Comments: Between 2001 and 2003, Peter Jackson created a movie trilogy out of one of the foundational works of fantasy fiction. I mention this because during this time frame, the World Fantasy Awards didn't. Despite the film trilogy storming the world as a fantasy phenomenon, the World Fantasy Awards let them pass by without recognizing a single individual responsible for its production. Well, until this year, when they deigned to bestow a Best Artist nomination on John Howe and Alan Lee, who combined to produce much of the conceptual artwork for the movies.
From a certain perspective, this lack of recognition is to be expected. Unlike the Hugo Awards, the World Fantasy Awards have no category for Best Dramatic Presentation, which means that filmed fantasy goes essentially unrecognized by the World Fantasy Awards. Given the fact that the history of filmed fantasy is even more embarrassing than the history of filmed science fiction, this is somewhat understandable, but by the time the Lord of the Rings movies were being filmed, it seems to have become a significant oversight. At the very least, the World Fantasy Awards could have dusted off the Special Convention Award and handed it to someone associated with the production of the movies. There is something to be said for keeping an award a means of recognizing purely literary works, but if one hopes to be regarded as the fantasy equivalent of the Hugo Awards, as the World Fantasy Awards have always maintained that they want to be, then ignoring the filmed fantasy fiction that is being produced is a serious flaw.
Best Novel
Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton
Other Nominees:
The Etched City by K.J. Bishop
Fudoki by Kij Johnson
The Light Ages by Ian R. MacLeod
Veniss Underground by Jeff VanderMeer
Best Novella
A Crowd of Bone by Greer Gilman
Other Nominees:
Dancing Men by Glen Hirshberg
The Empire of Ice Cream by Jeffrey Ford
Exorcising Angels by Simon Clark and Tim Lebbon
The Hortlak by Kelly Link
Best Short Fiction
Don Ysidro by Bruce Holland Rogers
Other Nominees:
Ancestor Money by Maureen F. McHugh
Circle of Cats by Charles de Lint
Gus Dreams of Biting the Mailman by Alex Irvine
O One by Chris Roberson
Best Anthology
Strange Tales edited by Rosalie Parker
Other Nominees:
The Dark: New Ghost Stories edited by Ellen Datlow
Gathering the Bones edited by Jack Dann, Dennis Etchison, and Ramsey Campbell
The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases edited by Jeff VanderMeer and Mark Roberts
Trampoline: An Anthology edited by Kelly LinkBest Collection
Bibliomancy by Elizabeth Hand
Other Nominees:
Ghosts of Yesterday by Jack Cady
GRRM: A RRetrospective by George R.R. Martin
More Tomorrow & Other Stories by Michael Marshall Smith
The Two Sams: Ghost Stories by Glen Hirshberg
Lifetime Achievement
Stephen King
Gahan Wilson
Other Nominees:
None
Best Artist
(tie) Donato Giancola
(tie) Jason Van Hollander
Other Nominees:
John Jude Palencar
John Picacio
Special Award, Professional
Peter Crowther
Other Nominees:
John Howe and Alan Lee
Kelly Link and Gavin Grant
Sharyn November
David Pringle
Sean Wallace
Special Award, Non-Professional
Ray Russell and Rosalie Parker
Other Nominees:
Deborah Layne and Jay Lake
Paul Miller
Dave Truesdale
Rodger Turner, Neil Walsh, and Wayne MacLaurin
Go to previous year's nominees: 2003
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 2005
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