By
The
British Fantasy Award winners for excellence in horror and fantasy have just
been announced as part of the British Fantasy Convention in Brighton, England:
- Robert Holstock Award for Best Fantasy Novel: Among
Others by Jo Walton
- August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel: The Ritual by Adam Nevill
- Novella: Gorel and the Pot Bellied God
by Lavie Tidhar
- Short Story: "The Coffin-Maker's Daughter" by Angela Slatter
- Anthology: The Weird, editors Jeff
and Ann VanderMeer
- Collection: Everyone's Just So So Special
by Robert Shearman
- Movie: Midnight in Paris by Woody Allen
- Comic/Graphic Novel: Locke and Key by
Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez
- Artist: Daniele Serra
- Nonfiction: Supergods: Our World in the
Age of the Superhero by Grant Morrison
Walton's Among Others goes from strength to strength, having won the Hugo Award earlier this month. This tale of the power of reading, with its strong central character and fey depiction of fairies could pick up a third award at the World Fantasy Convention in November. Lavie Tidhard, author of Osama,
continues to earn the description of "rising star" with a win for his Gorel
novella. Another winner who has been getting a lot of attention the past few
years is Angela Slatter, a superlative short fiction writer; her wining "The
Coffin-Maker's Daughter" can be found in the original anthology A Book of Horrors, edited by horror stalwart Stephen Jones.
The Weird: A Compendium of Strange & Dark Stories edited by yours truly and Ann VanderMeer took the anthology category despite strong competition. The Weird collects over 850,000 words of weird fiction from 20 countries and the last 100 years. As we said in our prerecorded acceptance speech, since we could not attend, David Hartwell's Dark Descent and Alberto Manguel's Black Water were touchstones for us. The process of collecting and getting permissions for over 110 stories "nearly killed us," but receiving the award "helps heal the scar tissue."
The PS Publishing Independent Press Award went to Chomu Press and the
Karl Edward Wagner Award went to Nicky and Peter Crowther of PS Publishing.
Kameron Hurley won an award for best newcomer. Finalists were chosen by the members
of the British Fantasy Society and the winners chosen by a judging panel that
consisted of James Barclay, Hal Duncan, Maura McHugh, Esther Sherman, and
Damien G. Walter.
--The photo of the award, taken at the ceremony, is by Joe Berlyne.--
