The winners of the 202s British Fantasy Awards were announced this weekend during FantasyCon, the British Fantasy Society’s annual gathering. Shortlists for the awards are voted on by members of the society and FantasyCon; the winners are chosen by a jury made up of writers, booksellers, and publishing employees.
Congratulations to all the nominees and winners!
The Sydney J. Bounds Award for Best Newcomer
- WINNER: Hiron Ennes, for Leech (Tor)
- Sunyi Dean, for The Book Eaters (Tor)
- Somto Ihezue, for a collection of short stories: “Whole,” “Like Stars Daring to Shine,” “A Girl is Blood, Spirit and Fire,” and “The Carving of War”
- Shauna Lawless, for The Children of Gods and Fighting Men (Head of Zeus)
- Elijah Kinch Spector, for Kalyna the Soothsayer (Erewhon Books)
- Susan York, for Starless and Bible Black (Midnight Street Press)
Best Magazine/Periodical
- WINNER: Interzone
- Ginger Nuts of Horror
- Shoreline of Infinity
- Strange Horizons
Best Non-Fiction
- WINNER: An Earnest Blackness – Eugen Bacon (Anti-Oedipus Press)
- Fantasy: How it Works – Brian Attebery (OUP)
- The Full Lid – Alasdair Stuart, ed. Marguerite Kenner
- My Life in Horror, Vol. 2 – Kit Power
- Outlander and the Real Jacobites – Shona Kinsella (Pen & Sword History)
- Terry Pratchett: A Life with Footnotes – Rob Wilkins (Doubleday)
Best Independent Press
- WINNER: Luna Press Publishing
- Black Shuck Books
- Flame Tree Press
- NewCon Press
Best Short Fiction
- WINNER: “Morta” – James Bennett (in The Book of Queer Saints, Medusa Publishing Haus)
- “The Call of El Tunche” – Shona Kinsella (in Weird Horror Anthology, Flame Tree Press)
- “A Moment of Zugzwang” – Neil Williamson (in ParSec #4)
- “The Tails That Make You” – Eliza Chan (in Fantasy Magazine #82)
Best Novella
- WINNER: The Queen of the High Fields – Rhiannon A. Grist (Luna Press Publishing)
- And Then I Woke Up – Malcolm Devlin (Tordotcom)
- The Entropy of Loss – Stewart Hotston (NewCon Press)
- Interference – Terry Grimwood (Elsewhen Press)
- Ogres – Adrian Tchaikovsky (Solaris)
- Pomegranates – Priya Sharma (PS Publishing)
Best Artist
- WINNER: Vince Haig
- Chris Baker (Fangorn)
- Ben Baldwin
- Jenni Coutts
- Dan Hillier
Best Collection
- WINNER: Under the Moon – E.M. Faulds (Ghost Moth Press)
- Behind a Broken Smile – Penny Jones (Black Shuck Books)
- Breakable Things – Cassandra Khaw (Undertow Publications)
- Candescent Blooms – Andrew Hook (Salt Publishing)
Best Audio Work
- WINNER: The Stranger Times (C.K. McDonnell)
- Breaking the Glass Slipper
- The Painkiller Podcast (Bitter Pill Theatre)
- Podcastle (Escape Artists)
- Pseudopod (Escape Artists)
- The Secret of St. Kilda (Michael Ireland & Naomi Clarke)
Best Anthology
- WINNER: Someone in Time, ed. Jonathan Strahan (Solaris) with stories by Alix E. Harrow, Zen Cho, Seanan McGuire, Sarah Gailey, Jeffrey Ford, Nina Allan, Elizabeth Hand, Lavanya Lakshminarayan, Catherynne M. Valente, Sam J. Miller, Rowan Coleman, Margo Lanagan, Sameem Siddiqui, Theodora Goss, Carrie Vaughn, and Ellen Klages
- Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction, ed. Sheree Renée Thomas, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki & Zelda Knight (Tordotcom)
- The Book of Queer Saints, ed. Mae Murray (Medusa Publishing Haus)
- Great British Horror 7: Major Arcana, ed. Steve J. Shaw (Black Shuck Books)
- Isolation: The Horror Anthology, ed. Dan Coxon (Titan)
- Sky Breaker: Tales of the Wanderer (Nordic Press)
August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel
- WINNER: Just Like Home – Sarah Gailey (Hodder & Stoughton)
- Full Immersion – Gemma Amor (Angry Robot)
- The Hollows – Daniel Church (Angry Robot)
- Miracle Growth – Tim Mendees (Eerie River Publishing)
- Sundial – Catriona Ward (Viper)
Robert Holdstock Award for Best Fantasy Novel
- WINNER: The Spear Cuts Through Water – Simon Jimenez (Del Rey)
- The Bone Orchard – Sara A. Mueller (Tor)
- Cast Long Shadows – Cat Hellisen (Luna Press Publishing)
- Glitterati – Oliver K. Langmead (Titan)
- The Oleander Sword – Tasha Suri (Orbit)
- Path of War – David Green (Eerie River Publishing)
The Legends of Fantasycon Award (selected by the organisers of Fantasycon)
Roy Gray from TTA press for his ongoing support of Fantasycon.
The Karl Edward Wagner Award (selected by the BFS committee)
Ann Landmann
