Living Canon

Locus Awards 2019: Complete list of winners

The 2019 Locus Awards showcased a year of exceptional genre fiction, with wins that reflected the science fiction and fantasy community’s growing appetite for fresh perspectives and innovative storytelling. Naomi Novik claimed the Best Fantasy Novel prize for Spinning Silver, her richly layered retelling that weaves Jewish folklore into a world of magic and intrigue. Meanwhile, Mary Robinette Kowal’s The Calculating Stars took home Best Science Fiction Novel, a sweeping alternate-history epic that combines intimate character drama with grand speculative ambitions—precisely the kind of ambitious work the Locus Awards have long championed.

Perhaps most notably, the 2019 Locus Awards ceremony highlighted the emergence of powerful new voices in genre fiction. Rebecca Roanhorse’s Trail of Lightning won Best First Novel, marking an auspicious debut for an author who would go on to become a major force in speculative fiction. The Best Young Adult Book category, meanwhile, went to Justina Ireland’s Dread Nation, a haunting reimagining of post-Civil War America infused with zombies and unflinching social commentary. These selections remind us why the Locus Awards remain one of fandom’s most influential honors—the awards recognize not just technical excellence, but the capacity of speculative fiction to expand our understanding of what stories can be and who gets to tell them.

Here are the complete 2019 Locus Awards winners:

Best Fantasy Novel

Best First Novel

Best Science Fiction Novel

Best Young Adult Book