As part of the preparation for an upcoming Coode Street Podcast discussion and to get ready for year-in-review season, I’m compiling a list of debut novels for 2017. Â The criteria for making the list are simple:
- The book must be a novel (ie at least 40,000 words long; not a short story collection or something else etc).
- The book must be being published for the first time in the English language anywhere in the world.
- The book must science fiction, fantasy, horror or substantively related to those genres.
This is the current list, as of 19 September.
- Magicians Impossible, Brad Abraham (Thomas Dunne, September)
- Leila, Prayaag Akbar (Simon & Schuster, January)
- The Bear & The Nightingale, Katherine Arden (Del Rey, January)
- The Waking Land, Callie Bates (Del Rey, June)
- The Guns Above, Robyn Bennis (Tor, May)
- Hearts and Other Body Parts, Ira Bloom (Scholastic, March)
- Tropic of Kansas, Christopher Brown (HarperVoyager, July)
- Amberlough, Lara Elena Donnelly (Tor, February)
- The Prey of Gods, Nicky Drayden (HarperVoyager, June)
- Crossroads of Canopy, Thoraiya Dyer (Tor, January)
- American War, Omar El Akkad (Knopf, April)
- Winter Tide, Ruthanna Emrys (Tor.com, April)
- Blood Red Rose Rebellion, Rosalyn Eves (Knopf, March)
- Sputnik’s Children, Terri Favro (ECW Press, April)
- Year of the Orphan, Daniel Findlay (Penguin Australia, May)
- Daughter of the Burning City, Amanda Foody (Harlequin Teen, August)
- Caraval, Stephanie Garber (Flatiron, January)
- Wings Unseen, Rebecca Gomez Farrell (Meerkat, August)
- The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, Theodora Goss (Saga, June)
- Three Years with the Rat, Jay Hosking (Thomas Dunne, January)
- Spaceman of Bohemia, Jaroslav Kalfar (Hachette, March)
- Allaigna’s Song: Overture, J.M. Landels (Pulp L:iterature, July)
- Noumenon, Marina J. Lostetter (HarperVoyager, August)
- A Time and a Place, Joseph Mahoney (Five Rivers Capmanry, October)
- All Our Wrong Todays, Elan Mastai (Dutton, February)
- Only The Devil is Here, Stephen Michell (Chizine Publications, November)
- The Art of Starving, Sam J. Miller (HarperTeen, July)
- Autonomous, Annalee Newitz (Tor, September)
- Under the Pendulum Sun, Jeannette Ng (Angry Robot, October)
- The Gatekeeper, Nuraliah Norasid (Epigram, March)
- Beasts Made of Night, Tochi Onyebuchi (Razorbill, October)
- Zero Repeat Forever, G.S. Prendergast (Simon & Schuster, August)
- Nyxia, Scott Reintgen (Crown, September)
- Walking on the Sea of Clouds, Gray Rinehart (Wordfire, July)
- The Tiger’s Daughter, K Arsenault Rivera (Tor, October)
- An Enchantment of Ravens, Margaret Rogerson (Margaret K. McElderry, September)
- Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders (Random House, February)
- Deer Life, Ron Sexsmith (Dundurn, September)
- An Excess Male, Maggie Shen King (HarperVoyager, September)
- Aberrant, Marek Sindelka (Twisted Spoon, April)
- A Poisoned Prayer, Michael Skeet (Five Rivers Chapmanry, May)
- An Unkindness of Ghosts, Rivers Solomon (Akashic, September)
- Lotus Blue, Cat Sparks (Talos, March)
- Barbary Station, R. E. Stearns (Saga, October)
- Godblind, Anna Stephens (Talos, June)
- Shadow Run, Adrianne Strickland & Michael Miller (March, Delacorte)
- Amatka: A Novel, Karin Tidbeck (Vintage, June)
- The Nine, Tracy Townsend (Pyr, November)
- Temporary People, Deepak Unnikrishnan (March, Restless)
- Heartstone, Elle Katharine White (HarperVoyager, January)
PART 2 OF THE LIST TO BE CHECKED
- Case of the Green-Dressed Ghost, Lucy Banks (Amberjack)
- Age of Assassins, RJ Barker (Orbit US)
- Golden Pearl, Cassandra Beck (Archway Publishing)
- Empress of a Thousand Skies, Rhoda Belleza (Penguin Random House/Razorbill)
- Frostblood, Elly Blake (Little, Brown)
- Zenn Diagram, Wendy Brant (Kids Can Press)
- Hawkweed Prophecy, Irena Brignull (Perseus Books Group/Weinstein Books)
- Felix YZ, Lisa Bunker (Penguin Random House/Viking Books for Young Readers)
- Found Audio, N.J. Campbell (Two Dollar Radio)
- Girl in Between, Sarah Carroll (Penguin Random House/Dawson)
- Best Kind of Magic, Crystal Cestari (Disney/Hyperion)
- Brave Man Seven Stories Tall, Will Chancellor (Harper)
- Star-Touched Queen, Roshani Chokshi (St. Martin’s Griffin)
- Last Namsara, Kristen Ciccarelli (HarperTeen)
- Mermaid’s Daughter, Ann Claycomb (HarperCollins/Morrow)
- House of Ash, Hope Cook (Abrams/Amulet)
- Bone Jack, Sara Crowe (Penguin Random House/Philomel)
- Forest of a Thousand Lanterns, Julie C. Dao (Penguin Random House/Philomel)
- Exo Project, Andrew DeYoung (Boyds Mills Press)
- More of Me, Kathryn Evans (Abrams/Amulet)
- I Liked My Life, Abby Fabiaschi (St. Martin’s)
- Kasper Mützenmacher’s Cursed Hat, Keith R. Fentonmiller (Curiosity Quills Press)
- Touch, Robert Flynn III (CreateSpace)
- Black Witch, Laurie Forest (Harlequin Teen)
- Secret Island of Edgar Dewitt, Ferrill Gibbs (Amberjack)
- Children of Eden, Joey Graceffa (Simon & Schuster/Atria/Keywords Press)
- Light Years, Emily Ziff Griffin (Simon Pulse)
- Breaking Light, Heather Hansen (Amazon/Skyscape)
- Graveyard Shift, Michael F. Haspil (Tor)
- For the Most Beautiful, Emily Hauser (Pegasus)
- Seventh Age: Dawn, Rick Heinz (Inkshares)
- Keeper of Lost Things, Ruth Hogan (HarperCollins/Morrow)
- Carmer and Grit, Book One: The Wingsnatchers, Sarah Jean Horwitz (Workman/Algonquin Young Readers)
- Gork, the Teenage Dragon, Gabe Hudson (Pengiun Random House/Knopf)
- Wintersong, S. Jae-Jones (St. Martin’s Griffin/Dunne)
- Next Forever, Lauren James (Skyhorse/Sky Pony Press)
- Gilded Cage, Vic James (Penguin Random House/Del Rey)
- Luster of Lost Things, Sophie Chen Keller (Penguin Random House/Putnam)
- Gods & Monsters: Food of the Gods, Cassandra Khaw (Rebellion/Abaddon US)
- Himself, Jess Kidd (Simon & Schuster/Atria)
- Hundredth Queen, Emily R. King (Amazon/Skyscape)
- Necessary Monsters, Richard A. Kirk (Resurrection House/Arche Press)
- Freya, Matthew Laurence (Macmillan/Imprint)
- Daughter of the Pirate King, Tricia Levenseller (Macmillan/Feiwel and Friends)
- Game of Shadows, Erika Lewis (Tor)
- Five Daughters of the Moon, Leena Likitalo (Tor.com Publishing)
- Toward a Secret Sky, Heather MacLean (Blink)
- Hidden Memory of Objects, Danielle Mages Amato (HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray)
- Sleeping Seer, Morgan Blue Malory (43 Hours Press)
- Birthrights, J. Kyle McNeal (Elevate Fiction)
- Mask of Shadows, Linsey Miller (Sourcebooks Fire)
- Borrowed Souls, Chelsea Mueller (Skyhorse/Talos Press)
- Bones of the Past, Craig A. Munro (Inkshares)
- Emperor’s Horn, Jordan R. Murray (self-published)
- Gray Wolf Island, Tracey Neithercott (Penguin Random House/Knopf)
- Warlock in Training, TJ Nichols (DSP Publications)
- Apprentice Witch, James Nicol (Scholastic/Chicken House)
- Rebel Seoul, Axie Oh (Lee & Low/Tu Books)
- Sandcastle Empire, Kayla Olson (HarperTeen)
- Lucky Ones, Julianne Pachico (Penguin Random House/Spiegel & Grau)
- Shadows We Know by Heart, Jennifer Park (Simon Pulse)
- Gray House, Mariam Petrosyan (AmazonCrossing)
- Hook’s Tale, John Leonard Pielmeier (Simon & Schuster/Scribner)
- Return of the Vinetropes, Sherry Ross (ACC Art Books)
- Hour of Daydreams, Renee Macalino Rutledge (Forest Avenue Press)
- Bone Snatcher, Charlotte Salter (Penguin Random House/Dial)
- Strange Practice, Vivian Shaw (Orbit US)
- Poison’s Kiss, Breeana Shields (Penguin Random House/Random House)
- Wellside, Robin Shortt (Candlemark & Gleam)
- Day the Angels Fell, Shawn Smucker (Baker Publishing Group/Revell)
- Talon of God, Wesley Snipes (Harper Voyager US)
- Court of Broken Knives, Anna Smith Spark (Orbit US)
- Empire’s Ghost, Isabelle Steiger (St. Martin’s/Dunne)
- Otherwhere: Muddy Waters, Sara O. Thompson (Curiosity Quills Press)
- Song of the Current, Sarah Tolcser (Bloomsbury USA)
- Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow, Jessic Townsend (Little, Brown)
- Heartstone, Elle Katharine White (Harper Voyager US)
- Lost Frost Girl, Amy Wilson (HarperCollins/Tegen Books)
- Scribe of Siena, Melodie Winawer (Simon & Schuster/Touchstone)
- Dragon’s Legacy, Deborah A. Wolf (Titan US)
- Uncle Brucker the Rat Killer, Leslie Peter Wulff (Skyhorse/Night Shade Books)
- Epic Crush of Genie Lo, F.C. Yee (Abrams/Amulet)
- American Street, Ibi Zoboi (HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray)
My thanks to everyone who’s has helped with this list so far, including everyone on Facebook, Gordon, and Niall. Please let me know in comments if you have any changes/additions. I’m currently checking this list for accuracy.
Note: Once I’ve fact checked this list I’ll go through an add links etc.