Tähtivaeltaja Award is an annual prize by Helsingin science fiction seura ry for the best

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

book released in Finnish.

The winners

2016

Margaret Atwood: '' Uusi maa'' (MaddAddam, Otava) Shortlisted books: * Emmi Itäranta: '' Kudottujen kujien kaupunki'' (The City of Woven Streets, Teos) *

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...

: '' Haikaran silmä'' (The Eye of the Heron, Vaskikirjat) * Jeff VanderMeer: '' Hävitys'' (Annihilation, Like) *

Gene Wolfe Gene Rodman Wolfe (May 7, 1931 – April 14, 2019) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He was noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith. He was a prolific short story writer and nove ...

: '' Liktorin miekka'' (The Sword of the Lictor, Gummerus)

2015

Antti Salminen: '' Lomonosovin moottori'' (Poesia) Shortlisted books: * Petri Laine &

Anne Leinonen Anne Leinonen (born 1973 in Juva) is a Finnish science fiction and fantasy writer who has received the Atorox Award and was a co-nominee for the 2012 Tähtivaeltaja Award. Anne Leinonen studied geography at Helsinki University The Univers ...

: '' Kuulen laulun kaukaisen'' (Kuoriaiskirjat, short story collection) *

Thomas Pynchon Thomas Ruggles Pynchon Jr. ( , ; born May 8, 1937) is an American novelist noted for his dense and complex novels. His fiction and non-fiction writings encompass a vast array of subject matter, genres and themes, including history, music, scie ...

: '' Painovoiman sateenkaari'' (Gravity's Rainbow, Teos) *

Alastair Reynolds Alastair Preston Reynolds (born 13 March 1966) is a Welsh science fiction author. He specialises in hard science fiction and space opera. He spent his early years in Cornwall, moved back to Wales before going to Newcastle University, where he s ...

: '' Terästuulen yllä'' (On the Steel Breeze, Like) * Jani Saxell: '' Sotilasrajan unet'' (WSOY)

2014

Peter Watts: '' Sokeanäkö'' (Blindsight, Gummerus) Shortlisted books: *

Iain Banks Iain Banks (16 February 1954 – 9 June 2013) was a Scottish author, writing mainstream fiction as Iain Banks and science fiction as Iain M. Banks, adding the initial of his adopted middle name Menzies (). After the success of ''The Wasp Factor ...

: '' Siirtymä'' (Transition, Gummerus) *

Lauren Beukes Lauren Beukes (born 5 June 1976) is a South African novelist, short story writer, journalist and television scriptwriter. Early life Lauren Beukes was born 5 June 1976. She grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa. She attended Roedean School in ...

: '' Säkenöivät tytöt'' (The Shining Girls, S&S) *

Hugh Howey Hugh C. Howey (born 1975) is an American writer, known best for the science fiction series ''Silo'', part of which he published independently through Amazon.com's Kindle Direct Publishing system. Howey was raised in Monroe, North Carolina and b ...

: '' Siilo'' (Silo, Like) *

Johanna Sinisalo Aila Johanna Sinisalo is a Finnish science fiction and fantasy writer. She studied comparative literature and drama, amongst other subjects, at the University of Tampere. Professionally she worked in the advertising business, rising to the leve ...

: '' Auringon ydin'' (Teos)

2013

: '' Kiduttajan varjo'' (The Shadow of the Torturer, Gummerus) Shortlisted books: * Emmi Itäranta: '' Teemestarin kirja'' (Teos) *

Ernest Cline Ernest Christy Cline (born March 29, 1972) is an American science fiction novelist, slam poet, and screenwriter. He wrote the novels '' Ready Player One'', '' Armada'', and '' Ready Player Two'' and co-wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation ...

: ''

Ready Player One ''Ready Player One'' is a 2011 science fiction novel, and the debut novel of American author Ernest Cline. The story, set in a dystopia in 2045, follows protagonist Wade Watts on his search for an Easter egg in a worldwide virtual reality gam ...

'' (Gummerus) *

: '' Pääteasema'' (Terminal World, Like) *

: '' Muistoissa sininen maa'' (Blue Remembered Earth, Like)

2012

Hannu Rajaniemi: '' Kvanttivaras'' (Tammi) Shortlisted books: * Eija Lappalainen &

: ''Routasisarukset'' (WSOY) *

China Miéville China Tom Miéville ( ; born 6 September 1972) is a British speculative fiction writer and literary critic. He often describes his work as '' weird fiction'' and is allied to the loosely associated movement of writers called '' New Weird''. M ...

: '' Toiset'' (The City & the City, Karisto) *

: '' Pääteasema'' (Terminal World, Like) *

: '' Enkelten verta'' (Teos)

2011

Maarit Verronen: ''Kirkkaan selkeää'' (Tammi) Shortlisted books: * Margaret Atwood: '' Herran tarhurit'' (The Year of the Flood, Otava) *

Pat Cadigan Patricia Oren Kearney Cadigan (born September 10, 1953) is a British-American science fiction author, whose work is most often identified with the cyberpunk movement. Her novels and short stories often explore the relationship between the hum ...

: '' Mielenpeli'' (Mindplayers, Avain) * Philip K. Dick: '' Tohtori Veriraha'' (Dr. Bloodmoney, Like) *

Hal Duncan Hal Duncan (born 21 October 1971, real name Alasdair) is a Scottish science fiction and fantasy writer. His works have been listed in the New Weird genre, but he prefers not to ascribe his writings to any genre. Life Hal Duncan was born in Ki ...

: '' Muste'' (Ink, Like) * Maarit Verronen: ''Kirkkaan selkeää'' (Tammi)

2010

: ''

Vellum Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. Parchment is another term for this material, from which vellum is sometimes distinguished, when it is made from calfskin, as opposed to that made from other anima ...

'' (Like) Other shortlisted books: *

Charlotte Perkins Gilman Charlotte Perkins Gilman (; née Perkins; July 3, 1860 – August 17, 1935), also known by her first married name Charlotte Perkins Stetson, was an American humanist, novelist, writer, lecturer, advocate for social reform, and eugenicist. She w ...

: '' Herland'' (Savukeidas) * Teemu Kaskinen: ''Sinulle, yö'' (WSOY) *

: '' Kahdesti haarautuva puu'' (BTJ) *

Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, best-known for science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has worke ...

: '' Katso ihmistä!'' (Vaskikirjat)

2009

Cormac McCarthy Cormac McCarthy (born Charles Joseph McCarthy Jr., July 20, 1933) is an American writer who has written twelve novels, two plays, five screenplays and three short stories, spanning the Western and post-apocalyptic genres. He is known for his gr ...

: '' Tie'' (WSOY) Other shortlisted books: *

M. John Harrison Michael John Harrison (born 26 July 1945), known for publication purposes primarily as M. John Harrison, is an English author and literary critic.Kelley, George. "Harrison, M(ichael) John" in Jay P. Pederson (.ed) ''St. James guide to sci ...

: ''

Nova Swing ''Nova Swing'' is a science fiction novel by M. John Harrison published in 2006. It takes place in the same universe as ''Light''. The novel won the Arthur C. Clarke and Philip K. Dick Awards in 2007. Overview ''Nova Swing'' takes place lo ...

'' (Like) * Viivi Hyvönen: ''Apina ja Uusikuu'' (WSOY) * David Mitchell: '' Pilvikartasto'' (Sammakko) * Maarit Verronen: ''Karsintavaihe'' (Tammi)

2008

Richard Matheson Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013) was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is best known as the author of '' I Am Legend'', a 1954 science fictio ...

: '' Olen legenda'' ( Vaskikirjat) Other shortlisted books: * Steven Hall: ''Haiteksti'' (WSOY) * J. Pekka Mäkelä: ''Nedut'' (Like) * M. G. Soikkeli: ''Marsin ikävä ja muita kertomuksia'' (Turbator, short story collection) *

Howard Waldrop Howard Waldrop (born September 15, 1946) is a science fiction author who works primarily in short fiction. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2021. Personal life Though born in Houston, Mississippi, Waldrop has spent ...

: ''Musiikkia miesäänille ja lentäville lautasille'' (Kirjava, short story collection)

2007

Stepan Chapman Stepan Chapman (May 27, 1951 — January 27, 2014) was an American writer of speculative fiction and fabulation. He is best known for the Philip K. Dick Award winning novel '' The Troika''. Chapman was born and raised in Chicago and then studied ...

: '' Troikka'' (The Tree Club) Other shortlisted books: * Steve Aylett: ''Atomi'' (Like) * Benoît Duteurtre: ''Tyttö ja tupakka'' (Like) *

Michel Houellebecq Michel Houellebecq (; born Michel Thomas, 26 February 1956 or 1958) is a French author, known for his novels, poems and essays, as well as an occasional actor, filmmaker and singer. His first book was a biographical essay on the horror writer ...

: ''Mahdollinen saari'' (WSOY) * J. Pekka Mäkelä: ''Alshain'' (Like)

2006

Risto Isomäki Risto Isomäki (born 8 June 1961 in Turku) is a Finnish author of science fiction books. His 2005 novel ''The Sands of Sarasvati'' (''Sarasvatin hiekkaa'') was nominated for the Finlandia Prize The Finlandia Prize ( fi, Finlandia-palkinto; sv, ...

: Sarasvatin hiekkaa (Tammi) Other shortlisted books: *

: ''Pimeälipas ja muita kertomuksia'' (Kirjava, short story collection) *

: ''Timanttikoirat, turkoosit päivät'' (Like, two novellas) *

Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth (March 19, 1933 – May 22, 2018) was an American novelist and short story writer. Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophicall ...

: ''Salajuoni Amerikkaa vastaan'' (WSOY) *

: ''Kädettömät kuninkaat ja muita häiritseviä tarinoita'' (Teos, short story collection)

2005

: '' Valo'' (Like) Other shortlisted books: * Iain M. Banks: ''Tähystä tuulenpuolta'' (Loki-kirjat) *

Simon Ings Simon Ings is an English novelist and science writer living in London. He was born in July 1965 in Horndean and educated at Churcher's College, Petersfield and at King's College London and Birkbeck College, London. Ings has written a number o ...

: ''Rautakalan kaupunki'' (Loki-kirjat) *

Mikael Niemi Mikael Niemi (born 13 August 1959) is a Swedish author. He wrote the novel ''Populärmusik från Vittula'' (in English as ''Popular music from Vittula''). It is the story of a young boy, Matti, growing up in Pajala in the 1960s and is recounted in ...

: ''Nahkakolo'' (Tammi) * Tero Niemi and Anne Salminen: '' Nimbus ja tähdet'' (Atena)

Previous awards

* 2004:

J. G. Ballard James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist, short story writer, satirist, and essayist known for provocative works of fiction which explored the relations between human psychology, technology, sex, and mass med ...

: ''Super-Cannes'' (

Super-Cannes ''Super-Cannes'' is a novel by the British author J. G. Ballard, published in 2000. It picks up on the same themes as his earlier ''Cocaine Nights'', and has often been called a companion piece to that book. Plot summary In the hills above Cann ...

) * 2003:

Ray Loriga Jorge Loriga Torrenova, better known as Ray Loriga (born March 5, 1967), is a Spanish author, screenwriter, and director. His first novel ''Lo Peor de todo'' (''The Worst Thing of All''), was published in 1992, and was followed by ''Héroes'' i ...

: ''Tokio ei välitä meistä enää'' ( Tokio ya no nos quiere) * 2002: Jonathan Lethem: ''Musiikkiuutisia'' ( Gun, with Occasional Music) * 2001: Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen: ''Missä junat kääntyvät'' (short story collection) * 2000:

Will Self William Woodard Self (born 26 September 1961) is an English author, journalist, political commentator and broadcaster. He has written 11 novels, five collections of shorter fiction, three novellas and nine collections of non-fiction writing. Sel ...

: ''Suuret apinat'' (

Great Apes The Hominidae (), whose members are known as the great apes or hominids (), are a taxonomic family of primates that includes eight extant species in four genera: '' Pongo'' (the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutan); ''Gorilla'' (the ...

) * 1999:

Stefano Benni Stefano Benni (born 12 August 1947) is an Italian satirical writer, poet and journalist. His books have been translated into around 20 foreign languages and scored notable commercial success. 2.5 million copies of his books have been sold in Ita ...

: ''Baol'' * 1998:

Dan Simmons Dan Simmons (born April 4, 1948) is an American science fiction and horror writer. He is the author of the Hyperion Cantos and the Ilium/Olympos cycles, among other works which span the science fiction, horror, and fantasy genres, sometimes wi ...

: ''Hyperion'' ( Hyperion) * 1997: Theodore Roszak: ''Flicker'' ( Flicker) * 1996:

Mary Rosenblum Mary Rosenblum (born Mary Freeman; June 27, 1952 – March 11, 2018) was an American science fiction and mystery author. Biography Rosenblum was born in Levittown, New York and grew up in Allison Park, Pennsylvania. She earned a biology de ...

: ''Harhainvalta'' * 1995: Iain M. Banks: ''Pelaaja'' (

The Player of Games ''The Player of Games'' is a science fiction novel by Scottish writer Iain M. Banks, first published in 1988. It was the second published Culture novel. A film version was planned by Pathé in the 1990s, but was abandoned. Plot Jernau Morat G ...

) * 1994:

: ''Kuuma pää'' ( Headlong) * 1993: Philip K. Dick: ''Oraakkelin kirja'' (

The Man in the High Castle ''The Man in the High Castle'' (1962), by Philip K. Dick, is an alternative history novel wherein the Axis Powers won World War II. The story occurs in 1962, fifteen years after the end of the war in 1947, and depicts the political intrigues b ...

) * 1992:

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, hi ...

: ''Neurovelho'' (

Neuromancer ''Neuromancer'' is a 1984 science fiction novel by American-Canadian writer William Gibson. Considered one of the earliest and best-known works in the cyberpunk genre, it is the only novel to win the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and ...

) * 1991: Philip K. Dick: ''Hämärän vartija'' (

A Scanner Darkly ''A Scanner Darkly'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick, published in 1977. The semi-autobiographical story is set in a dystopian Orange County, California, in the then-future of June 1994, and includes an extensive p ...

) * 1990:

Brian Aldiss Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist, and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for o ...

: Helliconia-trilogia ( Helliconia Trilogy) * 1989: Flann O'Brien: ''Kolmas konstaapeli'' ( The Third Policeman) * 1988:

Greg Bear Gregory Dale Bear (August 20, 1951 – November 19, 2022) was an American writer and illustrator best known for science fiction. His work covered themes of galactic conflict ('' Forge of God'' books), parallel universes ('' The Way'' series), c ...

: ''Veren musiikkia'' ( Blood Music) * 1987:

Joanna Russ Joanna Russ (February 22, 1937 – April 29, 2011) was an American writer, academic and feminist. She is the author of a number of works of science fiction, fantasy and feminist literary criticism such as ''How to Suppress Women's Writing'', as w ...

: ''Naisten planeetta'' (

The Female Man ''The Female Man'' is a feminist science fiction novel by American writer Joanna Russ. It was originally written in 1970 and first published in 1975 by Bantam Books. Russ was an ardent feminist and challenged sexist views during the 1970s with ...

) * 1986:

Cordwainer Smith Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger (July 11, 1913 – August 6, 1966), better known by his pen-name Cordwainer Smith, was an American author known for his science fiction works. Linebarger was a US Army officer, a noted East Asia scholar, and a ...

: ''Planeetta nimeltä Shajol'' (T he Best of Cordwainer Smith, short story collection)

The winners

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

Previous awards

See also