The longlists for the British Science Fiction Association Awards 2025 were announced on Friday, January 23, 2026. Here are the writers of African descent nominees.
The British Science Fiction Association Awards (BSFA) are presented annually by the British Science Fiction Association, based on a vote of members and—in recent years—members of the British national science fiction convention Eastercon. They are fan awards that not only honour the most worthy examples in each category, but also promote the genre of science fiction and get people reading, talking about, and enjoying all that contemporary science fiction has to offer.
The longlists recognise work published in 2025 and include a significant number of writers of African descent across categories. Those nominees are listed below.
Best Novel
- The Dream Hotel, Laila Lalami (Bloomsbury Circus)
- Firstborn of the Sun, Marvellous Michael Anson (Michael Joseph)
- Death of the Author, Nnedi Okorafor (Gollancz)
- Esperance. Adam Oyebanji (Arcadia)
- Futility, Nuzo Onoh (Titan Books)
- The Bone River, Nkereuwem Albert (Phoenix/Ouida Books)
- A Song of Legends Lost, M. H. Ayinde (Orbit)
Best Short Fiction
- Kinje’kitile and the Jintu, Eugen Bacon from Combat Monsters: Untold Tales of World War Two (Blackstone Publishing)
- The Shadow Eater of Órino-Rin’, Eugen Bacon from Of Shadows Stars and Sabers (Stars and Sabers)
- The Flaming Embusen, Tade Thompson from Uncanny Magazine
- Listen, Don’t Touch, Cheryl S. Ntumy from Mythaxis
- AI Chronicles: Properties of a Human Curse, Eugen Bacon from You Human: Volume 2 (Written Backwards)
- Ancestor’s Gift, Chisom Umeh from Tractor Beam Earth
- Let Sleeping Hyenas Lie, Rutendo Chidzodzo from Strange Horizons
- Babies Don’t Grow in People, Peter Nena, Will This Be A Problem Magazine Issue 2
Best Collection
- Black Friday, Cheryl S. Ntumy (Flame Tree Press)
- The Black Fantastic: 20 Afrofuturist Stories, Andre M. Carrington (ed) (Library of America)
- How To Get Rid Of Ants, Jesutomisin Ipinmoye (Parresia Publishers)
Best Shorter Fiction
- Novic, Eugen Bacon, Meerkat Press
- The Apologists, Tade Thompson, Clarkesworld
- Descent, Wole Talabi, Clarkesworld
- We Begin Where Infinity Ends, Somto Ihezue, Clarkesworld
- Shadow Jack, C.L. Hellisen, Giganotosaurus
- The Nga’phandileh Whisperer: A Sauútiverse Novella, Eugen Bacon, Stars and Sabers Publishing
- Wanderer, Adedapo Adeniyi, Booze & Peppermint
Best Short Nonfiction
- Spec Fic and the Politics of Identity: Finding the Self in Other, Eugen Bacon from Strange Horizons
- Collective Dreaming: The Schrodinger’s Cat Approach to Framing Futures, Jacqueline Nyathi from Strange Horizons
Best Fiction for Young Readers
- Secrets of the First School, T. L. Huchu, Tor
Best Artwork
- Cover: The Company of Birds by Nerine Dorman (February 2025 edition) – Stephen Embleton
- Cover: The Nga’phandileh Whisperer by Eugen Bacon, Stephen Embleton
- Grasps of The Forgotten, Peter Marco
Voting for the winners is now open to BSFA members and Eastercon attendees. The winners will be announced at Eastercon Iridescence, held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from April 3–6, 2026.
Leave a Reply