Silvia Moreno-Garcia among finalists for Aurora Awards for Canadian sci-fi and fantasy writing
CBC Books | Posted: June 6, 2023 7:53 PM | Last Updated: June 6, 2023
The Aurora Awards recognize the best in Canadian science fiction and fantasy across 10 categories
Silvia Moreno-Garcia is among the writers shortlisted for the 2023 Aurora Awards.
The annual awards celebrate Canadian science fiction and fantasy writing across 10 categories, including fiction, YA, poetry, comics, illustration and fan writing.
Moreno-Garcia is nominated in two categories: in best novel for The Daughter of Doctor Moreau and in best novella for the Amazon Original story The Tiger Came to the Mountains.
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, takes its inspiration from the novella by H.G. Wells, The Island of Doctor Moreau. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is both a reimagining and a reboot of his classic science fiction tale — set in the sweltering jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula.
Moreno-Garcia published her debut novel Signal to Noise in 2015. Her 2020 novel, Mexican Gothic, was championed by TikTok creator Tasnim Geedi on Canada Reads 2023. Her other books include: Untamed Shore, Velvet Was the Night and Gods of Jade and Shadow.
Moreno-Garcia is not the only author with Canada Reads connections to be nominated for this year's Aurora Awards. Emily St. John Mandel is also nominated for best novel for Sea of Tranquillity. Mandel's previous novel, Station Eleven, was championed by actor Michael Greyeyes on Canada Reads 2023.
And C.L. Polk is a finalist for best novella for Even Though I Knew the End. Polk's novel The Midnight Bargain was championed by Olympian Rosey Edeh on Canada Reads 2021.
Polk is a fantasy writer from Calgary. Their other books include the Kingston trilogy, which includes the titles Witchmark, Stormsong and Soulstar.
Other notable finalists include Guy Gavriel Kay, who is nominated for best novel for All the Seas of the World; Xiran Jay Zhao who is nominated in the YA novel category for Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor; and Kenneth Oppel who is also nominated in the YA category for Ghostlight.
Books are nominated for the awards by the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association (CSFFA) members, and the top five nominated works comprise the shortlist in each category. The winners are decided upon by a vote by CSFFA members.
The winners will be announced on Aug. 19, 2023.
The finalists for the best novel are:
- All the Seas of the World by Guy Gavriel Kay
- The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- The Embroidered Book by Kate Heartfield
- Sea of Tranquillity by Emily St. John Mandel
- The Void Ascendant by Premee Mohamed
The finalists for best YA novel are:
- Black Hole Radio — Ka'Azula by Ann Birdgenaw
- Ghostlight by Kenneth Oppel
- The Hollow Boys by Douglas Smith
- Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove by Rati Mehrotra
- Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao
The finalists for best short story are:
- Big Trouble in Droidtown by Hayden Trenholm
- Broken Vow: The Adventures of Flick Gibson, Intergalactic Videographer by Peter G. Reynolds
- Douen by Suzan Palumbo
- The Five Rules of Supernova Surfing, or A for Real Solution to the Fermi Paradox, Bro by Geoffrey W. Cole
- Green Witch by Elizabeth Whitton
- A New Brave World by Eric Choi
- Schrödinger's Cats by Wayne Cusack
- We Are the Thing That Lives on the Moon by Gillian Secord
The finalists for best novella are:
- Even Though I Knew the End by C. L. Polk
- High Times in the Low Parliament by Kelly Robson
- The Jade Setter of Janloon by Fonda Lee
- A Sky and a Heaven by Eric Choi
- The Tiger Came to the Mountains by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The finalists for best related work are:
- The Astronaut Always Rings Twice, edited by Shannon Allen & JR Campbell
- Nothing Without Us Too, edited by Cait Gordon & Talia C. Johnson
- On Spec, edited by Diane Walton
- Prairie Witch, edited by Stacey Kondla
- Strange Wars: Speculative Fiction of Coalitions in Conflict, edited by Don Miasek
The finalists for best graphic novel or comic are:
- Birds of Maine by Michael DeForge
- Cupcake War Machine by Marika Kapogeorgakis
- Goblins by Ellipsis Hana Stephens
- It Never Rains by Kari Maaren
- Mistress of the Winds by Michèle Laframboise
- Questionable Content by Jeph Jacques
- Wychwood by Ally Rom Colthoff
The finalists for best poem or song are:
- After the Apocalypse by Colleen Anderson
- Ghost Stories by James Grotkowski
- In Stock Images of the Future, Everything is White by Terese Mason Pierre
- Poltergeist by Rhonda Parrish
- Rapunzel in the Desert by Melissa Yuan-Innes
- a sinkhole invites a street to consider its future by Dominik Parisien
- Three Herons by Geoffrey W. Cole
- The Wolf of Your Passions by Lynne Sargent
The finalists for best cover art or interior illustration are:
- Rachel Yu Lobbenberg for Arboreality
- Kayla Kowalyk for The Astronaut Always Rings Twice
- Marco Marin for Birthday of the Unicorn
- Julia Louise Pereira for Weird Fishes
- Swati Chavda for The World We Left Behind
The finalists for best fan writing and publication are:
- JenEric Movie Reviews
- Polar Borealis Magazine
- Polar Starlight Magazine
- The Travelling TARDIS
- Young People Read Old SFF
The finalists for best fan-related work are:
- Augurcon: Terese Mason Pierre and Kerry C. Byrne (co-directors) & Toria Liao (operations director)
- Can*Con: Marie Bilodeau and Derek Künsken (co-chairs)
- ephemera Reading Series: KT Bryski & Jen R. Albert (co-chairs)
- When Words Collide: Randy McCharles (chair)
- The Worldshapers Podcast: Edward Willett
The Aurora Awards have been given out annually since 1980. Last year's winners included Fonda Lee, Wab Kinew and Premee Mohamed.