The Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association has announced the nominees for the 2026 Aurora Awards for excellence by Canadians in the fields of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. Works were first published or run in 2025.
Note: Works are sorted by title. Voting will be done online by CSFFA members when they log into their account.
BEST NOVEL
The Bewitching, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Del Rey
Blight, Rachel A. Rosen, The BumblePuppy Press
Direct Descendant, Tanya Huff, DAW Books
The Downloaded 2: Ghosts in the Machine, Robert J. Sawyer, Audible Originals/Shadowpaw Press
Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales, Heather Fawcett, Del Rey
A Shift of Time, Julie E. Czerneda, DAW Books
Written on the Dark, Guy Gavriel Kay, Viking Canada
BEST YOUNG ADULT (YA) NOVEL
Breath of the Dragon, Shannon Lee & Fonda Lee, Wednesday Books
Fireboy, Edward Willett, Shadowpaw Press
A Lion’s Head, D.M. De Alwis, Ahasae Tharu Publications
Minotaur, Jamieson Wolf, Rebel Satori Press
One Morning Sun, Avi Silver, Molewhale Press
Winging It, Jen Desmarais, Renaissance Press
BEST NOVELETTE/NOVELLA
The First Thousand Trees, Premee Mohamed, ECW Press
“In the Gardener’s Service“, Michèle Laframboise, Asimov’s, July/August
“The Lure of Stone“, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Uncanny Magazine, Issue Sixty-Six
A Palace Near the Wind, Ai Jiang, Titan Books
The River Has Roots, Amal El-Mohtar, Tordotcom
BEST SHORT STORY
“Hunted To Extinction“, Premee Mohamed, Gallery Books
“I Ain’t Your Doll Face“, Jacqueline Thorpe, Polar Borealis Magazine #33
“the love song of house and lake“, Gillian Secord, On Spec Magazine, Issue #133
“The Stone Played at Tengen“, R.H. Wesley, Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 230
“What If We Kissed While Sinking a Billionaire’s Yacht?“, Rachel A. Rosen, Antifa Lit Journal, Volume 1
BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL/COMIC
Atana and the Jade Mermaid, Vivian Zhou, HarperAlley
“Bonds of the Forest“, Ally Rom Colthoff, Augur Magazine, Issue 8.3
It Never Rains, Kari Maaren, webcomic
Questionable Content, Jeph Jacques, webcomic
Shark Girl, Kate Beaton, Quill and Quire
BEST POEM/SONG
“At the Spaceport Bar“, Lisa Timpf, Polar Starlight Magazine #17
“Bigfoot Farewell“, Carolyn Clink, Cryptids, Kaiju & Corn: Poems and Micro-Stories about Modern Midwest Monsters
“Dragon Karaoke“, David Clink, Polar Starlight, Issue #18
“Explosive“, Derek Newman-Stille, Polar Starlight #20
“flowers without meadow“, Tiffany Morris, Eye to the Telescope #56
“From Dust“, J. Y. Zhang, Small Wonders
BEST RELATED WORK
As the Earth Dreams: Black Canadian Speculative Stories, Terese Mason Pierre, House of Anansi Press
Augur Magazine, Issues 8.1-8.3, Kerry C. Byrne, Toria Liao, André Geleynse, Kelley Tai, and Azure Arther
On Spec Magazine, Issues #131 – 134, Vol 35, Diane L. Walton, Managing Editor, The Copper Pig Writers’ Society, Publisher
One Message Remains, Premee Mohamed, Psychopomp
Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction: Volume Three, Stephen Kotowych, Editor, Ansible Press
BEST COVER ART/INTERIOR ILLUSTRATION
Dancing With the Holly King, Janice Blaine, On Spec Magazine, Issue #134
Seance, Alice M., Heartlines Spec, Issue 7
Lunar Base, Dan O’Driscoll, On Spec Magazine, Issue #132
Starship Librarians, Lorna Antoniazzi, Tyche Books Ltd.
Listen to Me and I’ll tell You a Story, Ejiwa “Edge” Ebenebe, Uncanny Magazine, Issue Sixty-Six
BEST FAN WRITING AND PUBLICATION
Amazing Stories online columns, Numbers 405-420, Steve Fahnestalk, AmazingStories.com
Book Reviews in The Ottawa Review of Books, Robert Runté
Polar Starlight Magazine, Issues 17-20, Rhea E. Rose, editor
Speculative Poetry and the Hugos, Lynne Sargent, Strange Horizons
Young People Read Old Science Fiction, James Davis Nicoll, online
BEST FAN RELATED WORK
Can*Con, Marie Bilodeau, chair and Brandon Crilly, vice-chair, Ottawa
Scintillation, Jo Walton and Rene Walling, co-chairs, Montreal
Two Old Farts Talk Sci-Fi, Troy Harkin and David Clink, podcast
Wizards & Spaceships, Rachel A. Rosen and David L. Clink, podcast, Night Beats
The Worldshapers Podcast, Edward Willett
The Aurora Awards are given out by the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association (CSFFA). The awards are nominated and voted on by members of CSFFA. Memberships are open to all Canadians and Permanent Residence for a nominal fee.
This ballot is for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror works originally done in 2025 by Canadians. The Aurora Awards are nominated by members of the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association (CSFFA). The top five nominated works were selected. Additional works were included where there was a tie for fifth place. An online awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, August 9th, 2026, at 5pm EDT, with hosts Mark Leslie Lefebvre and Elizabeth May Anderson.
Printable version of the 2026 ballot: https://www.csffa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/2026-Aurora-Award-Ballot.pdf
