Comments: When one is making the argument that the Puppies (of either the Sad or Rabid variety) simply will not ever achieve what they have claimed their objectives are, the Locus Awards are Exhibit A. The blunt truth that the Pups have never understood is that the Hugo Awards weren't the only game in town for fans to look to for quality genre fiction, and weren't the only award that allowed for fan participation. Even if the Puppies had managed to wedge their works onto the Hugo ballot via a slate and then somehow force their choices to victory, this would not have changed how people view their works. No one who doesn't find the works they promoted to be particularly worthwhile efforts seems to have changed their minds as a result of their presence on the Hugo ballot, and it seems unlikely that actually winning one would have done so either. There was, and is, no "win state" for the Puppies. Even if everything had gone they way they imagined it would when they set out on their slate-driven campaign, they would have still lost, as fans would have turned elsewhere to honor worthwhile work.
Despite a somewhat coordinated attempt by the Rabid Puppies to try to influence the Locus Awards, their impact on the nominations seems to have been minor at best. While several works that were on the Rabid Puppies slate did make it to this list, none of their write-in candidates did, and several of the works from the list that they backed failed to garner enough support to reach the short list. The end result is a strong field of nominees that reflects the high-quality and diversity found in modern genre fiction: Aliette de Bodard secured three nominations, and both Elizabeth Bear and Anne Leckie earned two. Older established writers like Gene Wolfe and Kim Stanley Robinson appear on the list, as well as rising stars like Zen Cho and Kai Ashante Wilson. There are great examples of the best that genre fiction has to offer up and down this list, and they are all being recognized by the Locus voters for it. But what really matters is that this fiction has earned the love of the fans who voted for it. No one had to gin up a culture war to force these works onto the short list, fans voted for what they loved, and the result is an excellent list of nominees from whom people have derived vast amounts of enjoyment, and from whom many more people will derive even more in the future. Awards, at their best, are an expression of love at the end of the author-reader relationship, and this year's Locus Award short list seems to be awards at their best.
Best Science Fiction Novel
Winner:
Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie
Other Nominees:
Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson
A Borrowed Man by Gene Wolfe
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi
Best Fantasy Novel
Winner:
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Other Nominees:
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard
Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear
Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand
Best Young Adult Book
Winner:
The Shepherd’s Crown by Terry Pratchett
Other Nominees:
Half a War by Joe Abercrombie
Half the World by Joe Abercrombie
Harrison Squared by Daryl Gregory
Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older
Best First Novel
Winner:
The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu
Other Nominees:
Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley
Best Novella
Winner:
Slow Bullets by Alastair Reynolds
Other Nominees:
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
The Citadel of Weeping Pearls by Aliette de Bodard
The Four Thousand, the Eight Hundred by Greg Egan
Penric’s Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold
Best Novelette
Winner:
Black Dog by Neil Gaiman
Other Nominees:
And You Shall Know Her by the Trail of Dead by Brooke Bolander
Another Word for World by Ann Leckie
Folding Beijing by Hao Jingfang
The Heart’s Filthy Lesson by Elizabeth Bear
Best Short Story
Winner:
Cat Pictures Please by Naomi Kritzer (reviewed in Clarkesworld: Issue 100 (January 2015))
Other Nominees:
The Dowager of Bees by China Miéville
Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers by Alyssa Wong
Madeleine by Amal El-Mohtar
Three Cups of Grief, by Starlight by Aliette de Bodard (reviewed in Clarkesworld: Issue 100 (January 2015))
Best Collection
Winner:
Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman
Other Nominees:
The Best of Gregory Benford by Gregory Benford
The Best of Nancy Kress by Nancy Kress
Dancing Through the Fire by Tanith Lee
Three Moments of an Explosion by China Miéville
Best Anthology
Winner:
Old Venus edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois
Other Nominees:
Hanzai Japan: Fantastical, Futuristic Stories of Crime From and About Japan edited by Nick Mamatas and Masumi Washington
Meeting Infinity edited by Jonathan Strahan
The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Second Annual Collection edited by Gardner Dozois
Stories for Chip: A Tribute to Samuel R. Delany edited by Nisi Shawl and Bill Campbell
Best Nonfiction, Related, or Reference Book
Winner:
Other Nominees:
The Culture Series of Iain M. Banks by Simone Caroti
Frederik Pohl by Michael R. Page
Lois McMaster Bujold by Edward James
Ray Bradbury by David Seed
Best Art Book
Winner:
Julie Dillon’s Imagined Realms, Book 2: Earth and Sky by Julie Dillon
Other Nominees:
Edward Gorey: His Book Cover Art & Design edited by Steven Heller
The Fantasy Illustration Library, Volume One: Lands & Legends by Malcolm R. Phifer and Michael C. Phifer
Spectrum 22: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art edited by John FleskesWomen of Wonder: Celebrating Women Creators of Fantastic Art edited by Cathy Fenner
Best Editor
Winner:
David G. Hartwell
Other Nominees:
John Joseph Adams
Ellen Datlow
Gardner Dozois
Jonathan Strahan
Best Magazine
Winner:
Asimov’s Science Fiction
Other Nominees:
Clarkesworld
Fantasy & Science Fiction
File 770
Tor.com
Best Publisher or Imprint
Winner:
Tor
Other Nominees:
Baen
Gollancz
Orbit
Subterranean
Best Artist
Winner:
Michael Whelan
Other Nominees:
Galen Dara
Julie Dillon
Bob Eggleton
John Picacio
Go to previous year's nominees: 2015
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 2017
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