1952 International Fantasy Award Nominees

The International Fantasy Award best fiction book winner for 1952, Fancies and Goodnights, was a somewhat unusual selection in that it was not a novel, but rather a collection of short stories. Of the two other books up for the award, The Illustrated Man was also a collection of short fiction, a testament to the central place short fiction had in the science fiction genre at the time.

Of the three books, both The Day of the Triffids and The Illustrated Man have had more lasting impact than the winning entry. Although Fancies and Goodnights is a good book, and the fact that it took home the prize in 1952 is not particularly shocking, in retrospect, it just isn't of the same quality as its competition.

The Best Non-Fiction Book was the excellent Exploration of Space by Arthur C. Clarke.Writing at a time before the first artificial satellite had been launched into space, Clarke presciently opined upon the future development of space travel leading to a mission to the Moon. The only thing Clarke did not predict was that the Moon race would become a football of Cold War politics, and thus imagined that we would proceed into space in a much more sensible manner than we actually did.

Best Fiction Book

Winner:
Fancies and Goodnights by John Collier

Other Nominees:
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

Best Non-Fiction Book

Winner:
The Exploration of Space by Arthur C. Clarke

Other Nominees:
Dragons in Amber by Willy Ley
Rockets, Jets, Guided Missiles, and Space Ships by Jack Coggins and Fletcher Pratt

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