Gav Reads

A Web Log of Reading

Tag: reading challenge

  • Can I Read the Hugo and Clarke Shortlists Before the Winners Are Announced?

    Nick Hubble reminded me on Bluesky that this year’s Hugo Award nominees are out.

    Keeping a track of these write-ups for reasons. Also nice to see myself quoted if not named.

    — Nick Hubble (@thehubble101.bsky.social) 2026-06-26T18:17:34.639Z

    In July last year, I gave myself two reading challenges:

    1. Read the  British Fantasy Awards 2025 shortlist for Best Anthology
    2. Read the World Fantasy Awards 2025 shortlist for Best Novella

    I managed the novellas, but burnt out on the anthologies.

    So I have form, if not an entirely successful track record, with reviewing award shortlists. It does help me focus — giving me a deadline to aim for and pushing me to read books that might otherwise sit on the ever‑growing TBR pile.

    I also did a ‘live’ reading of Annie Bot by Sierra Greer (at Dan’s request), which went on to win the Clarke Award.

    That pushed me to read it more closely and think about it more deeply — and I think I saw some of what the Clarke judges did in it. A worthy winner.

    Please live-skeet it!

    — Dan Hartland (@danhartland.bsky.social) 2025-06-27T11:54:34.571Z

    So I’m wondering whether to set myself a new challenge: read the Hugo and Clarke shortlists before the winners are announced.

    Despite having somehow forgotten, checking the list reminded me that they are all books I’m interested in.

    Best Novel

    • A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett (Del Rey; Hodderscape)
    • Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor (William Morrow; Gollancz)
    • Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tor UK; Orbit US)
    • The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow (Tor US; Tor UK)
    • The Incandescent by Emily Tesh (Tor US; Orbit UK)
    • The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson (Orbit US; Hodderscape)

    I’ve only read one (The Incandescent), which isn’t a great start — especially as it’s currently at the bottom of the list, sorry. In theory, I have plenty of time to catch up on the other five before the winner is announced on Sunday, 30 August 2026, at 8:00pm Pacific (4am?!).

    The good news is that I already have all of them, including special editions of Death of the Author and The Everlasting. I enjoyed Robert Jackson Bennett’s previous series, and The Raven Scholar has enough hype that it seems to be living up to it.

    If that feels ambitious, I’ve checked the other categories, and the Best Novella looks much more manageable and should give me an easy and early win.

    Best Novella

    • Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz (Tordotcom)
    • Cinder House by Freya Marske (Tordotcom; Tor UK)
    • Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite (Tordotcom)
    • The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar (Tordotcom; Arcadia UK)
    • The Summer War by Naomi Novik (Del Rey US; Del Rey UK)
    • What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher (Nightfire; Titan UK)

    I’ve read half of them — Automatic Noodle, Murder by Memory and What Stalks the Deep — all worth reading. I owe reviews of two of them. But if I had to rank them, I’d go Noodle, Deep, then Memory. I’m curious how that would change.

    The Arthur C. Clarke Award shortlist this year is:

    • Dungeon Crawler Carl – Matt Dinniman (Michael Joseph)
    • The Dream Hotel – Laila Lalami (Bloomsbury Circus)
    • Luminous – Silvia Park (Magpie)
    • There Is No Antimemetics Division – Qntm (Del Rey)
    • When There Are Wolves Again – E.J. Swift (Arcadia)
    • The Salt Oracle – Lorraine Wilson (Solaris)

    I bought The Dream Hotel and Dungeon Crawler Carl especially to read for this, so I’m committed in terms of TBR. The Arthur C. Clarke and Hugos always have a lot of debate, and I want to avoid FOMO and join in.

    The winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award will be announced on 12 August 2026, putting it just over two weeks before the Hugos. In order to meet both deadlines, I’d need to read 10⅔ novels plus three novellas in just over two months.

    Should I commit to it? Would you do it? Have you read any? Who would you vote to win?

    PS

    The British Fantasy Awards 2026 Shortlists are also out, including the Best Anthology Award:

    • Lesbians In Space: Where No Man Has Gone Before, edited by J S Fields, William C Tracy, Heather Tracy (Space Wizard Science Fantasy)
    • Blood in the Bricks, edited by Neil Williamson, NewCon Press
    • This Way Lies Madness, edited Dave Jeffery, Lee Murray, Flame Tree Press
    • Silk and Sinew: A Collection of Folk Horror from the Asian Diaspora, Kristy Park Kulski (Bad Hand Books)

    And while I’m not reading the anthologies this year, I’m curious about them. Have you read any? What should I pick up?

  • Challenge: Award Reading x 2

    Based on my last post on DNF’ing, this is probably unwise, but I’ve been thinking about setting myself the challenge of reading a shortlist or at least a category from an award’s shortlist.

    This idea was fuelled by the FOMO from seeing all the discussions around this year’s ARTHUR C. CLARKE AWARD. 

    Out of this year’s shortlist, I’ve read two, DNF’d two, heard very interesting things about one I’ve not read, and not heard a lot about the other unread one:

    • Annie Bot by Sierra Greer – see a spoiler-filled thoughts here
    • Private Rites by Julia Armfield – To Be Read
    • The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley – DNF’d
    • Extremophile by Ian Green – DNF’d
    • Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky – Read
    • Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock by Maud Woolf – To Be Read

    Whilst this was all bubbling away in my brain, another two award shortlists were announced:

    1. British Fantasy Awards 2025
    2. World Fantasy Awards 2025

    I floated the idea on Bluesky of reading and reviewing the BFA Best Anthology category, and I’ve publically committed to doing that before the announcement at the end of October, which will be done as part of the World Fantasy Convention.

    Infographic of the shortlisted titles: Nova Scotia 2, edited by Neil Williamson and Andrew J Wilson – Luna Press Publishing I Want That Twink Obliterated!, edited by Trip Galey, C.L. McCartney, and Robert Berg – Bona Books Fight Like A Girl 2, edited by Roz Clarke and Joanne Hall – Wizard’s Tower Press Heartwood: A Mythago Wood Anthology, edited by Dan Coxon- PS Publishing The Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction (2023), edited by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki and Chinaza Eziaghighala – Caezik SF & Fantasy Bury Your Gays – An Anthology of Tragic Queer Horror, edited Sofia Ajram – Ghoulish Books Jurors: Kristen Platt, Steven French, Ariana Weldon, Stuart Conover, Jacqui Greaves

    The only thing is that I don’t think I’ve reviewed an anthology before, so I asked the experts. Runalong Womble gave me a great template:

    • How is the theme developed or explored throughout the anthology?
    • Does the mix of stories work effectively together?
    • Which stories stood out to you, and why?

    Thanks Womble.

    The World Fantasy Awards also take place during the World Fantasy Convention, and as I am planning on attending, I thought I’d also read and review of one of the WFA shortlists. This time, I’m going for the novellas:

    • Crypt of the Moon Spider by Nathan Ballingrud (Tor Nightfire/Titan Books)
    • In the Shadow of Their Dying by Michael F. Fletcher and Anna Smith Spark (Grimdark Magazine)
    • Yoke of Stars by R. B. Lemberg (Tachyon Publications)
    • The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo (Tordotcom)
    • The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed (Tordotcom/Titan Books UK)

    That’ll keep me busy from now until October.

    I say busy. I do plan on completing the Clarke Award reading of Private Rites by Julia Armfield and Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock by Maud Woolf. And the TBR pile is overflowing, and I need to get it down.

    Are you planning on reading any shortlists from these two awards? If so, which ones?