Locus Award for Best First Novel
Encyclopedia
Winners of the Locus Award
for Best First Novel, awarded by the Locus magazine. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year.
The award for Best First Novel was first presented in 1981, and is among the awards still presented (as of 2010).
Locus Award
The Locus Award is a literary award established in 1971 and presented to winners of Locus magazine's annual readers' poll. Currently, the Locus Awards are presented at an annual banquet...
for Best First Novel, awarded by the Locus magazine. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year.
The award for Best First Novel was first presented in 1981, and is among the awards still presented (as of 2010).
| Year | Novel | Author |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Dragon's Egg Dragon's Egg Dragon's Egg is a hard science fiction novel written by Robert L. Forward and published in 1980. In the story, Dragon's Egg is a neutron star with a surface gravity 67 billion times that of Earth, and inhabited by cheela, intelligent creatures that have the volume of sesame seeds and live a... |
Robert L. Forward |
| 1982 | Starship & Haiku | Somtow Sucharitkul |
| 1983 | Courtship Rite Courtship Rite Courtship Rite is a science fiction novel by American writer Donald Kingsbury, originally serialized in Analog magazine in 1982. The book is set in the same universe as some of Kingsbury's other stories, such as "Shipwright" and the unpublished The Finger Pointing Solward.In the UK, the novel was... |
Donald Kingsbury Donald Kingsbury Donald MacDonald Kingsbury is an American–Canadian science fiction author. Kingsbury taught mathematics at McGill University, Montreal, from 1956 until his retirement in 1986.- Books :... |
| 1984 | Tea with the Black Dragon Tea with the Black Dragon Tea with the Black Dragon is a 1983 fantasy novel by R. A. MacAvoy. It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1983, the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1984, and won MacAvoy the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1983 and the Locus Award for best first novel in 1984... |
R. A. MacAvoy R. A. MacAvoy Roberta Ann MacAvoy is a fantasy and science fiction author in the United States. Several of her books draw on Celtic or Zen themes. She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1984.-Biography:... |
| 1985 | The Wild Shore Three Californias Trilogy The Three Californias Trilogy consists of three books by Kim Stanley Robinson, that depict three different possible futures of Orange County, California. The three books that make up the trilogy are The Wild Shore, The Gold Coast and Pacific Edge... |
Kim Stanley Robinson Kim Stanley Robinson Kim Stanley Robinson is an American science fiction writer known for his award-winning Mars trilogy. His work delves into ecological and sociological themes regularly, and many of his novels appear to be the direct result of his own scientific fascinations, such as the fifteen years of research... |
| 1986 | Contact Contact (novel) Contact is a science fiction novel written by Carl Sagan and published in 1985. It deals with the theme of contact between humanity and a more technologically advanced, extraterrestrial life form. It ranked No. 7 on the 1985 U.S. bestseller list.... |
Carl Sagan Carl Sagan Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books... |
| 1987 | The Hercules Text The Hercules Text The Hercules Text is a 1986 science fiction novel by Jack McDevitt. It tells the story of a message of intelligent extraterrestrial origin received by SETI-scientists. The Hercules Text was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award in 1986.... |
Jack McDevitt Jack McDevitt Jack McDevitt is an American science fiction author whose novels frequently deal with attempts to make contact with alien races, and with archaeology or xenoarchaeology.... |
| 1988 | War for the Oaks War for the Oaks War for the Oaks is a fantasy novel by Emma Bull. The book tells the story of Eddi McCandry, a rock musician who finds herself unwillingly pulled into the supernatural faerie conflict between good and evil... |
Emma Bull Emma Bull Emma Bull is a science fiction and fantasy author whose best-known novel is War for the Oaks, one of the pioneering works of urban fantasy. She has participated in Terri Windling's Borderland shared universe, which is the setting of her 1994 novel Finder... |
| 1989 | Desolation Road | Ian McDonald Ian McDonald (author) Ian McDonald is a British science fiction novelist, living in Belfast. His themes include nanotechnology, postcyberpunk settings, and the impact of rapid social and technological change on non-Western societies.- Biography :... |
| 1990 | Orbital Decay Orbital decay Orbital decay is the process of prolonged reduction in the altitude of a satellite's orbit.This can be due to drag produced by an atmosphere due to frequent collisions between the satellite and surrounding air molecules. The drag experienced by the object is larger in the case of increased solar... |
Allen Steele Allen Steele Allen Mulherin Steele, Jr. is an American science fiction author.Steele began publishing short stories in 1988. His early novels formed a future history beginning with Orbital Decay and continuing through Labyrinth of Night... |
| 1991 | In the Country of the Blind | Michael F. Flynn |
| 1992 | The Cipher | Kathe Koja Kathe Koja Kathe Koja is an American writer. She was initially known for her intense speculative fiction for adults, but over the past few years has turned to writing young adult novels.... |
| 1993 | China Mountain Zhang China Mountain Zhang China Mountain Zhang is a 1992 novel by science fiction author Maureen F. McHugh. The novel is made up of several stories loosely intertwined.-Title:... |
Maureen F. McHugh Maureen F. McHugh Maureen F. McHugh is a science fiction and fantasy writer.Her first published story appeared in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine in 1989. Since then, she has written four novels and over twenty short stories. Her first novel, China Mountain Zhang , was nominated for both the Hugo and the... |
| 1994 | Cold Allies | Patricia Anthony Patricia Anthony Patricia Anthony is an American science fiction and Slipstream author. Anthony published her first science fiction novel in 1992 with Cold Allies, about the arrival of extraterrestrials in the midst of a 21st Century Third World War... |
| 1995 | Gun, with Occasional Music Gun, with Occasional Music Gun, with Occasional Music is a 1994 novel by Jonathan Lethem. It blends science fiction and hardboiled detective fiction. It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1994.-Plot:... |
Jonathan Lethem Jonathan Lethem Jonathan Allen Lethem is an American novelist, essayist and short story writer. His first novel, Gun, with Occasional Music, a genre work that mixed elements of science fiction and detective fiction, was published in 1994. It was followed by three more science fiction novels... |
| 1996 | The Bohr Maker | Linda Nagata Linda Nagata Linda Nagata is an American science fiction author who won the Nebula award for best novella in 2000 . She frequently writes about nanotechnology and the integration of advanced computing with the human brain.-Bibliography:... |
| 1997 (tie) | Reclamation | Sarah Zettel Sarah Zettel Sarah A. Zettel is an American science fiction and fantasy author.She was born in Sacramento, California. Her mother, Gail Beavers, is a retired teacher and social worker; her father, Leonard Francis Zettel, Jr., is a retired engineer and programmer. She obtained a B.A. in Communications from... |
| Whiteout | Sage Walker Sage Walker Sage Walker is a science fiction writer based in New Mexico. She contributed to the Wild Cards series and won the Locus Award for her first novel, Whiteout. She was one of several science fiction authors who attended a United States Department of Homeland Security conference on science and... |
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| 1998 | The Great Wheel | Ian R. MacLeod Ian R. MacLeod Ian R. MacLeod is a British science fiction and fantasy writer.He was born in Solihull near Birmingham. He studied law and worked as a civil servant before going freelance in early 1990s soon after he started publishing stories, attracting critical praise and awards nominations.-Writings:He is the... |
| 1999 | Brown Girl in the Ring Brown Girl in the Ring (novel) Brown Girl in the Ring is a novel by writer Nalo Hopkinson. It was the winning entry in the Warner Aspect First Novel Contest and received the 1999 Locus Award for Best First Novel and earned Hopkinson the 1999 John W... |
Nalo Hopkinson Nalo Hopkinson Nalo Hopkinson is a Jamaican science fiction and fantasy writer and editor who lives in Canada. Her novels and short stories such as those in her collection Skin Folk often draw on Caribbean history and language, and its traditions of oral and written storytelling.Hopkinson has... |
| 2000 | The Silk Code | Paul Levinson Paul Levinson Paul Levinson is an American author and professor of communications and media studies at Fordham University in New York City. Levinson's novels, short fiction, and non-fiction works have been translated into twelve languages.... |
| 2001 | Mars Crossing Mars Crossing Mars Crossing is a science fiction novel by Geoffrey A. Landis about an expedition to Mars, published by Tor Books in 2000. The novel was a nominee for the Nebula award, and won the Locus Award for best first novel in 2001.... |
Geoffrey A. Landis Geoffrey A. Landis Geoffrey A. Landis is an American scientist, working for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on planetary exploration, interstellar propulsion, solar power and photovoltaics... |
| 2002 | Kushiel's Dart Kushiel's Dart Kushiel's Dart is Jacqueline Carey's first novel and the first of the novels in her Kushiel's Legacy series. The idea for this book first came to Carey when she was reading the Biblical Book of Genesis, and specifically a passage about "sons of God" coming into the "daughters of Men." Later, when... |
Jacqueline Carey Jacqueline Carey Jacqueline Carey is an author and novelist, primarily of fantasy fiction.-Life:She attended Lake Forest College, receiving B.A.'s in psychology and English literature. During college, she spent 6 months working in a bookstore in London as part of a work exchange program. While there, she decided... |
| 2003 | A Scattering of Jades | Alexander C. Irvine Alexander C. Irvine Alexander C. Irvine is an American fantasist and science fiction writer. Many of his works have appeared under the simpler moniker "Alex Irvine."-Biography:Irvine was born on March 22, 1969... |
| 2004 | Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom is a 2003 science fiction book, the first novel by Canadian author and digital-rights activist Cory Doctorow... |
Cory Doctorow Cory Doctorow Cory Efram Doctorow is a Canadian-British blogger, journalist, and science fiction author who serves as co-editor of the blog Boing Boing. He is an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of the Creative Commons organization, using some of their licences for his books... |
| 2005 | Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is the 2004 first novel by British writer Susanna Clarke. An alternative history set in 19th-century England around the time of the Napoleonic Wars, it is based on the premise that magic once existed in England and has returned with two men: Gilbert Norrell and... |
Susanna Clarke Susanna Clarke Susanna Mary Clarke is a British author best known for her debut novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell , a Hugo Award-winning alternate history. Clarke began Jonathan Strange in 1993 and worked on it during her spare time... |
| 2006 | Hammered Hammered (novel) Hammered is a science fiction novel by Elizabeth Bear first published in 2004. It won the 2006 Locus Award for Best First Novel. It is the first book of a trilogy made of Hammered, Scardown and Worldwired.-Plot introduction:... /Scardown/Worldwired |
Elizabeth Bear Elizabeth Bear Sarah Bear Elizabeth Wishnevsky is an American author. Writing under the name Elizabeth Bear, she works primarily in the genre of speculative fiction, and was a winner of the 2005 John W... |
| 2007 | Temeraire Temeraire (series) The Temeraire series of novels by Naomi Novik is composed of His Majesty's Dragon , Throne of Jade, Black Powder War, Empire of Ivory, Victory of Eagles, and Tongues of Serpents... : His Majesty's Dragon His Majesty's Dragon His Majesty's Dragon, published in the UK as Temeraire, is the first novel in the Temeraire alternate history/fantasy series by American author Naomi Novik first published in 2005.... / Throne of Jade Throne of Jade Throne of Jade is the second novel in the Temeraire alternate history/fantasy series by American author Naomi Novik.The story is set during an alternate history version of the Napoleonic Wars, in which dragons not only exist but are used as a staple of aerial warfare in Asia and Europe... /Black Powder War Black Powder War Black Powder War is the third novel in the Temeraire alternate history/fantasy series by American author Naomi Novik.The story is set during an alternate history version of the Napoleonic Wars, in which dragons not only exist but are used as a staple of aerial warfare in Asia and Europe... ’’ |
Naomi Novik Naomi Novik Naomi Novik is an American novelist. She is a first-generation American; her father is of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry, and her mother is an ethnic Pole. She studied English Literature at Brown University, and holds a Master's degree in Computer Science from Columbia University... |
| 2008 | Heart-Shaped Box Heart-Shaped Box (novel) Heart-Shaped Box is the debut horror novel of author Joe Hill.-Synopsis:Aging rock star Judas Coyne spends his retirement collecting morbid memorabillia such as a witch's confession, a real snuff film and, after being sent an e-mail directly about the item online, a dead man's suit. He is told, by... |
Joe Hill Joe Hill (writer) Joseph Hillstrom King , better known by the pen name Joe Hill, is an American author and comic book writer. He has published two novels—Heart Shaped Box and Horns—and a collection of short stories entitled 20th Century Ghosts. He is also the author of the graphic novel series Locke & Key... |
| 2009 | Singularity's Ring Singularity's Ring Singularity's Ring is a science fiction novel by Paul Melko. The story is set in a future after a singularity event, which caused the bulk of humanity to disappear. The focus of this event was a huge space station which rings the Earth, and which remains uninhabited after the singularity... |
Paul Melko Paul Melko Paul Melko is an American science fiction writer whose work has appeared in Realms of Fantasy, Asimov's Science Fiction, Strange Horizons, and Live Without a Net.... |
| 2010 | The Windup Girl The Windup Girl The Windup Girl is a biopunk science fiction novel written by Paolo Bacigalupi and published in September 2009. It was named as the ninth best fiction book of 2009 by TIME magazine, and as the best science fiction book of the year in the Reference and User Services Association's 2010 Reading List... |
Paolo Bacigalupi Paolo Bacigalupi Paolo Tadini Bacigalupi is an American science fiction and fantasy writer.He has won the Hugo, Nebula, Compton Crook, Theodore Sturgeon, and Michael L. Printz awards, and was nominated for the National Book Award... |
| 2011 | The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms was N. K. Jemisin's debut novel, the first book of "The Inheritance Trilogy." The fantasy novel was published 2010 by Orbit. It is a winner of the 2011 Locus Award for Best First Novel , the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award, and it has been nominated for the... |
N. K. Jemisin N. K. Jemisin N. K. Jemisin is an American speculative fiction writer and blogger. Her 2010 debut novel, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, was nominated for the 2010 Nebula Award, the 2011 Hugo Award, and is nominated for the World Fantasy Award and was ranked #5 on Amazon's "editors' pick" list of the year's best... |