TheBalrog Awards were a set of awards given annually from 1979 to 1985 for the best works and achievements ofspeculative fiction in the previous year. The awards were named after thebalrog, a fictional creature fromJ. R. R. Tolkien'sMiddle-earthlegendarium.[1] The awards were originally announced by editor Jonathan Bacon in Issue #15 ofFantasy Crossroads and presented at the Fool-Con II convention onApril Fool's Day, 1979 atJohnson County Community College,Kansas.[2] The awards were never taken seriously and are often referred to, tongue-in-cheek, as the "coveted Balrog Awards".[1]
