World Fantasy Award—Novel
Literary award for science fiction or fantasy novels in English
The World Fantasy Awards are given each year by the World Fantasy Convention for the best fantasy fiction published in English during the previous calendar year. The awards have been described by book critics such as The Guardian as a "prestigious fantasy prize",[ 1] and one of the three most prestigious speculative fiction awards, along with the Hugo and Nebula Awards (which cover both fantasy and science fiction ).[ 2] [ 3] The World Fantasy Award—Novel is given each year for fantasy novels published in English or translated into English. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a novel if it is 40,000 words or longer; awards are also given out for pieces of shorter lengths in the Short Fiction and Novella categories. The Novel category has been awarded annually since 1975.[ 4]
World Fantasy Award nominees and winners are decided by attendees and judges at the annual World Fantasy Convention. A ballot is posted in June for attendees of the current and previous two conferences to determine two of the finalists, and a panel of five judges adds three or more nominees before voting on the overall winner.[ 4] [ 5] The panel of judges is typically made up of fantasy authors[ 6] and is chosen each year by the World Fantasy Awards Administration, which has the power to break ties.[ 4] The final results are presented at the World Fantasy Convention at the end of October.[ 5] Winners were presented with a statue in the form of a bust of H. P. Lovecraft through the 2015 awards; more recent winners receive a statuette of a tree.[ 7]
During the 49 nomination years, 175 authors have had works nominated; 51 of them have won, including ties. Five authors have won twice: Gene Wolfe , out of eight nominations; Tim Powers , out of five; Patricia McKillip , out of four; Jeffrey Ford , out of three; and James K. Morrow for both of his nominations. Wolfe has the most nominations for an author who has won at least once, while Stephen King has the most nominations without winning, at nine, followed by Charles L. Grant at six and Jonathan Carroll at five.
Gene Wolfe is one of only five authors who have won the World Fantasy Award Novel category twice.
Winners and nominees
In the following table, the years correspond to the date of the ceremony, rather than when the novel was first published. Each year links to the corresponding "year in literature". Entries with a blue background and an asterisk (*) next to the writer's name have won the award; those with a white background are the other nominees on the shortlist.
* Winners
Winners and nominees
Year
Author
Novel
Publisher(s)/publication
Ref.
1975
Patricia A. McKillip *
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld
Atheneum Books
[ 8]
H. Warner Munn
Merlin's Ring
Ballantine Books
[ 8]
Poul Anderson
A Midsummer Tempest
Doubleday
[ 8]
1976
Richard Matheson *
Bid Time Return
Viking Press
[ 9]
Stephen King
Salem's Lot
Doubleday
[ 9]
1977
William Kotzwinkle *
Doctor Rat
Alfred A. Knopf
[ 10]
John Steinbeck
The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
[ 10]
Karl Edward Wagner
Dark Crusade
Warner
[ 10]
Ramsey Campbell
The Doll Who Ate His Mother
Bobbs-Merrill Company
[ 10]
Gordon R. Dickson
The Dragon and the George
Ballantine Books
[ 10]
Michael Moorcock
The Sailor on the Seas of Fate
Quartet , DAW Books
[ 10]
1978
Fritz Leiber *
Our Lady of Darkness
Berkley Books
[ 11]
Stephen R. Donaldson
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever
Holt, Rinehart & Winston
[ 11]
Charles L. Grant
The Hour of the Oxrun Dead
Doubleday
[ 11]
1979
Michael Moorcock *
Gloriana
Avon Publications
[ 12]
Les Daniels
The Black Castle
Charles Scribner's Sons
[ 12]
Tanith Lee
Night's Master
DAW Books
[ 12]
Charles L. Grant
The Sound of Midnight
Doubleday
[ 12]
Stephen King
The Stand
Doubleday
[ 12]
1980
Elizabeth A. Lynn *
Watchtower
Berkley Books
[ 13]
Elizabeth A. Lynn
The Dancers of Arun
Berkley Books
[ 13]
Patricia Wrightson
The Dark Bright Water
Atheneum Books
[ 13]
Patricia A. McKillip
Harpist in the Wind
Atheneum Books
[ 13]
Charles L. Grant
The Last Call of Mourning
Doubleday
[ 13]
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
The Palace
St. Martin's Press
[ 13]
1981
Gene Wolfe *
The Shadow of the Torturer
Simon & Schuster
[ 14]
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Ariosto
Pocket Books
[ 14]
Parke Godwin
Firelord
Doubleday
[ 14]
Stephen King
The Mist
Dark Forces (Viking Press )
[ 14]
Peter Straub
Shadowland
Coward, McCann & Geoghegan
[ 14]
1982
John Crowley *
Little, Big
Bantam Books
[ 15]
Gene Wolfe
The Claw of the Conciliator
Timescape
[ 15]
Ramsey Campbell
The Nameless
Macmillan Publishers
[ 15]
Michael Moorcock
The War Hound and the World's Pain
Timescape
[ 15]
D. M. Thomas
The White Hotel
Viking Press
[ 15]
1983
Michael Shea *
Nifft the Lean
DAW Books
[ 16]
George R. R. Martin
Fevre Dream
Poseidon Press
[ 16]
Charles L. Grant
The Nestling
Pocket Books
[ 16]
Thomas Tessier
Phantom
Atheneum Books
[ 16]
Gene Wolfe
The Sword of the Lictor
Timescape
[ 16]
1984
John M. Ford *
The Dragon Waiting
Timescape
[ 17]
George R. R. Martin
The Armageddon Rag
Poseidon Press
[ 17]
Jack Vance
Lyonesse
Berkley Books
[ 17]
Stephen King
Pet Sematary
Doubleday
[ 17]
R. A. MacAvoy
Tea with the Black Dragon
Bantam Books
[ 17]
Manuel Mujica Lainez
The Wandering Unicorn
Taplinger
[ 17]
1985
Barry Hughart *
Bridge of Birds
St. Martin's Press
[ 18]
Robert Holdstock *
Mythago Wood
Victor Gollancz
[ 18]
Diana Wynne Jones
Archer's Goon
Methuen Publishing
[ 18]
T. E. D. Klein
The Ceremonies
Viking Press
[ 18]
Stephen King
The Talisman
Viking Press
[ 18]
Peter Straub
1986
Dan Simmons *
Song of Kali
Bluejay Books
[ 19]
Clive Barker
The Damnation Game
Weidenfeld & Nicolson
[ 19]
Lisa Goldstein
The Dream Years
Bantam Spectra
[ 19]
Peter Carey
Illywhacker
Harper & Row
[ 19]
Anne Rice
The Vampire Lestat
Alfred A. Knopf
[ 19]
Paul Hazel
Winterking
Atlantic Monthly Press
[ 19]
1987
Patrick Süskind *
Perfume
Alfred A. Knopf
[ 20]
Stephen King
It
Viking Press
[ 20]
Charles L. Grant
The Pet
Tor Books
[ 20]
Gene Wolfe
Soldier of the Mist
Tor Books
[ 20]
Dean Koontz
Strangers
Putnam Publishing Group
[ 20]
Terry Bisson
Talking Man
Arbor House
[ 20]
Margaret Mahy
The Tricksters
J. M. Dent & Sons
[ 20]
1988
Ken Grimwood *
Replay
Arbor House
[ 21]
John Crowley
Ægypt
Bantam Spectra
[ 21]
Stephen King
Misery
Viking Press
[ 21]
Tim Powers
On Stranger Tides
Ace Books
[ 21]
Orson Scott Card
Seventh Son
Tor Books
[ 21]
Robert R. McCammon
Swan Song
Pocket Books
[ 21]
Clive Barker
Weaveworld
Poseidon Press , William Collins, Sons
[ 21]
1989
Peter Straub *
Koko
E. P. Dutton , Viking Press
[ 22]
Joe R. Lansdale
The Drive-In
Bantam Spectra
[ 22]
Robert Cormier
Fade
Victor Gollancz , Delacorte Press
[ 22]
James Blaylock
The Last Coin
Mark V. Ziesing , Ace Books
[ 22]
Thomas Harris
The Silence of the Lambs
St. Martin's Press
[ 22]
Jonathan Carroll
Sleeping in Flame
Legend , Doubleday
[ 22]
1990
Jack Vance *
Madouc
Underwood–Miller
[ 23]
Dan Simmons
Carrion Comfort
Dark Harvest
[ 23]
Jonathan Carroll
A Child Across the Sky
Legend , Century
[ 23]
Charles L. Grant
In a Dark Dream
Tor Books
[ 23]
Gene Wolfe
Soldier of Arete
Tor Books
[ 23]
Tim Powers
The Stress of Her Regard
Ace Books
[ 23]
1991
James K. Morrow *
Only Begotten Daughter
William Morrow and Company
[ 24]
Ellen Kushner *
Thomas the Rhymer
William Morrow and Company
[ 24]
Terry Pratchett
Good Omens
Victor Gollancz , Workman Publishing Company
[ 24]
Neil Gaiman
Valerie Martin
Mary Reilly
Doubleday
[ 24]
Guy Gavriel Kay
Tigana
Viking Press
[ 24]
1992
Robert R. McCammon *
Boy's Life
Pocket Books
[ 25]
Emma Bull
Bone Dance
Ace Books
[ 25]
A. A. Attanasio
Hunting the Ghost Dancer
HarperCollins
[ 25]
Charles de Lint
The Little Country
William Morrow and Company
[ 25]
Jonathan Carroll
Outside the Dog Museum
Macdonald
[ 25]
James Blaylock
The Paper Grail
Ace Books
[ 25]
1993
Tim Powers *
Last Call
William Morrow and Company
[ 26]
Kim Newman
Anno Dracula
Simon & Schuster , Carroll & Graf Publishers
[ 26]
Jane Yolen
Briar Rose
Tor Books
[ 26]
Steve Szilagyi
Photographing Fairies
Ballantine Books
[ 26]
Geoff Ryman
Was
HarperCollins , Alfred A. Knopf
[ 26]
1994
Lewis Shiner *
Glimpses
William Morrow and Company
[ 27]
Poppy Z. Brite
Drawing Blood
Delacorte Abyss
[ 27]
Peter S. Beagle
The Innkeeper's Song
Roc Books
[ 27]
Michael Swanwick
The Iron Dragon's Daughter
Millennium , Morrow AvoNova
[ 27]
Judith Tarr
Lord of the Two Lands
Tor Books
[ 27]
Kathe Koja
Skin
Delacorte Abyss
[ 27]
Peter Straub
The Throat
E. P. Dutton , Borderlands Press
[ 27]
1995
James K. Morrow *
Towing Jehovah
Harcourt Brace
[ 28]
Michael Bishop
Brittle Innings
Bantam Books
[ 28]
Brooke Stevens
The Circus of the Earth and the Air
Harcourt Brace
[ 28]
Jonathan Carroll
From the Teeth of Angels
HarperCollins , Doubleday
[ 28]
John Crowley
Love & Sleep
Bantam Books
[ 28]
Elizabeth Hand
Waking the Moon
HarperCollins , HarperPrism
[ 28]
1996
Christopher Priest *
The Prestige
Touchstone Books
[ 29]
James Blaylock
All the Bells on Earth
Ace Books
[ 29]
Tim Powers
Expiration Date
HarperCollins , Tor Books
[ 29]
Vikram Chandra
Red Earth and Pouring Rain
Little, Brown and Company
[ 29]
Graham Joyce
Requiem
Michael Joseph , Signet Creed
[ 29]
Nina Kiriki Hoffman
The Silent Strength of Stones
AvoNova
[ 29]
1997
Rachel Pollack *
Godmother Night
St. Martin's Press
[ 30]
Marc Laidlaw
The 37th Mandala
St. Martin's Press
[ 30]
William Kotzwinkle
The Bear Went Over the Mountain
Doubleday
[ 30]
Mark Sumner
Devil's Tower
Del Rey Books
[ 30]
George R. R. Martin
A Game of Thrones
HarperCollins Voyager , Bantam Spectra
[ 30]
Melanie Rawn
The Golden Key
DAW Books
[ 30]
Jennifer Roberson
Kate Elliott
Terence M. Green
Shadow of Ashland
Forge Books
[ 30]
1998
Jeffrey Ford *
The Physiognomy
Avon Publications
[ 31]
Harvey Jacobs
American Goliath
St. Martin's Press
[ 31]
Arturo Pérez-Reverte
The Club Dumas (nomination withdrawn)[ a]
Harcourt Brace
[ 31]
Eric Nylund
Dry Water
Avon Publications
[ 31]
Patrick O'Leary
The Gift
Tor Books
[ 31]
Charles de Lint
Trader
Tor Books
[ 31]
1999
Louise Erdrich *
The Antelope Wife
HarperFlamingo
[ 32]
Thomas Sullivan
The Martyring
Forge Books
[ 32]
Sean Stewart
Mockingbird
Ace Books
[ 32]
Guy Gavriel Kay
Sailing to Sarantium
Earthlight , Viking Press
[ 32]
Charles de Lint
Someplace to Be Flying
Tor Books
[ 32]
2000
Martin Scott *
Thraxas
Orbit Books
[ 33]
Steven Erikson
Gardens of the Moon
Bantam Books
[ 33]
James Blaylock
The Rainy Season
Ace Books
[ 33]
Nina Kiriki Hoffman
A Red Heart of Memories
Ace Books
[ 33]
Peter S. Beagle
Tamsin
Roc Books
[ 33]
Terence M. Green
A Witness to Life
Forge Books
[ 33]
2001
Tim Powers *
Declare
Subterranean Press , William Morrow and Company
[ 34]
Sean Stewart *
Galveston
Ace Books
[ 34]
Philip Pullman
The Amber Spyglass
Scholastic , Alfred A. Knopf
[ 34]
Paula Volsky
The Grand Ellipse
Bantam Spectra
[ 34]
Guy Gavriel Kay
Lord of Emperors
Viking Press , HarperPrism
[ 34]
China Miéville
Perdido Street Station
Macmillan Publishers , Del Rey Books
[ 34]
2002
Ursula K. Le Guin *
The Other Wind
Harcourt
[ 35]
Neil Gaiman
American Gods
William Morrow and Company
[ 35]
Jay Russell
Brown Harvest
Four Walls Eight Windows
[ 35]
Lois McMaster Bujold
The Curse of Chalion
Eos
[ 35]
Ray Bradbury
From the Dust Returned
William Morrow and Company
[ 35]
Charles de Lint
The Onion Girl
Tor Books
[ 35]
Jonathan Carroll
The Wooden Sea
Tor Books
[ 35]
2003
Graham Joyce *
The Facts of Life
Victor Gollancz
[ 36]
Patricia A. McKillip *
Ombria in Shadow
Ace Books
[ 36]
Gregory Frost
Fitcher's Brides
Tor Books
[ 36]
Jeffrey Ford
The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque
William Morrow and Company
[ 36]
China Miéville
The Scar
Macmillan Publishers , Del Rey Books
[ 36]
2004
Jo Walton *
Tooth and Claw
Tor Books
[ 37]
K. J. Bishop
The Etched City
Prime Books
[ 37]
Kij Johnson
Fudoki
Tor Books
[ 37]
Ian R. MacLeod
The Light Ages
Ace Books
[ 37]
Jeff VanderMeer
Veniss Underground
Prime Books
[ 37]
2005
Susanna Clarke *
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Bloomsbury Press
[ 38]
China Miéville
Iron Council
Del Rey Books , Macmillan Publishers
[ 38]
Sean Stewart
Perfect Circle
Small Beer Press
[ 38]
Stephen R. Donaldson
The Runes of the Earth
Putnam Publishing Group , Victor Gollancz
[ 38]
Gene Wolfe
The Wizard Knight
Tor Books
[ 38]
2006
Haruki Murakami *
Kafka on the Shore
Harvill Press , Alfred A. Knopf
[ 39]
Graham Joyce
The Limits of Enchantment
Victor Gollancz , Atria
[ 39]
Bret Easton Ellis
Lunar Park
Alfred A. Knopf , Macmillan Publishers
[ 39]
Patricia A. McKillip
Od Magic
Ace Books
[ 39]
Paul Park
A Princess of Roumania
Tor Books
[ 39]
Hal Duncan
Vellum
Macmillan Publishers , Del Rey Books
[ 39]
2007
Gene Wolfe *
Soldier of Sidon
Tor Books
[ 40]
Scott Lynch
The Lies of Locke Lamora
Victor Gollancz , Bantam Spectra
[ 40]
Stephen King
Lisey's Story
Charles Scribner's Sons , Hodder & Stoughton
[ 40]
Catherynne M. Valente
In the Night Garden
Bantam Spectra
[ 40]
Ellen Kushner
The Privilege of the Sword
Bantam Spectra , Small Beer Press
[ 40]
2008
Guy Gavriel Kay *
Ysabel
Viking Press , Roc Books
[ 41]
John Marks
Fangland
Penguin Press
[ 41]
Will Shetterly
The Gospel of the Knife
Tor Books
[ 41]
Michael Marshall Smith
The Servants
Earthling Publications
[ 41]
Emma Bull
Territory
Tor Books
[ 41]
2009
Jeffrey Ford *
The Shadow Year
William Morrow and Company
[ 42]
Margo Lanagan *
Tender Morsels
Allen & Unwin , Alfred A. Knopf
[ 42]
Neil Gaiman
The Graveyard Book
HarperCollins , Bloomsbury Press
[ 42]
Kage Baker
The House of the Stag
Tor Books
[ 42]
Daryl Gregory
Pandemonium
Del Rey Books
[ 42]
2010
China Miéville *
The City & the City
Macmillan Publishers , Del Rey Books
[ 43]
James Enge
Blood of Ambrose
Pyr
[ 43]
Jeff VanderMeer
Finch
Underland Press
[ 43]
Kit Whitfield
In Great Waters
Jonathan Cape , Del Rey Books
[ 43]
Caitlín R. Kiernan
The Red Tree
Roc Books
[ 43]
2011
Nnedi Okorafor *
Who Fears Death
DAW Books
[ 44]
N. K. Jemisin
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
Orbit Books
[ 44]
Karen Lord
Redemption in Indigo
Small Beer Press
[ 44]
Graham Joyce
The Silent Land
Victor Gollancz , Doubleday
[ 44]
Guy Gavriel Kay
Under Heaven
Viking Press , Roc Books
[ 44]
Lauren Beukes
Zoo City
Jacana Media, Angry Robot
[ 44]
2012
Lavie Tidhar *
Osama
DAW Books
[ 45]
Stephen King
11/22/63
Charles Scribner's Sons
[ 45]
Jo Walton
Among Others
Tor Books
[ 45]
George R. R. Martin
A Dance with Dragons
Tor Books
[ 45]
Christopher Buehlman
Those Across the River
Ace Books
[ 45]
2013
G. Willow Wilson *
Alif the Unseen
Grove , Corvus
[ 46]
N. K. Jemisin
The Killing Moon
Orbit Books
[ 46]
Graham Joyce
Some Kind of Fairy Tale
Victor Gollancz
[ 46]
Caitlín R. Kiernan
The Drowning Girl
Roc Books
[ 46]
Anna Tambour
Crandolin
Chomu Press
[ 46]
2014
Sofia Samatar *
A Stranger in Olondria
Small Beer Press
[ 47]
Richard Bowes
Dust Devil on a Quiet Street
Lethe Press
[ 47]
Marie Brennan
A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent
Tor Books
[ 47]
Neil Gaiman
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
William Morrow and Company
[ 47]
Helene Wecker
The Golem and the Jinni
Harper
[ 47]
Gene Wolfe
The Land Across
Tor Books
[ 47]
2015
David Mitchell *
The Bone Clocks
Random House
[ 48]
Jeff VanderMeer
Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
[ 48]
Robert Jackson Bennett
City of Stairs
Jo Fletcher Books
[ 48]
Katherine Addison
The Goblin Emperor
Tor Books
[ 48]
Jo Walton
My Real Children
Tor Books
[ 48]
2016
Anna Smaill *
The Chimes
Sceptre
[ 49]
N. K. Jemisin
The Fifth Season
Orbit Books
[ 49]
Naomi Novik
Uprooted
Del Rey Books
[ 49]
K. J. Parker
Savages
Subterranean Press
[ 49]
Kazuo Ishiguro
The Buried Giant
Alfred A. Knopf
[ 49]
Paul Tremblay
A Head Full of Ghosts
William Morrow and Company
[ 49]
2017
Claire North *
The Sudden Appearance of Hope
Redhook Books
[ 50]
Mishell Baker
Borderline
Saga Press
[ 50]
Matt Ruff
Lovecraft Country
Harper
[ 50]
N. K. Jemisin
The Obelisk Gate
Orbit Books
[ 50]
Betsy James
Roadsouls
Aqueduct Press
[ 50]
2018
Victor LaValle *
The Changeling
Spiegel & Grau
[ 51]
Fonda Lee *
Jade City
Orbit Books
[ 51]
S. A. Chakraborty
The City of Brass
Harper Voyager
[ 51]
John Crowley
Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr
Saga Press
[ 51]
Daryl Gregory
Spoonbenders
Alfred A. Knopf
[ 51]
Theodora Goss
The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter
Saga Press
[ 51]
2019
C. L. Polk *
Witchmark
Tor.com Publishing
[ 52]
Dale Bailey
In the Night Wood
John Joseph Adams Books
[ 52]
Maria Dahvana Headley
The Mere Wife
MCD
[ 52]
R. F. Kuang
The Poppy War
Harper Voyager
[ 52]
Rebecca Roanhorse
Trail of Lightning
Saga Press
[ 52]
2020
Kacen Callender *
Queen of the Conquered
Orbit Books
[ 53]
Alix E. Harrow
The Ten Thousand Doors of January
Redhook Books /Orbit UK
[ 53]
Ann Leckie
The Raven Tower
Orbit Books
[ 53]
Tamsyn Muir
Gideon the Ninth
Tor.com Publishing
[ 53]
Yōko Ogawa
The Memory Police
Pantheon Books /Harvill Secker
[ 53]
Stephen Snyder (translator)
2021
Alaya Dawn Johnson *
Trouble the Saints
Tor Books
[ 54]
Susanna Clarke
Piranesi
Bloomsbury Press
[ 54]
Stephen Graham Jones
The Only Good Indians
Saga Press /Titan UK
[ 54]
Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Mexican Gothic
Del Rey Books /Jo Fletcher UK
[ 54]
C. L. Polk
The Midnight Bargain
Erewhon/Orbit UK
[ 54]
2022
Tasha Suri *
The Jasmine Throne
Orbit Books
[ 55]
Zen Cho
Black Water Sister
Ace Books /Macmillan Publishers
[ 55]
Aden Polydoros
The City Beautiful
Inkyard Press
[ 55]
Catriona Ward
The Last House on Needless Street
Nightfire Books /Viper Books
[ 55]
P. Djèlí Clark
A Master of Djinn
Tor.com Publishing /Orbit UK
[ 55]
2023
C. S. E. Cooney *
Saint Death's Daughter
Solaris Books
[ 56]
R. F. Kuang
Babel
Harper Voyager
[ 56]
Alex Jennings
The Ballad of Perilous Graves
Redhook Books /Orbit UK
[ 56]
Nghi Vo
Siren Queen
Tordotcom
[ 56]
Nicola Griffith
Spear
Tordotcom
[ 56]
2024
Tananarive Due *
The Reformatory
Saga Press /Titan UK
[ 57]
Catriona Ward
Looking Glass Sound
Viper Books/Nightfire Books
[ 57]
Yael Goldstein-Love
The Possibilities
Random House
[ 57]
Wole Talabi
Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon
DAW Books /Victor Gollancz
[ 57]
Alix E. Harrow
Starling House
Tor Books
[ 57]
Martha Wells
Witch King
Tordotcom
[ 57]
Notes
^ The Club Dumas , originally published in Spanish in 1993, was initially nominated for its 1997 English publication, but the nomination was withdrawn when a 1996 English translation came to light. It was replaced on the ballot with Dry Water by Eric Nylund .[ 31]
References
External links
1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s