The North Carolina Speculative Fiction Foundation (NCSFF) has announced the winner for the 2026 Manly Wade Wellman Award. The award recognizes “outstanding achievement in science fiction and fantasy novels written by North Carolina authors.”

Winners for the 2026 Imadjinn Awards have been announced. Winners were selected by jury and announced at the Imaginarium Convention, held July 17-19, 2026 at the Holiday Inn Louisville East in Louisville KY.

Best Science Fiction Novel

• WINNER: Dead to Rights: A Car Warriors Autoduel Novel, Jay Barnson (Three Ravens)

• Frozen Echoes, Ed Downes (Undertaker)
• Bifrost Down, Jon R. Osborne (Seventh Seal)

Best Fantasy Novel

• WINNER: Rise From Ruin, Melissa Olthoff (Baen)

• The Blacksmith’s Boy, Bruce Buchanan (Wild Ink)
• The Healer’s Heir, Katie Fitzgerald (self-published)
• A Count of Courage, Nancy Moser (Mustard Seed)

Best Horror Novel

• WINNER: Darkness Calls, Joe Chianakas (Rogue River)

• Southern Cross, Vaughn A. Jackson (Falstaff)
• The Great Dick: And the Dysfunctional Demon, Barry Maher (Crystal Lake)
• The Exorcist’s House: Resurrection, Nick Roberts (Crystal Lake)

Best Urban Fantasy Novel

• WINNER: The Unlife of Lisa Cooper: Vengeance, J.M. Celi (Rockamooka)

• A Conundrum of Wizards, K.R. Brady (Woods)
• Reaper, John G. Hartness (Falstaff)
• House of Owls, Jon R. Osborne (New Mythology)

Best Paranormal Romance

• WINNER: Dancing with a Demon, L.R. Braden (Magical Realms)

• S’more Love, K. Rose (self-published)
• Resurrection, Karen White

Best Romance Novel

• WINNER: No Apologies, Andrea Jenelle (Willow Creek Publishing)

• The Scald Crow, Karen White (Baisong)

Best Young Adult Novel

• WINNER: The Unraveling of Emlyn DuLaine, Lindsay A. Franklin (Enclave Escape)

• Paramour, Robin Alvarez (Tides Collide)
• Missing Mom, Lynn Slaughter (Fire & Ice Young Adult)
• Awakening: Winberie Journals Book One, Lynn Tincher (Hydra)

Best Middle Grade Book

• WINNER: Not Lucille, Mike Steele (Creative James Media)

• Dreams of Gold and Fire, Fred Phillips (Raconteur)
• Scareville: Food to Die For, John Ward (Crystal Lake)

Best Cross Genre Novel

• WINNER: The Eagle Flies at Night, Lance Loot (self-published)

• Clutching Cthulhu’s Pearls, Marilyn Barr (self-published)

Best Anthology

• WINNER: What Swallows the Light, Theresa Derwin, Charlene du Toit, Victoria Kiska & Paula Limbaugh, eds. (Crystal Lake)

• Dancing With Destruction, Jason Cordova, ed. (Baen)
• It Came From the Trailer Park: Double Wide Volume 1, Jesse James Fain & William Joseph Roberts, eds. (Three Ravens)

Best Short Story Collection

• WINNER: Midnight Vintage, Sean Eads & Joshua Viola (Crystal Lake)

• The Wind’s Four Quarters, Alma Alexander (Book View Cafe)
• Six O’Clock House & Other Strange Tales, Rebecca Cuthbert (Watertower Hill)

Best Short Story

• WINNER: “Through the Holler, Into the Dark”, Emma E. Murray (The Drowning Machine and Other Obsessions)

• “The Leper’s Garden”, Jeff Clulow (The Leper’s Garden: And Other Contagions)
• “This Broken World”, Mia Dalia (Choices: An Anthology of Reproductive Horror)

Best Audiobook Narration

• WINNER: Harvest of Evil: The John Fisher Chronicles, Book 1, William H. Lehman, narrated by Perry Wince (Three Ravens)

• Ghostship Derelict, J.R. Handley, narrated by Brian Fairbank (Three Ravens)
• Shadow Card Guardian, Kacey Ezell, narrated by Anna Delphine (Sevillalost)

Best Thriller Novel

• WINNER: The First Wives, S.E. Reed (Storm)

• Cash Target, Edale Lane (self-published)
• Collateral Damage, Mick Williams (Valiant)

Best Western Novel

• WINNER: Legends of the West, Micheal Black (Circulation & Trade Division)

• Blood Lake, C.M. Saunders (Undertaker)

Best Poetry Collection

• WINNER: The Eight, Rita Spalding (Hydra)

• The Book of Hours, Darius Jones (self-published)

Best Magazine/Periodical

• WINNER: Kentucky Monthly, Stephen M. Vest (self-published)

• parABnormal Magazine, H. David Blalock, ed.

Imadjinn prizes were also awarded for categories including Historical Fiction, Thriller, Children’s Book, Graphic Novel/Comic Book, and others. For more information, including a complete list of winners, see the Imaginarium website.

Visit our bookshop.org page to purchase this week’s new books and support your local bookstore. And us!

 

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Aragon, Jesse: The Demon Star (The Broken Binding 978-0756420536, $29.00, 448pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 07/28/2026)

Science fantasy novel. Ysira Natkis escaped death and brought back something that could change the fate of her civilization, and now she must battle aliens, cultists, and gods to prevent the apocalypse. A first novel.

 

Blackwell, Juliet: The Séance Garden (Penguin Random House/Berkley 978-0593638262, $18.99, 400pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 07/28/2026)

Ghost mystery novel. Professor Harper Grae is a non-believer in the supernatural, but that’s put to the test when a mysterious murder happens at the “haunted” mansion of the Perles family.

 

Chan, Eliza: Harbour of Hungry Ghosts (Orbit US 978-0316589710, $19.99, 400pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 07/28/2026)

Fantasy novel inspired by Asian lore. When Kiamling’s grandmother is taken by a strange monster during the Hungry Ghosts festival, she must find out what happened and lead a search to save her grandmother. Simultaneous with the Orbit UK edition.

 

 

Davidson, Cesi: Laterals (Aqueduct Press 978-1619762923, $12.00, N/App, formats: paperback, ebook, 08/01/2026)

Collection of short plays. Part of the Conversation Pieces series.

 

Durst, Sarah Beth: Sea of Charms (Tor/Bramble 978-1250400673, $29.99, 384pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 07/28/2026)

Cozy fantasy romance novel. Marin sails from island to island working as a supply runner. When she visits the capital during a revolution she makes a deal with her friend Dax, but starts to discover her underlying feelings towards him.

 

Eames, Andrea: A Tangled Magic (Kensington/Erewhon 978-1645661894, $28.00, 464pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 07/28/2026)

Dark fantasy novel. Netta has lived in a tower her entire life, with only her hair that moves on its own, and a telepathic raven to accompany her. When her mother vanishes, she goes on a quest to save her.

 

Hannan, Sophia: We Were Never Here (Simon & Schuster 978-1665958332, $19.99, 352pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 07/28/2026)

Young-adult horror novel. When Georgia’s girlfriend mysteriously dies visiting a haunted house, her life falls apart. Months later, she’s forced to return to her old life as a thief, but when she tries to steal a painting, something horrifying happens A first novel.

 

Henning, Sarah: Such a Witch (Little, Brown 978-0316584371, $19.99, 400pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 07/28/2026)

Young-adult magic school rom-com. Embry Woodcross, a witch and senior at Raven’s Head School for the Magically Gifted, takes a new student, Oakley Riddle, under her wing, but after a murder, she becomes the main suspect.

 

James, Calvin: Affairs of State (Titan Books UK ‎ 978-1835416211, $19.99, 496pp, formats: paperback, ebook, 07/28/2026)

SF novel. Levar Boylan, a junior supply officer, finds himself as a diplomat discussing peace treaties with the empire, all because his ex is the reigning demon emperor. After they reconnect, they discover the spark is still there. A first novel.

 

Johnson, Lora Beth: Hell to Pay (Penguin Random House/Putnam 978-0593856529, $20.99, 368pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 07/28/2026)

Young-adult fantasy novel. After the death of her brother, and disappearance of her parents, Elle feels lost, until one day, she’s offered a job to steal a soul from the afterlife, a task that’s much easier said than done.

 

Lim, Elizabeth: Fishbone Cinderella (Penguin Random House/Del Rey 979-8217092987, $30.00, 448pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 07/28/2026)

Fantasy novel inspired by Chinese folklore and Western fairy tales. A book that explores the family dynamics of mothers and daughters across decades and cultures.

 

Omar, Sara: The Harpy Knight (Titan Books UK 978-1835412848, $18.99, 432pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 07/28/2026)

Fantasy novel second in the Chaos Constellation trilogy. After conquering the kingdom of Dumakra, Bataar Rhah focuses attention on Aglea in the north, a land of monster infested marshes, and pagan berserkers.

 

René, Leslie: Maggie and Arthur’s Magic Moment (Ace 978-0593956182, $20.00, 432pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 07/28/2026)

Fantasy romance novel. Maggie Linden, an Incantations Translation professor, becomes forced to share her basement office with Arthur Taliesin, an alchemist with an insufferable attitude, but she starts to realize he’s putting on an act. A first novel.

 

Roux, Madeleine: Star Wars: Legacy (Penguin Random House/Random House Worlds 978-0593982662, $30.00, 416pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 07/28/2026)

Star Wars tie-in novel set between episodes VIII and IX. Leia Organa does everything she can to train Rey, but her knowledge of the force is extremely limited, so they choose to journey to an old Jedi temple on Tython together. Simultaneous with the Penguin Random House UK edition.

 

Sierra, Caleb: The Wetworks Miracle (Stelliform Press 978-1738316571, $15.00, 108pp, formats: paperback, ebook, 07/30/2026)

Dark fantasy novella. After the ecological collapse of society, humans fled their world to a place called the Wetworks, and the only plant there is something called the “Root.” People call it a miracle despite how it alters their bodies. A first novel.

 

Spires, D.A. Xiaolin: Ellipses (AudioText/Infinivox N/A, $16.00, 100pp, formats: paperback, ebook, 08/01/2026)

SF novella. Koharu is looking for a landing spot on exoplanet Kepler-62f, when she comes in contact with seemingly friendly aliens. She does everything she can to communicate with them, while at the same time trying to contact her boyfriend.

 

Thorne, Scarlett J.: Lord of the Heights (Arc Manor/Caezik SF & Fantasy 978-1647102074, $19.99, 316pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 07/28/2026)

Fantasy romance novel. Dark gothic romantasy reimagining of Wuthering Heights. James Lockwood moves to Yorkshire for peace, but his car gets destroyed, and the road vanishes, so his only option is to go to Wuthering Heights.

 

West, Jacqueline: Black Point (Simon & Schuster/Atheneum 978-1665981859, $19.99, 304pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 07/28/2026)

Young-adult dark fantasy novel set in a small town steeped in Norse traditions. When the supposedly haunted Black Point Hotel is bought by outsiders, the town is taken aback.

 

Zanetti, Rebecca: One Shattered Crown (Kensington 978-1035417964, $32.00, 380pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 07/28/2026)

Erotic fantasy romance novel, the third in the Grimm Bargains series. Justice Beathach and Ella Rendale have a long lasting feud, but when Justice is forced to protect her from people who want her dead, he becomes obsessed.

 

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Fan and organizer Robin Johnson, 89, died July 6, 2026 in Ballarat, Australia of underlying causes after a fall.

Johnson was born March 9, 1937 and lived variously in Melbourne, Sydney, Hobart, and Ballarat, as well as in England. He chaired the first Australian Worldcon in 1975 as well as Thylacons 1-3. He was awarded the Ditmar Awards Special Award in 1974 and in 1983, and he received the Big Heart Award at Worldcon in 2007.