Robert J. Sawyer and Silvia Moreno-Garcia among finalists for 2021 Aurora Awards

The Oppenheimer Alternative by Robert J. Sawyer and Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia are among the finalists for the 2021 Aurora Awards.

The Aurora Awards annually recognize the best in Canadian science fiction and fantasy. 

Both Sawyer and Moreno-Garcia are nominated in the best novel category.

In The Oppenheimer Alternative, Sawyer takes readers back in time to visit the history of the Manhattan Project and the dropping of the atomic bomb, with a twist. The book introduces a terrifying discovery in addition to history — a future in which the sun will eject its outermost layer, destroying Earth and the entire inner solar system. 

Sawyer is a Hugo and Nebula-winning science fiction writer. He has authored 23 novels and received two previous Aurora Awards. His other books include The Terminal Experiment, Hominids, Quantum Night, Triggers and Red Planet Blues.

• 6 books that shaped sci-fi author Robert J. Sawyer

Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic revolves around protagonist Noemí Taboada, who heads into a distant house in the Mexican countryside after receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin. With a mission to save her cousin from a mysterious room, Noemí digs deep into a family's dark past and unearths stories of violence and madness.

Born and raised in Mexico, Moreno-Garcia is also the author of novels Signal to Noise, Gods of Jade and Shadow and The Beautiful Ones. 

The 2021 Aurora Awards recognize science fiction and fantasy work in 11 categories. 

The nominees for best novel are: 

• A Stitch in Time by Kelley Armstrong
• A Connecticut Gumshoe in King Arthur's Court by Randy McCharles
• Beneath the Rising by Premee Mohamed
• Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• The Oppenheimer Alternative by Robert J. Sawyer

The nominees for best YA novel are: 

• The Gryphon's Lair by Kelley Armstrong
• Flights of Marigold by Susan Forest
• Hollow by Rhonda Parrish
• Arthur Slade Wall of Wishes by Suzy Vadori

The nominees for best novelette/novella are: 

• The Immolation of Kev Magee by L.X. Beckett
• An Important Failure by Rebecca Campbell
• Tool Use by the Humans of Danzhai County by Derek Künsken
• How Quini the Squid Misplaced His Klobučar by Rich Larson
• Go Fish by Ian Rogers
• To Sail the Black by A.C. Wise

The nominees for best short story are: 

• The Bone-Stag Walks by KT Bryski
• Night Folk by Barb Galler-Smith
• All Cats Go to Valhalla by Chadwick Ginther
• Breathe by Calvin D. Jim
• So You Want to Be a Honeypot by Kelly Robson
• Grass Gods by Elizabeth Whitton

The nominees for best graphic novel/comic are: 

• Gothic Tales of Haunted Futures, edited by S.M. Beiko
• Krampus is My Boyfriend! by S.M. Beiko
• Crash and Burn by Kate Larking & Finn Lucullan
• It Never Rains by Kari Maaren
• Goblins by Ellipsis Hana Stephens
• Northwest Resistance by Katherena Vermette, illustrated by Scott B. Henderson

The nominees for best related work are: 

• PodCastle, edited by Jen R. Albert & Cherae Clark
• Augur #3.1 and 3.2, edited by Kerry C. Byrne, Alexander De Pompa & Lawrence Stewen
• Prairie Gothic, edited by Stacey Kondla
• Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space by Amanda Leduc 
• Swashbuckling Cats: Nine Lives on the Seven Sea, edited by Rhonda Parrish
• On Spec, edited by Diane L. Walton

The nominees for best poem/song are:

• Masquerade by Colleen Anderson
• The Death of the Gods by Leah Bobet
• he scores by Beth Cato & Rhonda Parrish
• Back Story by David Clink
• Electra by Y.M. Pang
• Arachnoid Cyst by Dominik Parisien
• Hamilton Harbour by Lynne Sargent
• Nidhog by Jo Walton

The nominees for best artist are:

• Lorna Antoniazzi
• Samantha M. Beiko
• Swati Chavda
• Dan O'Driscoll
• Maia Kondla-Wolf

The nominees for best Visual presentation is:

• Don't Text Back
• Murdoch Mysteries, season 13, episodes 10-18
• Trickster, episodes 1-6
• The Umbrella Academy
• Wynonna Earp, season 4, episodes 1-6

The nominees for best fan writing and publications are:

• BCSFAzine #538-547, edited by R. Graeme Cameron
• Clubhouse by R. Graeme Cameron 
• Polar Borealis #13-16, edited by R. Graeme Cameron
• Travelling TARDIS by Jennifer Desmarais
• Young People Read Old SFF, edited by James Davis Nicoll
• Random Musings by Robert J. Sawyer

The nominees for best fan related work are:

• ephemera reading series, KT Bryski & Jen R. Albert
• AugurCon, Kerry C. Byrne & Terese Mason Pierre
• 2020 Aurora Awards Ceremony, Mark Leslie Lefebvre & Liz Anderson
• When Words Collide, Randy McCharles
• Speculating Canada, Derek Newman-Stille

The winners will be announced on Oct. 16, 2021.