The Kitschies are British literary prizes presented annually for "the year's most progressive, intelligent and entertaining works that contain elements of the speculative or fantastic" published in the United Kingdom.[1]
| Kitschies | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Literary award |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Website | www |
Awards and criteria
editThe Kitschies are administered by a non-profit association with the stated mission of "encouraging and elevating the tone of the discussion of genre literature in its many forms".[2] The founders, Anne C. Perry and Jared Shurin, said that they sought to bring attention to works with a fantastic or speculative element that are progressive in terms of content and composition.[1]
The award is a juried prize that selects those books which "best elevate the tone of genre literature". Qualifying books must contain "an element of the fantastic or speculative" and have been published in the UK.[3] Winners receive a sum of prize money and a textile tentacle trophy.[1]
The Kitschies are governed by an advisory board of members. They were initially established in 2009 by the website pornokitsch.com. The Kraken Rum was the sponsor between 2010 and 2013. For 2014 and 2015, Fallen London (a creation of UK game developer Failbetter Games) was the sponsor. The award did not run in 2016.[4] From 2017 the sponsor is Blackwell's Bookshop.[5]
As of 2015[update], the Kitschies are awarded in five categories:
- Red Tentacle for the best novel (£1,000, since 2009)
- Golden Tentacle for the best debut novel (£500, since 2010)
- Inky Tentacle for the best cover art (£500, since 2011)
- Invisible Tentacle for the best natively digital fiction (since 2014)
- Glentacle, awarded at the judges' discretion (since 2010, called "Black Tentacle" until 2020)
Organisation
editThe judging panels changes annually[6] and the unpaid directors have changed due to workload or illness.[7] The number of submissions has increased from 70 in 2009[8] to a record of 234 in 2013.
For each year, the judges, directors, and the number of submissions for each year are as follows:
| Year | Literary | Art | Natively digital fiction | Award Directors | Submissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Anne C. Perry and Jared Shurin | N/A | N/A | Jared Shurin and Anne C. Perry | 70[9] |
| 2010 | Anne C. Perry and Jared Shurin | N/A | N/A | Jared Shurin and Anne C. Perry | 50[10] |
| 2011 | Anne C. Perry, Jared Shurin, Lauren Beukes, and Rebecca Levene | Hayley Campbell, Craig Kennedy, Catherine Hemelryk, and Darren Banks | N/A | Jared Shurin | 150[11] |
| 2012 | Jared Shurin, Rebecca Levene, and Patrick Ness | Lauren O'Farrell, Gary Northfield, and Ed Warren | N/A | Jared Shurin | 211[12] |
| 2013 | Nick Harkaway, Catherine Webb, Will Hill, Anab Jain, and Annabelle Wright | Hazel Thompson, Sarah Anne Langton, Emma Vieceli, and Craig Kennedy | N/A | Glen Mehn | 234[13] |
| 2014 | Catherine Webb, Adam Roberts, Kim Curran, Frances Hardinge, and Glen Mehn | Ed Warren, Dapo Adeola, Jim Kay, and Siân Prime | Laura Grace, James Wallis, Phil van Kemenade, and Clare Reddington | Glen Mehn | 198[14] |
| 2015[15] | Sarah Lotz, James Smythe, Nazia Khatun, Nikesh Shukla and Glen Mehn | Sarah McIntyre, Regan Warner, Dapo Adeola, and Lauren O'Farrell | John Wallis, Emily Short, and Rebecca Levene | Glen Mehn | 176[16] |
| 2016 | No award | ||||
| 2017[17] | Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Leila Abu El Hawa, Joshua Idehen, Alasdair Stuart, and Ewa Scibor-Rylska | Dapo Adeola, Sharan Dhaliwal, Jet Purdie, and Stuart Taylor | N/A | Glen Mehn and Leila Abu El Hawa | 142[18] |
| 2018[19] | Adam Roberts, Sharan Dhaliwal, Daniel Carpenter, Lucy Smee, and Matt Webb | Dapo Adeola, Lily Ash Sakula, and Maeve Rutten | N/A | Glen Mehn and Leila Abu El Hawa | 178[20] |
| 2019[21] | Catherine Webb, Kirsty Logan, Tasha Suri, Michaela Grey, and Alasdair Stuart | Kim Curran, James Spackman, Kaiya Shang, and Sharan Matharu | N/A | Leila Abu El Hawa and Anne Perry | 196[22] |
| 2020[23] | M. R. Carey, Clare Rees, Mahvesh Murad, Kaiya Shang, and Daphne Lao Tong | Paul Wiseall, Fleur Clarke, Claire Richardson, and Jeffrey Alan Love | N/A | Leila Abu El Hawa and Anne Perry | 177[24] |
Recipients
editAll award information, unless otherwise referenced, is from the Kitschies Award's blog and tumblr, or from the sponsor Blackwell's website.
Red Tentacle (best novel)
editGolden Tentacle (best debut novel)
editInky Tentacle (best cover art)
editInvisible Tentacle (best natively digital fiction)
edit| Year | Author / Developer | Nominated Work | Form of Media | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Cardboard Computer written by Jake Elliott | Kentucky Route Zero Act III | video game | Won | [30] |
| Jeff Noon and others | @echovirus12 | Twitter fiction | Nominated | [30] | |
| Inkle Studios written by Meg Jayanth and Jon Ingold, directed by Joseph Humfrey and Jon Ingold | 80 Days | video game | |||
| Simogo | Sailor’s Dream | video game | |||
| 2015 | Dontnod Entertainment | Life Is Strange | video game | Won | [31] |
| Iain Pears | Arcadia | interactive novel | Nominated | [31] | |
| @FrogCroakley | Daniel Barker’s Birthday | Twitter fiction | |||
| BBC Writers Room | The Last Hours of Laura K | ||||
| Hidetaka Miyazaki / FromSoftware | Bloodborne | video game |
Glentacle (Discretionary award previously called the Black Tentacle)
editThis award was called "Black Tentacle" until 2020, when it was renamed in memory of Kitschies co-founder Glen Mehn.[38][7]
| Year | Winner | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | No award | [25] |
| 2010 | Memory, novel by Donald Westlake. | "to recognize a novel that doesn't quite fit the award description but is so exceptional it merits the highest praise...noir, pure and simple, by a master of the genre … while we're sorry that Memory went unpublished while Westlake was alive, we're delighted that Hard Case brought the manuscript to light"[39] |
| 2011 | SelfMadeHero, comics publisher | "for their 2011 body of work and their contribution to elevating geek culture"[40] |
| 2012 | Lavie Tidhar, Charles Tan, and Sarah Newton | "for the World SF Blog, a website showcasing international speculative fiction"[41] |
| 2013 | Malorie Blackman, British writer, Children's Laureate for 2013 | "for outstanding achievement in encouraging and elevating the conversation around genre literature"[42][43] |
| 2014 | Sarah McIntyre, author and illustrator | "for tireless work to promote the rights of artists and to encourage others to value their work"[44] |
| 2015 | The genre community, personified by Patrick Ness | "for its response to the humanitarian refugee crisis"
Ness began a fund that raised over £690,000 for Save the Children[45][46] |
| 2016 | No awards held | |
| 2017 | No award | |
| 2018 | ||
| 2019 | Nazia Khatun, Claire North, and Leila Abu El Hawa | "for services to the SF/F community."[47] |
| 2020 | Simon Key of the Big Green Bookshop in Hastings | "demonstrated extraordinary generosity and selflessness to readers, introducing and running his "Buy a Stranger a Book" initiative every Wednesday to allow readers to access books at a time that even libraries were closed."[48][49] |
| 2021 | No awards held | |
| 2022 | Comma Press | "for their remarkable 'book of' and +100 series of anthologies" |
References
edit- ^ a b c Barnett, David (13 January 2012). "The Kitschie awards have their Tentacles in the best genre fiction". The Guardian Books Blog. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
- ^ "The Kitschies". Archived from the original on 22 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ "The Kitschies: 2011 Finalists". Pornokitsch.com. 13 January 2012. Archived from the original on 25 June 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
- ^ "The future's so bright we gotta wear tentacles – The Kitschies". www.thekitschies.com. Archived from the original on 24 May 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
- ^ "Blackwell's to sponsor The Kitschies | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
- ^ "Judges – The Kitschies". Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ a b "The Glentacle". Hachette UK. 14 April 2020. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "The Kitschies: 2012 Submissions by the Numbers". Pornokitsch. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "The Kitschies: 2012 Submissions by the Numbers". Pornokitsch. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "The Kitschies: 2012 Submissions by the Numbers". Pornokitsch. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "The Kitschies: 2012 Submissions by the Numbers". Pornokitsch. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "The Kitschies: 2012 Submissions by the Numbers". Pornokitsch. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ January 2014, Dave Bradley 23 (23 January 2014). "The Kitschies novel awards shortlist announced". gamesradar. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "The Kitschies 2014 shortlist!". The Kitschies. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "The Kitschies' 2015 Shortlists Revealed – The Kitschies". Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "The Kitschies' 2015 Shortlists Revealed – The Kitschies". Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "2017 awards – The Kitschies". Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "Winners 2017 – The Kitschies". Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "Submissions for 2018 are now OPEN! – The Kitschies". Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ locusmag (5 March 2019). "2018 Kitschies Shortlists". Locus Online. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "The Kitschies' 2019 Winners Revealed". The Kitschies. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ locusmag (9 March 2020). "2019 Kitschies Shortlists". Locus Online. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "Clarke and Anappara make Kitschies shortlists | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "The Kitschies 2020 Shortlists Revealed. – The Kitschies". Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "sfadb: The Kitschies 2010". www.sfadb.com. Archived from the original on 28 July 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ a b c d "sfadb: The Kitschies 2011". www.sfadb.com. Archived from the original on 28 July 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f "The 2011 Kitschies, presented by The Kraken Rum". 4 February 2012. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f Alison Flood (27 February 2013). "Nick Harkaway takes Kitschies Red Tentacle award". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f "THE KITSCHIES: CONGRATULATIONS & THANK YOU". Pornokitsch. 13 February 2014. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Kitschie awards judge overpowered by six-foot praying mantises!". Guardian. 10 March 2015. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h ""Announcing The Kitschies' 2015 Winners!"". Tor.com. 7 March 2016. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
- ^ "The future's so bright we gotta wear tentacles – The Kitschies". Archived from the original on 24 May 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f ""Announcing The Kitschies' 2017 Winners!"". Tor.com. 9 April 2018. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f "Miller's Circe picks up Red Tentacle at Kitschies | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f ""Announcing the Winners of the 2019 Kitschies!"". Tor.com. 6 April 2020. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f "sfadb: The Kitschies 2021". www.sfadb.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f "sfadb: The Kitschies 2022". www.sfadb.com. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
- ^ "Glen Mehn". nesta. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "The Kitschies: 2010 Black Tentacle Winner". Pornokitsch. Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ "2011 Awards – The Kitschies". Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ "2012 Awards – The Kitschies". Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ "2013 Awards – The Kitschies". Archived from the original on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ Flood, Alison (13 February 2014). "Ruth Ozeki beats Thomas Pynchon to top Kitschie award". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
- ^ Tor.com (4 March 2015). "Announcing The Kitschies' 2014 Winners!". Tor.com. Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ "2015 Awards – The Kitschies". Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ "The Guardian". theguardian.com/. Archived from the original on 4 April 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
- ^ "2019 Awards – The Kitschies". Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ "2020 Awards – The Kitschies". Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ "The Kitschies Blackwell's". blackwells.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.