What is Firefly Book of the Year?
It is an annual reader vote inside Firefly. It reflects the collective choice of readers rather than a professional jury or a state literary award.
The 2026 season operates at work level: different ISBNs and editions of the same book do not become separate competitors.
Why it exists
- To record the shared reader choice of the Firefly community at the end of the year.
- To prevent different editions of one work from splitting votes only because the ISBN, cover or publication year differs.
- To verify finalists before voting begins and keep the frozen shortlist stable during voting.
- To preserve official results as a season archive instead of losing them after the year ends.
Five categories for the 2026 season
Overall reader choice of the season.
A dedicated category for Ukrainian books.
Finalists from the season's speculative-fiction field.
Reader choice among detective and thriller titles.
Books and author discoveries that stood out to readers.
How the shortlist and ranking are formed
- Before the shortlist freeze, the server builds a candidate list from reader activity and work-level metrics; the final set is reviewed before freezing.
- A preliminary candidate position does not guarantee a final place.
- After the 2026 freeze, exactly 8 finalists remain in each category.
- Once voting opens, the finalist set is not edited in the ordinary workflow.
- The final ranking is based on valid reader votes. After publication, places, vote counts and shares can be shown.
- If two works have the same result, the 2026 tie-break is their position in the frozen shortlist.
How voting works
- Each reader has one active vote in each category.
- The selection can be changed before the deadline; the new vote replaces the previous one.
- Interim results, vote counts and current places remain hidden until official publication.
- After voting closes, results are frozen and checked before publication.
- Joining the raffle is not required for voting and does not change the weight or validity of a vote.
2026 season calendar
- 1 November 2026 — creation of the Awards 2026 season.
- 1–25 November — category and candidate preparation; work-level data checks.
- 30 November — final 5×8 shortlist freeze.
- 1 December — voting opens; the separate voluntary raffle also opens.
- 27 December · 23:59 — voting and raffle-entry editing close.
- 28 December — results are frozen and checked; three prize slots plus reserves are drawn separately.
- 28–29 December — initial contact with selected winners; each prize slot has its own 7-day response period.
- 30 December — official reader-vote results are published.
Three prizes
- 1st prize: one paper book chosen from the season finalists + Calendar Pro.
- 2nd prize: MEGOGO BOOKS — UAH 500.
- 3rd prize: a book prize + “First Light · Firefly 2026”.
There are three unique winners. One person can receive no more than one prize, and each prize slot has its own reserve winner.
Raffle territory: the raffle is conducted exclusively within Ukraine, excluding the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Prize delivery outside Ukraine is not part of the standard terms. If a confirmed winner is abroad, the possibility and method of receiving the prize may be agreed separately with the organizer; such delivery is not guaranteed.
Results and future archive
After official publication, the season becomes part of the historical Firefly Awards archive. The archive will preserve categories, finalists, winners and public voting results without retaining private raffle contacts.