Eligibility List for the 2020 Manly Wade Wellman Award

The North Carolina Speculative Fiction Foundation was proud to announce this eligibility list of 78 titles, since updated to 84 titles, for the 2020 Manly Wade Wellman Award for North Carolina Science Fiction and Fantasy, presented in alphabetical order by author last name:


  • The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh (G. P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers)
  • The Library of Ever by Zeno Alexander (Imprint)
  • Masks & Malevolence by Natania Barron (Falstaff Books)
  • Time & Temper by Natania Barron (Falstaff Books)
  • Serafina and the Seven Stars by Robert Beatty (Disney Hyperion)
  • The Rising by Morgan Brice (Darkwind Press)
  • Treasure Trail by Morgan Brice (Darkwind Press)
  • Flame and Ash by Morgan Brice (Darkwind Press)
  • Loose Ends by Morgan Brice (Darkwind Press)
  • The Hive by Orson Scott Card (Tor Books)
  • Lost and Found by Orson Scott Card (Blackstone Publishing)
  • The Storm by David Drake (Baen Books)
  • To Clear Away the Shadows by David Drake (Baen Books)
  • Unbreakable Storm by Patrick Dugan (Falstaff Books)
  • Fate & Flux by Patrick Dugan (Distracted Dragon Press)
  • The Hanged Man by K. D. Edwards (Pyr)
  • Rekindled Prophecy by K. C. Freeman (Zimbell House)
  • 48 Hours by William R. Forstchen (Forge Books)
  • Where Oblivion Lives by T. Frohock (Harper Voyager)
  • The Women’s War by Jenna Glass (Del Rey)
  • A Touch Too Much by Theresa Glover (Falstaff Books)
  • The Company of Death by Elisa Hansen (Falstaff Books)
  • Written Stone Lane by A. J. Hartley (UCLan Publishing)
  • Monsters in the Mirror by A. J. Hartley (UCLan Publishing)
  • Born to Be Wild by John G. Hartness (Falstaff Books)
  • All Knight Long by John G. Hartness (Bell Bridge Books)
  • Raptor by John G. Hartness (Falstaff Books)
  • Carl Perkins’ Cadillac by John G. Hartness (Falstaff Books)
  • Inflection Point by John G. Hartness (Falstaff Books)
  • The Black Fox of Beckham by David L. Heaney
  • Southern Fury by Stuart Jaffe
  • Bones in the Woods by Stuart Jaffe
  • Prisoner by Stuart Jaffe
  • The Haunting by Stuart Jaffe
  • The Blood Witch by Stuart Jaffe
  • Southern Souls by Stuart Jaffe
  • Desert Takedown by Stuart Jaffe
  • Queen’s Peril by Darin Kennedy (Falstaff Books)
  • The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher (Saga Press)
  • Minor Mage by T. Kingfisher (Argyll Press)
  • Minecraft: The Lost Journals by Mur Lafferty (Del Rey)
  • Touch of Smoke by Karissa Laurel (Red Adept)
  • Star Quest: The Journey Begins by Patricia Lee Macomber (Crossroad Press)
  • Free Bird Rising by Ian J. Malone (Seventh Seal Press)
  • King’s Exiles by Gail Z. Martin (SOL Publishing)
  • Inheritance by Gail Z. Martin (SOL Publishing)
  • Cauldron by Gail Z. Martin and Larry N. Martin (Falstaff Books)
  • Wasteland Marshals by Gail Z. Martin and Larry N. Martin (SOL Publishing)
  • Night Moves by Gail Z. Martin and Larry N. Martin (Falstaff Books)
  • The Splintered Crown by Larry N. Martin (SOL Publishing)
  • Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia (Disney-Hyperion)
  • The World Ends in April by Stacy McAnulty (Random House Books for Young Readers)
  • Southlands by D. J. Molles
  • Breaking Gods by D. J. Molles
  • Extinction Shadow by D. J. Molles (Great Wave Ink Publishing)
  • Primal by D. J. Molles
  • Tribulation by Scott Nicholson (Haunted Computer Books)
  • To the Bones by Valerie Nieman (West Virginia University Press)
  • The Thread by Jamie Northam
  • The Riftwalkers and the Pierced Veil by Robin Parrish (MythWorks)
  • White Spirit by Amy Ravenel (Falstaff Books)
  • Madman Across the Water by Tom Ray
  • The Beast by Brendan Reichs [and Ally Condie] (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
  • Chrysalis by Brendan Reichs (G. P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers)
  • Nyxia Uprising by Scott Reintgen (Crown Books for Young Readers)
  • Saving Fable by Scott Reintgen (Crown Books for Young Readers)
  • Bid My Soul Farewell by Beth Revis (Razorbill)
  • Winter World by A. G. Riddle (Legion Books)
  • The Solar War by A. G. Riddle (Legion Books)
  • The Lost Colony by A. G. Riddle (Legion Books)
  • Howling Dark by Christopher Ruocchio (DAW)
  • Midnight Beauties by Megan Shepherd (HMH Books for Young Readers)
  • Outside the Gates of Eden by Lewis Shiner (Subterranean Press)
  • Undying by Meagan Spooner [and Amie Kaufman] (Disney-Hyperion)
  • Sherwood by Meagan Spooner (HarperTeen)
  • Imani Unraveled by Leigh Statham (Own Hollow Press)
  • Fruits of the Gods by William C. Tracy (NineStar Press)
  • The Lost Planet by Henry Vogel (Rampant Loon Press)
  • As the Crow Flies by Rysa Walker and Caleb Amsel (Starry Night)
  • A Fall in Autumn by Michael G. Williams (Falstaff Books)
  • Through the Doors of Oblivion by Michael G. Williams (Falstaff Books)
  • Nobody Gets Out Alive by Michael G. Williams (Falstaff Books)
  • A Midnight Dreary by David Niall Wilson (Crossroad Press)
  • A Thing Forgotten by Allen L. Wold (Ogden House)

The winner(s) will be announced at ConGregate on Friday, July 17, 2020 in Winston-Salem, NC.

The Manly Wade Wellman Award was founded in 2013 to recognize outstanding achievement in science fiction and fantasy novels written by North Carolina authors. The 2020 award covers novels published in 2019.

The award is named for long-time North Carolina author Manly Wade Wellman with the permission of his estate.

To promote the writing and reading of speculative fiction in North Carolina and to recognize outstanding achievements in North Carolina science fiction and fantasy.