Adam Wins Le Guin Prize
The Ursula K. Le Guin Literary Trust has announced Audition by Pip Adam (Coffee House) [amazon / bookshop] as the winner of the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction, awarding a $25,000 cash prize “to the author of a book that reflects the concepts and ideas that were central to Ursula’s own work.”
The selection panel, including Nicola Griffith, Mat Johnson, Fonda Lee, Darcie Little Badger, and Peter Rock, said Audition
is an ambitious and original book about many things: the carceral state, dehumanization, memory and, perhaps above all, forgiveness as a way forward. Pip Adam uses innovative narrative structure and impeccable prose to do what SFF—what only SFF at its best—can do: make metaphor concrete to completely change our understanding not just of what is happening in the narrative but also how today’s society works. The book gradually assumes the urgency of survival as three people whom society has deemed worthless find their way back to themselves, each other, and hope. An astonishing and ultimately joyful work.
Other shortlisted titles were:
- Sunward, William Alexander (Saga) amazon / bookshop
- Call and Response, Christopher Caldwell (Neon Hemlock) amazon / bookshop
- Midnight Timetable, Bora Chung, tr. Anton Hur (Algonquin) amazon / bookshop
- The Works of Vermin, Hiron Ennes (Tor) amazon / bookshop
- Notes from a Regicide, Isaac Fellman (Tor) amazon / bookshop
- Mad Sisters of Esi, Tashan Mehta (DAW) amazon / bookshop
- One Message Remains, Premee Mohamed (Psychopomp) amazon / bookshop
- Slow Gods, Claire North (Orbit) amazon / bookshop
The winner was announced October 21, 2026, Le Guin’s birthday. For more information, see the Ursula K. Le Guin Literary Trust website.
