C.L. Polk, David Demchuk, Fonda Lee among finalists for 2022 Aurora Awards
The Aurora Awards recognize the best in Canadian science fiction and fantasy
The Aurora Awards, which annually celebrate Canadian science fiction and fantasy writing, have released their 2022 shortlists.
The finalists are nominated by members of the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association.
C.L. Polk's Soulstar, the conclusion to their Kingston trilogy, is a nominee for best novel. The book takes place in a world that resembles Edwardian England and follows a character named Robin Thorpe. Having spent her life hiding her magic, Robin finds herself amid a revolution of freed witches.
Polk is a fantasy writer from Calgary. Their Kingston trilogy — which begins with Witchmark and Stormsong — is a 2022 Hugo Award nominee for best series. Witchmark also won the 2019 World Fantasy Award for best novel. Their standalone novel The Midnight Bargain was championed on Canada Reads 2021.
Fonda Lee is also a finalist for best novel for the conclusion of her Green Bone Saga trilogy, Jade Legacy. The series comes to a head in the final novel, as magical jade draws power-hungry agents from all over the world, who threaten the Green Bone Warriors of Kekon.
Lee is a three-time Aurora Award winner, including best novel for Jade City and best YA novel for Exo. Jade City also won the World Fantasy Award in 2018. The Green Bone Saga is nominated for the 2022 Hugo Award for best series.
David Demchuk's genre-bending supernatural horror story Red X is nominated for best novel. The book is set in Toronto's historic Gay Village and mirrors the real life horror felt by gay men falling prey to a serial killer.
Demchuk's debut work of fiction, The Bone Mother, was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. He's also a CBC communications officer.
The 2022 Aurora Award ballot for best novel:
- A Broken Darkness by Premee Mohamed
- Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee
- The Quantum War by Derek Künsken
- Red X by David Demchuk
- Soulstar by C.L. Polk
Best young adult novel nominees
The young adult category includes novels by Manitoba politician Wab Kinew, bestselling fantasy writer Kelley Armstrong and B.C. author and YouTuber Xiran Jay Zhao.
Kinew's Walking in Two Worlds, his first book for YA readers, follows two teenagers who are outcasts in the real world, but thrive in the virtual world of video games. As Bugz and Feng bond over their virtual adventures, they also lean on each other in the face of challenges on their reserve.
Kinew is the leader of Manitoba's New Democratic Party. Prior to his career in politics, Kinew was a hip hop musician and broadcaster, hosting the CBC series 8th Fire and Canada Reads in 2015. As a panellist on CBC's great book debate, Kinew won the 2014 edition for his defence of Joseph Boyden's The Orenda.
In Armstrong's book The Serpent's Fury, Rowan, the Royal Monster Hunter of Tamarel, faces her most fearsome challenge yet. Monsters of the land have been acting strangely, and Rowan is convinced that something might be driving them from their natural habitat. This is book three in Armstrong's Royal Guide to Monster Slaying series.
Armstrong is a bestselling author of fantasy and thriller novels for middle-grade, YA and adult readers. Her standalone novels include Aftermath and Missing, but she is best known for her Darkest Powers and Darkness Rising series as well as her Cainsville and Otherworld series.
Zhao's nominated book, Iron Widow, was a New York Times bestseller. It follows 18-year-old Wu Zetian, who volunteers for the dangerous role of concubine-pilot of a Chrysalises — giant fighter robots — to avenge her sister's death.
Zhao is a Vancouver-based science fiction and fantasy writer who is also training to become a biochemist. They are a first-generation Chinese immigrant with an interest in Chinese history, cosplay and anime.
The 2022 Aurora Award ballot for best Young Adult Novel:
- The Gold Flame of Senica by Elizabeth Whitton
- Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
- The Serpent's Fury by Kelly Armstrong
- Star Song by Edward Willett
- Walking in Two Worlds by Wab Kinew
Best graphic novel/comic nominees
Books by Canadian writers Hiromi Goto and Mariko Tamaki are nominated for best graphic novel/comic.
Goto's comic Shadow Life, illustrated by Ann Xu, follows a senior citizen named Kumiko, who runs away from her assisted living facility and settles down in a secret apartment in the coolest part of town. Kumiko is content with her life, until she discovers that Death's shadow has been following her.
Shadow Life is also nominated for two other awards: the Lambda Literary Award and L.A. Times Book Prize. This is Goto's first graphic novel — she's also the author of the novels Chorus of Mushrooms, Half World and Darkest Light. She was shortlisted for the 2020 CBC Poetry Prize.
Listen | Hiromi Goto on Shadow Life
Tamaki and Japanese illustrating team Gurihiru are finalists for their Marvel comic Thor and Loki: Double Trouble. The series follows the mischievous adventures of the Norse gods, brothers and best frenemies as they battle each other, steal ancient relics from their dad Odin and meet the goddess of thunder in an alternate universe.
Tamaki's an award-winning writer of comics and YA novels. Some of her books include This One Summer, Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me and Cold. She's a regular contributor to Marvel and DC Comics, and runs an imprint called Surely Books.
The 2022 Aurora Award ballot for best graphic novel/comic:
- Crash and Burn by Kate Larking and Finn Lucullan
- Critical Role: The Mighty Nein. Origins — Jester Lavorre by Sam Maggs & Hunter Severn Bonyun
- Goblins by Ellipsis Hana Stephens
- It Never Rains by Kari Maaren
- Shadow Life by Hiromi Goto & Ann Xu
- Thor and Loki: Double Trouble by Mariko Tamaki & Gurihiru
Read about the other nominees — including the categories of best novelette/novella, best short story and best poem/song — on the Aurora Awards website.
The Aurora Award winners will be announced on August 13, 2022.
