British Fantasy Award

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

The British Fantasy Awards are administered annually by the British Fantasy Society (BFS) and were first awarded in 1976. Prior to that they were known as The August Derleth Fantasy Awards (see August Derleth Award). First awarded in 1972 (The Knight of Swords by Michael Moorcock) only for novels, the number of award categories increased and in 1976 the BFS renamed them collectively the British Fantasy Awards. The current award categories are Best Fantasy Novel (the Robert Holdstock Award), Best Horror Novel (the August Derleth Award), Best Novella, Best Short Story, Best Independent Press, Best Artist, Best Anthology, Best Collection, Best Comic/Graphic Novel, Best Non-Fiction, and Best Newcomer (the Sydney J. Bounds Award), while the Karl Edward Wagner Award 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.

Nominees and winners

1999

The winner for Best Novel in 1999 was Bag of Bones, Stephen King (Scribner).

2004

The 2004 awards were presented at FantasyCon XXVIII held in 2004 at the Quality Hotel, Bentley, Walsall.

August Derleth Award (Best Novel)

• Full Dark House, Christopher Fowler (Doubleday UK) (winner)
• Felaheen, Jon Courtenay Grimwood (Earthlight)
• Lost Boy, Lost Girl, Peter Straub (HarperCollins UK)
• Nobody True, James Herbert (Macmillan)
• The Poison Master, Liz Williams (Tor UK)
• Vampyrrhic Rites, Simon Clark (Hodder & Stoughton)

Short Fiction

• "American Waitress", Christopher Fowler (Crimewave 7: The Last Sunset) (winner)
• "Exorcising Angels", Simon Clark & Tim Lebbon (Exorcising Angels)
• "Fear the Dead", Ramsey Campbell (The Fear Within)
• "The White Hands", Mark Samuels (The White Hands and Other Weird Tales)
• "Wonderland", Mark Chadbourn (Telos)

Collection

• Told by the Dead, Ramsey Campbell (PS Publishing) (winner)
• Demonized, Christopher Fowler (Serpent's Tail)
• More Tomorrow & Other Stories, Michael Marshall Smith (Earthling Publications)
• Things That Never Happen, M. John Harrison (Night Shade Books)
• The White Hands and Other Weird Tales, Mark Samuels (Tartarus)

Anthology

• The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror: Volume Fourteen, Stephen Jones, ed. (Robinson) (winner)
• Beneath the Ground, Joel Lane, ed. (Alchemy Press)
• By Moonlight Only, Stephen Jones, ed. (PS Publishing)
• Crimewave 7: The Last Sunset, Andy Cox, ed. (TTA Press)
• The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases, Jeff VanderMeer & Mark Roberts, eds. (Night Shade Books)
• William Hope Hodgson's Night Lands, Volume 1: Eternal Love, Andy W. Robertson, ed. (Wildside)

Small Press

• PS Publishing (Peter Crowther, ed.) (winner)
• The Alien Online (Ariel, ed.)
• Elastic Press
• Scheherazade (Elizabeth Counihan, ed.)
• The Third Alternative (Andy Cox, ed.)

Artist

• Les Edwards (winner)
• Dave Bezzina
• Deirdre Counihan
• Bob Covington
• Dominic Harman

Special Award

• Peter Jackson (for The Lord of the Rings films)

2005

The 2005 awards were presented at FantasyCon 2005, held 30 September–2 October 2005 at the Quality Hotel, Bentley Walsall.

August Derleth Fantasy Award (Best Novel)

• The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower, Stephen King (Hodder & Stoughton) (winner)
• Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War, Clive Barker (Voyager)
• Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury)
• The Queen of Sinister, Mark Chadbourn (Gollancz)
• The Water Room, Christopher Fowler (Doubleday)

Best Novella

• Breathe, Christopher Fowler (Telos Publishing) (winner)
• Dead Man's Hand, Tim Lebbon (Necessary Evil Press)
• My Death, Lisa Tuttle (PS Publishing)
• The Ice Maiden, Steve Lockley & Paul Lewis (Pendragon Press)
• Twisted Root of Jaarfindor, Sean Wright (Crowswing Books)

Best Short Story

• "Black Static", Paul Meloy (The Third Alternative #40) (winner)
• "Roads Were Burning", Adam Roberts (Postscripts #1)
• "The Problem of Susan" Neil Gaiman (Flights: Extreme Visions of Fantasy, Roc)
• "The Black Phone", Joe Hill (The Third Alternative #39)
• "You Will Hear the Locust Sing", Joe Hill (The Third Alternative #37)

Best Collection

• Out of His Mind, Stephen Gallagher (PS Publishing) (winner)
• Somnambulists, Allen Ashley (Elastic Press)
• Darker Ages, Paul Finch (Sarob Press)
• Things That Never Happen, M. John Harrison (Gollancz)
• Trujillo and Other Stories, Lucius Shepard (PS Publishing)

Best Anthology

• The Alsiso Project, Andrew Hook (ed.) (Elastic Press) (winner)
• Acquainted with the Night, Barbara & Christopher Roden (eds.) (Ash Tree Press)
• The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror: Volume 15, Stephen Jones (ed.) (Robinson/Carroll & Graf)
• The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases, Jeff Vandermeer & Mark Roberts (eds.) (Tor UK)
• The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror: Seventeenth Annual Collection, Ellen Datlow & Kelly Link & Gavin J. Grant (eds.) (St Martin's Press)

Best Small Press

• Elastic Press (Andrew Hook) (winner)
• The Alien Online (ed. Ariel)
• Pendragon Press (ed. Christopher Teague)
• Postscripts (Peter Crowther)
• PS Publishing (Peter Crowther)
• Scheherazade (ed. Elizabeth Counihan)
• The Third Alternative (ed. Andy Cox)
• Telos Publications (David J. Howe & Stephen James Walker)

Best Artist

• Les Edwards / Edward Miller (winner)
• John Coulthart
• Allen Koszowski
• Richard Marchand
• David Magitis
• Ian Simmons

Special Award

• Nigel Kneale

2006

The 2006 awards were presented at FantasyCon 2006 held 22–24 September 2006 at Britannia Hotel, Nottingham.

August Derleth Fantasy Award (Best Novel)

• Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman

Best Novella

• The Mask Behind the Face, Stuart Young

Best Short Story

• "Best New Horror", Joe Hill

Best Collection

• 20th Century Ghosts, Joe Hill

Best Anthology

• The Elastic Book of Numbers, Allen Ashley

Best Small Press

• PS Publishing, Peter Crowther

Best Artist

• Les Edwards

Special Award

• Stephen Jones

2007

The 2007 awards were presented at FantasyCon XXXI held 21–23 September 2007 at Britannia Hotel, Nottingham.

August Derleth Fantasy Award (Best Novel)

• Dusk, Tim Lebbon (Spectra) (winner)
• Breeding Ground, Sarah Pinborough, (Leisure Books)
• Bridge of Dreams, Chaz Brenchley, (Ace Books)
• Jack of Ravens: Kingdom of the Serpent, Book 1, Mark Chadbourn, (Gollancz)
• Nova Swing, M. John Harrison, (Gollancz)
• The Devil You Know, Mike Carey, (Orbit Books)
• The Face of Twilight, Mark Samuels, (PS Publishing)
• The Lies of Locke Lamora, Scott Lynch, (Gollancz)
• The Unblemished, Conrad Williams, (Earthling Publications)

Best Novella

• Kid, Paul Finch (Choices, Pendragon Press) (winner)
• The Memory of Joy, Eric Brown, (Choices, Pendragon Press)
• She Loves Monsters, Simon Clark, (Necessary Evil Press)
• The Wife's Djinn, Ian McDonald (Asimov's Science Fiction, July 2006)
• Rough Cut, Gary McMahon (Pendragon Press)

Best Short Story

• "Whisper Lane", Mark Chadbourn (BFS: A Celebration, the British Fantasy Society) (winner)
• "The Little Drummer Boy", Marion Arnott (Extended Play: The Elastic Book of Music, Elastic Press)
• "Puca Muc", Steve Lockley & Paul Lewis (Shrouded by Darkness, Telos Publishing)
• "The Disappeared", Sarah Singleton, (Time Pieces, NewCon Press)
• "31/10", Stephen Volk (Dark Corners, Gray Friar Press)
• "The Veteran", Conrad Williams (Postscripts #6, PS Publishing)

Best Collection

• Fragile Things, Neil Gaiman (Headline) (winner)
• Lost, The District, and Other Stories, Joel Lane (Night Shade Books)
• The Man From the Club Diogenes, Kim Newman (Monkeybrain)
• And Other Tales Unbecoming of Horror, Mike O'Driscoll (Elastic Press)
• The Ephémère, Neil Williamson (Elastic Press)

Best Anthology

• Extended Play: The Elastic Book of Music, Gary Couzens (Elastic Press) (winner)
• The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror: 19th Annual Collection, Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link & Gavin J. Grant (Wed Martin's Press)
• Shrouded by Darkness: Tales of Terror, Alison LR Davies (Telos Publishing)
• The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 17, Stephen Jones (Robinson Publishing)
• Choices, Christopher Teague, (Pendragon Press)

Best Small Press

• PS Publishing, Peter Crowther (winner)
• TTA Press, Andy Cox
• Elastic Press, Andrew Hook
• Telos Publishing, David J. Howe & Stephen James Walker
• Pendragon Press, Christopher Teague

Best Artist

• Vincent Chong (winner)
• Les Edwards / Edward Miller
• Dean Harkness
• John Picacio

Best Non-Fiction

• The Days of the Dodo, Allen Ashley (Dodo Press)
• Films and the Hellraiser: Their Legacy, Paul Kane (Macfarland & Co.)
• Cinema Macabre, Mark Morris (PS Publishing)
• Into the Unknown: The Life of Fantastic Nigel Kneale, Andy Murray (Headpress)
• James Tiptree Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon, Julie Phillips (Wed Martin's Press)

Best Newcomer

• Joe Hill (winner)

Special Award

• Ellen Datlow

2008

The 2008 awards were presented at FantasyCon 2008 held at Britannia Hotel, Nottingham.

August Derleth Fantasy Award (Best Novel)

• The Grin of the Dark, Ramsey Campbell (PS Publishing)

Best Novella

• The Scalding Rooms, Conrad Williams (PS Publishing)

Best Short Story

• "My Stone Desire", Joel Lane (Black Static #1, TTA Press)

Best Anthology

• The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 18, Stephen Jones (Robinson)

Best Collection

• Old Devil Moon, Christopher Fowler (Serpents Tail)

Best Newcomer

• Scott Lynch

Special Award

• Ray Harryhausen

Best Non-Fiction

• Whispers of Wickedness Reviews (website), Peter Tennant (ed.)

Best Artist

• Vincent Chong

Best Small Press

• PS Publishing, Peter Crowther

2009

The 2009 awards were presented at FantasyCon 2009 held at Britannia Hotel, Nottingham.

August Derleth Fantasy Award (Best Novel)

• Memoirs of a Master Forger, William Heaney (aka Graham Joyce) (Gollancz)

Best Novella

• The Reach of Children, Tim Lebbon (Humdrumming)

Best Short Fiction

• "Do You See", Sarah Pinborough from Myth-Understandings, ed. by Ian Whates (Newcon Press)

Best Collection

• Bull Running for Girls, Allyson Bird (Screaming Dreams)

Best Anthology

• The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 19, ed. Stephen Jones (Constable & Robinson)

PS Publishing Best Small Press

• Elastic Press (Andrew Hook)

Best Non-Fiction

• Basil Copper: A Life in Books, Basil Copper ed. Stephen Jones (PS Publishing)

Best Magazine/Periodical

• Postscripts, ed. Peter Crowther and Nick Gevers (PS Publishing)

Best Artist

• Vincent Chong

Best Comic/Graphic Novel

• Locke & Key, by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW Publishing)

Best Television

• Doctor Who, head writer Russell T Davies (BBC Wales)

Best Film

• The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan (Warner Bros.)

Sydney J. Bounds Award (Best Newcomer)

• Joseph D'Lacey, for Meat (Bloody Books)

Karl Edward Wagner Award (Special Award)

• Hayao Miyazaki

2010

The 2010 awards were presented at FantasyCon 2010 held 17–19 September 2010.

August Derleth Fantasy Award (Best Novel)

• One, Conrad Williams (Virgin Horror)

Best Novella

• The Language of Dying, Sarah Pinborough (PS Publishing)

Best Short Fiction

• "What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night", Michael Marshall Smith (Nightjar)

Best Collection

• Love Songs for the Shy and Cynical, Robert Shearman (Big Finish)

Best Anthology

• The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 20, ed. Stephen Jones (Constable & Robinson)

PS Publishing Best Small Press

• Telos Publishing, David Howe and Stephen James Walker

Best Non-Fiction

• Ansible, David Langford

Best Magazine/Periodical

• Murky Depths, edited and published by Terry Martin

Best Artist

• Vincent Chong, for work including covers for The Witnesses Are Gone (PS Publishing) and The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 20 (Constable & Robinson)

Best Comic/Graphic Novel

• Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?, Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert (DC Comics/Titan Books) (winner)

Best Television

• Doctor Who, head writer: Russell T Davies (BBC Wales)

Best Film

• Let The Right One In, directed by Tomas Alfredson (EFTI)

Sydney J. Bounds Award (Best Newcomer)

• Kari Sperring for Living With Ghosts (DAW)

Karl Edward Wagner Award (Special Award)

• Robert Holdstock

2011

Karl Edward Wagner Special Award

• Terry Pratchett

Best Novel

• No award. (Winner announced as Demon Dance by Sam Stone (House Of Murky Depths), but Stone returned the award.)

Best Novella

• Humpty’s Bones by Simon Clark (novelist) Telos Publishing

Best Short Story

• "Fool's Gold" by Sam Stone, from The Bitten Word, Ed. Ian Whates (Newcon Press)

Best Anthology

• Back From The Dead: The Legacy of the Pan Book Of Horror Stories, Johnny Mains (Ed.) (Noose & Gibbet)

Best Collection

• Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King (Hodder & Stoughton)

Best Non-Fiction

• Altered Visions: The Art Of Vincent Chong Telos Publishing

Best Artist

• Vincent Chong

Best Comic/Graphic Novel

• At The Mountains Of Madness: A Graphic Novel, Ian Culbard (Selfmadehero)

Best Magazine/Periodical

• Black Static, Andy Cox (Ed.) (TTA Press)

Best Small Press

• Telos Publishing

Best Film

• Inception

Best Television

• Sherlock

Sydney J. Bounds Award For Best Newcomer

• Robert Jackson Bennet, for Mr Shivers (Orbit)

2012

August Derleth Award for best horror novel

• The Ritual by Adam Nevill

Robert Holdstock Award for best fantasy novel

• Among Others by Jo Walton

Best novella

• Gorel and the Pot Bellied God by Lavie Tidhar

Best short fiction

• The Coffin-Maker’s Daughter by Angela Slatter

Best anthology

• The Weird edited by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer

Best collection

• Everyone's Just So So Special by Robert Shearman

Best screenplay

• Midnight in Paris by Woody Allen

Best magazine/periodical

• Black Static edited by Andy Cox and TTA Press

Best comic/graphic novel

• Locke and Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

PS Publishing Independent Press Award

• Chomu Press, Quentin S. Crisp

Best artist

• Daniele Serra

Best non-fiction

• Supergods: Our World in the Age of the Super Hero by Grant Morrison

2013

August Derleth Award for best horror novel

• Last Days by Adam Nevill

Robert Holdstock Award for best fantasy novel

• Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce

Best novella

• The Nine Deaths of Dr. Valentine by John Llewellyn Probert

Best short story

• Shark! Shark! by Ray Cluley

Best anthology

• Magic: An Anthology of the Esoteric and Arcane edited by Jonathan Oliver

Best collection

• Remember Why You Fear Me: The Best Dark Fiction of Robert Shearman by Robert Shearman

Best screenplay

• The Cabin in the Woods by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard

Best magazine/periodical

• Interzone edited by Andy Cox

Best comic/graphic novel

• Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

PS Publishing Independent Press Award

• ChiZine Publications, Brett Alexander Savory and Sandra Kasturi

Best artist

• Sean Phillips

Best non-fiction

• Pornokitsch by Anne C. Perry and Jared Shurin

The Karl Edward Wagner Award

• Iain M. Banks

The Sydney J. Bounds Award for Best Newcomer

• Hair Side, Flesh Side by Helen Marshall

2014

August Derleth Award for best horror novel

• The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

Robert Holdstock Award for best fantasy novel

• A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar

Best novella

• Beauty by Sarah Pinborough

Best short story

• Signs of the Times by Carole Johnstone

Best anthology

• End of the Road edited by Jonathan Oliver

Best collection

• Monsters in the Heart by Stephen Volk

Best film/television episode

• Game of Thrones: The Rains of Castamere written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss

Best magazine/periodical

• Clarkesworld edited by Neil Clarke, Sean Wallace and Kate Baker

Best comic/graphic novel

• Demeter by Becky Cloonan

PS Publishing Independent Press Award

• The Alchemy Press, Peter Coleborn

Best artist

• Joey Hi-Fi

Best non-fiction

• Speculative Fiction 2012 edited by Justin Landon and Jared Shurin

The Karl Edward Wagner Award

• Farah Mendlesohn

The Sydney J. Bounds Award for Best Newcomer

• Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

2015

The 2015 winners were presented on Oct 25, 2015 at FantasyCon 2015 in Nottingham.

August Derleth Award for best horror novel

• No One Gets Out Alive by Adam Nevill

Robert Holdstock Award for best fantasy novel

• Cuckoo Song, by Frances Hardinge

Best novella

• “Newspaper Heart” by Stephen Volk (in The Spectral Book of Horror Stories)

Best short story

• “A Woman’s Place” by Emma Newman (in Two Hundred and Twenty-One Baker Streets)

Best anthology

• Lightspeed: Women Destroy Science Fiction Special Issue, edited by Christie Yant

Best collection

• Nick Nightmare Investigates by Adrian Cole

Best film/television episode

• Guardians of the Galaxy

Best magazine/periodical

• Holdfast Magazine, edited by Laurel Sills & Lucy Smee

Best comic/graphic novel

• Through the Woods, by Emily Carroll

Best Independent Press

• Fox Spirit Books

Best artist

• Karla Ortiz

Best non-fiction

• Letters to Arkham: The Letters of Ramsey Campbell and August Derleth, 1961-1971, edited by S. T. Joshi

The Karl Edward Wagner Award

• Juliet E. McKenna

The Sydney J. Bounds Award for Best Newcomer

• The Three by Sarah Lotz

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 Sam Stone.

External links

• British Fantasy Society Awards
• Excerpts and synopses of BFA Award winning and nominated novels