The award for Best First Novel was first presented in 1981. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year.
Locus Award for Best First Novel Public
Created and curated by Phil in SF
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Dragon's egg by Robert L. Forward
4 stars
In a moving story of sacrifice and triumph, human scientists establish a relationship with intelligent lifeforms--the cheela--living on Dragon's Egg, …
Phil in SF says: 1981 winner
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Phil in SF says: 1982 winner
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Phil in SF says: 1983 winner
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Tea with the Black Dragon by R.A. MacAvoy
From first page Bantam paperback May 1983:
R. A. MacAvoy's Tea with the Black Dragon is the tale of a …
Phil in SF says: 1984 winner
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The Wild Shore by Kim Stanley Robinson (Three Californias (1))
4 stars
2047: and for sixty years America has been quarantined after a devastating nuclear attack.
Seventeen-year-old Henry wants to help make …
Phil in SF says: 1985 winner
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4 stars
In December, 1999, a multinational team journeys out to the stars, to the most awesome encounter in human history. Who …
Phil in SF says: 1986 winner
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Phil in SF says: 1987 winner
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4 stars
Amazon.com Review Emma Bull's debut novel, War for the Oaks, placed her in the top tier of urban fantasists and …
Phil in SF says: 1988 winner
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Phil in SF says: 1989 winner
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Phil in SF says: 1990 winner
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In the Country of the Blind by Michael Flynn
What if it were all a plot? What if there really were a secret conspiracy running things behind the scenes…and …
Phil in SF says: 1991 winner
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Phil in SF says: 1992 winner
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Phil in SF says: 1993 winner
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Gun, with occasional music by Jonathan Lethem
3 stars
Gun, with Occasional Music is a 1994 novel by American writer Jonathan Lethem that blends science fiction and hardboiled detective …
Phil in SF says: 1994 winner
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The Bohr Maker by Linda Nagata
4 stars
Nikko is the first true "post human"-a man genetically engineered to survive in the airless void of space-but the research …
Phil in SF says: 1995 winner
