2018 Arthur C. Clarke Shadow Jury

The Arthur C. Clarke Award was established in 1987 with the twin aims of highlighting the best science fiction novel published in Britain in the given year, and introducing science fiction literature to a wider public. What set the Clarke Award apart from the start was its status as a juried award. Unlike the Hugo or the BSFA, the award would not be decided by fan votes, but judged according to literary criteria by a panel of jurors selected for their passion for the field and their expertise within it.

Our panel of shadow jurors will convene when the submissions list for the Arthur C. Clarke Award is made public. From the list of these submissions, each shadow juror will then select their own personal list of six books – these could be books they have already read, books they are keen to read, or a mixture of the two. Having chosen their list, each juror will review their books in order to assemble a Recommended Reading List before eventually declaring the ‘winner’ they would have chosen. When the official jury shortlist is announced, our shadow jurors will review the nominated books via a series of roundtables. We believe that by giving each shadow juror the opportunity to select and discuss what they believe was ‘best’ in ‘science fiction’ in 2017, the Shadow Clarke will be able to showcase a wider variety of books, writers and styles of science fiction, thus generating a sense of involvement and inclusion across the entire length and breadth of science fiction fandom.