
18. Dragon in Chains by Daniel Fox
19. Gears of the City by Felix Gilman
20. Last Days by Brian Evenson
21. In Great Waters by Kit Whitfield
22. The Painting and the City by Robert Wexler
Best Young Adult Book
Winner:
1. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Other Nominees:
2. The Hotel Under the Sand by Kage Baker
3. Liar by Justine Larbalestier
4. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
5. Going Bovine by Libba Bray
6. Heroes of the Valley by Jonathan Stroud
7. The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness
8. Sacred Scars by Kathleen Duey
9. Gullstruck Island (aka The Lost Conspiracy) by Frances Hardinge
Best First Novel
Winner:
1. The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
Other Nominees:
2. Lamentation by Ken Scholes
3. The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry
4. Soulless by Gail Carriger
5. Norse Code by Greg van Eekhout
6. Ash by Malinda Lo
7. Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
8. Harbinger by Jack Skillingstead
9. Total Oblivion, More or Less by Alan DeNiro
10. Spellbent by Lucy A. Snyder
11. Living with Ghosts by Kari Sperring
12. The Adamantine Palace by Stephen Deas
13. Lightbreaker by Mark Teppo
14. Blood of Ambrose by James Enge
Best Novella
Winner:
1. The Women of Nell Gwynne's by Kage Baker
Other Nominees:
2. Palimpsest by Charles Stross
3. Vishnu at the Cat Circus by Ian McDonald4. Ace One by Nancy Kress
5. Shambling Towards Hiroshima by James Morrow
6. Cuckoo by Emma Bull, Elizabeth Bear, and Leah Bobet
7. Hot Rock by Greg Egan
8. The Far End of History by John C. Wright
9. A Special Place by Peter Straub
10. Paradiso Lost by Albert E. Cowdrey (reviewed in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Volume 116, Nos. 6 & 7 (June/July 2009)
11. Sea-Hearts by Margo Lanagan12. Crimes and Glory by Paul J. McAuley
13. Sugar by Leah Bobet
14. Where the Winds Are All Asleep by Michael F. Flynn (reviewed in Analog Science Fiction and Fact: Volume CXXIX, No. 10 (October 2009))
15. Horn by Peter M. Ball16. Wives by Paul Haines
17. The Wide, Carnivorous Sky by John Langan
Best Novelette
Winner:
1. By Moonlight by Peter S. Beagle
Other Nominees:
2. It Takes Two by Nicola Griffith
3. The Island by Peter Watts
4. First Flight by Mary Robinette Kowal
5. Eros, Philia, Agape by Rachel Swirsky
6. Sylgarmo's Proclamation by Lucius Shepard
7. The Cat Who Walked a Thousand Miles by Kij Johnson
8. Zeppelin City by Michael Swanwick and Eileen Gunn
9. Utriusque Cosmi by Robert Charles Wilson
10. Secret Identity by Kelly Link
11. Mongoose by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear
12. Events Preceding the Helvetican Renaissance by John Kessel
13. Truth and Bone by Pat Cadigan
14. Galapagos by Caitlín R. Kiernan
15. The True Vintage of Erzuine Thale by Robert Silverberg
16. 'A Wild and a Wicked Youth' by Ellen Kushner (reviewed in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Volume 116, Nos. 4 & 5 (April/May 2009))
17. Formidable Caress by Stephen Baxter (reviewed in Analog Science Fiction and Fact: Volume CXXIX, No. 12 (December 2009))
18. This Peaceable Land; or, The Unbearable Vision of Harriet Beecher Stowe by Robert Charles Wilson
19. (tie) The Dragaman's Bride by Andy Duncan(tie) Lion Walk by Mary Rosenblum
21. A Weeping Czar Beholds the Fallen Moon by Ken Scholes
22. Dragon's Teeth by Alex Irvine (reviewed in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Volume 117, No. 5 (December 2009))
23. The Best Monkey by Daniel Abraham24. Dragon's Deep by Cecelia Holland
25. Yes We Have No Bananas by Paul Di Filippo
26. Twilight of the Gods by John C. Wright
27. Lowland Sea by Suzy McKee Charnas
28. Economancer by Carolyn Ives Gilman (reviewed in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Volume 116, Nos. 6 & 7 (June/July 2009)
29. Balfour and Meriwether in the Adventure of the Emperor's Vengeance by Daniel Abraham
30. Black Swan by Bruce Sterling
31. SinBad the Sand Sailor by R. Garcia y Robertson (reviewed in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 33, No. 7 (July 2009))
32. Vanishing by Peter S. Beagle33. Cracklegrackle by Justina Robson
34. Technicolor by John Langan
35. White Charles by Sarah Monette
36. Clockatrice by Tanith Lee
37. Each Thing I Show You Is a Piece of My Death by Gemma Files and Stephen J. Barringer
Best Short Story
Winner:
1. An Invocation of Incuriosity by Neil Gaiman
Other Nominees:
2. Spar by Kij Johnson
3. Useless Things by Maureen F. McHugh4. The Pelican Bar by Karen Joy Fowler
5. Going Deep by James Patrick Kelly (reviewed in Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 33, No. 6 (June 2009))
6. Before My Last Breath by Robert Reed7. Donovan Sent Us by Gene Wolfe
8. Narrative of a Beast's Life by Cat Rambo
9. The Cinderella Game by Kelly Link
10. Blocked by Geoff Ryman
11. The Radiant Car Thy Sparrows Drew by Catherynne M. Valente
12. A Delicate Architecture by Catherynne M. Valente
13. Three Twilight Tales by Jo Walton
14. Colliding Branes by Rudy Rucker and Bruce Sterling
15. Escape to Other Worlds with Science Fiction by Jo Walton
16. The Motorman's Coat by John Kessel (reviewed in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Volume 116, Nos. 6 & 7 (June/July 2009)
17. Child-Empress of Mars by Theodora Goss18. (tie) As Women Fight by Sara Genge
(tie) The Boy Who Cried Wolf by Holly Black
20. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
21. Ferryman by Margo Lanagan
22. Strappado by Laird Barron
23. A Story, With Beans by Steven Gould
24. Wizard's Apprentice by Delia Sherman
25. Dulce Domum by Ellen Kushner
26. Edison's Frankenstein by Chris Roberson
27. Singing on a Star by Ellen Klages
Best Collection
Winner:
1. The Best of Gene Wolfe (aka The Very Best of Gene Wolfe) by Gene Wolfe
Other Nominees:
2. The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny: Volumes 1-6 by Roger Zelazny
3. Cyberabad Days by Ian McDonald4. Wireless by Charles Stross
5. We Never Talk About My Brother by Peter S. Beagle
6. The Collected Short Works of Poul Anderson: Volumes 1 & 2 by Poul Anderson
7. Slow Sculpture: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon: Volume XII by Theodore Sturgeon
8. Oceanic by Greg Egan9. A Is for Alien by Caitlín R. Kiernan
10. Trips: The Collected Stories, Volume Four by Robert Silverberg
11. The Best of Michael Moorcock by Michael Moorcock
12. Wild Thyme, Green Magic by Jack Vance
13. Cryptic: The Best Short Fiction of Jack McDevitt by Jack McDevitt
14. Tides from the New Worlds by Tobias S. Buckell
15. The Woman Who Thought She Was a Planet and Other Stories by Vandana Singh
16. Viator Plus by Lucius Shepard
17. A Book of Endings by Deborah Biancotti
18. Northwest Passages by Barbara Roden
19. Grazing the Long Acre by Gwyneth Jones
20. Are You There and Other Stories by Jack Skillingstead
21. Everland and Other Stories by Paul Witcover
22. Fugue State by Brian Evenson
Best Anthology
Winner:
1. The New Space Opera 2 edited by Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan
Other Nominees:
2. The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Sixth Annual Collection edited by Gardner Dozois
3. Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in Honor of Jack Vance edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois
4. Eclipse Three edited by Jonathan Strahan5. Lovecraft Unbound edited by Ellen Datlow
6. Poe edited by Ellen Datlow
7. The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes edited by John Joseph Adams
8. The Secret History of Science Fiction edited by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel
9. The Very Best of Fantasy & Science Fiction: Sixtieth Anniversary Anthology edited by Gordon van Gelder
10. The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume Three edited by Jonathan Strahan
11. Firebirds Soaring edited by Sharyn November12. Best American Fantasy edited by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer
13. Troll's Eye View edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
14. (tie) The Dragon Book edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois
(tie) The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, Volume Three edited by George Mann
16. Year's Best SF 14 edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer
17. American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny: From Poe to the Pulps/From the 1940s to Now edited by Peter Straub
18. Other Earths edited by Nick Gevers and Jay Lake19. Year's Best Fantasy 9 edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer
20. Federations edited by John Joseph Adams
21. Postscripts #20/21: Edison's Frankenstein edited by Peter Crowther
22. The Best Horror of the Year: Volume One edited by Ellen Datlow
23. X6 edited by Keith Stevenson
24. The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy: 2009 Edition edited by Rich Horton
25. Conjunctions 52: Betwixt the Between: Impossible Realism edited by Bradford Morrow and Brian Evenson
26. Unplugged: The Web's Best Sci-Fi & Fantasy: 2008 Download edited by Rich Horton
Best Nonfiction, Art, Related, or Reference Book
Winner:
1. Cheek by Jowl: Essays by Ursula K. Le Guin
Other Nominees:
2. Spectrum 16: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art by Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner
3. Drawing Down the Moon: The Art of Charles Vess by Charles Vess4. Powers: Secret Histories by John Berlyne
5. This Is Me, Jack Vance! (Or, More Properly, This Is "I") by Jack Vance
6. Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons by Mike Beahr
7. Hope-In-the-Mist: The Extraordinary Career and Mysterious Life of Hope Mirrlees by Michael Swanwick
8. Canary Fever: Reviews by John Clute
9. From the Pen of Paul: The Fantastic Images of Frank R. Paul edited by Stephen D. Korshak
10. Starcombing by David Langford11. The Little Sisters of Eluria by Stephen King, illustrated by Michael Whelan
12. Knowing Darkess: Artists Inspired by Stephen King by George Beahm
13. The Inter-Galactic Playground: A Critical Study of Children's and Teens' Science Fiction by Farah Mendlesohn
14. The Routledge Companion to Science Fiction edited by Mark Bould, Andrew M. Butler, Adam Roberts, and Sherryl Vint
15. Imagination/Space: Essays and Talks on Fiction, Feminism, Technology and Politics by Gwyneth Jones
16. Sci-Fi Art, A Graphic History by Steve Holland17. Boilerplate: History's Mechanical Marvel by Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett
18. Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist by James Gurney
19. Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists of the Twentieth Century by Jane Frank
20. Imaginaire II: Magic Realism 2010 edited by Claus Brusen
21. Alice in Wonderland by Rodney Matthews
Best Editor
Winner:
1. Ellen Datlow
Other Nominees:
2. Gardner Dozois
3. Jonathan Strahan
4. Gordon van Gelder
5. David G. Hartwell
6. Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer
7. Lou Anders
8. John Joseph Adams
9. Peter Crowther
10. Patrick Nielsen Hayden
11. Sheila Williams
12. Gavin Grant and Kelly Link
13. Terri Windling
14. Sharyn November
15. Beth Meacham
16. William Schafer
17. Stanley Schmidt
18. Shawna McCarthy
19. Juliet Ulman
20. Ginjer Buchanan
21. Teresa Nielsen Hayden
22. Martin H. Greenberg
23. Betsy Wollheim
24. Betsy Mitchell
25. Andy Cox
26. Stephen Jones
Best Magazine
Winner:
1. Fantasy & Science Fiction
Other Nominees:
2. Asimov's
3. Tor.com
4. Clarkesworld Magazine
5. Analog
6. Strange Horizons
7. Subterranean
8. Realms of Fantasy
9. Interzone
10. Weird Tales
11. The New York Review of Science Fiction
12. Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet
13. SF Site
14. Fantasy Magazine
15. Ansible
16. Postscripts
17. Cemetery Dance
18. Jim Baen's Universe
19. Electric Velocipede
20. Black Gate
21. SFRevu
Best Book Publisher or Imprint
Winner:
1. Tor
Other Nominees:
2. Subterranean Press
3. Night Shade Books
4. Baen
5. Pyr
6. NESFA Press
7. DAW
8. PS Publishing
9. Ace
10. Del Rey
11. Orbit
12. Small Beer Press
13. Gollancz
14. Tachyon
15. Golden Gryphon
16. Roc
17. St. Martin's
18. Eos
19. Spectra
20. Arkham House
Best Artist
Winner:
1. Michael Whelan
Other Nominees:
2. John Picacio
3. Shaun Tan
4. Charles Vess
5. Stephan Martiniere
6. Bob Eggleton
7. Donato Giancola
8. John Jude Palencar
9. Phil Foglio
10. Kinuko Y. Craft
11. Dave McKean
12. Leo Dillon and Diane Dillon
13. Frank Frazetta
14. J.K. Potter
15. Jim Burns
16. Don Maitz
17. Michael Kaluta
18. Daniel Dos Santos
19. Vincent Di Fate
20. Thomas Canty
21. Yoshitaka Amano
22. Julie Bell
23. Frank Wu
24. Brom
Go to previous year's nominees: 2009
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 2011
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