Tasha Suri Wins the 2026 Aldiss Award for The Isle in the Silver Sea

Who won the 2026 Aldiss Award? The award's own post, dated 11 October 2026, says that at the start of Saturday evening's ceremony at this year's Fantasycon, the 2026 Aldiss Award for world-building in speculative fiction and gaming went to Tasha Suri for The Isle in the Silver Sea. The post thanks publisher Orbit for the submission. A caption on the page says Anna Smith Spark presented Suri with the award.

What the shortlist page said the night would be

The shortlist page, posted 29 September 2026, said this year's winner would be announced on Saturday, 10 October 2026, at the World Fantasy Convention in Glasgow, Scotland. The winner post, three days after that Saturday, describes the setting as Fantasycon. The two pages use those two names. Neither page explains the difference.

The shortlist page says the winner receives a trophy in the form of a commemorative engraved bookend. It does not state a cash amount.

The judging panel it names: Allen Stroud, outgoing chair of the British Science Fiction Association; Janet Forbes, founder of World Anvil; and David Green, author.

Allen Stroud, as chair of judges, is quoted there: "This year's shortlist casts a wide net over the genres, demonstrating that world building is not a practice solely for one or the other, but that a reader's imagination can be sparked in space, in the past and when disappearing into other worlds."

Award founder Tim Aldiss is quoted on the same page: "For the first time, we were able to attract entries from the world of gaming in the second year of the award. Delighted by this, and combined with more than 60 other written entries, the judges had their work cut out! It was fantastic to be a fly on the wall in the deliberation sessions where the team had to consider both gaming and literature in the context of world-building. Good luck to our shortlisted authors!"

The page describes the award as a not-for-profit that honours Brian Aldiss and recognises world-building in science fiction, fantasy, and gaming, in the UK and globally.

The five books on the shortlist

The 29 September page lists:

• A Resistance Of Witches, Morgan Ryan
• City Of All Seasons, Oliver K. Langmead and Aliya Whiteley
• Shroud, Adrian Tchaikovsky
• The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association, Caitlin Rozakis
• The Isle In The Silver Sea, Tasha Suri

The shortlist biography of Suri on that page calls her the author of The Isle in the Silver Sea, the Books of Ambha duology, the Burning Kingdoms trilogy, What Souls Are Made Of, and Doctor Who: The Cradle. It says she has won the Best Newcomer (Sydney J. Bounds) from the British Fantasy Society and the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel. It says she was once a librarian, is now a part-time writing tutor, and lives with her family in London.

How the winner post describes the book

The 11 October post calls The Isle in the Silver Sea a standalone novel and a sapphic romantasy. It follows Simran, a witch of the woods, and Vina, a knight of the Queen's court, fated to act out a tragic cycle across thousands of lifetimes to keep their isle alive. The two women fall in love and must seek a way to break the cycle while a mysterious assassin targets their tales.

The same post lists themes it attaches to the book: the power of stories and narrative control, both to shackle and to free; cyclical fate, duty, and sacrifice; a critique of institutions, monarchy, colonialism, and assimilation; and medieval folklore, faerie bargains, and atmospheric world-building.

Why it matters for authors

The prize is for the world, and the field includes games. Tim Aldiss's note on the shortlist page is the operational one: in the award's second year, gaming entries arrived for the first time, alongside more than 60 written entries, and the judges had to weigh both.

The trophy the shortlist page names is a bookend. It is a commemorative engraved bookend. The page does not state a cash prize.

Orbit is the publisher the winner post thanks. The submission credit on the 11 October post is one line: thank you to publisher Orbit. The presenter named in the photo caption is Anna Smith Spark.

The shortlist is five books, and the chair's sentence is about range. Stroud's quote puts the list in space, in the past, and in other worlds. Suri's shortlist biography on the same page records two earlier honours, the British Fantasy Society's Sydney J. Bounds award for best newcomer and a World Fantasy Award for best novel, and places her as a former librarian and a part-time writing tutor in London.

The date and the room are on two pages. The shortlist page set the announcement for Saturday 10 October 2026 at the World Fantasy Convention in Glasgow. The winner post says the prize was given at the start of Saturday evening's ceremony at Fantasycon.

Sources

• The Aldiss Award: And the winner is… Tasha Suri for The Isle In The Silver Sea (11 October 2026)
• The Aldiss Award: The 2026 Aldiss Award Shortlist (29 September 2026)