We received the following press release from the African Speculative Fiction Society, which we are happy to share.  You may already be familiar with works of AfroFuturism by writers such as Octavia E. Butler, N.K. Jemisin and Nnedi Okorafor, and there are many more left to explore. Watch for the names mentioned on these shortlisted works.

Seattle, WA – 19 August 2025 — The African Speculative Fiction Society (ASFS) proudly announced the 2025 Nommo Awards Shortlist during Seattle Worldcon, in an online panel themed “Celebrating the Future: African Speculative Fiction Today.”

The Nommo Awards, now in their eighth year, honour excellence in speculative fiction — science fiction, fantasy, and horror — by African writers. The shortlist spans four categories: Best Short Story, Novella, Graphic Novel, and the Ilube Award for Best Novel.

2025 Nommo Awards Shortlist

Short Story

• The Future Ancients — Mwenya S. Chikwa (Will This Be A Problem? The Magazine)
• Bodies of Sand and Blood — Plangdi Neple (Cast of Wonders)
• Warning Notes from an Annihilator Machine — Damilola Oyedotun (Lightspeed Magazine)
• From Across Time — Chisom Umeh (Clarkesworld Magazine)

Novella

• The Year of Return — Ivana Akotowaa Ofori (Android Press)
• In the Shadow of the Fall — Tobi Ogundiran (Tordotcom)
• Lost Ark Dreaming — Suyi Davies Okungbowa (Tordotcom / Masobe Books)
• The Practice, the Horizon and the Chain — Sofia Samatar (Tordotcom)

Graphic Novel

• You Have Ten Years — Murewa Ayodele, Mamode Ogbewele, Dotun Akande & Samuel Iwunze
• Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods — Murewa Ayodele & Dotun Akande (Oni Press)
• Celestial Eyes Vol. 1 — John Uche & Francis Goodluck (The Machine Publishing)

Ilube Award for Best Novel

• The Incredible Dreams of Garba Dakaskus — Umar Abubakar Sidi (Masobe Books)
• The Smoke That Thunders — Erhu Kome (Norton Young Readers)
• Dakini Atoll — Nikhil Singh (Luna Press Publishing)
• Womb City — Tlotlo Tsamaase (Erewhon Books)

The winners of the 2025 Nommo Awards will be announced at the Ake Arts and Book Festival, Nigeria, in November 2025.

They followed up with a disclaimer, so if you are having problems getting in, contact CSFFA directly, and not us!  Their Contact link is below.

Contact Us

From our friends at the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association:

We’re happy to announce that CSFFA is joining the great Discord bandwagon, and has created a community server where fans, readers, creators, and all Canadian SFF enthusiasts can gather online to discuss Canadian speculative fiction and the Aurora Awards. The Discord server is open to the public, and you can join us using this link.

The 2025 Hugo Awards were presented yesterday in a ceremony at the Seattle WorldCon. Congratulations to all the winning entries as well as to the finalists.

Congratulations go out to Montreal’s WorldCon bid committee, winners of the 2027 World Science Fiction Convention!

See their website for details on Guests of Honour, current membership rates and other news as it happens.

Costs to attend will rise as time marches on, so now is your best chance to get five fabulous days of fun and schmoozing with your favourite authors and artists, plus the chance to enjoy the beauty of one of Canada’s best cities.

If you are a fan of SFF conventions (not the expo monstrosities), you may be aware of the annual WorldCon.  Each year, teams bid on the right to hold a WorldCon in their own city, and Edmonton, Alberta has launched a bid to have it there in 2030. Yes, that’s how long it takes to gather support and plan for one of these things.

At this weekend’s WorldCon in Seattle, there is a virtual Edmonton bid party, largely planned for the numerous fans who have cancelled their travel plans for the U.S. .  See the links below.

On Spec is happy to be a participant , with Managing Editor Diane Walton on a panel discussing Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy with Stephen Kotowych (Year’s Best Canadian SF) and author Kate Heartfield (The Embroidery Book among others)

There will also be other discussions and readings and a chat room for fans to get together from all over.

Title: Edmonton in 2030 Virtual Bid Party: Celebrating Science Fiction and Fantasy from Canada

Saturday 16th August

Description: Join us online for four hours of reading, discussion and general chat with writers from across Canada, and a chance to hear from the Chairs and other team members of the Edmonton 2030 bid.

The programme starts at 3pm and runs to 7pm Seattle Time) – 11pm start UK time.

There will be four chat rooms, a games room, and a social room. All rooms are moderated and the Seattle Code of Conduct will be strictly enforced. Anyone engaging in harassment or micro-aggression will be excluded immediately and a report made to the Convention.

The Meeting ‘room’ holds 100 people.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83120967285?pwd=7Ci2nieyObcICRrUUcuRIXyF5JtEZx.1

Tiny url: https://tinyurl.com/3xd54f7h

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2025 Aurora Awards

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners of this year’s Aurora Awards!

The annual Aurora Awards broadcast is happening today at 5 pm EDT.  The broadcast will last a little over an hour, with presentations for award winners in numerous professional and fan categories.

On Spec is a finalist in the Best Related Work category and we thank you for your support.

Managing Editor Diane L. Walton is one of this year’s inductees for the Hall of Fame Award, presented by the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association (CSFFA).

Below you can find the ways you can watch online.  These links will also work after the ceremony is completed, so you may watch at a later date.

Lorina Stephens’ June book review is for a new work by award-winning Canadian fantasy author Guy Gavriel Kay. Check out her review of Written on the Dark here. 

Happy Canada Day everyone!

On Spec has the honour of sharing the news that our Managing Editor, Diane L. Walton, is a 2025 inductee in the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association Hall of Fame!  From the CSFFA website, the annual award is described below.

“The Canadian Science Fiction & Fantasy Association Hall of Fame was created to honour people who have over the past number of decades made a great contribution to the genre of Science Fiction and Fantasy. These would include not just people who write but includes people who have made a contribution either professionally or as a fan. We include artists, musicians, scientists, publishers, editors, organizers and fans.”

Diane wants to sincerely thank fellow editor Barb Galler-Smith for her nomination, as well as the Hall of Fame selection committee for what is likely a daunting choice. As the List of Inductees will show, this is a pretty impressive group to be a part of!