Bora Chung's "Your Utopia" Misses Out on Philip K. Dick Award, One of the World's Top 3 SF Prizes

Novelist Bora Chung became the first Korean author to be nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award, one of the three major science fiction (SF) awards in the world, but ultimately did not win the prize.

The organizer, the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society, announced at the SF and fantasy convention "Norwescon 47" held in Seattle, USA, on April 18 (local time) that the award would go to Brenda Peynado for her work "Time's Agent."

The "Special Citation," which is given to the work that received the second highest evaluation from the judges, was awarded to Adrian Tchaikovsky's novel "Alien Clay."

Writer Jora Jung is discussing the topic "The Achievements, Significance, and Potential of Global (K-Story) Korean Women Writers" at the "2022 Women Leaders Forum" held on the 19th at Lotte Hotel, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The Philip K. Dick Award is considered one of the world's three major SF literary awards, alongside the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award. While Korean American author Yoon Ha Lee has previously been a finalist for both the Hugo and Nebula Awards, Bora Chung is the first Korean novelist to have her work nominated for one of the three major SF awards.

The Philip K. Dick Award was established in 1983 to honor the American SF master Philip K. Dick (1928-1982), author of the original novels for the films "Minority Report" and "Blade Runner." This year marks the 43rd award.

Bora Chung attended the award ceremony on this day and read in English the final part of "Meeting Her," one of the stories included in her nominated short story collection. The ceremony was broadcast live online. Bora Chung began her literary career in 1998 when her short story "Head" won the Yonsei Literary Award. With her 2017 SF and horror short story collection "Cursed Bunny," she was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2022 and the National Book Award for Translated Literature in 2023. She also received the Leipzig Book Award in Germany in 2023.