The 2020 Kitschies shortlist has been announced. The Kitschies are a “prize for the year’s most progressive, intelligent and entertaining novels containing elements of the speculative and the fantastic”.
The award is famous for its unique Tentacle trophies.
The Red and Golden Tentacle awards will be judged by .R. Carey, Clare Rees, Mahvesh Murad, Kaiya Shang and Daphne Lao Tong. The Inky will be judged by Paul Wiseall, Fleur Clarke, Claire Richardson and Jeffrey Alan Love.
The Red Tentacle (Novel) shortlist is:
– A Tall History Of Sugar by Curdella Forbes (Canongate)
– The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin (Orbit)
– The Lost Future Of Pepperharrow by Natasha Pulley (Bloomsbury)
– Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury)
– The Ministry For The Future by Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit)
The Golden Tentacle (Debut) shortlist is:
– Sharks In The Time Of Saviours by Kawai Strong Washburn (Canongate)
– The Animals In That Country by Laura Jean McKay (Scribe)
– The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson (Hodder & Stoughton)
– Djinn Patrol On The Purple Line by Deepa Anappara (Chatto & Windus)
– Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko (Hot Key Books)
The Inky Tentacle (Cover Art) shortlist is:
– The Arrest by Jonathan Lethem, Cover Design by Allison Saltzman and Illustration by Dexter Maurer (Atlantic Books)
– Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin, Cover Design by Ben Summers (Oneworld)
– Monstrous Heart by Claire McKenna, Cover Design by Andrew Davis (Harper Voyager)
– The Harpy by Megan Hunter, Cover Design by Lucy Scholes and Illustration by Amy Judd (Picador)
– The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin, Cover Design by Lauren Panepinto (Orbit)
The winners will be announced in a virtual ceremony on Wedneday 21st July 2021, and receive a total of £2,000 in prize money, as well as one of the prize’s iconic Tentacle trophies.
M.R. Carey said “In this most trying and unsettling of years, reading and judging for the Kitschies has been a source of joy and inspiration for me. I was amazed at the range, ambition and originality of the novels in contention, both by seasoned authors and by newcomers making their debuts. As always, speculative fiction provides perspectives on the world that are surprising, insightful and – in the best sense – revolutionary. Our stories tell us who we are, and these storytellers do it with grace and conviction. It was a privilege to meet them all through their words.”
