Locus Awards 2010s: A decade of winners
The 2010s were a transformative period for speculative fiction, and the Locus Awards—science fiction and fantasy’s most prestigious reader-voted honor—captured this evolution beautifully. The decade opened with China Miéville’s distinctive voice dominating both fantasy and science fiction categories, while debut authors like Paolo Bacigalupi and N. K. Jemisin announced themselves as major talents who would shape the era. What emerges from reviewing ten years of Locus Award winners is a clear portrait of a field becoming more diverse, more ambitious, and increasingly unafraid to blend genres and traditions. The recognition of works like Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus and Naomi Novik’s Uprooted alongside harder science fiction showed that the Locus Awards have always valued story and craft over any single subgenre.
By the decade’s midpoint, a new guard of writers had claimed their place. Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice trilogy won consecutive Best Science Fiction Novel awards (2014, 2015, 2016), a dominance that underscored how powerfully innovative narration and world-building could resonate with readers. Meanwhile, N. K. Jemisin’s completion of The Broken Earth trilogy with The Stone Sky in 2018 marked a watershed moment—the first fantasy trilogy to sweep the award in consecutive years, cementing her as one of the decade’s essential voices. The Young Adult category flourished with works ranging from Catherynne M. Valente’s whimsical fairyland narratives to Justina Ireland’s Dread Nation, reflecting how YA had become a proving ground for genuine narrative innovation rather than a stepping stone.
The Locus Awards’ choices throughout the 2010s ultimately told a story about speculative fiction’s widening possibilities. Here’s our complete look at the decade’s winners:
2010
Best Fantasy Novel
The City & the City by China Miéville
Best First Novel
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
Best Science Fiction Novel
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
Best Young Adult Book
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
2011
Best Fantasy Novel
Kraken by China Miéville
Best First Novel
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin
Best Science Fiction Novel
Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis
Best Young Adult Book
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
2012
Best Fantasy Novel
A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin
Best First Novel
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Best Science Fiction Novel
Embassytown by China Miéville
Best Young Adult Book
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
2013
Best Fantasy Novel
The Apocalypse Codex by Charles Stross
Best First Novel
Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed
Best Science Fiction Novel
- Redshirts by John Scalzi
Best Young Adult Book
Railsea by China Miéville
2014
Best Fantasy Novel
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Best First Novel
- Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
Best Science Fiction Novel
Abaddon’s Gate by James S. A. Corey
Best Young Adult Book
The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two by Catherynne M. Valente
2015
Best Fantasy Novel
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
Best First Novel
The Memory Garden by M. Rickert
Best Science Fiction Novel
Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie
Best Young Adult Book
Half a King by Joe Abercrombie
2016
Best Fantasy Novel
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Best First Novel
The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu
Best Science Fiction Novel
- Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie
Best Young Adult Book
- The Shepherd’s Crown by Terry Pratchett
2017
Best Fantasy Novel
All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
Best First Novel
Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee
Best Science Fiction Novel
Death’s End by Liu Cixin
Best Young Adult Book
Revenger by Alastair Reynolds
2018
Best Fantasy Novel
The Stone Sky by N. K. Jemisin
Best First Novel
The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss
Best Science Fiction Novel
The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi
Best Young Adult Book
Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor
2019
Best Fantasy Novel
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
Best First Novel
Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
Best Science Fiction Novel
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
Best Young Adult Book
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland