Reader voted
Locus Awards
Locus magazine (Locus Science Fiction Foundation)
In short
The Locus Awards are decided by an annual online readers' poll run by Locus, the trade magazine that covers science fiction and fantasy publishing. Anyone can vote, and the results and the magazine's recommended reading list are used by booksellers and librarians deciding what to stock. There is no entry and no fee, so no publisher or author can put a book forward. What an author can do is make sure readers know the book exists before the poll closes, and confirm that its first publication year is clear.
Rules not verifiedChecked September 14, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Every label is a fact from the official rules, never a judgment about whether the award is worth entering. How we describe awards.
We have not confirmed the entry fee. We could not confirm this record's current rules against the official source. Read it as background, not as a deadline: nothing here sets a date on your checklist or sends you a reminder until we have checked it. Read the official rules (opens in a new tab).
The Locus Awards are decided by an annual online readers' poll run by Locus, the trade magazine of the science fiction and fantasy field. Categories cover science fiction, fantasy, horror, and first novels, plus young adult books, novellas, shorter fiction, collections, anthologies, nonfiction, art books, magazines, publishers, editors, artists, and illustrated books.
The poll is open to anyone, not just subscribers, although subscriber votes count double. Voters rank up to five works per category, write-ins are allowed, and the ballot has historically closed around April 1. Works that first appeared anywhere in the world during the previous calendar year are eligible, with some leeway for small presses and delayed releases.
There is no submission and no fee. Authors and publishers cannot enter a book; they can only make sure readers know it exists before the poll closes.
Why it may matter
The Locus Awards are the broadest reader-driven poll in science fiction and fantasy, and the accompanying Locus Recommended Reading List is used by booksellers and librarians as a buying guide. Because the poll is open to everyone, a book with an engaged readership can appear on the ballot without a publisher campaign.
Deadlines
No cycle has been verified for this award yet. Use the official rules link.
Worth knowing
Our reading, not a rule the organization published. We judge an award on the rubric in how we describe awards.
The Locus Awards pages on locusmag.com (opens in a new tab) refuse an automated request, so the category list, the eligibility window, and the ballot deadline above come from Locus's published poll rules in earlier years and are not confirmed. The live voting portal is reachable but shows only an April 1 closing date with no year attached. As of September 16, 2026 locusmag.com/locus-awards/ (opens in a new tab) still refused an automated request, so the next poll's dates could not be checked. No deadline is recorded here, and there is nothing to enter in any case: this is a readers' poll, not a submission.
Rules and deadlines change. We last checked this information on September 14, 2026. If you see something that needs updating, please tell us.
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