Here's the first-ever Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction shortlist

The first ever Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction shortlist has been announced.

The author herself was often critical of major literary awards, but her son explained to Electric Literature that his goal in founding the award was to honor authors, with no strings attached, and also celebrate imaginative fiction — stories that picture a brighter future, versus the dystopian trend.

One of these books will be revealed as the winner of $25,000 on October 21.

• After the Dragons, by Cynthia Zhang.

• Appleseed, by Matt Bell.

• Elder Race, by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

• The Employees: A Workplace Novel of the 22nd Century, written by Olga Ravn and translated by Martin Aitken.

• The House of Rust, by Khadija Abdalla Bajaber.

• How High We Go in the Dark, by Sequoia Nagamatsu. 

• The Past is Red, by Catherynne M. Valente. 

• A Snake Falls to Earth, by Darcie Little Badger.

• Summer in the City of Roses, by Michelle Ruiz Keil.

Related posts 

• Introducing the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction 

• An Ursula K. Le Guin poem with a heartwarming story