News awards Here Are the Finalists for the 2025 Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Speculative Fiction Congratulations to the authors! By Molly Templeton | Published on February 18, 2026 Comment 0 Share New Share The finalists for the 2025 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes have been announced—including the award for science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction. As chosen by judges Maurice Broaddus, S. B. Divya, and Maryelizabeth Yturralde, the finalists are: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones (Saga Press)The Death of Mountains by Jordan Kurella (Lethe Press)Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor (William Morrow)Esperance by Adam Oyebanji (DAW Books)Luminous by Silvia Park (Simon & Schuster) Stephen Graham Jones is actually a finalist twice over for The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, which also appears in the fiction category. This year’s Innovator’s Award goes to We Need Diverse Books, about which the prize administrators note: The 2025 Innovator’s Award winner is We Need Diverse Books (WNDB), a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing diversity and inclusion in publishing. What began in 2014 as a trending hashtag on social media has expanded into organized mentorships, workshops, grants and professional development programs. WNDB supports writers, illustrators and publishing professionals to ensure better representation on the bookshelves, and also works closely with educators and libraries to drive systemic change across the publishing ecosystem. This work continues to foster a more equitable literary landscape for all readers. The winners will be announced April 17, during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. Congratulations to all the finalists![end-mark] The post Here Are the Finalists for the 2025 <i>Los Angeles Times</i> Book Prize in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Speculative Fiction appeared first on Reactor.