This is part of my ongoing series on using Awards Lists as a RA tool. Click here for all posts in the series in reverse chronological order. Click here for the first post which outlines the details how to use awards lists as a RA tool.
Among the newer major awards on the block are the Ignyte Awards. From their home page:
WELCOME TO THE IGNYTE AWARDS
The Ignyte Awards began in 2020 alongside the inaugural FIYAHCON, a virtual convention centering the contributions and experiences of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) in Speculative Fiction. Founded by L. D. Lewis and Suzan Palumbo, the awards were an attempt to correct representative gaps in traditional spec lit awards and have grown into a coveted and cherished addition to the awards landscape. The Ignytes seek to celebrate the vibrancy and diversity of the current and future landscapes of science fiction, fantasy, and horror by recognizing incredible feats in storytelling and outstanding efforts toward inclusivity of the genre.
Awards are given annually in the following categories:
- Best Novel – Adult
- Best Novel – YA
- Best in Middle Grade
- Best Novella
- Best Novelette
- Best Short Story
- Speculative Poetry
- Critics Award
- Best Fiction Podcast
- Best Artist
- Best Comics Team
- Best Anthology/Collected Works
- Best in Creative Nonfiction
- The Ember Award for Unsung Contributions to Genre
- Community Award for Outstanding Efforts in Service of Inclusion and Equitable Practice in Genre
And click here for the finalists and winners from the 2020, 2021, and 2022 awards.
The Igynte awards are the perfect example of how to act and be intentionally diverse and anti-racist because they are all about noticing the absences of the voices and experiences of BIPOC creators and centering them in their own space.
For years some library workers have been stuck in a loop where people would say well, the bestsellers or award winners or star reviews are all white people, so those are "the best" and most important titles for my collection. Why should I add "lesser" books.
Well, in reality, only the experiences of cishet, white people were even being considered for these distinctions. Meaning that those best lists, sales milestones, and awards were only going to the best "white" voices. BIPOC voices weren't even in the running, no matter how good their work actually was.
Marginalized voices needed to create their own awards to even be noticed. We have seen the success of this over time with things like the Coretta Scott King Awards. For years, the only way Black creators could win in the youth category was through this award. But now, titles regularly win both the CSK and overall awards like the Newbery and Caldecott. Yes its took years, but the CSK awards are a success story of refusing to be left out, making a strong stand for Black voices and eventually proving that these titles are for everyone and among the very best youth materials available, full stop.
The Ignyte Award is filling this role in the speculative genres and I am all here for it. Don't think you can diversify you offerings because you don't know where to find those titles? The Ignyte Award is here to challenge you on this. Just look at the list for Best Novel Adult for example:
BEST NOVEL: ADULT
for novel-length work (40k words) Works intended for an Adult audience
- BABEL – R. F. Kuang (Harper Voyager)
- KAIKEYI – Vaishnavi Patel (Redhook)
- SIREN QUEEN – Nghi Vo (Tordotcom)
- THE BLOOD TRIALS – N. E. Davenport (Harper Voyager)
- THE SPEAR CUTS THROUGH WATER – Simon Jimenez (Del Rey)
The first 3 are among the most critically acclaimed titles in speculative fiction period; not just for BIPOC writers. And Babel is winning every award it is eligible for.
Stop with the excuses and start realizing that systemic racism is responsible for your thinking. Our world has set up a false narrative that the White, Cishet, Able bodied, Christian POV is the standard and everything else is "other" at the very best and on a lower wrong at worst, when in reality anything that didn't fit that "standard" wasn't even given a chance to exist-- good or bad, it never got a chance to try,
Awards like the Ignyte Awards are here to remind us of those glaring absences, call them out-- and loudly-- and celebrate excellence.
Make sure you have the Ignyte Awards on you radar. Use their nominees, and frankly, their mission in general, to help you craft displays and lists that represent all voices. And check all of these titles against your collections and use this as a chance to add some of the very best BIPOC voices to your offerings.
Final reminder because I have non-US readers: It's a holiday weekend here in America so the blog will be back on Tuesday.
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