Ramez Naam has 6 placements on 4 awards shortlists and one prominent best-of list for his novels, and writing stories outside the traditional norm of science fiction.
1. The Campbell Award
On Saturday the finalists for the Hugo Awards and Campbell Award for 2014 were announced.
Including Wes Chu, and other authors Benjanun Sriduangkaew, Sofia Samatar, and Max Gladstone were nominated.
2. The Clarke Award
Nexus is a finalist for the 2014 Arthur C. Clarke Award. Out of 121 books submitted, Nexus was one of the 6 finalists picked, along with God’s War by Kameron Hurley (whose awesome, Hugo-nominated essay We Have Always Fought you should also read), The Disestablishment of Paradise by Phillip Mann, The Adjacent by Christopher Priest, The Machine by James Smythe, and of course, Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (the novel that has been on almost every award shortlist).
This is an award that’s previously gone to Margaret Atwood, Jeff Noon, Bruce Sterling, China Miéville, Neal Stephenson, Ian Macleod, Richard Morgan, and Lauren Beukes.
3. The Golden Tentacle (the Kitschie Award for Best Debut Novel)
Nexus was also a finalist for this year’s Golden Tentacle Kitschie Award for the most ‘progressive, intelligent, and entertaining’ debut novel in science-fiction and fantasy. The Kitschies were announced already, and the wonderful Ann Leckie won for Ancillary Justice. You can watch her acceptance speech here.
Also on the short list was A Calculated Life by the fabulous Anne Charnock, a novel that explores similar themes to Nexus in a very different way; Stray by Monica Hesse; and the much-lauded Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan.
4. The Prometheus Award
Nexus and Crux are on the shortlist for the 2014 Prometheus Award. They’re up against Cory Doctorow’s Homeland, Sarah Hoyt’s A Few Good Men, and Marcus Slakey’s Brilliance. The Prometheus Award honors books that celebrate liberty, and in that respect, it’s a huge honor to be on the same ballot as Cory Doctorow, who’s a non-stop champion of individual rights, and who’s been a huge booster for Nexus and Crux.
5. An NPR Best Book of the Year
