Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenya’s science fiction novel, Chain-Gang-All-Stars, earned him the spot on the Awards’ shortlist.
In Chain-Gang-All-Stars, two top women gladiators fight for their freedom within a depraved private prison system not so far-removed from America’s own. Loretta Thurwar and Hamara “Hurricane Staxxx” Stacker are the stars of Chain-Gang All-Stars, the cornerstone of CAPE, or Criminal Action Penal Entertainment, a highly-popular, highly-controversial, profit-raising program in America’s increasingly dominant private prison industry. It’s the return of the gladiators and prisoners are competing for the ultimate prize: their freedom.
The shortlist for the 38th Arthur C. Clarke Award science fiction book of the year is:
Chain-Gang All-Stars — Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (Harvill Secker)
The Ten Percent Thief — Lavanya Lakshminarayan (Solaris)
In Ascension — Martin MacInnes (Atlantic Books)
The Mountain in the Sea — Ray Nayler (Weidenfeld & Nicholson)
Some Desperate Glory — Emily Tesh (Orbit)
Corey Fah Does Social Mobility — Isabel Waidner (Hamish Hamilton)
The award was originally established by a generous grant from Sir Arthur C. Clarke with the aim of promoting science fiction in the United Kingdom, and is currently administered by the Serendip Foundation, a voluntary organisation created to oversee the on-going delivery and development of the award.
This year’s winner will be announced on Wednesday 24th of July 2024. The winner will receive a trophy in the form of a commemorative engraved bookend and prize money to the value of £2024.00; a tradition that sees the annual prize money rise incrementally by year from the year 2001 in memory of Sir Arthur C. Clarke.
Congratulations to Nana and all the brilliant writers!
To read more on the Science Fiction Award visit their website on www.clarkeaward.com
Bongiwe T. Maphosa
Bongiwe Maphosa is a budding author with a passion for storytelling. With her thought-provoking narratives, she takes her readers on a literary adventure. Bongiwe's works on the human condition from a fresh perspective have earned her recognition and publications in the Avbob Poetry Anthology of 2019, The Writer's Club of South Africa 2021, and JAY Lit in 2021. She hopes to cement her place in the literary community.
