Science fiction and fantasy takes us to realms of the imagination: places and times and realities where the rules of life may be different than our own and where the impossible and improbable become real. But good science fiction and fantasy does more than that: it asks, "What if?" It makes us think. It holds up a mirror to our own society and lets us see ourselves in a different light.
Like our counterparts in the other categories, we'll be looking for books that combine the best writing with kid or teen appeal, but we'll also be looking at some of the unique requirements of the genre, such as world building and internal consistency. The elements in a science fiction or fantasy book don't have to be possible, but the writer must make us believe that they really could exist, perhaps do exist, if only we could find them.
This is a diverse category that includes a wide range of subjects, from wizards, demons, ghosts, and vampires to outer space adventures, alternate history, and dystopian futures. If a book has any unreal, otherworldly, or mystical elements in it, chances are that it belongs here. Even if the fantastic elements are only a small part of the story, it should probably be nominated here. After all, some of the best science fiction and fantasy is about ordinary people who encounter the extraordinary and are changed by it. The only exception would be if the fantastic elements seem to be only in the imagination of a character, or are otherwise "not real" in the context of the story. Those books should probably be placed in the regular Middle-Grade or YA categories.
SFF-oriented text novels with graphic novel-style sections belong here. If the book is primarily graphica, with small text portions, it might fit best in the Graphic Novels category.
Finding the line between SFF and the other categories isn't always easy, so just nominate it where you think it best fits, and we'll move it if we think it would be better in a different category.
New this year: you can nominate one book in Elementary/Middle-grade SFF AND one book in Teen/YA SFF.
–Sheila Ruth, category organizer
Click here to go to the nomination form and leave your nomination for this category. (For more information about the process, go here.)
To view an up-to-the-minute list of what's already been nominated for this category, click here.
To check out last year's finalists in this category, click here (YA) and here (MG).