The award for Best First Novel was first presented in 1981. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year.
Locus Award for Best First Novel Public
Created and curated by Phil in SF
-
Dragon's Egg by Robert L. Forward (Dragon's Egg, #1)
2 stars
In a moving story of sacrifice and triumph, human scientists establish a relationship with intelligent lifeforms--the cheela--living on Dragon's Egg, …
Phil in SF says: 1981 winner
-
Phil in SF says: 1982 winner
-
Courtship Rite by Donald Kingsbury
Gaet, Hoemei and Joesai are three clone brothers, survivors of the rigorous and deadly process of nurture and weeding that …
Phil in SF says: 1983 winner
-
Tea with the Black Dragon by R.A. MacAvoy (Black Dragon, #1)
Martha Macnamara knows that her daughter, Elizabeth, is in trouble—she just doesn’t know what kind. Mysterious phone calls from San …
Phil in SF says: 1984 winner
-
The Wild Shore by Kim Stanley Robinson (Three Californias (1))
5 stars
2047: and for sixty years America has been quarantined after a devastating nuclear attack.
Seventeen-year-old Henry wants to help make …
Phil in SF says: 1985 winner
-
5 stars
In December, 1999, a multinational team journeys out to the stars, to the most awesome encounter in human history. Who …
Phil in SF says: 1986 winner
-
5 stars
War for the Oaks (1987) is a fantasy novel by American writer Emma Bull. The book tells the story of …
Phil in SF says: 1988 winner
-
Phil in SF says: 1989 winner
-
Phil in SF says: 1990 winner
-
In the Country of the Blind by Michael Flynn
3 stars
What if it were all a plot? What if there really were a secret conspiracy running things behind the scenes…and …
Phil in SF says: 1991 winner
-
China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh
What if Chinese Marxism, not Western capitalism, came to dominate the globe? In this dazzling and insightful novel, Maureen F. …
Phil in SF says: 1992 winner
-
Phil in SF says: 1993 winner
-
Phil in SF says: 1994 winner
-
The Bohr Maker by Linda Nagata
5 stars
Nikko is the first true "post human"-a man genetically engineered to survive in the airless void of space-but the research …
Phil in SF says: 1995 winner
