The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead has won the £2017 ($2,640) 2017 Arthur C. Clarke Award for science fiction.
Chair of Judges Andrew M. Butler called the book "intensely moving... It's a gripping account both of humanity's inhumanity and the potential for resistance, underpinned by science fiction's ability to make metaphor literal."
In his acceptance speech, Whitehead said, "Way back when I was 10 years old, it was science fiction and fantasy that made me want to be a writer. If you were a writer, you could work from home, you didn't have to talk to anybody, and you could just make up stuff all day. Stuff about robots and maybe zombies and maybe even miraculous railway lines. Fantasy, like realism, is a tool for describing the world, and I'm grateful that a book like The Underground Railroad, which could not exist without the toolkit of fantastic literature, is being recognized with the Arthur C. Clarke award."
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Nominations for the 2017 World Fantasy Awards can be seen here. The awards will be presented at the World Fantasy Convention Banquet, in San Antonio, Tex., on November 5.
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The Crime Writers' Association has announced the shortlists for this year's Dagger Awards, which are presented annually in 10 categories. Ann Cleeves was previously named recipient of the 2017 Diamond Dagger for a career's outstanding contribution to crime fiction; and Mari Hannah will receive the Dagger in the Library winner for a body of work by a crime writer that users of libraries particularly admire. The remaining Dagger winners will be announced October 26 in London. Complete Dagger shortlists are available here.