At the start of Saturday evening’s award ceremony at this year’s Fantasycon the 2026 Aldiss Award for world building in speculative fiction and gaming was awarded to Tasha Suri for her book The Isle In The Silver Sea.
And the winner is Tasha Suri for The Isle In The Silver Sea. A hearty congratulations to her on crafting such a worthy winner, and thank you too to publisher Orbit for their submission.
Who she is
Tasha Suri is a World Fantasy Award-winning author known for crafting immersive fantasy and romantasy fiction. She lives with her family in a house in London.
Literary work & themes
Her standalone novel The Isle in the Silver Sea is a sapphic romantasy following Simran, a witch of the woods, and Vina, a knight of the Queen’s court. Fated to act out a tragic cycle across thousands of lifetimes to keep their isle alive, the two women fall in love and must seek a way to break the cycle while a mysterious assassin targets their tales.
Key Themes:
- The power of stories and narrative control (both to shackle and to free)
- Cyclical fate, duty, and sacrifice
- Critique of institutions, monarchy, colonialism, and assimilation
- Medieval folklore, faerie bargains, and rich atmospheric world-building
Why she’s notable
Tasha Suri has established herself as a master of modern speculative fiction, with previous works like her debut novel Empire of Sand named one of the 100 best fantasy books of all time by TIME magazine. The Isle in the Silver Sea received widespread acclaim, becoming an instant USA Today bestseller and one of the New York Times Best Romance Novels of 2025, praised for its innovative use of fantasy to explore deep thematic currents through a rich sapphic lens.
Key details at a glance
- Author: Tasha Suri
- Notable Work: The Isle in the Silver Sea
- Format: Standalone fantasy romance / romantasy
- Main Characters: Simran (a witch of the woods) and Vina (a knight of the Queen’s court)
- Core Tropes: Fated mates, lady knight/witch, reincarnation, sapphic romance, forced proximity to destiny
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