Speculative Fiction 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.
This year we are changing the
name of this category, but not the focus. "Speculative Fiction" better
reflects the diverse types of books that we have always considered in
this category. Magic, aliens, ghosts, alternate universes, time travel,
space travel, high fantasy, dystopian, post-apocalyptic futures, and
sentient animals are just some of the many topics that belong here. If a
book could happen today or could have happened in the past, nominate it
in YA Fiction. But any story that's impossible, improbable, or merely
possible – but not quite yet – belongs in Speculative Fiction. Magic
Realism is tricky, but more often than not ends up here.
The age
range for this category is approximately 12-18, although there is some
overlap with the Elementary/Middle-grade Speculative Fiction category
that will be decided on a case by case basis. Speculative fiction novels
with graphics in addition to text belong here, but if the book is
primarily told through serial artwork, it belongs in the Graphic Novels
category.
This category accepts books published in either print or ebook formats.
-Sheila