SHENZHEN, Nov. 24 -- British writer Richard Morgan has been named the most popular foreign sci-fi writer by the 29th Galaxy Award, China's oldest sci-fi accolade.

Morgan, author of "Altered Carbon," expressed his thanks to the award committee and his Chinese readership in a video clip aired at the award ceremony on Friday night.

The award, widely regarded as a barometer of China's sci-fi production, was announced during the third China Science Fiction Conference that kicked off Friday in Shenzhen, a tech hub in southern China's Guangdong Province.

The award gave its best short story prizes to "Tian Tu" (which literally translates as "the painting of sky") by veteran writer Wang Jinkang, "Amorville" by Bella Han, and "An Account of the Sky Whales" by A Que.

The best novelette prizes went to "The Hearts Behind" by Gu Di and "Forest of Death" by Peng Chao.

The most-anticipated best saga prize was declared vacant, though it was not the first time there was no winner announced.

The Galaxy Award was co-initiated in 1985 by China's prestigious sci-fi magazine Science Fiction World. Liu Cixin had been a multiple winner of the award before his "The Three-Body Problem" scooped the 2015 Hugo Award.