World Fantasy Award
Entry updated 21 October 2024. Tagged: Award.
The World Fantasy Awards have been presented in various categories since 1975, for work first appearing in the previous year. Presentations take place at the annual World Fantasy Convention. Although the award is naturally biased towards Fantasy and horror, a number of sf or near-sf novels have been honoured, and most of the winning authors have entries in this encyclopedia. We therefore list the winners for best novel of the preceding year, and for lifetime achievement, both listed by year of award. It has become a tradition of the life awards – inaugurated in 1998 (though prefigured by the five-way split of 1984) and generally followed since 2000 – that two lifetime achievement awards are now presented each year: one for an author and one for a contributor to the genre who may be an artist, author, bibliographer, editor or publisher. However, this is a tendency rather than a rule: those so honoured from 2010 to 2013 are all authors. [DRL]
Novel
- 1975: Patricia A McKillip, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld (1974)
- 1976: Richard Matheson, Bid Time Return (1975; vt Somewhere in Time 1980)
- 1977: William Kotzwinkle, Doctor Rat (1976)
- 1978: Fritz Leiber, Our Lady of Darkness (January-February 1977 F&SF as "The Pale Brown Thing"; 1977)
- 1979: Michael Moorcock, Gloriana, or The Unfulfill'd Queen (1978)
- 1980: Elizabeth A Lynn, Watchtower (1979)
- 1981: Gene Wolfe, The Shadow of the Torturer (1980)
- 1982: John Crowley, Little, Big (1981)
- 1983: Michael Shea, Nifft the Lean (coll of linked stories 1982)
- 1984: John M Ford, The Dragon Waiting: A Masque of History (1983)
- 1985: (tie) Robert Holdstock, Mythago Wood (September 1981 F&SF; exp 1984); Barry Hughart, Bridge of Birds (1984)
- 1986: Dan Simmons, Song of Kali (1985)
- 1987: Patrick Süskind, Perfume (1986)
- 1988: Ken Grimwood, Replay (1987)
- 1989: Peter Straub, Koko (1988)
- 1990: Jack Vance, Lyonesse: Madouc (1989)
- 1991: (tie) James Morrow, Only Begotten Daughter (1990); Ellen Kushner, Thomas the Rhymer (1990)
- 1992: Robert R McCammon, Boy's Life (1991)
- 1993: Tim Powers, Last Call (1992)
- 1994: Lewis Shiner, Glimpses (1993)
- 1995: James Morrow, Towing Jehovah (1994)
- 1996: Christopher Priest, The Prestige (1995)
- 1997: Rachel Pollack, Godmother Night (1996)
- 1998: Jeffrey Ford, The Physiognomy (1997)
- 1999: Louise Erdrich, The Antelope Wife (1998)
- 2000: Martin Millar as Martin Scott, Thraxas (1999)
- 2001: (tie) Tim Powers, Declare (2000); Sean Stewart, Galveston (2000)
- 2002: Ursula K Le Guin, The Other Wind (2001)
- 2003: (tie) Graham Joyce, The Facts of Life (2002); Patricia A McKillip, Ombria in Shadow (2002)
- 2004: Jo Walton, Tooth and Claw (2003)
- 2005: Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2004)
- 2006: Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore (2005)
- 2007: Gene Wolfe, Soldier of Sidon (2006)
- 2008: Guy Gavriel Kay, Ysabel (2007)
- 2009: (tie) Jeffrey Ford, The Shadow Year (2008); Margo Lanagan, Tender Morsels (2008)
- 2010: China Miéville, The City & the City (2009)
- 2011: Nnedi Okorafor, Who Fears Death (2010)
- 2012: Lavie Tidhar, Osama (2011)
- 2013: G Willow Wilson, Alif the Unseen (2012)
- 2014: Sofia Samatar, A Stranger in Olondria (2013)
- 2015: David Mitchell, The Bone Clocks (2014)
- 2016: Anna Smaill, The Chimes (2015)
- 2017: Claire North (Catherine Webb), The Sudden Appearance of Hope (2016)
- 2018: (tie) Victor LaValle, The Changeling (2017); Fonda Lee, Jade City (2017)
- 2019: C L Polk, Witchmark (2018)
- 2020: Kacen Callender, Queen of the Conquered (2019)
- 2021: Alaya Dawn Johnson, Trouble the Saints (2020)
- 2022: Tasha Suri, The Jasmine Throne (2021)
- 2023: C S E Cooney, Saint Death's Daughter (2022)
- 2024: Tananarive Due, The Reformatory (2023)
Life Achievement
- 1975: Robert Bloch
- 1976: Fritz Leiber
- 1977: Ray Bradbury
- 1978: Frank Belknap Long
- 1979: Jorge Luis Borges
- 1980: Manly Wade Wellman
- 1981: C L Moore
- 1982: Italo Calvino
- 1983: Roald Dahl
- 1984: L Sprague de Camp; Richard Matheson; E Hoffmann Price; Jack Vance; Donald Wandrei
- 1985: Theodore Sturgeon
- 1986: Avram Davidson
- 1987: Jack Finney
- 1988: Everett F Bleiler
- 1989: Evangeline Walton
- 1990: R A Lafferty
- 1991: Ray Russell
- 1992: Edd Cartier
- 1993: Harlan Ellison
- 1994: Jack Williamson
- 1995: Ursula K Le Guin
- 1996: Gene Wolfe
- 1997: Madeleine L'Engle
- 1998: Edward L Ferman; Andre Norton
- 1999: Hugh B Cave
- 2000: Marion Zimmer Bradley; Michael Moorcock
- 2001: Philip José Farmer; Frank Frazetta
- 2002: Forrest J Ackerman; George Scithers
- 2003: Lloyd Alexander; Donald M Grant
- 2004: Stephen King; Gahan Wilson
- 2005: Tom Doherty; Carol Emshwiller
- 2006: John Crowley; Stephen Fabian
- 2007: Betty Ballantine (see Ballantine Books); Diana Wynne Jones
- 2008: Diane and Leo Dillon; Patricia A McKillip
- 2009: Ellen Asher; Jane Yolen
- 2010: Brian Lumley; Terry Pratchett; Peter Straub
- 2011: Peter S Beagle; Angélica Gorodischer
- 2012: Alan Garner; George R R Martin
- 2013: Susan Cooper; Tanith Lee
- 2014: Ellen Datlow; Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
- 2015: Ramsey Campbell; Sheri S Tepper
- 2016: David G Hartwell; Andrzej Sapkowski
- 2017: Terry Brooks; Marina Warner
- 2018: Charles de Lint; Betsy Wollheim
- 2019: Hayao Miyazaki; Jack Zipes
- 2020: Karen Joy Fowler; Rowena Morrill
- 2021: Megan Lindholm (see Robin Hobb); Howard Waldrop
- 2022: Samuel R Delany; Terri Windling
- 2023: Peter Crowther; John Douglas
- 2024: Ginjer Buchanan; Jo Fletcher
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