Literary award · United States
Locus Award for Best First Novel
Literary award by the science fiction and fantasy magazine Locus.
About Locus Award for Best First Novel
The Locus Award for Best First Novel is one of the annual Locus Awards presented by the science fiction and fantasy magazine Locus. 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. The Locus Awards have been described as a prestigious prize in science fiction, fantasy and horror literature.
From the Wikipedia article “Locus Award for Best First Novel”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Recent winners
| Year | Winner | Winning work |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Natalia Theodoridou | None |
| 2025 | John Wiswell | Someone You Can Build a Nest In |
| 2024 | Vajra Chandrasekera | The Saint of Bright Doors |
| 2023 | Ray Nayler | The Mountain in the Sea |
| 2021 | Darcie Little Badger | Elatsoe |
| 2020 | Tamsyn Muir | Gideon the Ninth |
| 2019 | Rebecca Roanhorse | Trail of Lightning |
From Wikidata; the list may be incomplete for some years.
Eligibility and entering
Check the official rules of the Locus Award for Best First Novel 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
- Structured data from Wikidata Q2090893 (CC0).
- Summary text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).