When There Are Wolves Again by E.J. Swift (Arcadia) Amazon / Bookshop has won the 2026 annual Arthur C. Clarke Award. Swift receives £2,025 and an engraved bookend. Other finalists were:

The winner was announced at an award ceremony in London on August 12, 2026.

The 2026 judges are Eliza Filimon for the British Science Fiction Association, Tiffani Angus and John Coxon for the Science Fiction Foundation, and Esther Stewart for the SCI-FI-LONDON film festival. Andrew M. Butler represented the Clarke Award directors as non-voting Chair of the Judges.

Butler says,

“For forty years, the many Arthur C. Clarke Award judges have made the difficult choice of best sf novel. For our anniversary year, they picked E.J. Swift’s near future When There Are Wolves Again, a story of environmental change and possible recovery. If the industry continues producing such awesome novels, the ten years between now and the award’s 50th anniversary will be worth watching out for.”

Award Director Tom Hunter said,

“Sir Arthur was always passionate that the award’s definition of science fiction be as diverse and open as possible, and he would have applauded the record levels of new SF being published today and been delighted by this year’s winner. Following Sir Arthur’s passing, the award faced the real possibility of being forced to close after its 25^th year. I am delighted that we have been able to steward the award successfully all the way to its 40^th anniversary, and am happy to report the directors are already making plans for celebrating in 2036.”

For more information, see the Clarke Award website.