Location: World Fantasy Convention, Schaumburg, Illinois.
Comments: Though the pace of change can be glacial, sometimes when the wheel turns, it turns in a hurry. And when it comes to female representation in the World Fantasy Awards, the turnaround, incomplete though it was, was rapid. Although the Awards had only gotten around to honoring Ursula K. Le Guin for her impressive body of work in 1995, and their track record of nominating and honoring women prior to that had been spotty at best, in 1996, the field was filled with contributions from female authors and editors. Gwyneth Jones won two awards, one for Best Short Fiction and one for Best Collection, and the
Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women won in the Best Anthology category. Every fiction category had at least one female nominee, and more than one category had multiple female nominees. The only category devoid of women was the Best Artist category. Actual equity had not yet been achieved, but substantial steps in that direction had been taken.
Best Novel
Winner:
The Prestige by Christopher Priest
Other Nominees:
All the Bells on Earth by James P. Blaylock
Expiration Date by
Tim Powers
Red Earth and Pouring Rain by Vikram Chandra
Requiem by Graham Joyce
The Silent Strength of Stones by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Best Novella
Winner:
Radio Waves by
Michael Swanwick
Other Nominees:
Ether OR by
Ursula K. Le Guin
Home for Christmas by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
The Insipid Profession of Jonathan Hornebom by Jonathan Lethem
More Tomorrow by Michael Marshall Smith
Where They Are Hid by
Tim Powers
Best Short Fiction
Winner:
The Grass Princess by Gwyneth Jones
Other Nominees:
Angel Thing by Petrina Smith
Dragon's Fin Soup by S.P. Somtow
Loop by Douglas E. Winter
The Perseids by Robert Charles Wilson
The Singing Marine by Kit Reed
Best Anthology
Winner:
The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women edited by A. Susan Williams and Richard Glyn Jones
Other Nominees:
Dark Love edited by Nancy A. Collins, Edward E. Kramer, and
Martin H. Greenberg
Dark Terrors edited by Stephen Jones and David Sutton
High Fantastic edited by
Steve Rasnic Tem
She's Fantastical edited by Lucy Sussex and Judith Raphael Buckrich
Best Collection
Winner:
Seven Tales and a Fable by Gwyneth Jones
Other Nominees:
Death Stalks the Night by Hugh B. Cave
The Ivory and the Horn by Charles de Lint
The Panic Hand by Jonathan Carroll
The Secret of This Book (aka
Common Clay) by Brian W. Aldiss
Lifetime Achievement
Winner:
Gene Wolfe
Other Nominees:
None
Best Artist
Winner:
Gahan Wilson
Other Nominees:
Thomas Canty
Alan M. Clark
Bob Eggleton
J.K. Potter
Special Award, Professional
Winner:
Richard Evans
Other Nominees:
Stephen Jones
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Gordon van Gelder
Paul Williams
Special Award, Non-Professional
Winner:
Marc Michaud
Other Nominees:
Fedogan & Bremer
Robert K.J. Killheffer, Meg Hamel, and Jenna A. Felice
Steve Pasechnick
Robert Weinberg
Go to previous year's nominees: 1995
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1997
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