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British Fantasy Award

Annual fantasy fiction award

Summary

Annual fantasy fiction award

The British Fantasy Awards (BFA) are awarded annually by the British Fantasy Society (BFS), first in 1976. Prior to that they were known as The August Derleth Fantasy Awards (see August Derleth Award). First awarded in 1972 (to The Knight of Swords by Michael Moorcock) only for novels, the number of award categories increased and in 1976 the BFS renamed them collectively to the British Fantasy Awards. As of 2023 the award categories are:

Best Fantasy Novel (the Robert Holdstock Award)
Best Horror Novel (the August Derleth Award)
Best Novella
Best Short Fiction
Best Anthology
Best Collection
Magazine/Periodical
Best Independent Press
Best Artist
Best Audio
Best Non-Fiction
Best Newcomer (the Sydney J. Bounds Award)
The Karl Edward Wagner Award for "important contribution to the genre or the Society" is given at the discretion of the BFS committee.

The membership of the BFS vote to determine the shortlists of the awards, the winners being decided by juries.

Conventional Fiction Writing

1Previously "Best Short Story", before 2008.

2Was originally presented as a single award known as "Best Novel", the August Derleth Fantasy Award, until split in 2012.

Year	Location	Best Short Fiction1	Best Novella	Best Fantasy Novel2	Best Horror Novel2
1972				The Knight of the Swords, Michael Moorcock
1973		The Fallible Fiend, L Sprague de Camp		The King of the Swords, Michael Moorcock
1974		The Jade Man's Eyes, Michael Moorcock		Hrolf Kraki's Saga, Poul Anderson
1975		"Sticks", Karl Edward Wagner		The Sword and the Stallion, Michael Moorcock
1976		The Second Book of Fritz Leiber, Fritz Leiber		The Hollow Lands, Michael Moorcock
1977		"Two Suns Setting", Karl Edward Wagner		The Dragon and the George, Gordon Dickson
1978		"In the Bag", Ramsey Campbell		A Spell for Chameleon, Piers Anthony
1979		"Jeffty is Five", Harlan Ellison		The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson
1980		"The Button Molder", Fritz Leiber		Death's Master, Tanith Lee
1981		"The Stains", Robert Aickman		To Wake The Dead, Ramsey Campbell
1982		The Dark Country, Dennis Etchison		Cujo, Stephen King
1983		"The Breathing Method", Stephen King		Sword of the Lictor, Gene Wolfe
1984		"Neither Brute Nor Human", Karl Edward Wagner		Floating Dragon, Peter Straub
1985		"In the Hills, the Cities", Clive Barker		Incarnate, Ramsey Campbell
1986		"The Forbidden", Clive Barker		The Ceremonies, T. E. D. Klein
1987		"The Olympic Runner", Dennis Etchison		It, Stephen King
1988		"Leaks", Steve Rasnic Tem		The Hungry Moon, Ramsey Campbell
1989		"Fruiting Bodies", Brian Lumley		The Influence, Ramsey Campbell
1990		"On the Far Side of the Cadillac Desert With Dead Folks", Joe Lansdale		Carrion Comfort, Dan Simmons
1991		"The Man Who Drew Cats", Michael Marshall Smith		Midnight Sun, Ramsey Campbell
1992		"The Dark Land", Michael Marshall Smith		Outside the Dog Museum, Jonathan Carroll
1993		"Night Shift Sister", Nicholas Royle		Dark Sister, Graham Joyce
1994		"The Dog Park", Dennis Etchison		The Long Lost, Ramsey Campbell
1995		"The Temptation of Dr. Stein", Paul McAuley		Only Forward, Michael Marshall Smith
1996		"More Tomorrow", Michael Marshall Smith		Requiem, Graham Joyce
1997		"Dancing About Architecture", Martin Simpson		The Tooth Fairy, Graham Joyce
1998		"Wageslaves", Christopher Fowler		Tower of the King's Daughter, Chaz Brenchley
1999		"The Song My Sister Sang", Stephen Laws		Bag of Bones, Stephen King
2000		White, Tim Lebbon		Indigo, Graham Joyce
2001		Naming of Parts, Tim Lebbon		Perdido Street Station, China Miéville
2002		"Goblin City Lights", Simon Clark		The Night of the Triffids, Simon Clark
2003		The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke, Mark Chadbourn		The Scar, China Miéville
2004	Walsall	"American Waitress", Christopher Fowler		Full Dark House, Christopher Fowler
2005	Walsall	"Black Static", Paul Meloy	Breathe, Christopher Fowler	The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower, Stephen King
2006	Nottingham	"Best New Horror", Joe Hill	The Mask Behind the Face, Stuart Young	Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman
2007	Nottingham	"Whisper Lane", Mark Chadbourn	Kid, Paul Finch	Dusk, Tim Lebbon
2008	Nottingham	My Stone Desire, Joel Lane	The Scalding Rooms, Conrad Williams	The Grin of the Dark, Ramsey Campbell
2009	Nottingham	Do You See, Sarah Pinborough	The Reach of Children, Tim Lebbon	Memoirs of a Master Forger, William Heaney
2010	Nottingham	"What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night", Michael Marshall Smith	The Language of Dying, Sarah Pinborough	One, Conrad Williams
2011	Brighton	Fool's Gold, Sam Stone	Humpty's Bones, Simon Clark	N/A
2012	Brighton	"The Coffin-Maker's Daughter", Angela Slatter	Gorel and the Pot Bellied God, Lavie Tidhar	Among Others, Jo Walton	The Ritual, Adam Nevill
2013	Brighton	"Shark! Shark!", Ray Cluley	The Nine Deaths of Dr Valentine, John Llewellyn Probert	Some Kind of Fairy Tale, Graham Joyce	Last Days, Adam Nevill
2014	York	"Signs of the Times", Carole Johnstone	Beauty, Sarah Pinborough	A Stranger in Olondria, Sofia Samatar	The Shining Girls, Lauren Beukes
2015	Nottingham	"A Woman's Place", Emma Newman	Newspaper Heart, Stephen Volk	Cuckoo Song, Frances Hardinge	No One Gets Out Alive, Adam Nevill
2016	Scarborough	"Fabulous Beasts", Priya Sharma	The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn, Usman T. Malik	Uprooted, Naomi Novik	Rawblood, Catriona Ward
2017	Peterborough	"White Rabbit", Georgina Bruce	The Ballad of Black Tom, Victor LaValle	The Tiger and the Wolf, Adrian Tchaikovsky	Disappearance at Devil's Rock, Paul G. Tremblay
2018	Chester	"Looking for Laika", Laura Mauro	Passing Strange, Ellen Klages	The Ninth Rain, Jen Williams	The Changeling, Victor LaValle
2019	Glasgow
2020	Online
2021	Birmingham
2022	Heathrow
2023	Birmingham
2024	Chester
2025	Brighton

Anthology, Collection, Magazine, and Press

1Provided as "Small Press" until 2015, when that was ended and replace with "Independent"

Year	Location	Best Collection	Best Anthology	Magazine/Periodical	Small/Independent Press1
1977					Anduril
1978					Fantasy Tales 1
1979					Fantasy Tales 2
1980					Fantasy Tales 3
1981					Airgedlamh
1982					Fantasy Tales
1983					Fantasy Tales
1984					Ghosts & Scholars
1985					Whispers
1986					Fantasy Tales
1987					Fantasy Tales
1988					Dagon
1989					Dagon
1990					Dagon
1991		Best New Horror, Stephen Jones and Ramsey Campbell			Dagon
1992		Darklands, Nicholas Royle			Peeping Tom
1993		Darklands 2, Nicholas Royle			Peeping Tom
1994		Dark Voices 5, ed. David Sutton and Stephen Jones			Dementia 13
1995		The Earthwire, Joel Lane			Necrofile
1996		Last Rites and Resurrections: Stories from The Third Alternative, ed. Andy Cox			The Third Alternative
1997		The Nightmare Factory, Thomas Ligotti			H. P. Lovecraft: a Life
1998		Dark Terrors 3: the Gollancz Book of Horror, Stephen Jones and David Sutton			Interzone
1999		Ghosts and Grisly Things, Ramsey Campbell	Dark Terrors 4: the Gollancz Book of Horror, ed. Stephen Jones and David Sutton		The Third Alternative
2000		Lonesome Roads, Peter Crowther	The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 10, ed. Stephen Jones		Razorblade Press
2001		Where the Bodies Are Buried, Kim Newman	Hideous Progeny: a Frankenstein Anthology, ed. Brian Willis		Peter Crowther
2002		Aftershocks, Paul Finch	The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 12, ed. Stephen Jones		Peter Crowther
2003		Ramsey Campbell, Probably: On Horror and Sundry Fantasies, Ramsey Campbell	Keep Out the Night, ed. Stephen Jones		Peter Crowther
2004	Walsall	Told by the Dead, Ramsey Campbell	The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 14, ed. Stephen Jones		Peter Crowther
2005	Walsall	Out of His Mind, Stephen Gallagher	The Alsiso Project, ed. Andrew Hook		Elastic Press
2006	Nottingham	20th Century Ghosts, Joe Hill	The Elastic Book of Numbers, ed. Allen Ashley		Peter Crowther
2007	Nottingham	Fragile Things, Neil Gaiman	Extended Play: The Elastic Book of Music, ed. Gary Couzens		Peter Crowther
2008	Nottingham	Old Devil Moon, Christopher Fowler	The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 18, ed. Stephen Jones		Peter Crowther
2009	Nottingham	Bull Running for Girls, Allyson Bird	The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 19, ed. Stephen Jones	Postscripts, ed. Peter Crowther and Nick Gevers	Elastic Press
2010	Nottingham	Love Songs for the Shy And Cynical, Robert Shearman	The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 20, ed. Stephen Jones	Murky Depths, ed. Terry Martin	Telos Publishing
2011	Brighton	Full Dark, No Stars, Stephen King	Back from the Dead: The Legacy of the Pan Book of Horror Stories, ed. Johnny Mains	Black Static, ed. Andy Cox	Telos Publishing
2012	Brighton	Everyone's Just So So Special, Robert Shearman	The Weird, ed. Jeff VanderMeer and Ann VanderMeer	Black Static, ed. Andy Cox	Chômu Press
2013	Brighton	Remember Why You Fear Me, Robert Shearman	Magic: an Anthology of the Esoteric and Arcane, ed. Jonathan Oliver	Interzone, ed. Andy Cox	ChiZine Publications
2014	York	Monsters in the Heart, Stephen Volk	End of the Road, ed. Jonathan Oliver	Clarkesworld, ed. Neil Clarke, Sean Wallace and Kate Baker	The Alchemy Press
2015	Nottingham	Nick Nightmare Investigates, Adrian Cole	Lightspeed: Women Destroy Science Fiction Special Issue, ed. Christie Yant	Holdfast Magazine, ed. Laurel Sills and Lucy Smee	Fox Spirit Books
2016	Scarborough	Ghost Summer: Stories, Tananarive Due	The Doll Collection, ed. Ellen Datlow	Beneath Ceaseless Skies, ed. Scott H. Andrews	Angry Robot
2017	Peterborough	Some Will Not Sleep, Adam Nevill	People of Colour Destroy Science Fiction, ed. Nalo Hopkinson & Kristine Ong	Tor.com	Grimbold Books
2018	Chester
2019	Glasgow
2020	Online
2021	Birmingham
2022	Heathrow
2023	Birmingham
2024	Chester
2025	Brighton

Multimedia

1Was initially conferred 1973–1980 as "Best Comic"; it was revived in 2009 as "Best Comic / Graphic Novel". The category was removed at the 2022 AGM

2Awarded only to films from 1973 to 1990, this honor was renewed 2009–2011, (though split into two separate categories), and again starting in 2014 as "Best Film / Television Episode", and then "Best Film / Television Production" from 2016 onward. In the two years 2012–2013, the BFS decided to present for extraordinary contributions to screenplay literature to Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris (2012) and co-writers Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon for Cabin in the Woods (2013). The category was again removed following the 2022 AGM.

Location	Best Comic / Graphic Novel1	Best Artist	Best Television / Film Production2	Best Audio (Podcasts, Audiobooks, etc.)
1973		Conan		Tales from the Crypt
1974		Conan		Legend of Hell House
1975		Savage Sword of Conan		The Exorcist
1976		Savage Sword of Conan		Monty Python and the Holy Grail
1977		Howard the Duck #3	Michael Kaluta	The Omen
1978		Marvel Premiere 38: Weirdworld	Steve Fabian	Carrie
1979		Savage Sword of Conan #30: The Scarlet Citadel, Roy Thomas and Frank Brunner	Boris Vallejo	Close Encounters of the Third Kind
1980		Heavy Metal	Steve Fabian	Alien
1981			Dave Carson	The Empire Strikes Back
1982			Dave Carson	Raiders of the Lost Ark
1983			Dave Carson	Blade Runner
1984			Rowena Morrill	Videodrome
1985			Steve Fabian	Ghostbusters
1986			JK Potter	A Nightmare on Elm Street
1987			JK Potter	Aliens
1988			JK Potter	Hellraiser
1989			Dave Carson	Beetlejuice
1990			Dave Carson	Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
1991			Les Edwards
1992			Jim Pitts
1993			Jim Pitts
1994			Les Edwards
1995			Martin McKenna
1996			Josh Kirby
1997			Jim Burns
1998			Jim Burns
1999			Bob Covington
2000			Les Edwards
2001			Jim Burns
2002			Jim Burns
2003			Les Edwards
2004	Walsall		Les Edwards
2005	Walsall		Les Edwards
2006	Nottingham		Les Edwards
2007	Nottingham		Vincent Chong
2008	Nottingham		Vincent Chong
2009	Nottingham	Locke and Key, Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez	Vincent Chong	Film: The Dark Knight
2010	Nottingham	Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?, Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert	Vincent Chong	Film: Let The Right One In
2011	Brighton	At the Mountains of Madness: a Graphic Novel, Ian Culbard	Vincent Chong	Film: Inception
2012	Brighton	Locke and Key, Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez	Daniele Serra	Screenplay: Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen
2013	Brighton	Saga, Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples	Sean Phillips	Screenplay: The Cabin in the Woods, Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard
2014	York	Demeter, Becky Cloonan	Joey Hi-Fi	"The Rains of Castamere", David Benioff and D.B. Weiss
2015	Nottingham	Through the Woods, Emily Carroll	Karla Ortiz	Guardians of the Galaxy
2016	Scarborough	Bitch Planet, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Valentine De Landro, Robert Wilson IV and Cris Peter	Julie Dillon	Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Peter Harness
2017	Peterborough	Monstress, Vol 1: Awakening, Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda	Daniele Serra	Arrival
2018	Chester	Monstress, Vol 2: The Blood, Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda	Jeffrey Alan Love	Get Out
2019	Glasgow
2020	Online
2021	Birmingham
2022	Heathrow
2023	Birmingham
2024	Chester
2025	Brighton

Nominees and winners (other awards)

Year	Location	Best Non-Fiction	Best Newcomer	Special Award
1972
1973				Robert E. Howard
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981				Stephen King
1982
1983				Karl Edward Wagner
1984
1985				Manly Wade Wellman
1986				Les Flood
1987				Charles L Grant
1988
1989				Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes
1990			Nancy A. Collins	Peter Coleborn
1991				Dorothy Lumley
1992			Melanie Tem	Andrew I. Porter
1993			Conrad Williams	Michael Moorcock
1994			Poppy Z. Brite	Dave Sutton
1995			Maggie Furey	John Jarrold
1996				Mike O’Driscoll and Steve Lockley
1997				Jo Fletcher
1998				D. F. Lewis
1999				Diana Wynne Jones
2000				Anne McCaffrey
2001				Peter Haining
2002
2003				Alan Garner
2004	Walsall			Peter Jackson
2005	Walsall			Nigel Kneale
2006	Nottingham			Stephen Jones
2007	Nottingham	Cinema Macabre, Mark Morris (PS Publishing)	Joe Hill	Ellen Datlow
2008	Nottingham	Whispers of Wickedness Reviews (website), ed. Peter Tennant	Scott Lynch	Ray Harryhausen
2009	Nottingham	Basil Copper: A Life in Books, Basil Copper, ed. Stephen Jones	Joseph D'Lacey	Hayao Miyazaki
2010	Nottingham	Ansible, David Langford	Kari Sperring	Robert Holdstock
2011	Brighton	Altered Visions: The Art of Vincent Chong	Robert Jackson Bennet	Terry Pratchett
2012	Brighton	Supergods: Our World in the Age of the Super Hero, Grant Morrison, ed. Jonathan Cape	Kameron Hurley	Peter Crowther and Nicky Crowther
2013	Brighton	Pornokitsch, Anne C. Perry and Jared Shurin	Helen Marshall	Iain M. Banks
2014	York	Speculative Fiction 2012, ed. Justin Landon and Jared Shurin	Ann Leckie	Farah Mendlesohn
2015	Nottingham	Letters to Arkham: The Letters of Ramsey Campbell and August Derleth, 1961-1971, ed. S. T. Joshi	Sarah Lotz	Juliet E. McKenna
2016	Scarborough	Letters to Tiptree, ed. Alexandra Pierce and Alisa Krasnostein	Zen Cho	The FantasyCon Redcloaks, Past and Present
2017	Peterborough	The Geek Feminist Revolution, Kameron Hurley	Erica L. Satifka	Jan Edwards
2018	Chester			N.K. Jemisin
2019	Glasgow			Ian Whates
2020	Online			Craig Lockley
2021	Birmingham			*Alasdair Stuart
2022	Heathrow
2023
2024	Chester
2025	Brighton

Award controversy of 2011

In 2011, British writer Sam Stone won the British Fantasy Award but returned it three days later after editor and anthologist Stephen Jones posted a blog entry pointing out that three of the winning entries (and many of the shortlisted works) were published by Telos Publishing, a company owned by David Howe. At the time, Howe was also chair of the British Fantasy Society, British Fantasy Award coordinator, and partner of Stone.

References

British Fantasy Awards Constitution, https://britishfantasysociety.org/about/the-bfs-constitution/
"British Fantasy Award Nominee {{!}} Book awards {{!}} LibraryThing".
"The British Fantasy Awards Winners".
(June 23, 2025). "British Fantasy Awards 2025: Shortlist Announced!". [[British Fantasy Society]].
(November 1, 2025). "British Fantasy Awards 2025".
"ShonaK comment on removed categories".
"British Fantasy Awards 2020 – Shortlists".
"British Fantasy Awards 2021: Shortlists announced".
"British Fantasy Awards 2021: winners announced".
"British Fantasy Awards Shortlists".
"British Fantasy Awards 2022: Winners announced".
"British Fantasy Awards Shortlists".
"British Fantasy Award Winners 2023".
"The British Fantasy Award Winners for 2024!".
Edwards, Jan. "The British Fantasy Awards: a Short History".
Pechanec, Jan. (22 August 2007). "CENY: nominace na British Fantasy Awards 2007". Sarden.
Barnett, David. (6 October 2011). "British Fantasy Award winner returns prize". [[The Guardian]].
Jones, Stephen. (1 November 2011). "Putting The "Con" Into FantasyCon".
Paul, David. (9 October 2011). "A literary spat turns ugly as the winner of award is... organiser's live-in lover". [[Daily Express]].

Wikipedia Source

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