The Kitschies are British literary prizes presented annually for "the year’s most progressive, intelligent and entertaining works that contain elements of the speculative or fantastic." Works that were published in the United Kingdom in the year of the award are eligible.
Awards and criteria
The Kitschies are administered by a non-profit association with the stated mission of "encouraging and elevating the tone of the discussion of genre literature in its many forms". The founders, Anne C. Perry and Jared Shurin said that they sought to bring attention to works with a fantastic or speculative element that are progressive in terms of content and composition.
The award is a juried prize that selects those books which "best elevate the tone of genre literature". Qualifying books must contain "an element of the fantastic or speculative" and have been published in the UK. Winners receive a sum of prize money and a textile tentacle trophy.
The Kitschies are governed by an advisory board of members and an award director, Glen Mehn. The Kitschies were initially established in 2009 by the website pornokitsch.com. The Kraken Rum was the sponsor between 2010 and 2013. The current sponsor (since 2014) is Fallen London (a creation of UK game developer Failbetter Games).
As of 2015, the Kitschies are awarded in four categories:
Red Tentacle for the best novel (£1,000, since 2009)Golden Tentacle for the best debut novel (£500, since 2010)Inky Tentacle for the best cover art (£500, since 2011)Invisible Tentacle for the best natively digital fiction (since 2014)Black Tentacle; awarded at the judges' discretion (since 2010)The judging panels change annually.
2011Literary judges: Perry, Shurin, Lauren Beukes and Rebecca LeveneArt judges: Hayley Campbell, Craig Kennedy, Catherine Hemelryk and Darren Banks2012Literary judges: Shurin, Levene and Patrick NessArt judges: Lauren O'Farrell, Gary Northfield and Ed Warren2013Literary judges: Nick Harkaway, Kate Griffin, Will Hill, Anab Jain and Annabelle WrightArt judges: Hazel Thompson, Sarah Anne Langton, Emma Vieceli and Craig Kennedy.2014Literary judges: Kate Griffin, Adam Roberts, Kim Curran, Frances Hardinge and Glen MehnArt judges: Ed Warren, Dapo Adeola, Jim Kay and Siân PrimeInvisible Tentacle judges: Laura Grace, James Wallis, Phil van Kemenade and Clare Reddington2015Literary judges: Sarah Lotz, James Smythe, Nazia Khatun, Nikesh Shukla and Glen MehnArt judges: Sarah McIntyre, Regan Warner, Dapo Adeola and Lauren O’Farrell2015Winner: The Heart Goes Last by Margaret AtwoodFinalists:Europe at Midnight by Dave HutchinsonThe Reflection by Hugo WilckenThe Fifth Season by N. K. JemisinThe Thing Itself by Adam Roberts2014Winner:Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew SmithFinalists:Lagoon by Nnedi OkoraforThe Peripheral by William GibsonThe Way Inn by Will WilesThe Race by Nina Allan2013Winner: A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth OzekiFinalists:Red Doc> by Anne CarsonBleeding Edge by Thomas PynchonMore Than This by Patrick NessThe Machine by James Smythe2012Winner: Angelmaker by Nick HarkawayFinalists:The Folly of the World by Jesse BullingtonA Face Like Glass by Frances HardingeJack Glass by Adam RobertsThe Method by Juli Zeh2011Winner: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness and Siobhan DowdFinalists:The Enterprise of Death by Jesse BullingtonEmbassytown by China MiévilleThe Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane RogersOsama: A Novel by Lavie Tidhar2010Winner: Zoo City by Lauren BeukesShortlisted:Children's Crusade by Scott AndrewsKraken by China MiévilleThe Folding Knife by K. J. ParkerAurorarama by Jean-Christophe Valtat2009Winner: The City & the City by China MiévilleShortlisted:Best Served Cold by Joe AbercrombiePride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-SmithThe Magicians by Lev GrossmanThe Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen2015Winner: Making Wolf by Tade ThompsonFinalists:The Shore by Sara TaylorBlackass by A. Igoni BarrettThe Gracekeepers by Kirsty LoganThe Night Clock by Paul Meloy2014Winner: Viper Wine by Hermione EyreFinalists:The Girl in the Road by Monica ByrneMemory of Water by Emmi ItärantaThe Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky ChambersThe People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara2013Winner:Ancillary Justice by Ann LeckieFinalists:Stray by Monica HesseA Calculated Life by Anne CharnockNexus by Ramez NaamMr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan2012Winner: Redemption in Indigo by Karen LordFinalists:vN by Madeline AshbyPanopticon by Jenni FaganSeraphina by Rachel HartmanThe City's Son by Tom Pollock2011Winner:God's War by Kameron HurleyFinalists:Among Thieves by Douglas HulickThe Night Circus by Erin MorgensternMiss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom RiggsThe Samaritan by Fred Venturini2010King Maker by
Maurice Broaddus2014Winner: Tigerman by Nick Harkaway, cover by Glenn O’NeillFinalists:The Ghost of the Mary Celeste by Valerie Martin, design by Steve MarkingA Man Lies Dreaming by Lavie Tidhar, cover by Ben SummersThrough the Woods by Emily Carroll, cover by Emily Carroll and Sonja ChaghatzbanianThe Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber, cover by Rafaela Romaya and Yehring Tong2013Winner: The Age Atomic by Adam Christopher; art by Will StaehleFinalists:Dreams and Shadows by C. Robert Cargill; design and illustration by Sinem ErkasHomeland and Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow; design by Amazing15Stray by Monica Hesse; art by Gianmarco MagnaniApocalypse Now Now by Charlie Human; art by Joey Hi-Fi2012Winner: A Boy and a Bear in a Boat by Dave Shelton; illustration by Dave SheltonFinalists:The Teleportation Accident by Ned Beauman; design by La BocaThe Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket by John Boyne; illustration by Oliver JeffersCostume Not Included by Matthew Hughes; illustration by Tom GauldFlame Alphabet by Ben Marcus; design by Peter Mendelsund2011Winner:The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan; design by Peter MendelsundFinalists:Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch; illustration by Stephen Walter, design by Patrick KnowlesThe Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco; design by Suzanne Dean, illustration by John SpencerEquations of Life by Simon Morden; design by Lauren PanepintoA Monster Calls by Patrick Ness and Siobhan Dowd; illustration by Jim Kay2015Winner: Life Is Strange, video game by Dontnod EntertainmentFinalists:Arcadia, interactive novel by Iain PearsDaniel Barker’s Birthday, Twitter fiction by @FrogCroakleyThe Last Hours of Laura K by the BBC Writers RoomBloodborne, video game by Hidetaka Miyazaki / FromSoftware2014Winner: Kentucky Route Zero Act III, video game by Cardboard ComputerFinalists:@echovirus12, Twitter fiction by Jeff Noon and others80 Days, video game by Inkle StudiosSailor’s Dream, video game by Simogo2015: The genre community, personified by Patrick Ness, for its response to the humanitarian refugee crisis. Ness began a fund that raised £690 million for Save the Children.2014: Sarah McIntyre, author and illustrator2013: Malorie Blackman, British writer, Children's Laureate for 2013, for "outstanding achievement in encouraging and elevating the conversation around genre literature"2012: Lavie Tidhar for the World SF Blog, a website showcasing international speculative fiction2011: SelfMadeHero, comics publisher2010: Memory, novel by Donald Westlake