2021 Hugo Award Finalists Announced

The finalists for the 2021 Hugo Awards and associated awards have been announced.

 

There were 1,249  valid nominating ballots collected from members of the 2019 and 2020 World Science Fiction Conventions, also known as Worldcon. The awards have been around since 1953.

The Hugo Awards are major indicator of the state of Science Fiction as Worldcon members tend to be genre’s most dedicated fans. They tend to consume a great many new works of science fiction every year and are willing to travel across the world to attend genre book conventions.

The Hugos are followed closely by fans and professionals alike for this reason. The awards also include The Lodestar Award (for Young Adult Fiction) and The Astounding Award for new writers. These latter awards are technically not Hugo Awards, despite being presented at the same ceremony and having the same level of prestige; they just have a different shaped award handed to the winner.

A ‘new’ category this year is Best Video Game.  The campaign to make this massive part of the industry a permanent part of the awards continues.

A full accounting of the finalists can found via the official Hugo website here, and we present the list below for your convience. Of particular note is the fact this appears to the year for World Science Fiction Fandom’s most valued player Alasdair Stuart, who has been nominated for a total of four seperate awards.  Another item that amused Starburst is that the Natalie Luhrs’ essay “George R.R. Martin Can Fuck Off Into the Sun, Or: The 2020 Hugo Awards Ceremony (Rageblog Edition)” has been nominated for Best Related Work.

Best Novel

  • Black Sun, Rebecca Roanhorse (Gallery / Saga Press)
  • The City We Became, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)
  • Harrow The Ninth, Tamsyn Muir (Tor.com)
  • Network Effect, Martha Wells (Tor.com)
  • Piranesi, Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury)
  • The Relentless Moon, Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor Books)

Best Novella

  • Come Tumbling Down, Seanan McGuire (Tor.com)
  • The Empress of Salt and Fortune, Nghi Vo (Tor.com)
  • Finna, Nino Cipri (Tor.com)
  • Ring Shout, P. Djèlí Clark (Tor.com)
  • Riot Baby, Tochi Onyebuchi (Tor.com)
  • Upright Women Wanted, Sarah Gailey (Tor.com)

Best Novelette

  • “Burn, or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super”, A.T. Greenblatt (Uncanny Magazine, May/June 2020)
  • “Helicopter Story”, Isabel Fall (Clarkesworld, January 2020)
  • “The Inaccessibility of Heaven”, Aliette de Bodard (Uncanny Magazine, July/August 2020)
  • “Monster”, Naomi Kritzer (Clarkesworld, January 2020)
  • “The Pill”, Meg Elison (from Big Girl, (PM Press))
  • Two Truths and a Lie, Sarah Pinsker (Tor.com)

Best Short Story

  • “Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse”, Rae Carson (Uncanny Magazine, January/February 2020)
  • “A Guide for Working Breeds”, Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, ed. Jonathan Strahan (Solaris))
  • Little Free Library, Naomi Kritzer (Tor.com)
  • “The Mermaid Astronaut”, Yoon Ha Lee (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, February 2020)
  • “Metal Like Blood in the Dark”, T. Kingfisher (Uncanny Magazine, September/October 2020)
  • “Open House on Haunted Hill”, John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots – 2020, ed. David Steffen)

Best Series

  • The Daevabad Trilogy, S.A. Chakraborty (Harper Voyager)
  • The Interdependency, John Scalzi (Tor Books)
  • The Lady Astronaut Universe, Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor Books/Audible/Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction)
  • The Murderbot Diaries, Martha Wells (Tor.com)
  • October Daye, Seanan McGuire (DAW)
  • The Poppy War, R.F. Kuang (Harper Voyager)

Best Related Work

  • Beowulf: A New Translation, Maria Dahvana Headley (FSG)
  • CoNZealand Fringe, Claire Rousseau, C, Cassie Hart, Adri Joy, Marguerite Kenner, Cheryl Morgan, Alasdair Stuart.
  • FIYAHCON, L.D. Lewis–Director, Brent Lambert–Senior Programming Coordinator, Iori Kusano–FIYAHCON Fringe Co-Director, Vida Cruz–FIYAHCON Fringe Co-Director, and the Incredible FIYAHCON team
  • “George R.R. Martin Can Fuck Off Into the Sun, Or: The 2020 Hugo Awards Ceremony (Rageblog Edition)”, Natalie Luhrs (Pretty Terrible, August 2020)
  • A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia E. Butler, Lynell George (Angel City Press)
  • The Last Bronycon: a fandom autopsy, Jenny Nicholson (YouTube)

Best Graphic Story or Comic

  • DIE, Volume 2: Split the Party, written by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans, letters by Clayton Cowles (Image Comics)
  • Ghost-Spider vol. 1: Dog Days Are Over, Author: Seanan McGuire, Artist: Takeshi Miyazawa and Rosie Kämpe (Marvel)
  • Invisible Kingdom, vol 2: Edge of Everything, Author: G. Willow Wilson, Artist: Christian Ward (Dark Horse Comics)
  • Monstress, vol. 5: Warchild, Author: Marjorie Liu, Artist: Sana Takeda (Image Comics)
  • Once & Future vol. 1: The King Is Undead, written by Kieron Gillen, iIllustrated by Dan Mora, colored by Tamra Bonvillain, lettered by Ed Dukeshire (BOOM! Studios)
  • Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, written by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy, illustrated by John Jennings (Harry N. Abrams)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

  • Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), written by Christina Hodson, directed by Cathy Yan (Warner Bros.)
  • Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, written by Will Ferrell, Andrew Steele, directed by David Dobkin (European Broadcasting Union/Netflix)
  • The Old Guard, written by Greg Rucka, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (Netflix / Skydance Media)
  • Palm Springs, written by Andy Siara, directed by Max Barbakow (Limelight / Sun Entertainment Culture / The Lonely Island / Culmination Productions / Neon / Hulu / Amazon Prime)
  • Soul, screenplay by Pete Docter, Mike Jones and Kemp Powers, directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Kemp Powers, produced by Dana Murray (Pixar Animation Studios/ Walt Disney Pictures)
  • Tenet, written and directed by Christopher Nolan (Warner Bros./Syncopy)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

  • Doctor Who: Fugitive of the Judoon, written by Vinay Patel and Chris Chibnall, directed by Nida Manzoor (BBC)
  • The Expanse: Gaugamela, written by Dan Nowak, directed by Nick Gomez (Alcon Entertainment / Alcon Television Group / Amazon Studios / Hivemind / Just So)
  • She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: Heart (parts 1 and 2), written by Josie Campbell and Noelle Stevenson, directed by Jen Bennett and Kiki Manrique (DreamWorks Animation Television / Netflix)
  • The Mandalorian: Chapter 13: The Jedi, written and directed by Dave Filoni (Golem Creations / Lucasfilm / Disney+)
  • The Mandalorian: Chapter 16: The Rescue, written by Jon Favreau, directed by Peyton Reed (Golem Creations / Lucasfilm / Disney+)
  • The Good Place: Whenever You’re Ready, written and directed by Michael Schur (Fremulon / 3 Arts Entertainment / Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group)

Best Editor, Short Form

  • Neil Clarke
  • Ellen Datlow
  • C.C. Finlay
  • Mur Lafferty and S.B. Divya
  • Jonathan Strahan
  • Sheila Williams

Best Editor, Long Form

  • Nivia Evans
  • Sheila E. Gilbert
  • Sarah Guan
  • Brit Hvide
  • Diana M. Pho
  • Navah Wolfe

Best Professional Artist

  • Tommy Arnold
  • Rovina Cai
  • Galen Dara
  • Maurizio Manzieri
  • John Picacio
  • Alyssa Winans

Best Semiprozine

  • Beneath Ceaseless Skies, ed. Scott H. Andrews
  • Escape Pod, editors Mur Lafferty and S.B. Divya, assistant editor Benjamin C. Kinney, hosts Tina Connolly and Alasdair Stuart, audio producers Summer Brooks and Adam Pracht and the entire Escape Pod team.
  • FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, publisher Troy L. Wiggins, executive editor DaVaun Sanders, managing editor Eboni Dunbar, poetry editor Brandon O’Brien, reviews and social media Brent Lambert, art director L. D. Lewis, and the FIYAH Team.
  • PodCastle, editors, C.L. Clark and Jen R. Albert, assistant editor and host, Setsu Uzumé, producer Peter Adrian Behravesh, and the entire PodCastle team.
  • Uncanny Magazine, editors in chief: Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, managing editor: Chimedum Ohaegbu, non-fiction editor: Elsa Sjunneson, podcast producers: Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky
  • Strange Horizons, Vanessa Aguirre, Joseph Aitken, Rachel Ayers, M H Ayinde, Tierney Bailey, Scott Beggs, Drew Matthew Beyer, Gautam Bhatia, S. K. Campbell, Zhui Ning Chang, Rita Chen, Tania Chen, Joyce Chng, Liz Christman, Linda H. Codega, Kristian Wilson Colyard, Yelena Crane, Bruhad Dave,  Tahlia Day, Arinn Dembo, Nathaniel Eakman, Belen Edwards, Sarah Davidson, George Tom Elavathingal, Rebecca Evans, Ciro Faienza, Courtney Floyd, Lila Garrott, Colette Grecco, Guananí Gómez-Van Cortright, Julia Gunnison, Dan Hartland, Sydney Hilton, Angela Hinck, Stephen Ira, Amanda Jean, Ai Jiang, Sean Joyce-Farley, Erika Kanda, Anna Krepinsky, Kat Kourbeti, Clayton Kroh, Maureen Kincaid Speller, Catherine Krahe, Natasha Leullier, A.Z. Louise, Dante Luiz, Gui Machiavelli, Cameron Mack, Samantha Manaktola, Marisa Manuel, Jean McConnell, Heather McDougal, Maria Morabe, Amelia Moriarty, Emory Noakes, Sarah Noakes, Aidan Oatway, AJ Odasso, Joel Oliver-Cormier, Kristina Palmer, Karintha Parker, Anjali Patel, Vanessa Rose Phin, Nicasio Reed, Belicia Rhea, Endria Richardson, Natalie Ritter, Abbey Schlanz, Clark Seanor, Elijah Rain Smith, Hebe Stanton, Melody Steiner, Romie Stott, Yejin Suh, Kwan-Ann Tan, Luke Tolvaj, Ben Tyrrell, Renee Van Siclen, Kathryn Weaver, Liza Wemakor, Aigner Loren Wilson, E.M. Wright, Vicki Xu, Fred G. Yost, staff members who prefer not to be named, and guest editor Libia Brenda with guest first reader Raquel González-Franco Alva for the Mexicanx special issue

Best Fanzine

  • The Full Lid, written by Alasdair Stuart, edited by Marguerite Kenner
  • Journey Planet, edited by Michael Carroll, John Coxon, Sara Felix, Ann Gry, Sarah Gulde, Alissa McKersie, Errick Nunnally, Pádraig Ó Méalóid, Chuck Serface, Steven H Silver, Paul Trimble, Erin Underwood, James Bacon, and Chris Garcia.
  • Lady Business, editors. Ira, Jodie, KJ, Renay, and Susan.
  • nerds of a feather, flock together, ed. Adri Joy, Joe Sherry, The G, and Vance Kotrla
  • Quick Sip Reviews, editor, Charles Payseur
  • Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog, ed. Amanda Wakaruk and Olav Rokne

Best Fancast

  • Be The Serpent, presented by Alexandra Rowland, Freya Marske and Jennifer Mace
  • Claire Rousseau’s YouTube channel, produced by Claire Rousseau
  • The Coode Street Podcast, presented by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe, Jonathan Strahan, producer
  • Kalanadi, produced and presented by Rachel
  • The Skiffy and Fanty show, produced by Shaun Duke and Jen Zink, presented by Shaun Duke, Jen Zink, Alex Acks, Paul Weimer, and David Annandale.
  • Worldbuilding for Masochists, presented by Rowenna Miller, Marshall Ryan Maresca and Cass Morris

Best Fan Writer

  • Cora Buhlert
  • Charles Payseur
  • Jason Sanford
  • Elsa Sjunneson
  • Alasdair Stuart
  • Paul Weimer

Best Fan Artist

  • Iain J. Clark
  • Cyan Daly
  • Sara Felix
  • Grace P. Fong
  • Maya Hahto
  • Laya Rose

Best Video Game

  • Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Publisher and Developer: Nintendo)
  • Blaseball (Publisher and Developer: The Game Band)
  • Final Fantasy VII Remake (Publisher Square Enix)
  • Hades (Publisher and Developer: Supergiant Games)
  • The Last of Us: Part II (Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment / Developer: Naughty Dog)
  • Spiritfarer (Publisher and Developer: Thunder Lotus)

Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book (presented by the World Science Fiction Society)

 

  • Cemetery Boys, Aiden Thomas (Swoon Reads)
  • A Deadly Education, Naomi Novik (Del Rey)
  • Elatsoe, Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido)
  • Legendborn, Tracy Deonn (Margaret K. McElderry/ Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing)
  • Raybearer, Jordan Ifueko (Amulet / Hot Key)
  • A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, T. Kingfisher (Argyll Productions)

Astounding Award for Best New Writer (presented by Dell Magazines)

 

  • Lindsay Ellis (1st year of eligibility)
  • Simon Jimenez (1st year of eligibility)
  • Micaiah Johnson (1st year of eligibility)
  • A.K. Larkwood (1st year of eligibility)
  • Jenn Lyons (2nd year of eligibility)
  • Emily Tesh (2nd year of eligibility)

 

Classic DOCTOR WHO Story THE ICE WARRIORS is Coming to Vinyl

who ice

Demon Records has announced the partially-lost Doctor Who story The Ice Warriors will be released on vinyl on June 4th.

From the press release:

The Doctor and his friends land on Earth in the future, and find it in the grip of a new Ice Age. They join a team of scientists struggling to hold back the huge glaciers that threaten all human life. A giant creature is discovered inside the ice and quickly comes to monstrous life – it’s an Ice Warriors from Mars! It intends to find its crashed spaceship, where a whole crew of Warriors is waiting to be revived… 

 

Presented across a trio of 140g Molten Ice vinyl discs, this 1967 TV soundtrack – only four episodes of which survive as film recordings – is narrated by Frazer Hines, who co-stars as the Doctor’s companion Jamie, with Deborah Watling as Victoria. The guest cast includes Bernard Bresslaw as the Ice Warrior Varga, Peter Barkworth as Leader Clent, and Peter Sallis as Penley. Incidental music is by Dudley Simpson, and the familiar strains of the Doctor Who theme are courtesy of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

 

The coloured LPs are presented in fully illustrated sleeves which, when assembled together, form the cover image. Original episode billings, and full cast and credits, are included.

You can pre-order the record here: https://amzn.to/3aaWA8q

London Horror Society Launches New Member Service

London Horror Society

The London Horror Society has launched a new membership service dedicated to helping up-and-coming horror writers, filmmakers and other creatives in the UK. 

The society helps to spread the word about exciting new horror projects, and is dedicated to supporting low budget, independent filmmaking. Their new membership service, LHS Pro, will provide a network of creative professionals to help aspiring filmmakers and authors realise their visions for new entries in the horror genre.

It will also provide members with insight from established filmmakers, and a private Discord server where members can exchange ideas and offer support. More broadly, it is hoped that the service will answer many of the questions that the most promising new horror filmmakers have about production and reaching out to wider audiences.

The London Horror Society Founder, Chris Nials said “we’ve loved every minute we’ve spent trying to help new indie horror projects come to life over the past few years, and I’ve been personally humbled by the sheer array of talent we’ve had the pleasure of working with. We’ve designed LHS Pro specifically to try and help even more people bring their work to life, and share it with new audiences.”

LHS Pro will also offer a news digest and a Q&A covering different aspects of making and promoting horror movies. Topics covered in these Q&As will include marketing, crowdfunding and PR to name but a few.

London Horror Society members already have access to a number of ticketed screenings that showcase some of the best new horror movies being made from across the country. The society is currently preparing for their latest short film showcase, which will take place tomorrow exclusively on LHS TV. It starts tomorrow (10th April) at 19:00.

Basic membership of the society is free for all. More information is available on their website.

Cyberpunk Comic KILLTOPIA to Become a Series

cyberpunk killtopia

In the first production from Voltaku Studios, cyberpunk action comic Killtopia is to be adapted into an animated series powered by the Unreal Engine. It will be scripted by Phil Gelatt, who wrote most of the excellent anthology sci-fi series Love, Death & Robots, and will run to eight 20-minute episodes.

Set in a futuristic Japan after a cataclysmic event, an infestation of mechs spreading a techno-organic virus has lead to the rise of gloryseeking bounty hunters and an annual bloodsport contest between them. Novice hunter Shinji just wants to be able to collect enough leftover scraps to pay for his sister’s medication, but after encountering Crash, the first ever sentient mech who may also be the key to curing the disease, he is thrust to the forefront of a dangerous hunt that has far greater ramifications than anyone at first realises.

We’ve reviewed the first and second issues of the comic (with a third due for imminent publication), and were more than a little impressed by what we saw. Although the story begins as seeming like the focus will be on high tech street fights battled out by various forms of lowlifes, a massive midway revelation thrusts the scope so wide it might question whether eight episodes will be enough to contain it.

Of the series’ potential, Killtopia’s creator and writer Dave Cook said “When Killtopia launches, it’s going to look like nothing that’s been seen on TV before. Our world is garish and vibrant, where hype, fandom and pop culture rule the day, which is the perfect launching pad for big stories. I’ve always wanted to see something so colourful and abstract depicted in a 3D world. With Voltaku’s help, I think we’re going to blow people away.”

Sha Nazir, operator of Killtopia’s publisher BHP Publisher said “We’re very excited to see where the project goes, we love Voltaku’s approach and ethos and think they’re the perfect fit to deliver some great entertainment.”

Voltaku CEO Charles Borland said “Game engines are giving studios a flexibility we’ve never seen before. When we option a project, it doesn’t have to stop with a movie or a TV series anymore. We can take our 3D production assets and build a game, VR/AR experiences, marketing materials, digital goods, basically anything we want, at Lion King or Avatar-like production levels. And that’s exactly what ‘otaku’ are looking for – more ways to engage with the worlds they love.”

We’ll bring you more news on the project as it develops, and in the meantime, if you’re curious about what cyberpunk imagery rendered in the Unreal Engine might look like, check out the short film below, which Voltaku has cited as an influence on the series’ overall style.

 

DALEK TERROR Hits Vinyl on Record Store Day 2021

dalek record store day

Record Store Day 2021 is coming – Saturday June 12th, to be exact – and Demon Records has announced another fantastic Doctor Who related vinyl release for this year. Dalek Terror is a compilation of four stories that originally appeared in the Dalek Annuals of the 1970s.

Created by Terry Nation, the Daleks have been one the most popular elements of Doctor Who over the years and this collection brings together a trio of actors synonymous with the show and a well-known fan to read the stories for the record. Nicholas Briggs (Dalek voices), Louise Jameson (Leela), Matthew Waterhouse (Adric), and impressionist Jon Culshaw provide the narration on the double LP.

Pressed on ‘Extermination Splatter’ vinyl with a gatefold sleeve and stunning retro artwork, the stories are:

 Side A

Terror Task Force

Side B

Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!

 

Side C

Blockade

Side D

Nightmare

The vinyl includes bonus briefings on Dalek Genius, Mark 7 Humanoid Robot, Anatomy of a Dalek and Earth-Skaro Timescale.

The record will go on sale on Record Store Day, June 12th, in participating record shops. Usual RSD rules apply: first come, first served and one per customer. Any stock leftover will be available online the week after. Head over to https://recordstoreday.co.uk/ to find your nearest participating store.

Period Horror Film EVACUEES in Development

evacuees development

Kato Pictures has a new horror film, Evacuees, in development with writer/director Cat Davies (Blood Shed) and producer Lauren Parker.

Davies’ originally pitch was selected as a finalist at Arrow Video FrightFest’s New Blood contest in 2018. She received mentoring from producer Jack Tarling (Await Further Instructions), Barbara Crampton (From Beyond), producer/director Jenn Wexler (The Ranger), and Giles Edwards from Queensbury Pictures. The script has been developed since and has done well in further script contests.

Synopsis:

Set in 1943, it tells the story of a Yorkshire town that plays host to a group of child evacuees from war-torn London. Childless outcast Elizabeth grows close to them, but faces a dilemma when she discovers the truth of their sinister intentions.

Of the film, Cat said: “As a filmmaker, this story allows me to explore themes of motherhood and fertility, femininity, gender and identity during a period of enormous change for women and through complex characters that are rarely portrayed on screen. It is atmospheric and gothic, as well as brutal, with echoes of The Innocents, Village of the Damned, Lady Macbeth, The Others and The Orphanage all in the mix. I’m so happy to join forces with Lauren on Evacuees. Her passion and enthusiasm for the script has been palpable, even through lockdown, and I look forward to channelling our energies into raising this project from toddler through to adulthood.”

Producer Lauren Parker added: “We’re so excited to be joining Cat on the journey to bringing Evacuees to the big screen. It’s so refreshing to have a horror project that is female-led in front and behind the camera and we can’t wait to tell this bloody tale.”

We’ve been fans of Cat Davies’ shorts, so we’re particularly looking forward to her feature debut.

You can check out Cat’s short Blood Shed on Prime Video, and Wash Club, a short produced by Lauren can be seen here.

Expect more news when we have it.

Lauren Parker                                                                                                             Cat Davies

Edgar Ramirez Joins Eli Roth’s BORDERLANDS

Edgar Ramirez Borderlands

With Eli Roth’s upcoming Borderlands movie adaptation having already amassed quite the impressive cast, the picture has now added Edgar Ramirez to its ranks.

Via Deadline, The Undoing star has signed on to play Atlas in Roth’s film. Seemingly playing the man behind the Atlas organisation of the Borderlands video game franchise, this character is pegged as a business titan, arms manufacturer and the most powerful person in the entire world.

On this news, Roth enthused, “We want to create something wild, fun and very different from anything they’ve seen from Edgar before. I am so, so excited to work with him.”

Edgar Ramirez joins a cast that currently features Cate Blanchett as Lilith, Jamie Lee Curtis as Dr Patricia Tannis, Kevin Hart as Roland, Jack Black as Claptrap, Ariana Greenblatt as Tiny Tina, Florian Munteanu as Krieg and an unknown role for Haley Bennett.

The official synopsis for this Borderlands effort reads:

In the movie, Lilith, an infamous outlaw with a mysterious past, reluctantly returns to her home planet of Pandora to find the missing daughter of the universe’s most powerful S.O.B., Atlas. Lilith forms an alliance with an unexpected team – Roland, a former elite mercenary, now desperate for redemption; Tiny Tina, a feral pre-teen demolitionist; Krieg, Tina’s musclebound, rhetorically challenged protector; Tannis, the scientist with a tenuous grip on sanity; and Claptrap, a persistently wiseass robot.

These unlikely heroes must battle alien monsters and dangerous bandits to find and protect the missing girl, who may hold the key to unimaginable power. The fate of the universe could be in their hands – but they’ll be fighting for something more: each other.

At this stage, Borderlands has yet to have a release date announced.

STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS Renewed For Third Season

Star Trek: Lower Decks

Having impressed with its debut season, Paramount has moved announce that a third season of Star Trek: Lower Decks has now been greenlit.

Via Deadline, this news was revealed at today’s First Contact Day. And not just that, but this event was also seen as the perfect opportunity to confirm an August 12 premiere date on Paramount+ for the animated show’s second season.

Back when Lower Decks first aired, Paramount+ was still known as CBS All Access. For fans in the UK and certain other regions, the series can be found on Prime Video.

Plot details for these next two seasons aren’t currently known, although one has to imagine that a large majority of Season Two’s narrative will centre on Brad Doimler coming to grips with his new role under William T. Riker on the USS Titan.

Expect more on these upcoming new seasons of Star Trek: Lower Decks as we get it.

2020 BSFA Award Winners Announced

The Winners of British Science Fiction Association Award have been announced. The winners were announced as part of the annual Eastercon event.

The winners are:

Infinite Tea in the Demara Cafe by Ida Keogh for Best Short Fiction.

It’s the End of the World: But What Are We Really Afraid Of? by Adam Roberts for Best Non-Fiction.

Shipbuilding Over the Clyde by Iain Clark for Best Artwork.

The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin for Best Novel.

In addition the Doc Weir Award went to Alison Scott. The Doc Weir is awarded to fans by fans and is specifically intended to honour hard-working volunteers.

Eastercon is the UK’s oldest science-fiction event and is held over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend. This year’s event was held exclusively online.

Eastercon 2022 launched

Eastercon

Eastercon, the UK’s longest running science fiction convention will run in 2022. The event will be called Reclamation and the intention is to return Eastercon back to an in person event if possible. It will run Friday 15th to Monday 18th April 2022.

The Guests of Honour are Hugo Award Winning author Mary Robinette Kowal, Sorceror To The Crown writer Zen Cho and Mortal Engines creator Philip Reeve. The fan guest of honour is  Nicholas Whyte.

Memberships are available now, from the website at reclamation2022.co.uk. The venue is currently not confirmed due to complications caused by the global pandemic, but the plans for the event are very much underway. The event will likely be held in the south of England. The event was confirmed during a special meeting at the current Eastercon, Confusion 2021.  This year’s Eastercon was presented entirely online and has been fraught with some technical issues.

Eastercon is entirely ran by fans for fans. They are non-commercial events.  Different teams tend to organise the event from year to year and events can be planned up to two years in advance, though this is not always the case.

The organisers behind this year’s Eastercon have proposed an event for 2023, however this was challenged by attendees.  The details of who will organise the 2023 event has been deferred until a future Eastercon. A proposal for an Eastercon 2024 is currently underway and a presentation was made during the same meeting.

Those intending to attend next year’s Eastercon should purchase tickets here.