Locus News

Fan and organizer Robin Johnson, 89, died July 6, 2026 in Ballarat, Australia of underlying causes after a fall.

Johnson was born March 9, 1937 and lived variously in Melbourne, Sydney, Hobart, and Ballarat, as well as in England. He chaired the first Australian Worldcon in 1975 as well as Thylacons 1-3. He was awarded the Ditmar Awards Special Award in 1974 and in 1983, and he received the Big …Read More

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Finalists for the 2026 Washington Science Fiction Association (WSFA) Small Press Award for Short Fiction have been announced:

• Not a Fish , Andrew Dykstal (Beneath Ceaseless Skies 6/12/25)
• Half Life , Stephen Harper (Skull X Bones)
• The Last Mardi Gras , Raven Jakubowski (DreamForge Anvil6/1/25)
• The Teleporting Disaster Fairy , Rati Mehrotra (Uncanny 11-12/25)
• Blackrock , R.M. Olson (Skull X Bones)
• Billionaire's Tears …Read More

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Wendy N. Wagner has announced that she will bestepping down as editor-in-chief of Nightmare Magazine to focus on writing, with the December 2026 issue being her last. Wagner wrote,

On the plus side,I'm simply returning the reins to our founder, John Joseph Adams. I am absolutely thrilled to see what he'll do now that he's had a bit of rest; his amazing work as a horror short fiction editor is …Read More

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The International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) has reported a theft at the offices of antiquarian bookseller L.W. Currey, Inc. in Elizabethtown NY. The theft was the third targeting L.W. Currey, including one in February 2026. New York State Police are investigating the case.

Approximately 150 books were reported as stolen, including at least ten books by Isaac Asimov; at least 15 books by H.G. Wells; at least five each …Read More

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MILESTONES

KUZHALI MANICKAVEL is now represented by Michael Curry at Donald Maass Literary Agency.

KATH RICHARDS is now represented by Bethany Weaver at Weaver Literary Agency. Fangs with Benefits resold to Sam Brody at Forever via Jessica Purdue at Sphere.

The Horror Writers Association will partner with Raw Dog Screaming Press to publish HWA Poetry Showcase Volume XIII and future volumes.

KATHERINE LOCKE is president of the executive board of …Read More

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When There Are Wolves Again by E.J. Swift (Arcadia) Amazon / Bookshop has won the 2026 annual Arthur C. Clarke Award. Swift receives £2,025 and an engraved bookend. Other finalists were:

• Dungeon Crawler Carl, Matt Dinniman (Dandy House US; Michael Joseph UK) Amazon / Bookshop
• The Dream Hotel, Laila Lalami (Pantheon US; Bloomsbury Circus UK) Amazon / Bookshop
• Luminous, Silvia Park (Simon & Schuster US; Magpie UK) Amazon …Read More

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TheAssociazione World SF Italia announced the winners of the 2026 Premio Ernesto Vegetti, an Italian SF award.

Novel

• WINNER: Mai verrà la notte, Mariangela Cerrino (Tabula Fati)

• La grande insurrezione, Claude Francis Dozière (Tabula Fati)
• Un compagno e tante stelle, Daniela Piegai (Delos Digital)

Nonfiction

• WINNER: I grandi scrittori di Urani, D. Arecco, R. Chiavini, L. Ortino, F. Piccinini (Profondo Rosso)

• Città invisibili, …Read More

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SF/F fan and bookseller Dave Nee, 73, died August 6, 2026 of an apparent heart attack.

David Chin-Kuo Nee was born in 1953. He attended high school in the San Francisco Bay Area and studied at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1974, he co-founded The Portable Bookstore with Debbie Notkin and Tom Whitmore as a service running books to local organizations. It would be renamed The Other Change of …Read More

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John Crowley, 83, died August 8, 2026.

John William Crowley was born December 1, 1942 in Presque Isle ME, where his father, a doctor and captain in the Army Air Corps, was stationed. The family moved several times until settling in Indiana in 1953. He earned an English degree from Indiana University in 1964 and moved to New York City and worked in photography and documentary film writing. Crowley …Read More

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The winners of the 2026 Aurora Awards for works by Canadians were announced in an online awards ceremony on August 9, 2026, hosted by Elizabeth May Anderson and Mark Leslie Lefebvre.

Best Novel

• WINNER: The Downloaded 2: Ghosts in the Machine, Robert J. Sawyer (Shadowpaw) amazon / bookshop

• A Shift of Time, Julie E. Czerneda (DAW) amazon / bookshop
• Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales, Heather Fawcett …Read More

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The winners for the 2026 Prix Rosny Aîné have been announced. The prize is awarded to SF novels and short stories written in French and published in print in 2025.

Best Novel

• WINNER: Sintonia, Audrey Pleynet (Belial)

• La Dernière Tentation de Judas, Phillipe Battaglia (Atalante)
• Echos Stellaires, David Bry (Flueve Eds)
• Aatea, Anouck Faure (Argyll)
• Soma, Floriane Soulas (R. Laffont)

Best Short Story

• WINNER: Les …Read More

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TheScience Fiction Research Association (SFRA) has announced the 2026 winners of its annual book awards.

The SFRA Award for Lifetime Contributions to SF Scholarship

• Istvan Csicsery-Ronay, Jr.

The SFRA Innovative Research Award

• Growth, Resource, Population: The GRP Triangle in Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction by Female Writers. , Regina Kanyu Wang (SFRA Review Summer '25)

Thomas D. Clareson Award for Distinguished Service

• Patrick Sharp

…Read More

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Clive Barker and Joyce Carol Oates have been announced as the recipients of the 2026 World Fantasy Awards for Lifetime Achievement, presented annually to individuals who have demonstrated outstanding service to the fantasy field. The final ballot for the 2026 World Fantasy Awards was previously announced.

The awards will be presented during the 2026 World Fantasy Convention, to be held October 22-25, 2026 in Oakland CA.

For more information, see …Read More

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The Mythopoeic Society announced the 2026 Mythopoeic Awards winners during Mythcon 54, held July 24-27, 2026 in Weatherford OK.

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature

• WINNER: Snake-Eater, T. Kingfisher (47North)

• The Charlatan Duology, Holly Black (Tor)
• Audition for the Fox, Martin Cahill (Tachyon)
• The Bright Sword, Lev Grossman (Viking)
• The West Passage, Jared Pechaček (Tordotcom)
• Water Moon, Samantha Sotto Yambao (Del Rey)
• The Incandescent, Emily Tesh (Tor)

…Read More

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The National Fantasy Fan Federation(N3F) has announced the winners of the2026 National Fantasy Fan Federation Laureate Awards(AKA the Neffy Awards).

Best Novel

• All That We See or Seem, Ken Liu (Saga)

Best Shorter Work or Anthology

• The Dagger in Vichy, Alastair Reynolds (Subterranean)

Best Poem or Collection

• Entropocene, Jean-Paul L. Garnier (Space Cowboy)

Best Editor

• Toni Weisskopf (Baen)

…Read More

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The Queensland Writers Centre (QWC) has updated the entry guidelines for the 2026 Aurealis Awards, established to recognize the best in Australian speculative fiction, making changes including expanded terms for entry fees.

The Aurealis Awards were established in 1995 by Chimaera Publications, the team behind the magazine Aurealis. The Awards later partnered with different organizations to administer them. According to the Aurealis Awards web page, these have included Fantastic Queensland, …Read More

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Dragon Con has announced the ballot for the 2026 Dragon Awards.

Best Science Fiction Novel

• God's Junk Drawer, Peter Clines (Blackstone)
• The Faith of Beasts, James S.A. Corey (Orbit)
• Operation Bounce House, Matt Dinniman (Ace)
• Radiant Star, Ann Leckie (Orbit US)
• Slow Gods, Claire North (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
• The Shattering Peace, John Scalzi (Tor; Tor UK)

Best Fantasy Novel (Including Paranormal)

• Twelve Months, Jim Butcher (Ace)

…Read More

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Dream Foundry, a non-profit dedicated to bolstering the careers of nascent professionals working with the speculative arts, hasannounced the finalists for its 2026 contests.

Writing Contest

• Ooreoluwa O. Agbede
• Sara Ang
• N.A. Blair
• Tomás Xavier Díaz
• Angela Luo
• Natalie Anai Nowo Lydick
• Fatima Masood
• Femi Salami
• Ashleigh Spencer
• Plamen Ivanov Vasilev

Art Contest

• River Barton
• Ginger Bertoni
• Emelia Feldman
• Javiera Díaz
• Sierra Eston
• Olive Humphrey
• Niko Kristic

…Read More

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The World Fantasy Awards ballot for works published in 2025 has been announced. The awards will be presented during the 2026 World Fantasy Convention, scheduled for October 22-25, 2026 in Oakland CA.

The World Fantasy Awards finalists are:

Best Novel

• Audition for the Fox, Martin Cahill (Tachyon)
• Once Was Willem, M.R. Carey (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
• The Secret Market of the Dead, Giovanni De Feo (Saga)
• The Everlasting, Alix …Read More

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Ursula K. Le Guin's longtime residence at 3321 NW Thurman St. in Portland, Oregon has been added to the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of its significance to American literature and women's history.

During the 58 years she spent in the distinctive Queen Anne-style home until her death in 2018, Le Guin wrote many of the novels that have since been canonized among the most celebrated classics …Read More

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