I may not know much about art, but I know what I like; and I found it fairly easy to rank the six shortlisted artworks for this year’s BSFA Awards. My top three and bottom two were all very close, though.

My first preference goes to Geneva Benton – Sundown Towns (cover for Fiyah Magazine #3). Incidentally it is the only one of the six which features a person looking directly at the viewer. There’s a lot going on here with strong, memorable use of colours.

Second preference to Galen Dara – Illustration for ‘These Constellations Will Be Yours’ by Elaine Cuyegkeng (Strange Horizons). Tension between various parts of the picture, inviting us to find out the connection between the two figures, one curled up, one possibly imprisoned and gazing down.

Third pref to Victo Ngai – Illustration for ‘Waiting on a Bright Moon’ by JY Yang (Tor.com)
Fourth, Marcin Wolski – Cover for 2084 edited by George Sandison (Unsung Stories).

Fifth, Jim Burns – Cover for The Ion Raider by Ian Whates (NewCon Press)

And finally, Chris Moore – Cover for The Memoirist by Neil Williamson (NewCon Press)

I’ve recorded my vote for seven of the last eight years, and four times out of seven my top preference won (2009, 2011, 2014, and 20162010, 2013 and 2015 the voters chose differently to me, sometimes very differently.

Best Novel | Best Short Fiction | Best Non-Fiction | Best Artwork