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 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.
Stephen King, Bag of Bones (Scribner).Stephen Laws, ChasmRobert Holdstock, Gate of Ivory, Gate of HornJonathan Carroll, Kissing the BeehiveMichael Marshall Smith, One of UsCharles de Lint, Someplace to be FlyingGraham Joyce, The StormwatcherSimon Clark, VampyrrhicStephen Jones and David Sutton, Dark Terrors 4: the Gollancz Book of HorrorGahan Wilson, The Cleft and Other Odd TalesSteve Savile, ‘’Scaremongers 2 - Redbrick Eden’’Richard Ford, ‘’The Granta Book of the American Long Story’’Robert Silverberg, ‘’Legends : short novels by the masters of modern fantasy’’Jeff VanderMeer, ‘’Leviathan 2’’Stephen Jones, ‘’The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 09’’Bob CovingtonRamsey Campbell, Ghosts and Grisly ThingsAvram Davidson, The Avram Davidson Treasury: A Tribute CollectionBrian Lumley, A Coven of VampiresRay Bradbury, Driving BlindTim Lebbon, Faith in the FleshGraham Masterton, Manitou ManMike Chinn, The Paladin mandatesChristopher Fowler, Personal DemonsJo Fletcher, Shadows of Light and DarkStephen Laws, The Song My Sister SangCharles de Lint, China Doll [Newford]Ramsey Campbell, Never To Be HeardTanith Lee, Jedella GhostAndy Cox, The Third AlternativeDiana Wynne JonesGraham Joyce, IndigoStephen Jones, The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 10Les EdwardsPeter Crowther, Lonesome RoadsTim Lebbon, WhiteDarren Floyd, Razorblade PressAnne McCaffreyThe 2004 awards were presented at FantasyCon XXVIII held in 2004 at the Quality Hotel, Bentley, Walsall.
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)"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)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)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)PS Publishing (Peter Crowther, ed.) (winner)The Alien Online (Ariel, ed.)Elastic PressScheherazade (Elizabeth Counihan, ed.)The Third Alternative (Andy Cox, ed.)Les Edwards (winner)Dave BezzinaDeirdre CounihanBob CovingtonDominic HarmanPeter Jackson (for The Lord of the Rings films)The 2005 awards were presented at FantasyCon 2005, held 30 September–2 October 2005 at the Quality Hotel, Bentley Walsall.
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)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)"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)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)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)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)Les Edwards / Edward Miller (winner)John CoulthartAllen KoszowskiRichard MarchandDavid MagitisIan SimmonsNigel KnealeThe 2006 awards were presented at FantasyCon 2006 held 22–24 September 2006 at Britannia Hotel, Nottingham.
Anansi Boys, Neil GaimanThe Mask Behind the Face, Stuart Young"Best New Horror", Joe Hill20th Century Ghosts, Joe HillThe Elastic Book of Numbers, Allen AshleyPS Publishing, Peter CrowtherLes EdwardsStephen JonesThe 2007 awards were presented at FantasyCon XXXI held 21–23 September 2007 at Britannia Hotel, Nottingham.
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)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)"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)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)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)PS Publishing, Peter Crowther (winner)TTA Press, Andy CoxElastic Press, Andrew HookTelos Publishing, David J. Howe & Stephen James WalkerPendragon Press, Christopher TeagueVincent Chong (winner)Les Edwards / Edward MillerDean HarknessJohn PicacioThe 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)Joe Hill (winner)Ellen DatlowThe 2008 awards were presented at FantasyCon 2008 held at Britannia Hotel, Nottingham.
The Grin of the Dark, Ramsey Campbell (PS Publishing)The Scalding Rooms, Conrad Williams (PS Publishing)"My Stone Desire", Joel Lane (Black Static #1, TTA Press)The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 18, Stephen Jones (Robinson)Old Devil Moon, Christopher Fowler (Serpents Tail)Scott LynchRay HarryhausenWhispers of Wickedness Reviews (website), Peter Tennant (ed.)Vincent ChongPS Publishing, Peter CrowtherThe 2009 awards were presented at FantasyCon 2009 held at Britannia Hotel, Nottingham.
Memoirs of a Master Forger, William Heaney (aka Graham Joyce) (Gollancz)The Reach of Children, Tim Lebbon (Humdrumming)"Do You See", Sarah Pinborough from Myth-Understandings, ed. by Ian Whates (Newcon Press)Bull Running for Girls, Allyson Bird (Screaming Dreams)The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 19, ed. Stephen Jones (Constable & Robinson)Elastic Press (Andrew Hook)Basil Copper: A Life in Books, Basil Copper ed. Stephen Jones (PS Publishing)Postscripts, ed. Peter Crowther and Nick Gevers (PS Publishing)Vincent ChongLocke & Key, by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW Publishing)Doctor Who, head writer Russell T Davies (BBC Wales)The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan (Warner Bros.)Joseph D'Lacey, for Meat (Bloody Books)Hayao MiyazakiThe 2010 awards were presented at FantasyCon 2010 held 17–19 September 2010.
One, Conrad Williams (Virgin Horror)The Language of Dying, Sarah Pinborough (PS Publishing)"What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night", Michael Marshall Smith (Nightjar)Love Songs for the Shy and Cynical, Robert Shearman (Big Finish)The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 20, ed. Stephen Jones (Constable & Robinson)Telos Publishing, David Howe and Stephen James WalkerAnsible, David LangfordMurky Depths, edited and published by Terry MartinVincent Chong, for work including covers for The Witnesses Are Gone (PS Publishing) and The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 20 (Constable & Robinson)Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?, Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert (DC Comics/Titan Books) (winner)Doctor Who, head writer: Russell T Davies (BBC Wales)Let The Right One In, directed by Tomas Alfredson (EFTI)Kari Sperring for Living With Ghosts (DAW)Robert HoldstockTerry PratchettNo award. (Winner announced as Demon Dance by Sam Stone (House Of Murky Depths), but Stone returned the award.)Humpty’s Bones by Simon Clark (novelist) Telos Publishing"Fool's Gold" by Sam Stone, from The Bitten Word, Ed. Ian Whates (Newcon Press)Back From The Dead: The Legacy of the Pan Book Of Horror Stories, Johnny Mains (Ed.) (Noose & Gibbet)Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King (Hodder & Stoughton)Altered Visions: The Art Of Vincent Chong Telos PublishingVincent ChongAt The Mountains Of Madness: A Graphic Novel, Ian Culbard (Selfmadehero)Black Static, Andy Cox (Ed.) (TTA Press)Telos PublishingInceptionSherlockRobert Jackson Bennet, for Mr Shivers (Orbit)The Ritual by Adam NevillAmong Others by Jo WaltonGorel and the Pot Bellied God by Lavie TidharThe Coffin-Maker’s Daughter by Angela SlatterThe Weird edited by Jeff and Ann VanderMeerEveryone's Just So So Special by Robert ShearmanMidnight in Paris by Woody AllenBlack Static edited by Andy Cox and TTA PressLocke and Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel RodriguezChomu Press, Quentin S. CrispDaniele SerraSupergods: Our World in the Age of the Super Hero by Grant MorrisonLast Days by Adam NevillSome Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham JoyceThe Nine Deaths of Dr. Valentine by John Llewellyn ProbertShark! Shark! by Ray CluleyMagic: An Anthology of the Esoteric and Arcane edited by Jonathan OliverRemember Why You Fear Me: The Best Dark Fiction of Robert Shearman by Robert ShearmanThe Cabin in the Woods by Joss Whedon and Drew GoddardInterzone edited by Andy CoxSaga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona StaplesChiZine Publications, Brett Alexander Savory and Sandra KasturiSean PhillipsPornokitsch by Anne C. Perry and Jared ShurinIain M. BanksHair Side, Flesh Side by Helen MarshallThe Shining Girls by Lauren BeukesA Stranger in Olondria by Sofia SamatarBeauty by Sarah PinboroughSigns of the Times by Carole JohnstoneEnd of the Road edited by Jonathan OliverMonsters in the Heart by Stephen VolkGame of Thrones: The Rains of Castamere written by David Benioff and D. B. WeissClarkesworld edited by Neil Clarke, Sean Wallace and Kate BakerDemeter by Becky CloonanThe Alchemy Press, Peter ColebornJoey Hi-FiSpeculative Fiction 2012 edited by Justin Landon and Jared ShurinFarah MendlesohnAncillary Justice by Ann LeckieThe 2015 winners were presented on Oct 25, 2015 at FantasyCon 2015 in Nottingham.
No One Gets Out Alive by Adam NevillCuckoo Song, by Frances Hardinge"Newspaper Heart" by Stephen Volk (in The Spectral Book of Horror Stories)"A Woman’s Place" by Emma Newman (in Two Hundred and Twenty-One Baker Streets)Lightspeed: Women Destroy Science Fiction Special Issue, edited by Christie YantNick Nightmare Investigates by Adrian ColeGuardians of the GalaxyHoldfast Magazine, edited by Laurel Sills & Lucy SmeeThrough the Woods, by Emily CarrollFox Spirit BooksKarla OrtizLetters to Arkham: The Letters of Ramsey Campbell and August Derleth, 1961-1971, edited by S. T. JoshiJuliet E. McKennaThe Three by Sarah LotzThe 2016 BFAs were awarded on September 25, 2016, at the FantasyCon 2016, "FantasyCon by the Sea", in the Grand Hotel, Scarborough.
The Doll Collection, ed. Ellen Datlow (winner)African Monsters, ed. Margrét Helgadóttir and Jo ThomasAickman's Heirs, ed. Simon StrantzasBest British Horror 2015, ed. Johnny MainsThe 2nd Spectral Book of Horror Stories, ed. Mark MorrisJulie Dillon (winner)Ben BaldwinVincent ChongEvelinn EnoksenSarah Anne LangtonJeffrey Alan LoveGhost Summer: Stories, Tananarive Due (winner)Monsters, Paul KaneProbably Monsters, Ray CluleyScar City, Joel LaneSkein and Bone, V.H. LeslieThe Stars Seem So Far Away, Margrét HelgadóttirBitch Planet, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Valentine De Landro, Robert Wilson IV and Cris Peter (winner)Ms. Marvel, Vol. 2: Generation Why, G. Willow Wilson, Jacob Wyatt and Adrian AlphonaNimona, Noelle StevensonRed Sonja, Gail Simone and Walter GeovaniSaga, Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona StaplesThe Sandman: Overture, Neil Gaiman, J.H. Williams III and Dave StewartUprooted, Naomi Novik (winner)Half a War, Joe AbercrombieSorcerer to the Crown, Zen ChoSignal to Noise, Silvia Moreno-GarciaGuns of the Dawn, Adrian TchaikovskyThe Iron Ghost, Jen WilliamsJonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Peter Harness (winner)Inside No. 9: The Trial of Elizabeth Gadge, Reece Shearsmith and Steve PembertonJessica Jones: AKA WWJD?, Scott ReynoldsMad Max: Fury Road, George Miller, Brendan McCarthy and Nico LathourisMidwinter of the Spirit, Stephen VolkStar Wars: The Force Awakens, by Lawrence Kasdan, J.J. Abrams and Michael ArndtRawblood, Catriona Ward (winner)A Cold Silence, Alison LittlewoodThe Death House, Sarah PinboroughLost Girl, Adam NevillThe Silence, Tim LebbonWelcome to Night Vale, Joseph Fink and Jeffrey CranorAngry Robot (Marc Gascoigne) (winner)The Alchemy Press (Peter Coleborn and Jan Edwards)Fox Spirit Books (Adele Wearing)Newcon Press (Ian Whates)Beneath Ceaseless Skies, ed. Scott H. Andrews (winner)Black Static, ed. Andy CoxHoldfast Magazine, ed. Laurel Sills and Lucy SmeeInterzone, ed. Andy CoxStrange Horizons, ed. Niall HarrisonZen Cho, for Sorcerer to the Crown (winner)Becky Chambers, for The Long Way to a Small Angry PlanetPeter Newman, for The VagrantSteven Poore, for The Heir to the NorthMarc Turner, for When the Heavens FallLetters to Tiptree, ed. Alexandra Pierce and Alisa Krasnostein (winner)The Art of Horror: An Illustrated History, ed. Stephen JonesFantasy-Faction, ed. Marc Aplin and Jennie IvinsGinger Nuts of Horror, ed. Jim McleodKing for a Year, ed. Mark WestMatrilines, Kari SperringThe Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn, Usman T. Malik (winner)Albion Fay, Mark MorrisBinti, Nnedi OkoraforThe Bureau of Them, Cate GardnerWitches of Lytchford, Paul CornellFabulous Beasts, Priya Sharma (winner)The Blue Room, V.H. LeslieDirt Land, Ralph Robert MooreHippocampus, Adam NevillStrange Creation, Frances KayWhen The Moon Man Knocks, Cate Gardnerthe FantasyCon Redcloaks, Past and PresentIn 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.
