The Gaylactic Spectrum Awards are given to works of science fiction, fantasy and horror that explore LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender) topics in a positive way. They were founded in 1998, first presented by the Gaylactic Network in 1999. In 2002 they were given their own organization, the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards Foundation.[1]
Since their inception, awards have been given in categories for novels, short fiction, and best other work. Other categories have also been added and removed in intervening years. Works produced before the inception of the awards are eligible to be inducted into the "Hall of Fame". The novels category is open to submissions of novels released during the prior calendar year in North America that includes "significant positive GLBT content". The results are decided by a panel of judges from the list of submitted nominees; the long list of nominees is reduced to a short list of finalists, and the results are generally announced and presented at Gaylaxicon, an annual convention devoted to LGBT-themed science fiction. This article lists all the "Best Novel" award nominees and winners and novels inducted into the Hall of Fame.[2]
Each award consists of an etched image on lucite on a stand, using a spiral galaxy in a triangle logo, based on the logo the Gaylactic Network. The award winner's name, work title, award year, and award category are etched on a small plaque on the base or on the plexiglass itself. A small cash stipend is awarded to winners in the Best Novel category. The cost of the awards is met through individual donations and fundraising events.[2]
Laurie J. Marks and Melissa Scott have both won the award twice. Elizabeth Bear holds the record for most nominations, with ten nominations and one win.
In the following table, the years correspond to the year of the award ceremonies; the books were released is the preceding years. Entries with a lavender background have won the relevant award; those with a white background are the nominees on the short-list. Superscript letters after the result indicate simultaneous nominations in other categories.
| Year | Author(s) | Book title | Publisher | Result | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Accidental Creatures | Tor | Won (joint) | [3] | ||
| 1999 | Dark Water's Embrace | Won (joint) | ||||
| 1999 | Halfway Human | Nominated | ||||
| 1999 | Maximum Light | Nominated | ||||
| 1999 | DAW Books | Nominated | ||||
| 2000 | Won (joint) | [4] | ||||
| 2000 | Warner Aspect | Won (joint) | ||||
| 2000 | Avon Eos | Nominated | ||||
| 2000 | DAW Books | Nominated | ||||
| 2000 | DAW Books | Nominated | ||||
| 2000 | Traitor's Moon | Bantam Spectra | Nominated | |||
| 2001 | Jumping Off the Planet | Tor | Won | [5] | ||
| 2001 | Nominated | |||||
| 2001 | Nominated | |||||
| 2001 | Design Image Group | Nominated | ||||
| 2001 | Tor | Nominated | ||||
| 2001 | Kirith Kirin | Meisha Merlin | Nominated | |||
| 2001 | Teranesia | Avon Harpercollins Eos | Nominated | |||
| 2002 | Algonquin Books | Won | [6] | |||
| 2002 | Bouncing Off the Moon | Tor | Nominated | |||
| 2002 | Dreamer | Roc | Nominated | |||
| 2002 | Bantam Spectra | Nominated | ||||
| 2002 | Red Deer Press | Nominated | ||||
| 2002 | Kushiel's Dart | Tor | Nominated | |||
| 2002 | Tor | Nominated | ||||
| 2002 | & Lisa A. Barnett | Point of Dreams | Tor | Nominated | ||
| 2003 | Fire Logic | Tor | Won | [7] | ||
| 2003 | Dance for the Ivory Madonna | Speed-of-C | Nominated | |||
| 2003 | & Delia Sherman | Bantam Spectra | Nominated | |||
| 2003 | Hominids | Tor | Nominated | |||
| 2003 | Lorimal's Chalice | Fortitude Press | Nominated | |||
| 2003 | Nightmare: A Novel of the Silent Empire | Roc | Nominated | |||
| 2003 | Solitaire | Eos | Nominated | |||
| 2004 | Warner | Won | [8] | |||
| 2004 | Bantam Spectra | Nominated | ||||
| 2004 | Hybrids | Tor | Nominated | |||
| 2004 | Lust | St. Martin's Press | Nominated | |||
| 2004 | Spin State | Bantam Dell | Nominated | |||
| 2004 | Storyteller | Ace | Nominated | |||
| 2004 | Trickster | Roc | Nominated | |||
| 2004 | Troll | Grove | Nominated | |||
| 2005 | Earth Logic | Tor | Won | [9] | ||
| 2005 | Dog Warrior | Roc | Nominated | |||
| 2005 | Bantam Spectra | Nominated | ||||
| 2005 | Murder of Angels | Roc | Nominated | |||
| 2005 | Offspring | Roc | Nominated | |||
| 2005 | Tor | Nominated | ||||
| 2005 | Reruns | Yard Dog | Nominated | |||
| 2005 | Smoke and Shadows | DAW Books | Nominated | |||
| 2006 | Cagebird | Won | [10] | |||
| 2006 | Bite Club | Alyson | Nominated | |||
| 2006 | Dragon's Eye | Ace | Nominated | |||
| 2006 | Smoke and Mirrors | DAW Books | Nominated | |||
| 2006 | Bantam Spectra | Nominated | ||||
| 2006 | Aio | Nominated | ||||
| 2006 | Scribner | Nominated | ||||
| 2007 | Vellum | Won | [11] | |||
| 2007 | Carnival | Bantam Spectra | Nominated | |||
| 2007 | Dragon's Teeth | Ace | Nominated | |||
| 2007 | & Okasha Skat'si | P.D. Publishing | Nominated | |||
| 2007 | Nominated | |||||
| 2007 | Smoke and Ashes | DAW Books | Nominated | |||
| 2007 | Snow | Torquere | Nominated | |||
| 2007 | Spin Control | Bantam Spectra | Nominated | |||
| 2007 | The Virtu | Ace | Nominated | |||
| 2008 | Wicked Gentlemen | Del Rey | Won | [12] | ||
| 2008 | Lady Knight | Bold Strokes Books | Nominated | |||
| 2008 | Dust | Bantam Spectra | Nominated | |||
| 2008 | New Amsterdam | Far Territories | Nominated | |||
| 2008 | Whiskey and Water: A Novel of the Promethean Age | Roc | Nominated | |||
| 2008 | Vintage: A Ghost Story | Haworth Positronic | Nominated | |||
| 2008 | Ink | Del Rey | Nominated | |||
| 2008 | Daughters of the North aka The Carhullan Army | Faber & Faber | Nominated | |||
| 2008 | Hero | Doubleday | Nominated | |||
| 2008 | Hex: A Novel of Love Spells | Carroll & Graf | Nominated | |||
| 2008 | Spaceman Blues: A Love Song | Tor | Nominated | |||
| 2008 | Ha'penny | Tor | Nominated | |||
| 2009 | The Stratford Man (Hell and Earth/Ink and Steel) | Roc | Won | [13] | ||
| 2009 | All the Windwracked Stars | Tor | Nominated | |||
| 2009 | City of Ashes | McElderry | Nominated | |||
| 2009 | & | Havemercy | Bantam Spectra | Nominated | ||
| 2009 | Shadow's Return | Bantam Spectra | Nominated | |||
| 2009 | Turnskin | Blind Eye Books | Nominated | |||
| 2010 | The Steel Remains | Del Rey | Won | [14] | ||
| 2010 | Ash | Little, Brown and Company | Nominated | |||
| 2010 | By the Mountain Bound | Tor | Nominated | |||
| 2010 | Centuries Ago and Very Fast | Aqueduct Press | Nominated | |||
| 2010 | The Enchantment Emporium | DAW Books | Nominated | |||
| 2010 | Naamah's Kiss | Grand Central | Nominated | |||
| 2010 | Palimpsest | Del Rey | Nominated | |||
| 2010 | The Red Tree | Roc | Nominated | |||
| 2010 | Seven for a Secret | Subterranean Press | Nominated | |||
| 2010 | Strange Fortune | Blind Eye | Nominated | |||
| 2011 | Under the Poppy | Small Beer Press | Won | [15] | ||
| 2011 | Black Blade Blues | Tor | Nominated | |||
| 2011 | Bob the Book | Chelsea Street Editions | Nominated | |||
| 2011 | A Book of Tongues | ChiZine Publications | Nominated | |||
| 2011 | Red Hood's Revenge | DAW Books | Nominated | |||
| 2011 | Stealing Fire | Orbit | Nominated | |||
| 2011 | The White Road | Bantam Spectra | Nominated | |||
| 2011 | The Wolf at the Door | Chelsea Street Editions | Nominated | |||
| 2012 | Honeyed Words | Tor | Won | [16] | ||
| 2012 | The Cold Commands | Del Rey | Nominated | |||
| 2012 | God's War/Infidel | Night Shade | Nominated | |||
| 2012 | Grail | Bantam Spectra | Nominated | |||
| 2012 | The Highest Frontier | Tor | Nominated | |||
| 2012 | Huntress | Little, Brown and Company | Nominated | |||
| 2012 | A Rope of Thorns | ChiZine Publications | Nominated | |||
| 2012 | Rule 34 | Ace | Nominated | |||
| 2012 | Static | Amber Quill Press | Nominated | |||
| 2012 | The Wild Ways | DAW Books | Nominated | |||
| 2013 | The Song of Achilles | Ecco Press | Won | [17] | ||
| 2013 | Casket of Souls | Bantam Spectra | Nominated | |||
| 2013 | Forged in Fire | Tor | Nominated | |||
| 2013 | Point of Knives | Lethe Press | Nominated | |||
| 2013 | Rapture | Night Shade Books | Nominated | |||
| 2014 | & Amy Griswold | Death By Silver | Lethe Press | Won | [18] | |
| 2014 | Angel on the Ropes | Self-published | Nominated | |||
| 2014 | Blood Oranges | Roc Books | Nominated | |||
| 2014 | Dead in the Desert | Harper Books | Nominated | |||
| 2014 | The Holy Road/His Sacred Bones | Blind Eye Books | Nominated | |||
| 2014 | Indexing | 47North | Nominated | |||
| 2014 | The Left Hand of Justice | Bold Strokes Books | Nominated | |||
| 2014 | The Magpie Lord | Samhain Publishing | Nominated | |||
| 2014 | Something More Than Night | Tor Books | Nominated | |||
| 2014 | The Summer Prince | Arthur A. Levine Books | Nominated | |||
| 2014 | The Violent Century | Hodder & Stoughton | Nominated | |||
| 2014 | Widdershins / Threshold / Stormhaven | Self-published | Nominated | |||
| 2015 | Fairs' Point | Lethe Press | Won | |||
| 2015 | A Case of Possession / Flight of Magpies | Samhain Publishing | Nominated | |||
| 2015 | The Dark Defiles | Del Rey Books | Nominated | |||
| 2015 | Daughter of Mystery | Bella Books | Nominated | |||
| 2015 | & Amy Griswold | A Death at the Dionysus Club | Lethe Press | Nominated | ||
| 2015 | The Future Falls | DAW | Nominated | |||
| 2015 | Heirs of Grace | 47North | Nominated | |||
| 2015 | & Heidi Bellau | King of Dublin | Riptide Publishing | Nominated | ||
| 2015 | The Mercury Waltz | Roadswell Editions | Nominated | |||
| 2015 | Necropolis / Bloodline | Widdershins Press | Nominated | |||
| 2015 | Red Delicious | Penguin Books | Nominated | |||
| 2015 | Pathfinder Tales: The Redemption Engine | Paizo Publishing | Nominated | |||
| 2015 | Shards of Time | Del Rey Books | Nominated | |||
| 2015 | & Jo Graham | Wind Raker | Crossroad Press | Nominated | ||
| 2016 | Tor Books | Won | [19] | |||
| 2016 | The Bastards' Paradise | Roadswell Editions | Nominated | |||
| 2016 | & Jenn Burke | Chaos Station | Carina Press | Nominated | ||
| 2016 | Cherry Bomb | Roc/Penguin | Nominated | |||
| 2016 | Ebenezer | Zumaya Boundless | Nominated | |||
| 2016 | Karen Memory | Tor Books | Nominated | |||
| 2016 | My Real Children | Tor Books | Nominated | |||
| 2016 | The Mystic Marriage | Bella Books | Nominated | |||
| 2016 | Planetfall | Ace/Roc | Nominated | |||
| 2016 | The Watchmaker of Filigree Street | Bloomsbury | Nominated | |||
| 2017 | Mother of Souls | Bella Books | Won | [20] | ||
| 2017 | The Big Lie | Candlewick Press | Nominated | |||
| 2017 | Cocktails at Seven, Apocalypse at Eight: The Derby Cavendish Stories | ChiZine Publications | Nominated | |||
| 2017 | Fallow | Widdershins Press | Nominated | |||
| 2017 | Hexbreaker / Hexmaker | Widdershins Press | Nominated | |||
| 2017 | Lily | Lethe Press | Nominated | |||
| 2017 | Malachite | Bonecamp Press | Nominated | |||
| 2017 | Maze-Born Trouble | Blind Eye Books | Nominated | |||
| 2017 | Night Terrors | WordFire Press | Nominated | |||
| 2018 | Passing Strange | Tor.com | Won | [21] | ||
| 2018 | The Adventures of the Incognita Countess | Aqueduct Press | Nominated | |||
| 2018 | Amberlough | Tor Books | Nominated | |||
| 2018 | The Black Tides of Heaven | Tor.com | Nominated | |||
| 2018 | The Cult of Ocasta | Evil Jester Press | Nominated | |||
| 2018 | An Excess Male | Harper Voyager | Nominated | |||
| 2018 | Hexslayer | JLH Publishing | Nominated | |||
| 2018 | The Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths & Magic | Duet Imprint / Interlude Press | Nominated | |||
| 2018 | et al. | Tremontaine Season 1 | Serial Box/Saga Press | Nominated | ||
| 2018 | An Unkindness of Ghosts | Akashic Books | Nominated |
The awards for 2014 and 2015 were combined into a single ceremony and presented in 2015
In the following table, the years correspond to the year of the award ceremonies; the books were all first published before the founding of the awards in 1998. No novels have been inducted into the Hall of Fame since 2003. Entries in bold and with a lavender background were inducted into the Hall of Fame that year; those that are neither highlighted nor in bold were not inducted that year (NI), but may be inducted later (IL). Superscript letters after the result indicate simultaneous nominations in other categories.
Also won the People's Choice Award.