Annie Bot by Sierra Greer wins £2,025 for ‘compelling tale that, like all good stories about robots, is ultimately about the human condition’
A novel told from the perspective of a robot girlfriend has been named winner of the Arthur C Clarke award for science fiction.
Annie Bot by Sierra Greer is “a tightly focused first-person account of a robot designed to be the perfect companion, who struggles to become free,” said chair of judges, the academic Andrew M Butler. The speculative novel follows Annie, the narrator, programmed to cater to the needs of her boyfriend/owner Doug, who treats her in a way that would be abusive if she were human.
Named after British author Arthur C Clarke, who gave a grant to establish the award in 1987, the prize is given each year to “the best science fiction novel published in the United Kingdom”. US author and former high school English teacher Greer will win £2025, in keeping with the award’s tradition of increasing its prize money amount incrementally each year.
In her Guardian review, Lisa Tuttle described Annie Bot as “an intense, compelling tale that, like all good stories about robots, is ultimately about the human condition”.
