I’m all for things that are good for the genre. I reckon the Kitchies – a serious new award with cash prize-money (£750 for the overall winner) and a sponsorship deal from a large drinks company – is exactly what the genre needs.
The Kraken Rum presents the Kitschies, an annual award for those books which best elevate the tone of geek culture.
The Kitschies celebrate the year’s most progressive, intelligent and entertaining works – the books that do the science fiction and fantasy community proud. Winners receive a cash prize in addition to one of our lovingly hand-crafted Tentacle trophies and a bottle of The Kraken’s fine black liquid.
What’s not to like? It’s a juried award featuring the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning Lauren Beukes, and the team from genre website Pornokitsch, which has a focus on quality and an appreciation for all things geek. It’s that combination which makes me think that genre fans should really be paying attention to this, because it’s the best of both worlds.
Well, that and Kraken Rum. Read more about it here.
