Today, The Los Angeles Timesannounced its finalists for its 41st annual L.A. Times Book Prizes, which includes the second year of the publication’s Ray Bradbury Prize for Science Fiction, Fantasy & Speculative Fiction.
This year’s finalists are:
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
The City We Became: A Novel (The Great Cities Trilogy, 1) by N. K. Jemisin
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
Where the Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda, Polly Barton (translator)
The prize is administered by Ray Bradbury Literary Works, and “honors and extends Bradbury’s literary legacy by celebrating and elevating the writers working in his field today.” Bradbury’s family said in a statement that they were proud to sponsor the award:
Gabino Iglesias
We all know 2020 was a horrific year, but it was also a superb year for horror. As the world struggled through the pandemic, readers stuck at home turned to horror narratives as much – if not more so – than they regularly do because fictional horrors offer us an escape from real ones. As always, the genre delivered.
The greatness started early with Andy Davidson’s
The Boatman’s Daughter, a book that seemed to be pulled from the muddy rivers of the South and carried all the spookiness and grit hidden in every bayou in this country. With great characterization and sharp prose, this early release was making lists at the end of the year, and deservingly so. Luckily for readers, that was just the beginning.
Only living authors and editors are eligible. All books must have a 2020 publication date, and all magazines a 2020 cover date. All forms of fantasy are eligible, e.g. high, epic, dark, contemporary, literary. Categories: Life Achievement; Best Novel; Best Novella (10,001 to 40,000 words); Best Short Story; Best Anthology; Best Collection; Best Artist; Special Award Professional; Special Award Non-Professional. A word count should be included for works shorter than novel length, for the judges’ benefit.
The awards will be presented at the World Fantasy Convention, November 4 – November 7, 2021 at the Hôtel Bonaventure Montréal in Québec, Canada. See the World Fantasy 2021 site or the World Fantasy convention home page for more.
Samovar, published a duet of stories. “
The Curtain Falls, The Show Must End” by
Julie Nováková (translated from Czech by the author) is a historical drama set at the eve of WWII. Two backstage workers in a theater in Prague conjure up ghosts, which proceed to haunt and torment the latest production. That is combined with political pressure around the company’s production choices and staff, so tensions run high. The director casts about for an exorcist, but the best they can do is a retired playwright who knows something of exorcism techniques. This is a moving story featuring real historical figures, and the weight of the history we know adds gravitas to the situation. Ghosts are more benign in “