World Fantasy Award Winners Announced
This past weekend, Kansas City hosted the 48th Annual World Fantasy Convention, where the 2023 World Fantasy Award winners were announced to recognize works published in 2022. In addition, the convention presented two Life Achievement Awards for outstanding service to the fantasy field.
Winners are marked in red.
Lifetime Achievement
- Peter Crowther
- John R. Douglas
Crowther is the co-founder of PS Publishing and a British journalist, novelist, editor, short story writer, and anthologist. Among his many accolades are a Best Anthology nomination in the 1993 World Fantasy Award for Narrow Houses, a 2000 British Fantasy Award in the Best Collection category for Lonesome Roads, a 2009 BFA in the Best Magazine/Periodical category for Postscripts, along with several additional nominations in several categories for both World Fantasy Awards and BFA’s.
Douglas, who passed away August 3, was an influential editor for several decades, working at Berkley as well as Avon Books, Pocket Books/Simon & Schuster, and HarperCollins. Over those years he was responsible for acquiring and editing hundreds of genre titles. Douglas was also a journalist and editor of Science Fiction Chronicle from 2002 to 2005, and he was among the fans who founded the Ontario Science Fiction Club in 1966. He’s survived by his wife of 48 years, Ginjer Buchanan.
Best Novel
- Saint Death’s Daughter, C.S.E. Cooney (Solaris)
- Spear, Nicola Griffith (Tordotcom)
- The Ballad of Perilous Graves, Alex Jennings (Redhook; Orbit UK)
- Babel, R.F. Kuang (Harper Voyager US; Harper Voyager UK)
- Siren Queen, Nghi Vo (Tordotcom)
Best Novella
- The Bruising of Qilwa, Naseem Jamnia (Tachyon)
- The House of Drought, Dennis Mombauer (Stelliform)
- Even Though I Knew the End, C.L. Polk (Tordotcom)
- Helpmeet, Naben Ruthnum (Undertow)
- Pomegranates, Priya Sharma (Absinthe)
Best Short Fiction
- “The Devil Don’t Come with Horns”, Eugen Bacon (Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology)
- “Incident at Bear Creek Lodge”, Tananarive Due (Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology)
- “The Morning House”, Kate Heartfield (PodCastle 7/5/22)
- “Telling the Bees”, Kat Howard (Sunday Morning Transport 1/30/22)
- “Douen”, Suzan Palumbo (The Dark 3/22)
Best Anthology
- Screams from the Dark: 29 Tales of Monsters and the Monstrous, Ellen Datlow, ed. (Nightfire)
- Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology, Vince A. Liaguno & Rena Mason, eds. (Morrow)
- Dark Stars: New Tales of Darkest Horror, John F.D. Taff, ed. (Nightfire)
- Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction, Sheree Renée Thomas, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, Zelda Knight, eds. (Tordotcom)
- Trouble the Waters: Tales from the Deep Blue, Sheree Renée Thomas, Pan Morigan, Troy L. Wiggins, eds. (Third Man)
Best Collection
- Dark Breakers, C.S.E. Cooney (Mythic Delirium)
- Breakable Things, Cassandra Khaw (Undertow)
- All Nightmare Long, Tim Lebbon (PS)
- Boys, Beasts & Men, Sam J. Miller (Tachyon)
- A Different Darkness and Other Abominations, Luigi Musolino (Valancourt)
Best Artist
- Kinuko Y. Craft
- Galen Dara
- Matt Ottley
- Lauren Raye Snow
- Charles Vess
Special Award – Professional
- Irene Gallo, for Tor.com
- Gavin J. Grant & Kelly Link, for Small Beer Press
- Tim Lebbon & Daniele Serra, for Without Walls (PS)
- Fiona Moore, for Management Lessons from Game of Thrones: Organization Theory and Strategy in Westeros (Edward Elgar)
- Matt Ottley, for The Tree of Ecstasy and Unbearable Sadness (Dirt Lane)
Special Award – Non-Professional
- Michael Kelly, for Undertow Publications
- Cristina Macía, for The Celsius Festival
- dave ring, for Neon Hemlock Press
- Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas, for Uncanny
- E. Catherine Tobler, for editing The Deadlands
