Philip K Dick Award

Few writers have left as deep a mark on science fiction as Philip K Dick, and fewer still have an award that so neatly reflects their sensibilities. Established in 1983, a year after Dick's death, the Philip K Dick Award honours the best original science fiction paperback published during the previous year in the United States. It is presented annually at Norwescon, the Pacific Northwest's long running science fiction convention, with the support of the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society and (in its earliest years) the blessing of Dick's own estate.

The choice to celebrate the paperback original is what makes this award quietly distinctive. Where many of the field's major prizes gravitate towards hardback releases and established names, the Philip K Dick Award was conceived to recognise work that might otherwise slip past unnoticed: the affordable, mass market editions where a great deal of the genre's most adventurous writing has always lived. It is a fitting tribute. Dick himself spent much of his career in exactly those racks of cheap paperbacks, his ideas reaching readers long before the literary establishment caught up with him.

The award was the idea of writer Thomas Disch, and the inaugural prize went to Rudy Rucker's Software in 1983. Over the decades since, the roll of winners has proved to have a remarkably good eye, with names like William Gibson (Neuromancer), Tim Powers, Richard K. Morgan (Altered Carbon) and Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice appearing among the winners and nominees. A judging panel of five, refreshed each year, selects the winner alongside a special citation runner-up, and the result is a list that consistently rewards ambition and originality over commercial safety.

Presented here is a complete list of the award winners. The date indicates the year the award was actually decided and presented; the book itself was published in the previous year. 1989 and 2009 each show two entries, as both years produced a tied decision. Winners are listed next to the year, while nominees are listed below in grey.

Winners are listed next to the year while nominees are listed below in grey.

• 2026 - Outlaw Planet - M. R. Carey  
  • - Uncertain Sons and Other Stories - Thomas Ha
  • - Sunward: A Novel - William Alexander
  • - Casual - Koji A. Dae
  • - The Immeasurable Heaven - Caspar Geon
  • - Scales - Christopher Hinz
  • - City of All Seasons - Oliver K. Langmead and Aliya Whiteley
• 2025 - Time's Agent - Brenda Peynado  
  • - Alien Clay - Adrian Tchaikovsky
  • - City of Dancing Gargoyles - Tara Campbell
  • - Your Utopia: Stories - Bora Chung
  • - The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain - Sofia Samatar
  • - Triangulum - Subodhana Wijeyeratne
• 2024 - These Burning Stars - Bethany Jacobs
  • - The Museum of Human History - Rebekah Bergman
  • - Danged Black Thing - Eugen Bacon
  • - Infinity Gate - M. R. Carey
  • - Wild Spaces - S. L. Coney
  • - Where Rivers Go to Die - Dilman Dila
• 2023 - The Extractionist - Kimberly Unger 
  • - The Legacy of Molly Southbourne - Tade Thompson
  • - Arboreality - Rebecca Campbell
  • - Widowland - C. J. Carey
  • - Ymir - Rich Larson
  • - January Fifteenth - Rachel Swirsky
• 2022 - Dead Space - Kali Wallace  
  • - The Escapement - Lavie Tidhar
  • - Defekt - Nino Cipri
  • - Plague Birds - Jason Sanford
  • - Bug - Giacomo Sartori
  • - Far from the Light of Heaven - Tade Thompson
• 2021 - Road Out of Winter - Alison Stine 
  • - The Book of Koli - M. R. Carey
  • - Failed State - Christopher Brown
  • - Dance on Saturday - Elwin Cotman
  • - Bone Silence - Alastair Reynolds
  • - The Doors of Eden - Adrian Tchaikovsky
• 2020 - Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea - Sarah Pinsker 
  • - The Little Animals - Sarah Tolmie
  • - The Outside - Ada Hoffmann
  • - Velocity Weapon - Megan E. O'Keefe
  • - All Worlds Are Real: Short Fictions - Susan Palwick
  • - The Rosewater Redemption - Tade Thompson
• 2019 - Theory of Bastards -  Audrey Schulman
  • - 84K - Claire North
  • - Time Was - Ian McDonald
  • - The Body Library - Jeff Noon
  • - Alien Virus Love Disaster: Stories - Abbey Mei Otis
  • - Ambiguity Machines and Other Stories - Vandana Singh
• 2018 - Bannerless - Carrie Vaughn 
  • - After the Flare - Deji Bryce Olukotun
  • - The Book of Etta - Meg Elison
  • - Six Wakes - Mur Lafferty
  • - The Wrong Stars - Tim Pratt
  • - Revenger - Alastair Reynolds
  • All Systems Red - Martha Wells
• 2017 - The Mercy Journals - Claudia Casper  
  • - Unpronounceable - Susan diRende
  • - Consider - Kristy Acevedo
  • - Hwarhath Stories: Transgressive Tales by Aliens - Eleanor Arnason
  • - Graft - Matt Hill
  • - Super Extra Grande - Yoss
• 2016 - Apex Ramez Naam
  • - Edge of Dark - Brenda Cooper
  • - After the Saucers Landed - Douglas Lain
  • - (R)evolution - PJ Manney
  • - Windswept - Adam Rakunas
  • - Marguerite Reed - Archangel
• 2015 - The Book of the Unnamed Midwife Meg Elison
  • - Elysium - Jennifer Marie Brissett
  • - The Bullet-Catcher’s Daughter - Rod Duncan
  • - Memory of Water - Emmi Itäranta
  • - Maplecroft: The Borden Dispatches - Cherie Priest
  • - Reach for Infinity - Jonathan Strahan
• 2014 - Countdown City Ben H. Winters
  • - A Calculated Life - Anne Charnock
  • - The Mad Scientist's Daughter - Cassandra Rose Clarke
  • - Self-Reference Engine - Toh EnJoe, trans. Terry Gallagher
  • - Ancillary Justice - Ann Leckie
  • - Life on the Preservation - Jack Skillingstead
  • - Solaris Rising 2 - edited by Ian Whates
• 2013 - Lost Everything Brian Francis Slattery
  • - Lovestar - Andri Snær Magnason
  • - Fountains of Age - Nancy Kress
  • - The Not Yet - Moira Crone
  • - Helix Wars - Eric Brown
  • - Harmony - Keith Brooke
  • - Blueprints of the Afterlife - Ryan Boudinot
• 2012 - The Samuil Petrovitch Trilogy Simon Morden
  • - A Soldier's Duty - Jean Johnson
  • - After the Apocalypse - Maureen F. McHugh
  • - Deadline - Mira Grant
  • - The Company Man - Robert Jackson Bennett
  • - The Other - Matthew Hughes
  • - The Postmortal - Drew Magary
• 2011 - The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack Mark Hodder
  • - Harmony - Project Itoh
  • - Yarn - Jon Armstrong
  • - Chill - Elizabeth Bear
  • - The Reapers are the Angels - Alden Bell
  • - Song of Scarabaeus - Sara Creasy
  • - State of Decay - James Knapp
• 2010 - Bitter Angels C. L. Anderson
  • - Cyberabad Days - Ian McDonald
  • - The Prisoner - Carlos J. Cortes
  • - The Repossession Mambo - Eric Garcia
  • - The Devil's Alphabet - Daryl Gregory
  • - Centuries Ago and Very Fast - Rebecca Ore
  • - Prophets - S. Andrew Swann
• 2009 - Emissaries from The Dead Adam-Troy Castro
• 2009 - Terminal Mind David Walton
  • - Fast Forward 2 - Lou Anders
  • - Judge - Karen Traviss
  • - Plague War - Jeff Carlson
  • - Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait - K. A. Bedford
• 2008 - Nova Swing M. John Harrison
  • - From the Notebooks of Dr. Brain - Minister Faust
  • - Grey - Jon Armstrong
  • - Undertow - Elizabeth Bear
  • - Gradisil - Adam Roberts
  • - Ally - Karen Traviss
  • - Saturn Returns - Sean Williams
• 2007 - Spin Control Chris Moriarty
  • - Carnival - Elizabeth Bear
  • - Mindscape - Andrea Hairston
  • - Catalyst: A Novel of Alien Contact - Nina Kiriki Hoffman
  • - Recursion - Tony Ballantyne
  • - Idolon - Mark Budz
  • - Living Next Door to the God of Love - Justina Robson
• 2006 - M. M. Buckner War Surf
  • - Natural History - Justina Robson
  • - Cowl - Neal Asher
  • - Cagebird - Karin Lowachee
  • - Silver Screen - Justina Robson
  • - To Crush the Moon - Wil McCarthy
• 2005 - Life Gwyneth Jones
  • - Apocalypse Array - Lyda Morehouse
  • - Air - Geoff Ryman
  • - Banner of Souls - Liz Williams
  • - City of Pearl - Karen Traviss
  • - The Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad - Minister Faust
  • - Stable Strategies and Others - Eileen Gunn
• 2004 - Altered Carbon Richard K. Morgan
  • - Dante's Equation - Jane Jensen
  • - Hyperthought - M. M. Buckner
  • - Clade - Mark Budz
  • - Spin State - Chris Moriarty
  • - Steel Helix - Ann Tonsor Zeddies
• 2003 - The Mount Carol Emshwiller
  • - The Scar - China Miéville
  • - Report to the Men’s Club - Carol Emshwiller
  • - Maximum Ice - Kay Kenyon
  • - Warchild - Karin Lowachee
  • - Empire of Bones - Liz Williams
  • - Leviathan Three - Jeff VanderMeer & Forrest Aguirre
• 2002 - Ship of Fools Richard Paul Russo
  • - Divine Intervention - Ken Wharton
  • - In the Company of Others - Julie E. Czerneda
  • - Compass Reach - Mark W. Tiedemann
  • - Meet Me in the Moon Room - Ray Vukcevich
  • - The Ghost Sister - Liz Williams
• 2001 - Only Forward Michael Marshall Smith
  • - Evolution's Darling - Scott Westerfeld
  • - Call from a Distant Shore - Stephen L. Burns
  • - Midnight Robber - Nalo Hopkinson
  • - Broken Time - Maggy Thomas
  • - The Bridge - Janine Ellen Young
• 2000 - Vacuum Diagrams Stephen Baxter
  • - Tower of Dreams - Jamil Nasir
  • - Code of Conduct - Kristine Smith
  • - Not of Woman Born - Constance Ash
  • - Typhon's Children - Toni Anzetti
  • - When We Were Real - William Barton
• 1999 - 253: The Print Remix Geoff Ryman
  • - Lost Pages - Paul Di Filippo
  • - Brown Girl in the Ring - Nalo Hopkinson
  • - Slaughtermatic - Steve Aylett
  • - The Invisible Country - Paul J. McAuley
• 1998 - The Troika Stepan Chapman
  • - Acts of Conscience - William Barton
  • - An Exchange of Hostages - Susan R. Matthews
  • - Carlucci's Heart - Richard Paul Russo
  • - Opalite Moon - Denise Vitola
  • - Mother Grimm - Catherine Wells
• 1997 - The Time Ships Stephen Baxter
  • - At the City Limits of Fate - Michael Bishop
  • - The Transmigration of Souls - William Barton
  • - The Shift - George Foy
  • - Reclamation - Sarah Zettel
• 1996 - Headcrash Bruce Bethke
  • - Carlucci's Edge - Richard Paul Russo
  • - Virtual Death - Shale Aaron
  • - Permutation City - Greg Egan
  • - The Color of Distance - Amy Thomson
  • - Reluctant Voyagers - Élisabeth Vonarburg
• 1995 - Mysterium Robert Charles Wilson
  • - Inagehi - Jack Cady
  • - Rim: A Novel of Virtual Reality - Alexander Besher
  • - Scissors Cut Paper Wrap Stone - Ian McDonald
  • - Summer of Love - Lisa Mason
  • - Tonguing the Zeitgeist - Lance Olsen
• 1994 - Growing Up Weightless John M. Ford
  • - Elvissey - Jack Womack
  • - Crash Course - Wilhelmina Baird
  • - Bunch! - David R. Bunch
  • - Icarus Descending - Elizabeth Hand
• 1993 - Through the Heart Richard Grant
  • - In the Mothers' Land - Élisabeth Vonarburg
  • - Take Back Plenty - Colin Greenland
  • - Aestival Tide - Elizabeth Hand
  • - Iron Tears - R. A. Lafferty
• 1992 - King of Morning, Queen of Day Ian McDonald
  • - Bone Dance - Emma Bull
  • - Mojo and the Pickle Jar - Douglas Bell
  • - The Cipher - Kathe Koja
  • - Bridge of Years - Robert Charles Wilson
• 1991 - Points of Departure Pat Murphy
  • - The Schizogenic Man - Raymond Harris
  • - The Oxygen Barons - Gregory Feeley
  • - Winterlong - Elizabeth Hand
  • - Clarke County, Space - Allen M. Steele
• 1990 - Subterranean Gallery Richard Paul Russo
  • - On My Way to Paradise - Dave Wolverton
  • - Infinity Hold - Barry B. Longyear
  • - A Fearful Symmetry - James Luceno
  • - Being Alien - Rebecca Ore
  • - Heritage of Flight - Susan Shwartz
• 1989 - Four Hundred Billion Stars Paul J. McAuley
• 1989 - Wetware Rudy Rucker
  • - Orphan of Creation - Roger MacBride Allen
  • - Neon Lotus - Marc Laidlaw
  • - Rendezvous - David Alexander Smith
• 1988 - Strange Toys Patricia Geary
  • - Memories - Mike McQuay
  • - Dover Beach - Richard Bowker
  • - Mindplayers - Pat Cadigan
  • - Dark Seeker - K. W. Jeter
  • - Becoming Alien - Rebecca Ore
  • - Life During Wartime - Lucius Shepard
• 1987 - Homunculus James P. Blaylock
  • - The Hercules Text - Jack McDevitt
  • - Artificial Things - Karen Joy Fowler
  • - A Hidden Place - Robert Charles Wilson
• 1986 - Dinner at Deviant's Palace Tim Powers
  • - Saraband of Lost Time - Richard Grant
  • - The Timeservers - Russell Griffin
  • - Emprise - Michael P. Kube-McDowell
  • - The Remaking of Sigmund Freud - Barry N. Malzberg
  • - Terrarium - Scott Russell Sanders
  • - Knight Moves - Walter Jon Williams
• 1985 - Neuromancer William Gibson
  • - The Wild Shore - Kim Stanley Robinson
  • - Voyager in Night - C. J. Cherryh
  • - The Alchemists - Geary Gravel
  • - Emergence - David R. Palmer
  • - Green Eyes - Lucius Shepard
  • - Frontera - Lewis Shiner
  • - Them Bones - Howard Waldrop
• 1984 - The Anubis Gates Tim Powers
  • - Tea with the Black Dragon - R. A. MacAvoy
  • - The Zen Gun - Barrington J. Bayley
  • - Benefits - Zoe Fairbairns
  • - The Floating Gods - M. John Harrison
  • - Millennium - John Varley
• 1983 - Software Rudy Rucker
  • - The Prometheus Man - Ray Nelson
  • - Waiting for the Barbarians - J. M. Coetzee
  • - Aurelia - R. A. Lafferty
  • - Roderick - John Sladek
  • - The Umbral Anthology of Science Fiction Poetry - Steve Rasnic Tem