Recs if you like The Death of Mountains...

books in which Death, or a god of Death, or the Grim Reaper (or a Grim Reaper), is personified. This list will NOT include the works of Neil Gaiman (ew)

Finalists for the 2026 Nebula Award for BEST NOVEL and BEST NOVELLA, presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA).

Not included in this list is Best Novella finalist "Descent" by Wole Talabi, published in the May 2025 issue of Clarkesworld.

Works published in 2025.

Best Novel Nominees: When We Were Real • 🏆 The Buffalo Hunter Hunter • Katabasis • Death of the Author • The Incandescent • Sour Cherry • Wearing the Lion

Best Novella Nominees: Disgraced Return of the Kap’s Needle • 🏆🚀 The River Has Roots • The Death of Mountains • Automatic Noodle • But Not Too Bold • Descent*

Legend: 🏆 Winner • 🚀 Hugo Award Winner

*Published in Clarkesworld Magazine #224, May 2025

"In recognition of the legacy of Shirley Jackson’s writing, and with permission of the author’s estate, The Shirley Jackson Awards, Inc. has been established for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic."

Books of all genres set in and focused on the Appalachian Mountains!

List named in honor of the women who rode on horseback to bring books to remote mountain regions during the Great Depression, this list now brings books out of the mountains to all of us.

Books that have won the Shirley Jackson Award for outstanding achievement in the literature of horror, the dark fantastic, and psychological suspense.

Works published in 2025

Best Novel Nominees: Audition for the Fox • Once Was Willem • The Secret Market of the Dead • The Everlasting • The Adventures of Mary Darling

Best Novella Nominees: 🚀🌌The River Has Roots • "The Secret Diary of Mina Harker" (Letters from an Imaginary Country) • "Uncertain Sons" • The Death of Mountains • "The Spotter" (You, Human, Vol. 2) • Psychopomp & Circumstance • A Mouthful of Dust

Legend: 🏆 Winner • 🚀 Hugo Award Winner • 🌌 Nebula Award Winner