Budge, Sayed and Elicaño-Shields shortlisted for the Future Worlds Prize

Ama Josephine Budge, Mahmud El Sayed and Anne Elicaño-Shields are among the eight writers shortlisted for the 2023 Future Worlds Prize for Fantasy and Science Fiction Writers of Colour. The prize aims to find new talent based in the UK writing in the science fiction and fantasy space, from magical realism and space operas to dystopia and more.

The winner will receive a prize of £4,000, the runner-up £2,000 and the remaining six shortlisted authors will each receive £800.

Budge is on the list for Dawn in Arborellum, alongside Sayed for What the Crew Wants and Elicaño-Shields for The Archer and the Oracle. Ali Mahdi also made the shortlist with Light at Midnight, while Arianne Maki is shortlisted for The Taste of a Planet, alongside Marvellous Michael Anson for Firstborn of the Sun. Meanwhile, Melanie Reynard is the running for The Breath of Silence and Calah Singleton is on the list for Wisteria Chumleigh.

The prize will be judged by the founder of Bradford Literature Festival, Syima Aslam, on the panel alongside three-time Nebula Award-winning author Aliette de Bodard, poet and author Nikita Gil, and Future Worlds Prize winner Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson.

All shortlisted writers, the runner-up and the winner will also receive mentoring from one of the prize’s publishing partners. The winner of the prize will be announced at an event at Hachette UK on Monday 22nd May.

Future Worlds Prize was founded by author Ben Aaronovitch in 2020, and was previously named the Gollancz and Rivers of London BAME SFF Award. It is financially supported by Aaronovitch and "Bridgerton" actor Adjoa Andoh, and its publishing partners are Bloomsbury Publishing, Orion Books’ Gollancz, Little, Brown’s SFF imprint Orbit, Hodder’s Hodderscape and Pan Macmillan’s Tor.

Last year’s prize was won by M H Ayinde, who has since secured an agent for her novel A Shadow in Chains.