8 Award-Winning Fantasy Books You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

The Breath of the Sun by Isaac R. Fellman (2018 Lambda Award)

I loved Isaac Fellman’s trans vampire caller Dead Collections, but I hadn’t heard of his debut, a meditative, melancholic communicative astir a pistillate whose beingness is everlastingly changed by a mountain-climbing expedition. Lamat Paed, on with a priest, sets retired to acme the astir ineffable upland successful her people’s realm, known arsenic God’s ain head. After the expedition, her climbing spouse becomes famous, but Lamat retreats into hiding, and is yet exiled from her homeland. Years later, she yet tells the afloat communicative to her partner, revealing secrets she’s been keeping for years.

Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson (2021 World Fantasy Award)

This dark, lush historical, acceptable successful New York City successful the 1940s, is simply a beauteous and analyzable communicative astir trauma and power. It takes spot successful a satellite wherever immoderate radical of colour person supernatural abilities, termed “hands” — gifts that let them, done their hands, to wield knives with unthinkable precision, gully retired secrets, foresee danger, and more. It unfolds successful triptych, focusing connected characters whose lives are defined by these powers, and particularly connected 1 pistillate who’s accomplishment with knives gets her entangled successful the city’s transgression underbelly.

The House of Rust by Khadijah Abdalla Bajaber (2022 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize)

Set successful Mombasa, Kenya, this is simply a softly beauteous coming-of-age caller astir a young pistillate who sets retired connected a quest to find her father, a fisherman who goes missing astatine sea. She travels connected a magical boat, and is accompanied by a unit of talking animals. The quest changes her forever, awakening her to caller possibilities, some successful herself and successful the satellite she thought she knew. It’s a satisfying blend of adventure, household drama, and magical fable.

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Memoirs of a Polar Bear by Yōko Tawada, translated by Susan Bernofsky (2017 Warwick Prize for Women successful Translation)

If you’re looking for thing fantasy-esque but epic quests and analyzable magic systems aren’t your thing, however astir a publication astir 3 generations of polar bears? These bears beryllium successful quality nine arsenic writers and circus performers. But though they unrecorded with humans, they are not quality — they stay perpetual outsiders, and successful changeless danger. Told from the position of 3 bears, the communicative moves from the Soviet Union to Canada to East Germany. It’s a sweeping humanities caller that illuminates changing governmental and societal norms — with conscionable the close magnitude of magic and whimsy.

And What Can We Offer You Tonight by Premee Mohamed (2021 Nebula Award for Best Novella)

The novella class of the Hugo and Nebula awards doesn’t get arsenic overmuch emotion arsenic it should! The 2021 Nebula victor for champion novella mightiness not beryllium connected your radar, truthful fto maine marque this pitch: successful a bleak aboriginal world, fueled by rampant capitalism, a murdered courtesan comes backmost to beingness to get revenge connected her the antheral who killed her. I honestly don’t cognize what could beryllium amended than shade vengeance!

A Stranger successful Olondria by Sofia Samatar (British Fantasy Award 2014)

If you missed this publication backmost erstwhile it came out, now’s your accidental to hole that! Jevick, the lad of a merchant, loves books, but they’re astir nonexistent wherever helium lives. When his begetter dies and helium has to question successful his spot to Olondria — a kingdom known for its books — helium tin hardly judge it. But his imagination travel gets analyzable erstwhile he’s possessed by the shade of a dormant miss hopeless for idiosyncratic to perceive to her story. He’s soon caught up successful Olondria’s unsafe politics, and it forces him to reexamine everything helium thought helium knew astir art, literature, reading, and storytelling.

When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo (2023 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature — Fiction)

This is simply a gorgeous emotion communicative and a heartbreaking exploration of grief, loss, and our narration with the dead. Yejide comes from a agelong enactment of women who person helped souls walk into the afterlife. Darwin takes a occupation digging craves to assistance enactment his mother, adjacent though his religion instructs him to enactment distant from the dead. When they conscionable successful a cemetery, it changes the trajectory of some their lives. It’s a lush and beautifully written caller effortlessly woven done with magic.

The Ninth Rain by Jen Williams (2018 British Fantasy Award)

Epic phantasy fans, don’t interest — I person thing for you, too. This 1 has it all: a almighty empire that has fallen into ruin; a reluctant leader who sets disconnected connected a life-changing quest contempt his amended judgement; past prophecies and acheronian magic; a fierce witch with a penchant for flame; governmental turmoil. It’s the archetypal publication successful a trilogy, and the 2nd 1 won a British Fantasy grant arsenic well.