| British Fantasy Award | |
|---|---|
Logo of the British Fantasy Society | |
| Awarded for | Best fantasy works of the previous year |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Presented by | British Fantasy Society |
| First award | 1972; 54 years ago (1972) |
| Website | britishfantasysociety |
TheBritish Fantasy Awards (BFA) are awarded annually by theBritish Fantasy Society (BFS).
The awards were first presented in 1972 as the August Derleth Award; the only category was best novel. In later years, the number of award categories increased. In 1976, the BFS renamed the awards collectively to the British Fantasy Awards.[1]
| Category | Description and notes[2] |
|---|---|
| Fantasy Novel Robert Holdstock Award | Fiction over 40,000 words |
| Horror Novel August Derleth Award | Fiction over 40,000 words |
| Novella | Fiction between 15,000 and 40,000 words |
| Short Fiction | Fiction under 15,000 words |
| Anthology | Collection of works by a single author |
| Collection | Collection of works by various authors |
| Magazine/Periodical | Non-fiction and fiction, print and online magazine or periodical |
| Audio | Spoken word audio work (e.g. audiobook, radio drama, podcast) performed by one or more participants |
| Independent Press | An independent press active during the previous year |
| Artist | An artist working in any media format within the genre |
| Nonfiction | Items eligible for this Award include non-fiction books, chapbooks, magazine or online columns or single magazine or online articles. |
| Special Award Karl Edward Wagner Award | May be presented to individuals or organizations. May be presented for work completed in the previous year, or throughout their lifetime. |
| Newcomer Sydney Bounds Award | New fiction writer |
| Category | Description and notes |
|---|---|
| Novel | Awarded 1972-2010. Beginning in 2012, this was split intoFantasy andHorror categories. |
| Comic/Graphic Novel | Awarded 1973–1980 as "Best Comic". Awarded 2009-2022 as "Best Comic / Graphic Novel". |
| Television/Film Production | Awarded intermittently from 1973-2022. |
The membership of the BFS vote to determine the shortlists of the awards, the winners being decided by juries.[3]
1Previously "Best Short Story", before 2008.
2Was originally presented as a single award known as "Best Novel", the August Derleth Fantasy Award, until split in 2012.[4][5]
| Year | Location | Best Short Fiction1 | Best Novella | Best Fantasy Novel2 (theRobert Holdstock Award) | Best Horror Novel2 (theAugust Derleth Award) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | N/a | N/a | The Knight of the Swords,Michael Moorcock | ||
| 1973 | The Fallible Fiend,L Sprague de Camp | N/a | The King of the Swords,Michael Moorcock | ||
| 1974 | The Jade Man's Eyes,Michael Moorcock | N/a | Hrolf Kraki's Saga,Poul Anderson | ||
| 1975 | "Sticks",Karl Edward Wagner | N/a | The Sword and the Stallion,Michael Moorcock | ||
| 1976 | The Second Book of Fritz Leiber,Fritz Leiber | N/a | The Hollow Lands,Michael Moorcock | ||
| 1977 | "Two Suns Setting",Karl Edward Wagner | N/a | The Dragon and the George,Gordon Dickson | ||
| 1978 | "In the Bag",Ramsey Campbell | N/a | A Spell for Chameleon,Piers Anthony | ||
| 1979 | "Jeffty is Five",Harlan Ellison | N/a | The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever,Stephen R. Donaldson | ||
| 1980 | "The Button Molder",Fritz Leiber | N/a | Death's Master,Tanith Lee | ||
| 1981 | "The Stains",Robert Aickman | N/a | To Wake The Dead,Ramsey Campbell | ||
| 1982 | The Dark Country,Dennis Etchison | N/a | Cujo,Stephen King | ||
| 1983 | "The Breathing Method",Stephen King | N/a | Sword of the Lictor,Gene Wolfe | ||
| 1984 | "Neither Brute Nor Human",Karl Edward Wagner | N/a | Floating Dragon,Peter Straub | ||
| 1985 | "In the Hills, the Cities",Clive Barker | N/a | Incarnate,Ramsey Campbell | ||
| 1986 | "The Forbidden",Clive Barker | N/a | The Ceremonies,T. E. D. Klein | ||
| 1987 | "The Olympic Runner",Dennis Etchison | N/a | It,Stephen King | ||
| 1988 | "Leaks",Steve Rasnic Tem | N/a | The Hungry Moon,Ramsey Campbell | ||
| 1989 | "Fruiting Bodies",Brian Lumley | N/a | The Influence,Ramsey Campbell | ||
| 1990 | "On the Far Side of the Cadillac Desert With Dead Folks",Joe Lansdale | N/a | Carrion Comfort,Dan Simmons | ||
| 1991 | "The Man Who Drew Cats",Michael Marshall Smith | N/a | Midnight Sun,Ramsey Campbell | ||
| 1992 | "The Dark Land",Michael Marshall Smith | N/a | Outside the Dog Museum,Jonathan Carroll | ||
| 1993 | "Night Shift Sister",Nicholas Royle | N/a | Dark Sister,Graham Joyce | ||
| 1994 | "The Dog Park",Dennis Etchison | N/a | The Long Lost,Ramsey Campbell | ||
| 1995 | "The Temptation of Dr. Stein",Paul McAuley | N/a | Only Forward,Michael Marshall Smith | ||
| 1996 | "More Tomorrow",Michael Marshall Smith | N/a | Requiem,Graham Joyce | ||
| 1997 | "Dancing About Architecture", Martin Simpson | N/a | The Tooth Fairy,Graham Joyce | ||
| 1998 | "Wageslaves",Christopher Fowler | N/a | Tower of the King's Daughter,Chaz Brenchley | ||
| 1999 | "The Song My Sister Sang",Stephen Laws | N/a | Bag of Bones,Stephen King | ||
| 2000 | White,Tim Lebbon | N/a | Indigo,Graham Joyce | ||
| 2001 | Naming of Parts,Tim Lebbon | N/a | Perdido Street Station,China Miéville | ||
| 2002 | "Goblin City Lights",Simon Clark | N/a | The Night of the Triffids,Simon Clark | ||
| 2003 | The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke,Mark Chadbourn | N/a | The Scar,China Miéville | ||
| 2004 | Walsall | "American Waitress",Christopher Fowler | N/a | Full Dark House,Christopher Fowler | |
| 2005 | Walsall | "Black Static",Paul Meloy | Breathe,Christopher Fowler | The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower,Stephen King | |
| 2006 | Nottingham | "Best New Horror",Joe Hill | The Mask Behind the Face, Stuart Young | Anansi Boys,Neil Gaiman | |
| 2007 | Nottingham | "Whisper Lane",Mark Chadbourn | Kid,Paul Finch | Dusk,Tim Lebbon | |
| 2008 | Nottingham | My Stone Desire,Joel Lane | The Scalding Rooms, Conrad Williams | The Grin of the Dark,Ramsey Campbell | |
| 2009 | Nottingham | Do You See,Sarah Pinborough | The Reach of Children,Tim Lebbon | Memoirs of a Master Forger,William Heaney | |
| 2010 | Nottingham | "What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night",Michael Marshall Smith | The Language of Dying,Sarah Pinborough | One, Conrad Williams | |
| 2011 | Brighton | Fool's Gold,Sam Stone | Humpty's Bones,Simon Clark | N/A | |
| 2012 | Brighton | "The Coffin-Maker's Daughter",Angela Slatter | Gorel and the Pot Bellied God,Lavie Tidhar | Among Others,Jo Walton | The Ritual,Adam Nevill |
| 2013 | Brighton | "Shark! Shark!", Ray Cluley | The Nine Deaths of Dr Valentine, John Llewellyn Probert | Some Kind of Fairy Tale,Graham Joyce | Last Days,Adam Nevill |
| 2014 | York | "Signs of the Times",Carole Johnstone | Beauty,Sarah Pinborough | A Stranger in Olondria,Sofia Samatar | The Shining Girls,Lauren Beukes |
| 2015 | Nottingham | "A Woman's Place",Emma Newman | Newspaper Heart,Stephen Volk | Cuckoo Song,Frances Hardinge | No One Gets Out Alive,Adam Nevill |
| 2016 | Scarborough | "Fabulous Beasts",Priya Sharma | The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn, Usman T. Malik | Uprooted,Naomi Novik | Rawblood,Catriona Ward |
| 2017 | Peterborough | "White Rabbit",Georgina Bruce | The Ballad of Black Tom,Victor LaValle | The Tiger and the Wolf,Adrian Tchaikovsky | Disappearance at Devil's Rock,Paul G. Tremblay |
| 2018 | Chester | "Looking for Laika", Laura Mauro | Passing Strange,Ellen Klages | The Ninth Rain,Jen Williams | The Changeling,Victor LaValle |
| 2019 | Glasgow |
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| 2020 | Online |
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| 2021 | Birmingham |
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| 2022 | Heathrow |
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| 2023 | Birmingham |
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| 2024 | Chester |
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| 2025[6][7] | Brighton |
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1Provided as "Small Press" until 2015, when that was ended and replace with "Independent"[5]
| Year | Location | Best Collection | Best Anthology | Magazine/Periodical | Small/Independent Press1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Anduril | ||||
| 1978 | Fantasy Tales 1 | ||||
| 1979 | Fantasy Tales 2 | ||||
| 1980 | Fantasy Tales 3 | ||||
| 1981 | Airgedlamh | ||||
| 1982 | Fantasy Tales | ||||
| 1983 | Fantasy Tales | ||||
| 1984 | Ghosts & Scholars | ||||
| 1985 | Whispers | ||||
| 1986 | Fantasy Tales | ||||
| 1987 | Fantasy Tales | ||||
| 1988 | Dagon | ||||
| 1989 | Dagon | ||||
| 1990 | Dagon | ||||
| 1991 | Best New Horror,Stephen Jones andRamsey Campbell | Dagon | |||
| 1992 | Darklands,Nicholas Royle | Peeping Tom | |||
| 1993 | Darklands 2,Nicholas Royle | Peeping Tom | |||
| 1994 | Dark Voices 5, ed. David Sutton and Stephen Jones | Dementia 13 | |||
| 1995 | The Earthwire, Joel Lane | Necrofile | |||
| 1996 | Last Rites and Resurrections: Stories from The Third Alternative, ed. Andy Cox | The Third Alternative | |||
| 1997 | The Nightmare Factory,Thomas Ligotti | H. P. Lovecraft: a Life | |||
| 1998 | Dark Terrors 3: the Gollancz Book of Horror, Stephen Jones and David Sutton | Interzone | |||
| 1999 | Ghosts and Grisly Things,Ramsey Campbell | Dark Terrors 4: the Gollancz Book of Horror, ed. Stephen Jones and David Sutton | The Third Alternative | ||
| 2000 | Lonesome Roads,Peter Crowther | The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 10, ed. Stephen Jones | Razorblade Press | ||
| 2001 | Where the Bodies Are Buried,Kim Newman | Hideous Progeny: a Frankenstein Anthology, ed. Brian Willis | Peter Crowther | ||
| 2002 | Aftershocks,Paul Finch | The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 12, ed. Stephen Jones | Peter Crowther | ||
| 2003 | Ramsey Campbell, Probably: On Horror and Sundry Fantasies,Ramsey Campbell | Keep Out the Night, ed. Stephen Jones | Peter Crowther | ||
| 2004 | Walsall | Told by the Dead,Ramsey Campbell | The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 14, ed. Stephen Jones | Peter Crowther | |
| 2005 | Walsall | Out of His Mind,Stephen Gallagher | The Alsiso Project, ed. Andrew Hook | Elastic Press | |
| 2006 | Nottingham | 20th Century Ghosts,Joe Hill | The Elastic Book of Numbers, ed. Allen Ashley | Peter Crowther | |
| 2007 | Nottingham | Fragile Things,Neil Gaiman | Extended Play: The Elastic Book of Music, ed. Gary Couzens | Peter Crowther | |
| 2008 | Nottingham | Old Devil Moon,Christopher Fowler | The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 18, ed. Stephen Jones | Peter Crowther | |
| 2009 | Nottingham | Bull Running for Girls, Allyson Bird | The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 19, ed. Stephen Jones | Postscripts, ed. Peter Crowther and Nick Gevers | Elastic Press |
| 2010 | Nottingham | Love Songs for the Shy And Cynical,Robert Shearman | The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 20, ed. Stephen Jones | Murky Depths, ed.Terry Martin | Telos Publishing |
| 2011 | Brighton | Full Dark, No Stars,Stephen King | Back from the Dead: The Legacy of the Pan Book of Horror Stories, ed. Johnny Mains | Black Static, ed. Andy Cox | Telos Publishing |
| 2012 | Brighton | Everyone's Just So So Special,Robert Shearman | The Weird, ed.Jeff VanderMeer andAnn VanderMeer | Black Static, ed. Andy Cox | Chômu Press |
| 2013 | Brighton | Remember Why You Fear Me,Robert Shearman | Magic: an Anthology of the Esoteric and Arcane, ed.Jonathan Oliver | Interzone, ed. Andy Cox | ChiZine Publications |
| 2014 | York | Monsters in the Heart,Stephen Volk | End of the Road, ed.Jonathan Oliver | Clarkesworld, ed.Neil Clarke, Sean Wallace and Kate Baker | The Alchemy Press |
| 2015 | Nottingham | Nick Nightmare Investigates,Adrian Cole | Lightspeed: Women Destroy Science Fiction Special Issue, ed. Christie Yant | Holdfast Magazine, ed. Laurel Sills and Lucy Smee | Fox Spirit Books |
| 2016 | Scarborough | Ghost Summer: Stories,Tananarive Due | The Doll Collection, ed.Ellen Datlow | Beneath Ceaseless Skies, ed. Scott H. Andrews | Angry Robot |
| 2017 | Peterborough | Some Will Not Sleep,Adam Nevill | People of Colour Destroy Science Fiction, ed. Nalo Hopkinson & Kristine Ong | Tor.com | Grimbold Books |
| 2018 | Chester |
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| 2019 | Glasgow |
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| 2020 | Online |
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| 2021 | Birmingham |
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| 2022 | Heathrow |
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| 2023 | Birmingham |
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| 2024 | Chester |
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| 2025 | Brighton |
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1Was initially conferred 1973–1980 as "Best Comic"; it was revived in 2009 as "Best Comic / Graphic Novel".[5] The category was removed at the 2022 AGM[8]
2Awarded only to films from 1973 to 1990, this honor was renewed 2009–2011, (though split into two separate categories), and again starting in 2014 as "Best Film / Television Episode", and then "Best Film / Television Production" from 2016 onward. In the two years 2012–2013, the BFS decided to present for extraordinary contributions to screenplay literature to Woody Allen forMidnight in Paris (2012) and co-writers Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon forCabin in the Woods (2013).[5] The category was again removed following the 2022 AGM.
| Location | Best Comic / Graphic Novel1 | Best Artist | Best Television / Film Production2 | Best Audio (Podcasts, Audiobooks, etc.) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Conan | Tales from the Crypt | |||
| 1974 | Conan | Legend of Hell House | |||
| 1975 | Savage Sword of Conan | The Exorcist | |||
| 1976 | Savage Sword of Conan | Monty Python and the Holy Grail | |||
| 1977 | Howard the Duck #3 | Michael Kaluta | The Omen | ||
| 1978 | Marvel Premiere 38: Weirdworld | Steve Fabian | Carrie | ||
| 1979 | Savage Sword of Conan #30:The Scarlet Citadel,Roy Thomas andFrank Brunner | Boris Vallejo | Close Encounters of the Third Kind | ||
| 1980 | Heavy Metal | Steve Fabian | Alien | ||
| 1981 | Dave Carson | The Empire Strikes Back | |||
| 1982 | Dave Carson | Raiders of the Lost Ark | |||
| 1983 | Dave Carson | Blade Runner | |||
| 1984 | Rowena Morrill | Videodrome | |||
| 1985 | Steve Fabian | Ghostbusters | |||
| 1986 | JK Potter | A Nightmare on Elm Street | |||
| 1987 | JK Potter | Aliens | |||
| 1988 | JK Potter | Hellraiser | |||
| 1989 | Dave Carson | Beetlejuice | |||
| 1990 | Dave Carson | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | |||
| 1991 | Les Edwards | ||||
| 1992 | Jim Pitts | ||||
| 1993 | Jim Pitts | ||||
| 1994 | Les Edwards | ||||
| 1995 | Martin McKenna | ||||
| 1996 | Josh Kirby | ||||
| 1997 | Jim Burns | ||||
| 1998 | Jim Burns | ||||
| 1999 | Bob Covington | ||||
| 2000 | Les Edwards | ||||
| 2001 | Jim Burns | ||||
| 2002 | Jim Burns | ||||
| 2003 | Les Edwards | ||||
| 2004 | Walsall | Les Edwards | |||
| 2005 | Walsall | Les Edwards | |||
| 2006 | Nottingham | Les Edwards | |||
| 2007 | Nottingham | Vincent Chong | |||
| 2008 | Nottingham | Vincent Chong | |||
| 2009 | Nottingham | Locke and Key,Joe Hill andGabriel Rodriguez | Vincent Chong | Film:The Dark Knight Television:Doctor Who | |
| 2010 | Nottingham | Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?,Neil Gaiman andAndy Kubert | Vincent Chong | Film:Let The Right One In Television:Doctor Who | |
| 2011 | Brighton | At the Mountains of Madness: a Graphic Novel,Ian Culbard | Vincent Chong | Film:Inception Television:Sherlock | |
| 2012 | Brighton | Locke and Key,Joe Hill andGabriel Rodriguez | Daniele Serra | Screenplay:Midnight in Paris,Woody Allen | |
| 2013 | Brighton | Saga,Brian K. Vaughan andFiona Staples | Sean Phillips | Screenplay:The Cabin in the Woods,Joss Whedon andDrew Goddard | |
| 2014 | York | Demeter,Becky Cloonan | Joey Hi-Fi | "The Rains of Castamere", David Benioff and D.B. Weiss | |
| 2015 | Nottingham | Through the Woods,Emily Carroll | Karla Ortiz | Guardians of the Galaxy | |
| 2016 | Scarborough | Bitch Planet, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Valentine De Landro, Robert Wilson IV and Cris Peter | Julie Dillon | Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell,Peter Harness | |
| 2017 | Peterborough | Monstress, Vol 1: Awakening,Marjorie Liu &Sana Takeda | Daniele Serra | Arrival | |
| 2018 | Chester | Monstress, Vol 2: The Blood,Marjorie Liu &Sana Takeda | Jeffrey Alan Love | Get Out | Anansi Boys |
| 2019 | Glasgow |
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| 2020 | Online |
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| 2021 | Birmingham |
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| 2023 | Birmingham | Category discontinued | *Vince Haig
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| 2025 | Brighton |
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| Year | Location | Best Non-Fiction | Best Newcomer (Sydney J. Bounds Award) | Special Award (Karl Edward Wagner Award) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | ||||
| 1973 | Robert E. Howard | |||
| 1974 | ||||
| 1975 | ||||
| 1976 | ||||
| 1977 | ||||
| 1978 | ||||
| 1979 | ||||
| 1980 | ||||
| 1981 | Stephen King | |||
| 1982 | ||||
| 1983 | Karl Edward Wagner | |||
| 1984 | ||||
| 1985 | Manly Wade Wellman | |||
| 1986 | Les Flood | |||
| 1987 | Charles L Grant | |||
| 1988 | ||||
| 1989 | Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes | |||
| 1990 | Nancy A. Collins | Peter Coleborn | ||
| 1991 | Dorothy Lumley | |||
| 1992 | Melanie Tem | Andrew I. Porter | ||
| 1993 | Conrad Williams | Michael Moorcock | ||
| 1994 | Poppy Z. Brite | Dave Sutton | ||
| 1995 | Maggie Furey | John Jarrold | ||
| 1996 | Mike O’Driscoll and Steve Lockley | |||
| 1997 | Jo Fletcher | |||
| 1998 | D. F. Lewis | |||
| 1999 | Diana Wynne Jones | |||
| 2000 | Anne McCaffrey | |||
| 2001 | Peter Haining | |||
| 2002 | ||||
| 2003 | Alan Garner | |||
| 2004 | Walsall | Peter Jackson | ||
| 2005 | Walsall | Nigel Kneale | ||
| 2006 | Nottingham | Stephen Jones | ||
| 2007 | Nottingham[9][10] | Cinema Macabre,Mark Morris (PS Publishing) | Joe Hill | Ellen Datlow |
| 2008 | Nottingham | Whispers of Wickedness Reviews (website), ed.Peter Tennant | Scott Lynch | Ray Harryhausen |
| 2009 | Nottingham | Basil Copper: A Life in Books,Basil Copper, ed. Stephen Jones | Joseph D'Lacey | Hayao Miyazaki |
| 2010 | Nottingham | Ansible,David Langford | Kari Sperring | Robert Holdstock |
| 2011 | Brighton | Altered Visions: The Art of Vincent Chong | Robert Jackson Bennet | Terry Pratchett |
| 2012 | Brighton | Supergods: Our World in the Age of the Super Hero,Grant Morrison, ed. Jonathan Cape | Kameron Hurley | Peter Crowther and Nicky Crowther |
| 2013 | Brighton | Pornokitsch, Anne C. Perry and Jared Shurin | Helen Marshall | Iain M. Banks |
| 2014 | York | Speculative Fiction 2012, ed. Justin Landon and Jared Shurin | Ann Leckie | Farah Mendlesohn |
| 2015 | Nottingham | Letters to Arkham: The Letters of Ramsey Campbell and August Derleth, 1961-1971, ed.S. T. Joshi | Sarah Lotz | Juliet E. McKenna |
| 2016 | Scarborough | Letters to Tiptree, ed. Alexandra Pierce and Alisa Krasnostein | Zen Cho | The FantasyCon Redcloaks, Past and Present |
| 2017 | Peterborough | The Geek Feminist Revolution,Kameron Hurley | Erica L. Satifka | Jan Edwards |
| 2018 | Chester |
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| 2019 | Glasgow |
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| 2020 | Online[11] |
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| 2021 | Birmingham[12][13] |
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| *Alasdair Stuart |
| 2022[14][15] | Heathrow |
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| 2023[16][17] | *An Earnest Blackness, Eugen Bacon*
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| 2024 | Chester[18] |
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| 2025 | Brighton |
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In 2011, British writerSam 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 byTelos Publishing, a company owned by David Howe. At the time, Howe was also chair of theBritish Fantasy Society, British Fantasy Award coordinator, and partner of Stone.[19][20][21]