Announcing the shortlist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, 2025
We’re delighted to reveal the shortlist for the 39th Arthur C. Clarke Award for science fiction book of the year.
The six shortlisted books are:
Private Rites — Julia Armfield (4th Estate)
The Ministry of Time — Kaliane Bradley (Sceptre)
Extremophile — Ian Green (AdAstra)
Annie Bot — Sierra Greer (The Borough Press)
Service Model — Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tor UK)
Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock — Maud Woolf (Angry Robot)
Our Chair of Judges, Dr Andrew M. Butler, said:
“Clarke judges always bring passion and expertise to their deliberations and this year’s jury is no exception. Adrian Tchaikovsky might win for the second time, but he’s up against the debuts of Kaliane Bradley and Maud Woolf, as well as Julia Armfield, Ian Green and Sierra Greer’s first adult sf novels. I can’t even begin to guess whose name will be in the envelope.”
Award Director Tom Hunter added:
“As the award nears its 40th anniversary, the many ways of defining, interpreting, and judging science fiction remain as intriguingly complex as ever. This shortlist rewards close reading, revealing both striking parallels and surprising juxtapositions across the six nominated books.”
This year’s winner will be announced on Wednesday 25th June 2025.
The winner will receive a trophy in the form of a commemorative engraved bookend and prize money to the value of £2025.00; a tradition that sees the annual prize money rise incrementally by year from the year 2001 in memory of Sir Arthur C. Clarke.
The judging panel for the Arthur C. Clarke Award 2025 are:
Dolly Garland and Gene Rowe for the British Science Fiction Association.
Nic Clarke and John Coxon for the Science Fiction Foundation.
Glyn Morgan for the SCI-FI-LONDON film festival.
Dr Andrew M. Butler represented the Arthur C. Clarke Award directors in a non-voting role as the Chair of the Judges.
The annual award is presented for the best science fiction novel of the year, and selected from a list of novels whose UK first edition was published in the previous calendar year.
The award was originally established by a generous grant from Sir Arthur C. Clarke with the aim of promoting science fiction in the United Kingdom, and is currently administered by the Serendip Foundation, a voluntary organisation created to oversee the on-going delivery and development of the award.
