Ignyte Awards

The Ignyte Awards are an annual literary award for the best science fiction, fantasy, and horror works and achievements of the previous year. Established in 2020 by writers L. D. Lewis and Suzan Palumbo as an off-shoot of FIYAH Literary Magazine, the awards aim to celebrate diversity and inclusion in the speculative fiction genre, and are presented in 15 categories spanning fiction, non-fiction and community service. Trophies are awarded to winners at FIYAHCON, an annual speculative fiction convention focused on black, indigenous and people-of-color perspectives in the genre.

The Ignyte Awards are part-juried and part-public vote: finalists are selected by the convention committee, and winners are then determined in an online ballot. The 2021 finalists were announced in April, and winners were announced at a virtual edition of the convention in September.

Winners

Best Novel – Adult

Year	Work	Author(s)	Ref.
2020	Gods of Jade and Shadow	Silvia Moreno-Garcia
2021	Black Sun	Rebecca Roanhorse
2022	A Master of Djinn	P. Djèlí Clark
2023	The Blood Trials	N. E. Davenport

Best Novel – YA

Year	Work	Author(s)	Ref.
2020	We Hunt the Flame	Hafsah Faizal
2021	Legendborn	Tracy Deonn
2022	A Snake Falls to Earth	Darcie Little Badger
2023	Bloodmarked	Tracy Deonn

Best in Middle Grade

Year	Work	Author(s)	Ref.
2020	Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky	Kwame Mbalia
2021	Ghost Squad	Claribel A. Ortega
2022	Root Magic	Eden Royce
2023	Witchlings	Claribel Ortega

Best Novella

Year	Work	Author(s)	Ref.
2020	This is How You Lose the Time War	Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar
2021	Riot Baby	Tochi Onyebuchi
2022	And This Is How to Stay Alive	Shingai Njeri Kagunda
2023	Into the Riverlands	Nghi Vo

Best Novelette

Year	Work	Author(s)	Publisher	Ref.
2020	Emergency Skin	N. K. Jemisin	Amazon Forward Collection
2021	The Inaccessibility of Heaven	Aliette de Bodard	Uncanny Magazine
2022	The Future Library	Peng Shepherd	Tor Books
2023	If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God With the Informal You	John Chu	Uncanny Magazine

Best Short Story

Year	Work	Author(s)	Publisher	Ref.
2020	"A Brief Lesson in Native American Astronomy"	Rebecca Roanhorse	Gallery/Saga Press
2021	"You Perfect, Broken Thing"	C. L. Clark	Uncanny Magazine
2022	"If the Martians Have Magic"	P. Djèlí Clark	Uncanny Magazine
2023	"The Lady of the Yellow Painted Library"	Tobi Ogundiran	Tordotcom

Best in Speculative Poetry

Year	Work	Author(s)	Publisher	Ref.
2020	"A Conversation Between the Embalmed Heads of Lampião and Maria Bonita on Public Display at the Baiano State Forensic Institute, Circa Mid-20th Century"	Woody Dismukes	Strange Horizons
2021	"The Harrowing Desgarrador"	Gabriel Ascencio Morales	Strange Horizons
2022	"Post Massacre Psyche Evaluation"	Abu Bakr Sadiq	Uncanny Magazine
2023	"We Smoke Pollution"	Ai Jiang	STAR*LINE

Critics Award

Year	Work	Ref.
2020	Alex Brown of Tor.com
2021	Stitch @ Stitch's Media Mix
2022	Alex Brown of Tor.com
2023	Nerds of a Feather, Flock Together

Best Fiction Podcast

Year	Work	Author(s)	Ref.
2020	LeVar Burton Reads	LeVar Burton
2021	Nightlight Podcast	Tonia Ransom
2022	Khōréō	Aleksandra Hill, Lian Xia Rose, Isaree Thatchaichawalit, Marie Croke, Carla B. Estruch, Rowan Morrison, P.H. Low, Elaine Ho, Katarzyna Nowacka, Zhui Ning Chang, Katalina Watt, Ysabella Maglanque, Lauren Bajek, M.L. Krishnan, Jei D. Marcade, Oshon Ize-Iyamu, Justine Teu, Sanam Akhlagh, Nuna Fariha
2023	Black Women Are Scary

Best Artist

Year	Name	Ref.
2020	Grace P. Fong
2021	Odera Igbokwe
2022	Morgan Madeline
2023	Aimee Campbell

Best Comics Team

Year	Work	Author(s)	Publisher	Ref.
2020	These Savage Shores	Ram V, Sumit Kumar, Vitorio Astone, Aditya Bidikar, and Tim Daniel	Vault Comics
2021	Parable of the Sower	Written by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy, illustrated by John Jennings	Abrams ComicArts
2022	Nubia: Real One	Written by L.L. McKinney , illustrated by Robyn Smith	DC Comics
2023	Where Black Stars Rise	Marie Enger & Nadia Shammas	Tor Nightfire

Best Anthology/Collected Works

Year	Work	Author(s)	Publisher	Ref.
2020	New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color	Edited by Nisi Shawl	Rebellion
2021	A Phoenix First Must Burn	Edited by Patrice Caldwell	Viking Books for Young Readers
2022	We’re Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction	Edited by Charles Payseur & C.L. Clark	Neon Hemlock Press
2023	Reclaim the Stars: 17 Tales Across Realms and Space	Edited by Zoraida Córdova	Wednesday Books

Best in Creative Nonfiction

Year	Work	Author(s)	Publisher	Ref.
2020	Black Horror Rising	Tananarive Due	Uncanny Magazine
2021	"I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream: The Duty of the Black Writer During Times of American Unrest"	Tochi Onyebuchi	Tor.com
2022	"We Are the Mountain: A Look at the Inactive Protagonist"	Vida Cruz	Fantasy Magazine
2023	The H Word: Horror in a Country that Is Not Afraid of Death	Dante Luiz	Nightmare Magazine

The Ember Award

Year	Person	Ref.
2020	LeVar Burton
2021	Dhonielle Clayton
2022	Tananarive Due
2023	Afronauts Podcast

The Community Award

Year	Work	Author(s)	Ref.
2020	Strange Horizons	Gautam Bhatia, Vajra Chandrasekera, Joyce Chng, Kate Cowan, Tahlia Day, William Ellwood, Rebecca Evans, Ciro Faienza, Lila Garrott, Dan Hartland, Amanda Jean, Lulu Kadhim, Maureen Kincaid Speller, Catherine Krahe, Anaea Lay, Dante Luiz, Heather McDougal, AJ Odasso, Vanessa Rose Phin, Clark Seanor, Romie Stott, Aishwarya Subramanian, Fred G. Yost, the Strange Horizons copyediting team, and first readers.
2021	#PublishingPaidMe	L.L. McKinney and Tochi Onyebuchi
2022	The Submission Grinder	David Steffen, Anthony W. Sullivan, and Andrew Rucker Jones
2023	Flights of Foundry