Literary award · United Kingdom · since 1987

Arthur C. Clarke Award

Award for best SF novel published in the UK in the previous year. Established 1987 in United Kingdom.

About Arthur C. Clarke Award

The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. It is named after British author Arthur C. Clarke, who gave a grant to establish the award in 1987. The book is chosen by a panel of judges from the British Science Fiction Association, the Science Fiction Foundation, and a third organisation, which as of 2019 is the Sci-Fi-London film festival. The award has been described as "the UK's most prestigious science fiction prize". Any "full-length" science fiction novel written or translated into English is eligible for the prize, provided that it was first published in the United Kingdom during the prior calendar year. There is no restriction on the nationality of the author, and the publication history of works outside the United Kingdom is not taken into consideration.

From the Wikipedia article “Arthur C. Clarke Award”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Recent winners

YearWinnerWinning work
2026E. J. SwiftWhen There Are Wolves Again
2024Martin MacInnesIn Ascension
2023Ned BeaumanVenomous Lumpsucker
2022Harry Josephine GilesDeep Wheel Orcadia
2021Laura Jean McKayThe Animals in That Country
2020Namwali SerpellThe Old Drift
2019Tade ThompsonRosewater
2018Anne CharnockNone

From Wikidata; the list may be incomplete for some years.

Eligibility and entering

Check the official rules of the Arthur C. Clarke Award for the current eligibility window, accepted formats, residency or language requirements and any entry fee. For most established prizes the publisher submits on the author's behalf, often with a limit on entries per imprint.

If you are self-published, look for an explicit statement that independently published books are accepted, and budget for entry fees and copies for judges.

Sources & data