Yesterday, I highlighted my reviews from the annual Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Spotlight issue of Booklist. I had 2 stars and a positive review. Click here to see the reviews with bonus appeal info. Also, I am giving away one of the starred titles this week on RA for All: Horror and the other next week. Entering is very easy, click here for those details. You enter once and you stayed entered. This giveaway has been going on weekly since April of 2020.
But back to today....
Today, I wanted to highlight the annual "best" lists Booklist created for these genres, and remind you that every single issue of Booklist "spotlights" or "focuses" on at least one area of collection development. For each issue they always have related articles and content. The best lists are always available to all, but some of the articles, you need to have a password.
Getting a password is not that hard. Most of you have a print subscription [if you don't, fix that]; however, you haven't activated your online access because the serials people are probably in charge. Booklist has this page to help you activate your free online access from your subscription.
Below, I have the summary statement from the editors about what you can find online and in print this August. But I wanted to pull out and highlight two of the free bests lists.
First, Top 10 SF/Fantasy & Horror Debuts: 2022. This is a go-to annual list. Again, Booklist understands that these lists are crucial to your work, so they stay free and available. "Best" debut lists are always a great way to identify new talent that have proven themselves. And Booklist makes it very easy to access the backlist of "Best Debuts." Click here to see the 2020, 2021, and 2022 lists all with one search.
Side note: You can do this for any genre to get the current and backlist "Best Lists." Here is a search I ran for "Top Romance." It pulls up the last few years of best romance lists, general and debuts. What an amazing suggestion resource! And it is free!! Run that search for ANYTHING. Type, "Top" and insert what you are looking for and watch the suggested titles roll in.
Speaking of the general Top 10 list, here is the link for the overall Top 10 SF/Fantasy & Horror: 2022. And click here to run the search for ALL top Horror lists [includes SF and Fantasy] for all ages, including audio and debuts, for the last few years.
But for this year's list in particular here I have NEWS!!!!!
There are 3 straight up Horror titles, two of which I have reviewed [the third I could not review for conflict of interest reasons], and a story about the third book. Here we go....
- The Fervor by Alma Katsu. Click here for the Booklist STAR review by my friend Anita and here for my STAR review in Library Journal. Alma's book is FANTASTIC, and she has been a wonderful Summer Scares spokesperson this year. I am so happy for her.
- Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology edited by Vince A. Liaguno and Rena Mason. Click here for the STAR Booklist review. I have read this anthology and LOVE it, but since it is a production of the HWA and I am on the exec board, I deferred from reviewing it anywhere.
- Wasps in the Ice Cream by Tim McGregor. Okay this one has a story. I adored this book. Here is my STAR review. And here is my post with even more info. However, there is some news about this title. The publisher who was going to put this book out folded just before publication. BUT, good news, one of my favorite independent presses [and one who distributes through Ingram so you can get their books easily], Raw Dog Screaming Press picked it up. They have the full story posted here. It will now come out in 2023. This may be the first time a book was a "best of the year" before it came out. But seriously, when it gets closer to its release, I will be reminding you of it's awesomeness and hosting another giveaway of the book. And to be honest, I was wary of reviewing the book in the first place because I did not have positive feelings about the original publisher already. I only took it on because I like and admire McGregor's writing. I am so glad I did give it a chance, but I am also glad he is landing it with a better publisher.
People read fiction for a variety of reasons, but perhaps the most obvious one is escapism—the chance to immerse yourself in a place or time that differs wildly from your own. Arguably, sf, fantasy, and horror exemplify this phenomenon more than any other genre, yet even the most fantastical fiction mirrors our own reality in some way. The monster in a chilling horror story may represent humanity's greatest vices; the utopian planet in a space adventure teaches us how to care for our planet. Not only does speculative fiction satisfy our creativity, but behind the technological, whimsical, or spooky dressings, we can learn how to better ourselves along the way.The books featured our Spotlight on SF/Fantasy & Horror do that and more as seen in our Top 10 SF/Fantasy & Horror, Top 10 SF/Fantasy & Horror Debuts, Top 10 SF/Fantasy & Horror for Youth, and Top 10 SF/Fantasy & Horror Audiobooks for Youth. Adult Books Senior Editor Susan Maguire offers up a list of sf/fantasy & horror cli-fi books that act as cautionary tales for climate change, and when it comes to fiction about science (as opposed to genre science fiction), Adult Books Editor Donna Seaman celebrates fictional scientists that have a verve for knowledge and experimentation. Many subgenres fall under the sf/fantasy umbrella (steampunk, dystopian, and time travel, to name a few), so Books for Youth Editor Sarah Hunter calls attention to particularly niche microtrends she's spotted in the youth department lately. Lastly, in our continuing Navigating Newbery series, Books for Youth Senior Editor Ronny Khuri postulates why high fantasy hasn't often won this prestigious award.Now, onto the spaceships, folklore, and mermaids!
Click here too head over to the Booklist site for more.
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