What Are the Locus Awards?
By Doug Brinlee
In the field of science fiction and fantasy literature, there are a number of awards to honor and recognize the year’s best. There are the Hugos, the Nebulas, and, the awards with the largest fan participation, the Locus Awards. The Locus Awards are an annual event held and sponsored by Locus Magazine, one of the largest magazines that cover the field of sci-fi and fantasy. The winners of the Locus Awards are chosen by a poll of the magazine’s readers. Fans of science fiction and fantasy can be die-hard in their obsession with their favorite genre. Even though the editors of Locus Magazine select the final nominees for consideration, it is up to the fans to choose the years best.
Locus Magazine and the Origins of the Locus Awards
Locus Magazine is a monthly magazine, published in the United States, that has been covering the science fiction and fantasy writing industry since 1968. The magazine contains reviews, articles, interviews with authors, and listings of new books. They have won the Hugo award for Best Fanzine eight times and the award for Best Semiprozine 21 times.
The Locus Awards were created back in 1971, three years after the founding of Locus Magazine. The awards were originally created as a means of providing recommendations to the voters of the Hugo Awards. The first annual Locus Awards were given out for works published the previous year in 1970. Because the awards are voted on by fans and readers of Locus Magazine, it is easily larger than either the Hugo Awards or the Nebula Awards.
The actual trophy for the each category of the Locus Awards is a plaque whose design changes from year to year. Writers who win in each category receive a plaque while winning publishers receive just a certificate. The Locus Awards have always been presented at an annual banquet that has been held in different locations throughout the years. However, starting in 2006, the awards ceremony was moved to the Science Fiction Hall of Fame and Museum in Seattle.
Locus Award Categories and Rules
There are a number of rules and requirements for the Locus Award nominations. The works to be considered must have been published in the previous year and are based on actual publication, not the official publication date. The fans and readers of Locus Magazine go through a process to choose the year’s nominations for each category. The nominations are then presented to twenty publishers. Votes are counted according to what is known as the “Carr system”. This gives each nominee a set number of points according to how they are ranked. For instance, a first-place vote gets 8 points, second-place vote gets 7 points, etc. At the end of voting, the nominee with the most points wins. In 2005, the rules were changed so that the top five finishers in each category were revealed as 'finalists'.
There are currently fifteen categories for the Locus Awards. They are: Best SF Novel, Best Fantasy Novel,Young Adult Book, First Novel, Novella, Novellette, Short Story, Collection, Anthology, Non-Fiction, Art Book, Editor, Magazine, Publisher, Artist
Locus Award Controversy
Despite the success of the Locus Awards, they have drawn their share of criticism. One main criticism is that Locus Magazine has too much influence on who gets nominated. The same month that the voting ballot is issued, the magazine publishes a recommended reading list. The claims are that this list is too suggestive and influential on readers. The ballot is not limited to the books on the reading list and fans can always write in their own nomination but the chances of these write-ins winning are slim.
Another big criticism is that Locus Magazine allowed anyone who visited their website to cast a vote. Traditionally, all voting had been done by subscribers to the magazine. When online voting was opened up, the results pushed away from the magazine’s recommended list of books. So in order to gain some control over the direction of the awards, Locus decided after the voting was complete to double the value of the votes of the Locus subscribers. This brought about harsh criticisms of unfair voting and favoritism by the Locus editors.
Locus Award Winners
The categories for the Locus Awards have changed over the years. Some categories have since been retired. To make things easy, here is a list of the winners for the top two categories, science fiction and fantasy novels, since 1971.
2008
Best SF Novel: The Yiddish Policeman’s Union by Michael Chabon
Best Fantasy Novel: Making Money by Terry Pratchett
2007
Best Sci-Fi Novel: Rainbow’s End by Vernor Vinge
Best Fantasy Novel: The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner
2006
Best Sci-Fi Novel: Accelerando by Charles Stross
Best Fantasy Novel: Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
2005
Best Sci-Fi Novel: The Baroque Cycle: The Confusion; The System of the World by Neil Stephenson
Best Fantasy Novel: Iron Council by China Mieville
2004
Best Sci-Fi Novel: Ilium by Dan Simmons
Best Fantasy Novel: Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold
2003
Best Sci-Fi Novel: The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
Best Fantasy Novel: The Scar by China Mieville
2002
Best Sci-Fi Novel: Passage by Connie WIllis
Best Fantasy Novel: American Gods by Neil Gaiman
2001
Best Sci-Fi Novel: The Telling by Ursula K. Le Guin
Best Fantasy Novel: A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin
2000
Best Sci-Fi Novel: Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
Best Fantasy Novel: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
1999
Best Sci-Fi Novel: To Say Nothing of the Dog byConnie Willis
Best Fantasy Novel: A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
1998
Best Sci-Fi Novel: The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons
Best Fantasy Novel: Earthquake Weather by Tim Powers
1997
Best Sci-Fi Novel: Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
Best Fantasy Novel: A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
1996
Best Sci-Fi Novel: The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
Best Fantasy Novel: Alvin Journeyman by Orson Scott Card
1995
Best Sci-Fi Novel: Mirror Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold
Best Fantasy Novel: Brittle Innings by Michael Bishop
1994
Best Sci-Fi Novel: Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
Best Fantasy Novel: The Innkeeper’s Song by Peter S. Beagle
1993
Best Sci-Fi Novel: Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
Best Fantasy Novel: Last Call by Tim Powers
1992
Best Sci-Fi Novel: Barraya by Lois McMaster Bujold
Best Fantasy Novel: Beauty by Sheri S. Tepper
1991
Best Sci-Fi Novel: The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Best Fantasy Novel: Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
1990
Best Sci-Fi Novel: Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Best Fantasy Novel: Prentice Alvin by Orson Scott Card
1989
Best Sci-Fi Novel: Cyteen by C.J. Cherryh
Best Fantasy Novel: Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card
1988
Best Sci-Fi Novel: The Uplift War by David Brin
Best Fantasy Novel: Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card
1987
Best Sci-Fi Novel: Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
Best Fantasy Novel: Soldier of the Mist by Gene Wolf
1986
Best Sci-Fi Novel: The Postman by David Brin
Best Fantasy Novel: Trumps of Doom by Roger Zelazny
1985
Best Sci-Fi Novel: The Integral Trees by Larry Niven
Best Fantasy Novel: Job: A Comedy of Justice by Robert A. Heinlein
1984
Best Sci-Fi Novel: Startide Rising by David Brin
Best Fantasy Novel: The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
1983
Best Sci-Fi Novel: Foundation’s Edge by Isaac Asimov
Best Fantasy Novel: The Sword of the Lictor by Gene Wolf
1982
Best Sci-Fi Novel: The Many-Colored Land by Juliam May
Best Fantasy Novel: The Claw of the Conciliator by Gene Wolf
1981
Best Sci-Fi Novel: The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge
Best Fantasy Novel: Lord Valentine’s Castle by Robert Silverberg
1980
Best Sci-Fi Novel: Titan by John Varley
Best Fantasy Novel: Harpist in the Wind by Patricia A. McKillip
1979
Best Novel: Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre
1978
Best Sci-Fi Novel: Gateway by Frederick Pohl
Best Fantasy Novel: The Silmarillion by J.R. R. Tolkien
1977
Best Novel: Where the Late Sweet Birds Sings by Kate Wilhelm
1976
Best Novel: The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
1975
Best Novel: The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
1974
Best Novel: Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
1973
Best Novel: The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
1972
Best Novel: The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
1971
Best Novel: Ringworld by Larry Niven