A couple of days ago the administrators of the Clarke Award released the Awards 2018 submission list.  I want to make it clear that it’s not a longlist because heaven forfend the Clarke’s should release one of them.

Anyway, 108 titles were submitted.  So I don’t have to Mike Glyer from File 770 has posted the entire list on his site.  Of those 108 novels, I’ve read 21, so just under 20%.  Not bad, though skimming through the submissions about 15 books immediately popped up, books I own but haven’t got around too.  There really is too much shit to read.

Still, based on the novels I have read I think I can produce both a longlist and a shortlist.

Here is my longlist of 13 books (with links to my reviews):

  • The Rift—Nina Allan (Titan)
  • H(a)ppy—Nicola Barker (William Heinemann)
  • Clade—James Bradley (Titan)
  • Exit West—Mohsin Hamid (Hamish Hamilton)
  • Gnomon—Nick Harkaway (William Heinemann)
  • The End We Start From—Megan Hunter (Picador)
  • Spaceman of Bohemia—Jaroslav Kalfa (Sceptre)
  • The Transition—Luke Kennard (4th Estate)
  • Broken River—J. Robert Lennon (Serpent’s Tail)
  • Austral—Paul McAuley (Gollancz)
  • Black Wave—Michelle Tea (And Other Stories)
  • The Real-Town Murders—Adam Roberts (Gollancz)
  • New York 2140—Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit)

And here is my shortlist:

  • The Rift—Nina Allan (Titan)
  • H(a)ppy—Nicola Barker (William Heinemann)
  • Clade—James Bradley (Titan)
  • Spaceman of Bohemia—Jaroslav Kalfa (Sceptre)
  • Broken River—J. Robert Lennon (Serpent’s Tail)
  • Black Wave—Michelle Tea (And Other Stories)

It was bloody difficult coming up with that list.  I could easily have swapped in the Adam Roberts or the Megan Hunter or the Nick Harkaway.  But for now, those are the novels I’ve chosen.

As a point of comparison here is a link to Nina Allan’s preferred shortlist.  I intend to pick-up the Naomi Booth, the Angus Peter Campbell and the Heinz Helle (I already had the Booth lined up to read) so who knows whether that will impact my shortlist.  All I know is that the Clarke judges and, for that matter, the Sharke Judges have a challenging and fascinating few months ahead of them.

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