And so once again the forces of chaos band together to tempt and talk about books. Yes, the Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards 2020 are coming but as with an y sequel new cast members and plot twists await

I’ve been a judge for Subjective Chaos categories for what will now be three years. It began thanks to C from The Middle Shelf. For the us bloggers it is a great chance to swap book recommendations and suggest/push/bribe our fellow judges to vote for in a final round. Plus, we got to send awards to the finalists that many love for the charming violence you can cause with a painted rock – take that Clarke!

Now two years in it’s a great opportunity for me to find the books I’ve missed out on or been meaning to read. I get surprises about books I’ve never thought of before. I get to discuss and find out how other people see books and it helps me think about what my approach to reading is. Blogging in some ways can be solitary and swapping thoughts and ideas with others is brilliant

The rules/aims/guidelines/best intentions

- We will embrace chaos

- We will have fun

- All discussion will be good-humoured

- We do not shout and disturb the other readers

The Categories

- Best Fantasy Novel

- Best SF Novel

- Best Blurred Boundaries

- Best Novella

- Best Complete Series (final instalment published in 2019)

- And now a new category Best Short Fiction!

Eligibility

Works must have been released in the previous calendar year and fit the following criteria

- Published first time in English

- Published first time in the UK

- Published for the first time by a major publisher if previously (within the past ten years) crowd funded or published by an indie publisher

- Published in a substantially revised format (eg from novella to novel)

Nominations

As I type each panellist cries, think then cries more before a primary nominations per category. After careful checking and negotiating and sometimes rule changes we agree the shortlist based on the final final choice. Then we cry even more when we realise the reading pile that we have agreed to looks so inviting; then we say Not today and dive with glee into reading. Expect an announcement later this month on our choices

This Year’s Judges

A mix of old and new judge have assembled like the earth’s mightiest heroes

KJ @crusaderofchaos is a South African book blogger specialising in all things speculative fiction with a particular love for science fiction. He can be found plodding away at the keyboard trying to make words make sense whenever inspiration, work and power blackouts allows. Occasionally he event posts the reviews at www.worldsinink.blogspot.com

C aka @TheMiddleshelf1 fell into scifi and fantasy at 13 and has been hopelessly addicted since. The creation of web provided the means to talk and share about that with actual people when it appeared so C can be found nowadays at http://www.themiddleshelf.org/

Adri aka @AdriJjy is a semi-aquatic mammal currently living in the UK, where she divides her spare time between reading, interacting with dogs and making resolutions about doing more baking. She is a co-editor at 3x Hugo nominated fanzine Nerds of a Feather, Flock Together http://www.nerds-feather.com/?m=1 and can also be found on Twitter.

Jane aka @pipsytip is a book blogger and podcaster who has found herself living in the depths of South East London. She loves science fiction and fantasy and blurred genres in between. Her blog can be found at https://dumpylittleunicorn.co.uk/

Kris aka @hammard_1987 blogs at http://www.cloakedcreators.com/mobile/ and in various venues around the internet. They spend far too much time reading genre fiction and insist on telling people about them. They love trying everything, the weirder the better

Imyril aka @imyril has been reading for almost as long as she’s been walking (with fewer obvious bruises). She shares her FEELINGS and other opinions about fantasy, sci-fi and speculative fiction at There’s always There’s Always Room For One More ( https://onemore.org/ )

Sara aka @SharadeeReads is a blogger at https://thefantasyinn.com/ . Morroccan-born Frech Resident, she’s a fan of kissy and stabby books. Ideally both at the same time.