Epic tales of tomorrow: meet the 2024 Philip K. Dick Award nominees (news).
Roll out the red carpet and dust off your e-readers, sci-fi fans! The 2024 Philip K. Dick Award nominees are in, and let me tell you, it’s like the Oscars of the paperback world but with more aliens and time paradoxes.
First up, we’ve got Danged Black Thing by Eugen Bacon, from Apex Book Company. It’s a title that sounds like what you say when your spaceship won’t start, but trust me, it’s much more profound than that.
Then there’s The Museum of Human History by Rebekah Bergman, brought to you by Tin House. If you’ve ever wondered what a museum in the year 3000 would look like (hint: probably fewer dusty exhibits and more holograms), this might be your jam.
M. R. Carey, known for giving us the chills, is back with Infinity Gate from Orbit. It’s the kind of book that makes you question reality, time, and why you never took up astrophysics.
Don’t forget Wild Spaces by S. L. Coney from Tordotcom. It’s like a walk in an intergalactic park, but the trees are sentient, and the squirrels might be plotting something.
Where Rivers Go to Die by Dilman Dila from Rosarium Publishing is next. With a title like that, you know you’re in for a journey that’s as emotional as it is sci-fi.
And finally, These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs, also from Orbit. If stars could read, they’d probably pick this one. But since they can’t, you should!
The big reveal will happen on Friday, March 29, 2024, at Norwescon 46. It’s like the Super Bowl for sci-fi readers, minus the halftime show and nachos.
Remember, the Philip K. Dick Award isn’t just any award. It’s a nod to the master of mind-bending narratives, and it’s given to books that would make Philip himself say, “Wow, I wish I’d thought of that.” Last year, The Extractionist by Kimberly Unger nabbed the prize, with The Legacy of Molly Southbourne by Tade Thompson getting a special shoutout. Hats off to the judges – Nicky Drayden, Gordon Eklund, Christopher V. Rowe, Kali Wallace (Chair), and Lisa Yaszek – for sifting through what I imagine is a mountain of otherworldly tales. They’re like the Jedi Council of the sci-fi literary world.
Mark your calendars, folks. The countdown to the Philip K. Dick Award has begun. May the best alternate universe win.
