The finalists for the 2023 World Fantasy Awards have been announced, and many congratulations to the following DMLA authors on their nominated titles!
Best Novel
Best Collection
The 2024 Aurora Awards winners have been announced and we’re thrilled to share that the following DMLA authors have won in the Best Novel and Best Short Story categories!
Best Novel: The Valkyrie, Kate Heartfield, HarperVoyager
Best Short Story: “At Every Door A Ghost”, Premee Mohamed, Communications Breakdown, MIT Press
Congratulations to the following DMLA titles for making the final ballot for the 2024 Dragon Awards!
Best Science Fiction Novel
Best Fantasy Novel (Including Paranormal)
Best Horror Novel
Publishers Weekly: The Christmas season heats up in Buck’s steamy second First Responders romance (after Fake Flame). After 10 years working as a firefighter in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., Thea Martinelli is rattled when a fellow firefighter is seriously injured on the job, and she jumps at the chance to take a breather as the new social media manager for emergency services. To train her, the department brings in the local library’s social media manager: total hunk Simon Osman. Simon is shocked to see Thea, his distant, unattainable crush all through high school, and can tell she doesn’t quite remember him from their teenage years. Sparks fly as these two spend more time together, and Simon discovers the vulnerable side that Thea always used to hide behind humor. But their budding relationship is complicated by Simon’s controlling sister’s demands that he spend more of the upcoming Christmas holiday with her in California. Sex scenes sizzle while the pressures of the holiday season keep the plot moving swiftly. Readers will cheer for Simon to find happiness with the girl he never forgot.
Hugo Award-winning author Elizabeth Bear sold rights to two novels in her White Space setting. For new readers, her next science fiction epic, THE FOLDED SKY, stands alone. For returning readers, this is an indirect sequel to Ancestral Night, and takes place more or less concurrently and a little bit after Machine.
In THE FOLDED SKY, Dr. Sunyata Song must travel across the Milky Way to learn to communicate with the greatest discovery of her century: an artificial intelligence the size of a stellar system, an ancient abandoned matrioshka brain called the Baomind. It orbits a dying red giant, and the star’s time has nearly ended. The remote research station and its small fleet of ships come under attack by fanatic Freeport pirates who believe that artificial intelligence is an abomination that must be destroyed, putting the lives of Sunya and her family at risk. Tens of thousands of light years from home, isolated from all help, Sunya is the only one who can save them all.
In negotiations with Jennifer Jackson, U.S. rights were acquired by Joe Monti at Saga Press / Simon & Schuster; Gillian Redfearn at Gollancz will release the UK edition — both with plans to publish in 2025.
Publishers Weekly: YA author Clarke (the Scapegracers trilogy, written as H.A. Clarke) makes their adult debut with a slick and sexy queer fantasy western. Ignavia City is on the cusp of industrial revolution and roiling with discontent. When Marney Honeycutt’s family and childhood sweetheart are murdered in a strikebreak, she swears revenge on Yann Chauncey, the foundry owner who ordered the massacre. Fleeing the city, she falls into the hands of the Highwayman’s Choir, a troop of bandit revolutionaries fighting to bring about the Hereafter: a golden future with no work, wages, or poverty. Thanks to in-utero exposure to ichorite, the toxic, eerie metal on which Yann Industry’s fortune was built, Marney can control the metal and perceive memories of how it’s been worked but suffers debilitating fits if she touches it. The Choir give Marney shelter, family, and identity, but don’t hesitate to use her powers to further their cause. Together they hatch a plot that hinges on Marney seducing Gossamer Chauncey, Yann’s daughter. Clarke delivers a masterful and tragic exploration of the intersections of violence, faith, sexuality, and power, perfect for readers of challenging political fantasy in the vein of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Tyrant Philosophers series. Lyrical prose, meticulous worldbuilding, and steamy lesbian sex scenes make this a surefire hit. (Oct.)
Chinese (simplified) rights to New York Times bestselling author Martha Wells’ WITCH KING, to Science Fiction World, by Gray Tan at Grayhawk Agency in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.
Chinese (complex) rights to New York Times bestselling author Martha Wells’ WITCH KING, to Gaea, by Gray Tan at Grayhawk Agency in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.
LJ Andrews’s THE EVER SEAS series, in a three-book deal, to Kossuth (HUNGARY); also to Artline Studios (BULGARIA), by Milena Kaplarevic at Prava I Prevodi, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier.
Spanish rights to Jo Walton’s AMONG OTHERS, to Duermevela, by Amaiur Fernandez at International Editors’, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier for Cameron McClure.
Turkish rights to Nnedi Okorafor’s WHO FEARS DEATH and AKATA WOMAN, to Ithaki, by Merve Ongen at Anatolialit Agency, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier for Donald Maass.
French rights to Robert Jackson Bennett’s novella TO BE READ UPON YOUR WAKING, to Le Belial, by Sarah Dray at Anna Jarota Agency, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier for Cameron McClure.
KNOCK KNOCK, OPEN WIDE author Neil Sharpson’s picture book debut DON’T TRUST FISH, which explains in a scientific and reasonable way why fish cannot be trusted, illustrated by Caldecott Medalist and National Book Award winner for A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING Dan Santat, to Kate Harrison at Dial, at auction, for publication in spring 2025, by Jennie Goloboy for the author, and by Jodi Reamer at Writers House for the illustrator.
The finalists for the 2024 Ignyte Awards have been announced, and we are so excited to see so many DMLA authors on the list! Congratulations to Vajra Chandrasekera, C.L. Polk, R.S.A. Garcia, and Premee Mohamed!
Outstanding Novel: Adult
Outstanding Novelette
Outstanding Short Story
Outstanding Anthology/Collected Works
Reactor: I had no idea what to expect when I opened to the first page of Asunder. Kerstin Hall has cemented herself as a brilliantly unpredictable writer. Her surrealist concepts are unlike any other, and she’s unafraid to go to the darkest, weirdest places. Asunder shines as a uniquely ambitious accomplishment among her stellar catalog, and I need you to know that the description I’m about to give pales in comparison to the vibrancy of the actual text. In a world of many gods and demons, we meet Karys, a death speaker, an ability which allows her to peer beyond the veil and recall the whispers of those that have passed. She uses this in a sort of freelance detective capacity, and is on a gig when the Constructs—translucent monsters that eat humans whole—find her. While running from the Constructs she collides with Ferain Taliade, a dying man who has managed to stay just slightly out of reach of the monsters and desperately needs her help. She agrees to magically bind him to her so he’ll stay alive, but he’s sort of living inside her now, which is inconvenient in a lot of ways. Especially considering she’s secretly the vassal for a very powerful eldritch being, not to mention the type of person who keeps getting pulled into dangerous situations. This is a complex, emotional rollercoaster from Hall that grabs you from the first page and never lets go. Oh and also, in this one they use big dogs like taxis.